September 3, 2022
Tabitha felt like she was in a fairy tale as she walked up to the “sword in the stone.” She was surprised when she pulled out the sword from the stone with ease. The tour guide for the museum was using thematic simulations to teach Biblical principles. In this room, he began elaborating about Jesus as the Rock, and that one’s ability to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is related to being firmly established in Christ, the Rock, and being given authority by the Spirit’s anointing to wield that sword with power. That which hinders the sword’s effectiveness against spiritual enemies comes from principalities and powers darkening people’s minds and hearts to the Word, thereby in essence, keeping it bound up in the stone. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12).
The tour guide then presented to Tabitha the sword by driving its tip into the ground before her and telling her to take it and put it into her own sheath that was secured to her belt. Before entering the simulation, she had been fitted with the sheath and belt. She looked down, and on her left hip was an elaborately worked silver sheath with gorgeous patterns of leafwork. The tour guide explained that the silver represents the sanctification God works in us who are saved, by which we hold the Scriptures near to us for ease of use. “And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness” (Mal 3:3). (See also 1 Cor 3:12-13, Prov 10:20, 17:3, Heb 5:14, Dan 11:35). It simulates the analogy of the readiness of having our feet fitted with the shoes of the gospel of peace in Ephesians 6. The leafwork speaks of the church–the trees of life that grow up in the gospel that give life to the nations through the redemption of Jesus at the temple altar (see this imagery from Ezekiel 47). “Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:1-2).
As Tabitha sheathed the sword, she noticed the handle. The tour guide asked her what it was made of. She answered, “Strips of cow hide leather,” for there were thin strips of leather wound around the handle tightly. He began to elaborate on how our grip on the Word of God is directly related to the sacrifice of both the Son as the Lamb of God to secure our sonship and the sacrifice of the wicked “bulls” of the nations who have surrounded the people of God (the destruction of the evil gates of hell that prevent the Word from taking root). This speaks of internal thoughts and attitudes that need to be transformed (Heb 4:12, Rom 12:2) as well as external spiritual forces of evil.
Isaiah 34:5-8:
“When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens,
then it will come down upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
6The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood.
It drips with fat—
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7And the wild oxen will fall with them,
the young bulls with the strong ones.
Their land will be drenched with blood,
and their soil will be soaked with fat.
8For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”
Psalm 22:9-13:
“You brought me forth from the womb;
You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
10From birth I was cast upon You;
from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13They open their jaws against me
like lions that roar and maul.”
The tour guide shifted the focus. “Tabitha, when you lifted the sword, how did it feel?”
“It had significant weight, yet I surprisingly moved it around with ease! However, I noticed that I couldn’t use it for very long before my strength was depleted.”
The tour guide explained, “The weight speaks of the power and authority with which the Word is going out, and much is being accomplished though it may be unseen. However, due to the weight of the sword, God’s people feel their power quickly depleted.”
A lesson of this from Jesus’ life can be found in Luke 8:42-48:
As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him, 43including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her. 44She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked.
But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”
46But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.”
47Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice, came trembling and fell down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched Him and how she had immediately been healed.
48“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
The tour guide continued: “The cup of God’s people who continue to walk by faith will be sufficiently refilled for the next assignment, but to keep us humble before Him, we have to feel this loss of power. And certainly we do not waste time in the wait, for God walks with us and trains us for war as we pasture on the grasslands of the Word (Psalm 144:1).”
Tabitha answered, “But doesn’t it seem counterproductive when we can’t just keep moving forward to conquer kingdoms for God’s glory?” She no sooner asked the question than she remembered the Apostle Paul’s words:
2 Cor 12:7-10:
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (ESV).
*All Scripture is in the BSB (Berean Study Bible) translation unless otherwise noted.
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