Entry #5 -- Armor Basics 101

Perhaps because I consider myself just a “budding” author, I still struggle from time to time with organizational issues.  I have notes everywhere, and I really do mean just exactly that!  My favorites are those I jot down on napkins, scraps of paper, old receipts floating around in my purse, and even gum wrappers.  I keep a notepad and pen on my nightstand—and I don’t even bother to turn on the light—just knowing the scribbles are there helps me get back to sleep.  I know I can always decipher the scribbled thoughts in the morning (AFTER coffee).  However, one such blurb truly had me stumped. The hidden message within the squiggly letters completely eluded me.

My memory was finally triggered the other day with the recall of “Sword Drills.”  Those of us who grew up in Sunday School probably remember getting out our Bibles and racing to see who could be first to find a particular scripture passage. Sometimes the victor received a sticker on his/her Bible chart. Now that was pretty cool back then!

Back to my note…  I had been driving across town and along the way saw several churches posting signs for their VBS (Vacation Bible School).  One sign borrowed a well-known dairy slogan and said something like; “Got armor?”  That was it! That was what I had scribbled down in the middle of the night.  You see it occurs to me, those of us who grew up in an earlier generation might be very familiar with the concept of “putting on the armor of God,” while newer Christians may not understand what that phrase fully means.  Hence the blog title: Armor Basics 101.

Our first stop is Science class for a quick review of metals. Okay, stay with me, I promise this won’t be too painful!  Any one of dozens of science or chemistry websites can provide expert explanations. For our purposes, we simply need to know there are metals (pure) and alloys (mixtures).  For example: Copper is pure; brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; bronze is an alloy of usually copper, tin, and aluminum.  Okay, did you survive? Are you still with me?  Finally, in Science class we also need to acknowledge that some metals are softer/harder than others which means that some metals are more malleable (changes its shape more easily) than other metals. This is why aluminum cans crush more easily than the old fashioned tin cans.  It is also why, after 32 years of wonderful marriage, my wedding band has taken on the peculiar imperfect circular shape of my finger. Congratulations! You have survived Science class.

Our next stop is History class for a quick glance at timelines.  Don’t worry, you made it through science, you can do this! Stay with me! For this class I will be using a resource called Bible Time Line (Rose Publishing, 2001).  Here we learn The Old Testament began during the Bronze Age. Cool, they were already mixing metals! The time period for the Biblical Judges and the Trojan Wars began about the same time as the Iron Age. Apparently more battles also meant the need for stronger weapons. Next in history comes the time period of the Biblical Prophets, still within the Iron Age.  This brings us to the time of the Prophet Isaiah (c. 760-673 BC), which just barely preceded the general time of the start of Olympic games and the founding of Rome.  

Ahhh! So here we are at last! The Prophet Isaiah. Soon thereafter, Rome. Romans. Battles. Conquests. Armor. 

Isaiah confronts the people with a sobering warning:

“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”  Isaiah 59:14, 15 (NIV)

Look what comes next…

“The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice…He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head…”  Isaiah 59:15 and 17 (NIV)

Paul was not a Roman soldier, but for a while he was chained to one 24-7, and thus he would have been very familiar with Roman armor. Paul was also raised by the teachings of the most scholarly of Jews, and therefore he would have known this passage from Isaiah.  It is undoubtedly this combination of factors that leads Paul to encourage the Ephesians:

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”   Ephesians 6:13-18 (NIV)

Each piece of armor deserves its own blog.  I’m fairly certain I have already pushed the limits of your attention span, so I will simply say this: 

Our sword/weapon is the Word of God.  If you do not have a weapon, you may fight, but you will most likely not win.  If you do not have God’s Word in your heart, you are defenseless.  Study God’s Word.  Read it daily. Commit it to your mind and memory.

Most Roman helmets had some type of finial or plumage, sometimes denoting rank, sometimes identifying units.  Today sports teams have different colors; obviously one would not want to tackle his own teammate.  As a Christian our helmet, and identification, is Salvation. That doesn’t seem to be a problem when we sit together in church.  My question would be; when you are at work, out in public, or online, is your helmet of salvation visible? Can people clearly tell whose team you’re on?

We are living in difficult times, seemingly returning to the corruption that filled the days of Isaiah’s time.  Justice is slipping and it’s pretty tough to see truth anywhere.  If you speak out against evil, you open yourself to become the prey/target.  Nevertheless; as Christians, we are called to be strong and stand our ground.  Having received his permission, I will leave you with a quote from Myles Holmes (Revive USA) because he states it quite clearly and concisely:

“It is time to have all your spiritual armor on.”

Respectfully written and submitted by:

Dotty Willmon, Resurrection Christian