“Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.1 Kings 2:5 NIVEphesians 6:13-15 NIV
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.
The belt of Truth and feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of Peace, wow! As I read 1 Kings it reminded me of the armor that the Apostle Paul speaks of in Ephesians. This armor, a "protective covering" if you will that is to be worn by the believer, equips us for battle, spiritual battle. Paul takes the physical armour used by the Roman soldiers and begins to share with us this analogy in the inspired Word of God. We as Christians are to be alert and of sober mind. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). At any moment, a subtle turn, a whisper, though it may seem far, can begin to settle in our hearts; a seed that leads to danger, to ruin. This turn, this decision, this entertainment of wicked thoughts, this call to leave the straight and narrow path (Matthew 7:13) it really can lead to a life of destruction.
Joab, the commander of King David's army; we read how he obeyed all the commands from King David. Yet, something incited him, provoked, prompted him to disobey and kill Abner who was the commander-in-chief of Saul's army; to kill him during a time of peace. The belt spoken off as "the belt of truth" and his feet, the sandals, both tainted by blood. Blood as a result of his own ego, his ownership of thoughts that lead to disobedience.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:13-15)
When the belt of Truth is tainted, when we take it off or try to manipulate Truth, chose to handle it according to our own definition, when we define Truth to best suit us, we are in trouble. Joab was killed, orders given by King David and followed through by his successor King Solomon.
Nothing escaped King David; nothing escapes the King of kings. Compromise a tool of Satan, along with every concession or cooperation with evil intent leads us away from God; takes us away from that which is right. In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises (Psalm 10:2). Joab schemes did not go unpunished.
An armor designed for us with a shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).
Reign in your thoughts, thoughts that can lead us to destruction. Commit every thought to the authority of Jesus Christ. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Re-read Ephesians 6 today. Let's make sure that our armor is on correctly, that each piece is secure.
Take the belt of Truth off and everything falls apart.
God bless you!~Liz
www.lizrod.com
