Have you ever watched a television show or news cast
where a Special Forces team is entering a dangerous situation? They not only wear bullet proof vests, they
carry a shield that covers most of their body.
This is called a ballistic shield because it is designed to protect from
the bullets that may assault their entrance.
Soldiers and law enforcement rely on these walls of protection in
dangerous situations. The descriptors for these shields are entry,
equalizer, and tactical shields. All
denote forward movement, not just defensive protection. There is no cowering in corner when using
these shields.
A study of the Roman
armies at the time Paul wrote to the Ephesians adds a whole new perspective to “Lift up over all the
[covering] shield of]saving faith, upon which you can quench
all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].” (Ephesians 6:16 ESV) We often think of the small round shields
that are skillfully moved to deflect the arrows as they come. However
the shields carried by Roman soldiers covered the body from chin to below the
knee. They were the predecessors to these
ballistic shields. They were made from
strong metals and provided true protection for the entire body.
The shield Paul encourages us to take up
against our enemy is a shield composed of faith. From all of Paul’s teachings we can conclude
that this faith is in Jesus Christ and the promises of God. So what is this
faith that our shield is constructed of? “ Now
faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we]
hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real
fact what is not revealed to the senses]. For by [faith—trust and holy fervor
born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.” (Hebrews 11:1-2 AMP) This faith is
knowing God so intimately that we are certain He will perform His word
regardless of what we see. “For as the rain and the snow come down from
heaven and do
not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes
out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it
shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing
for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 5510-11 ESV)
In order
to have this kind of faith we must spend time getting to know the One we had
faith in. Faith will grow in us as we study the word and learn the nature of
our God. When we learn and understand all that Jesus Christ did for us, we can
believe that He will come through regardless of our situation. As soldiers may
not understand the battle they are entering, we too will not always understand
what is happening around us. But a soldier does not place faith in himself, but
in obedience to his commander. Jesus is our commander. He will lead us into
victory. And our marching orders begin with putting our faith in Jesus. “And
this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put
our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus
Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just as He has
commanded us.” (1 John 3:23 AMP)
Another
feature in the design of the Roman shield was a hook on one side and loop to
hook into on the other. Soldiers were not meant to go out on their own.
Although the shield was valuable to each soldier, it was most effective when
used in conjunction with the shields of other soldiers. When soldiers stood
side-by-side they could actually hook their shields together creating a wall.
Behind this wall they could care for wounded, rest and strategize their next
advance. As Christians, we were never meant to fight our battles alone. When we
join with our fellow believers, our faith can become a wall of protection. The
enemy cannot penetrate this wall. The Bible talks very much about unity. This
is one example of why that unity is so important.
I observed
a few other things about these Roman shields.
Because of
the larger construction, these shields would be heavier and more difficult to
carry than the smaller buckler style shield. Soldiers would need to develop
their muscles in order to carry the shields on long marches. We must study God’s
word to develop our muscles of our faith, so that we can carry a shield that
protects all of us – spirit, soul and body.
In many of
the pictures, the Roman shields had bright colors and intimidating designs. To
see a wall of these colorful designs approaching would bring fear into the
enemy. Interestingly enough, the soldier himself would not observe this
intimidating sight. Often when we move in faith we have no idea of the image
that we present to our enemy. We may be thinking of how weak we believe our
faith to be. But as we let God empower that faith, the enemies tremble at our
pending arrival.
We serve a powerful and true
God. He keeps His promises. “God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man,
that He should feel repentance or
compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or
has He spoken and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 AMP) We can trust
Him with every aspect of our lives. He
will be our shield when we simply believe. “As for God, His way is perfect! The word of
the Lord is tested and tried;
He is a shield to
all those who take refuge and put
their trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30
ESV)
So lift up your shield
and fight off the lies of an enemy who is trying to defeat you. Approach your day with confidence that
whatever happens, you will have all you need to face it. God is with you and you will be victorious!
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