Too many Christians today walk around buffeted by uncontrollable impulses, drowning in guilt and totally defeated. They pray, commit, surrender, read the Word, say all the right words, and still can't seem to live a victorious life. If that sounds familiar, then you might find some answers here.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

The Buckler in Warfare

Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

To see what a buckler is, visit "Proverb a Day" which is where this study started.

All my life I've read about the "buckler" and never really understood what it was. I think I always thought it was that wide leather belt, that "buckled" on and held the sword...a very passive thing. Boy was I wrong!

According to Wikipedia, the buckler is a small shield used in close, hand-to-hand combat. That is used in basically four different ways:

  • To deflect sword blows from the opponent
  • To blind and hide one's own sword play, covering the next strike
  • As a weapon, like a "fist", to strike the opponent
  • To bind the opponent's sword and shield against his own body

It was as I was typing up the comparison between a real physical Middle Ages shield and the Biblical comparison of Lord as our Buckler (Proverb a Day Blog), that I suddenly had an understanding of exactly how this is accomplished.

  • He'll be between us and the blows of the Enemy - Blood of Jesus
  • He blinds or covers our own sword play - Name of Jesus
  • He's a weapon used to strike the Enemy - the Word/Sword
  • To bind the opponent's ability to strike back - Authority to bind

In spiritual warfare we actually have five weapons if we are using our "Buckler" correctly.

  • We are covered by the Blood of Jesus, thus shielded from blows from the Enemy.
  • The Name of Jesus is the Authority which covers our use of the Sword of the Word of God.
  • When the Buckler is used as a weapon, it's like a "two-fisted" attack on the Enemy, or having a Sword in each hand. It's a "one-two punch"
  • The Authority to Bind is invaluable especially when dealing or confronted by demonic manifestations.

Then by the spoken Word (Sword) in the other hand, we've got an arsenal that the Enemy has no power over. Does that excite you like it does me?! To realize that I'm not just facing the Enemy with the spoken Word, but to realize that all of those elements combined guarantee me the victory every time!

Thank you, Jesus! He's my Buckler! Yeah, I can deal with that. :)

2 comments:

Poetik said...

your blog is a great resource for any christian! thank you. i will be sure to save it into my 'favorites'

Email Your Questions said...

I give thanks to the Lord that the messages in this blog are a blessing and encouragement to you. I haven't really done anything with this blog in a long time. It's like once the messages were written, then I was directed to other things.

I can tell you this, after rereading the "Buckler" and some of the other posts, it was definitely the Holy Spirit doing the work. That's some good preachin'! It was definitely inspired, therefore all the glory goes to the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Lord Jesus Christ!