| Christian Life and Doctrine | June 1950 |
The Sword of the Lord
THE sword is one of the most ancient weapons of war, and l continued to be one of the chief instruments used in warfare until the invention of gunpowder. So important was its place in the battles of ancient nations that the term sword became practically synonymous with war. In the symbology of the Scriptures this fact is recognized, and it is in many instances employed in the prophecies of evils that were to come upon nations through wars to be waged against them. Thus for example, in the expression, “by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence,” “by the sword” refers to capture or destruction in war.—Jer. 14:12
The sword is primarily an instrument of destruction, and by analogy, in the hands of a nation’s army, it symbolized the strength of the nation; that is, a nation with a large army, wielding many swords, was considered capable of subduing its enemies, thus maintaining its position of superiority and power. This, in a general way, is the background of thought associated with the Bible’s symbolic use of the term sword. Thus the “sword of the Lord” and the “sword of the Spirit” are not literal weapons of steel, but rather the power of Jehovah which he employs to destroy those things which are out of harmony with his will, the enemies of righteousness.
The first time the word sword appears in the Bible it is used to symbolize a provision made by the Lord to prevent fallen man from returning to the Garden of Eden. This was before man himself had invented the sword, and we might wonder why it was used thus as a symbol before its later meaning was attached to it. Besides, in this instance it seems to represent a preventive measure, rather than destruction, as its later universal use denoted. It is translated from the Hebrew word chereb, which according to Prof. Strong, means “drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect).” Note that its first meaning is “drought,” although it is never so translated in the Old Testament.
About the only time this Hebrew word chereb is used in the Old Testament when it could be translated “drought” without doing violence to the context, is in Genesis 3:24, where it is first used, and translated “flaming sword” to describe the Lord’s arrangement to keep man from returning to the garden. It could, in this one case, be given its original meaning; namely, “drought.” Perhaps the Lord prevented fallen man from receiving the benefits of the garden which he planted “eastward in Eden” simply by withholding moisture from that section of the country—“a flaming sword [or drought] which turned every way.” Well might this explain the disappearance of the garden in so short a time.
This original meaning of chereb also gives significance to the picture of desolation and blight that is often presented in the Scriptures when reference is made to the effect of the sword. A land, or country, that suffers the ravages of the sword is often described as being utterly wasted; and thus are the enemies of God and of righteousness represented under the withering power of the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”—Eph. 6:17
“The Sword of the Lord, and of Gideon”
One of the early instances in the Scriptures where the Lord is associated with the symbolic use of the sword is in the story of Gideon and his little band of 300 who defeated a vast army of Midianites. Here it is referred to as “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” (Judges 7:18,20) This is clearly a symbolic use of the term, for neither Gideon nor any of his little band of three hundred carried swords in their attack against the host of Midian.
In this remarkable story we are given an insight into some of the important ways in which the Lord’s “sword” is used in the destruction of his enemies, and the fact that he makes it possible for his people to join in the battle with him. This latter thought is suggested by the Apostle Paul when he tells Timothy to endure as a “good soldier of Jesus Christ,” and urges him to “war a good warfare.” (II Tim. 2:3; I Tim. 1:18) Paul knew, and every faithful follower of the Master has learned, that in order to be a “good soldier” it is necessary to “endure hardness,” and not become encumbered with the affairs of this world.
In considering the experiences of Gideon in connection with the defeat of the Midianites, one of the first lessons we observe is that the Lord does not depend upon the power of numbers in order to accomplish his purposes.) To impress this point upon Gideon, he caused him to reduce his army from thirty-two thousand to the insignificant number of three hundred. (Judges 7:3,6,7) Gideon sensed that the Lord was thereby letting him know that only by his wisdom and power would it be possible to defeat the mighty host of Midianites.
After that victory had been gained, and Israel was freed from the aggressors, the people wanted Gideon to rule over them, but he replied, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.” (Judges 8:23) Gideon realized that the people’s desire to have him as their ruler was based on the false assumption that he had defeated the Midianites; so he wanted them to know that the real conqueror was Jehovah, and that Jehovah, therefore, should be their Ruler.
Yes, Gideon learned well the lesson that only by the strength of the Lord can victories be won by his people—victories over the Lord’s enemies and their enemies. Have we learned that lesson? The foes of spiritual Israel are not people, not literal armies equipped with weapons of, carnal warfare; but they are, nevertheless, real and formidable. How important it is that no matter how strong we might feel to fight these enemies of the new creature, we should look to the Lord for guidance in the struggle and lean upon his sustaining arm of strength to keep us from falling.
One of our principal enemies is our own fallen flesh. Allied with our flesh is the world, and the prince of this “present evil world,” the devil. It would be impossible for the strongest Christian to fight victoriously against these unrighteous allies without the wisdom and strength furnished by the Lord. No wonder we tremble when we think of self. But by the same token, when we look away from self and to the Lord we are strong—“strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” (Eph. 6:10) How else could Gideon have defeated the Midianites except the Lord had helped him! And how can we hope to be conquerors, yea, more than conquerors, except it be through the help of the Lord!
The Lord Goes Before Us
Before the battle against the Midianites began, the Lord instructed Gideon to go down into their camp and listen to their conversation. Has did this, and heard one of them telling a dream. This dream was interpreted by the Midianites to mean that they would be defeated by Gideon—“This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.” This was enough to reassure Gideon. Returning to his own little company of soldiers he said, “Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.”—Judges 7:9-15
How often in our experiences as new creatures do the providences of the Lord enable us to “arise” with courage to press forward in the good fight of faith! This is not because we suddenly discover strength of our own. Rather, it is due to the fact that the Lord gives us an experience by which we are reminded anew that his grace is sufficient for us, that his strength is made perfect in our weakness, and that he will overcome our enemies for us if we but keep close to him by obeying his instructions.
Ofttimes the Lord fights for his people in ways unknown to them, preparing victory in advance; while they, perhaps, by trying to cross those proverbial “bridges” before they come to them, tremble with fear over the outcome of that which the Lord has already made a certain victory for them. God favored Gideon by letting him know that the enemy had been “softened” by an advance attack and hence weakened by fear, and with their morale so low, they were in no fit shape to resist, even though the attacking army was small. Gideon was thus assured again that the battle was the Lord’s and that victory was sure. The Lord does not always thus favor his people by letting them know the manner in which he is fighting for them; but we can be sure that he is, and faith can firmly trust him, come what may.
In the interpretation of the dream which Gideon heard related, reference was made to his sword—“the sword of Gideon.” The Midianites were also made aware of the fact that they would be delivered into the hand of Gideon by the God of Israel. This gave the cue to Gideon as to at least a part of the strategy he should use against the enemy, for he arranged that at a certain time, and upon a signal from him, his little army was to shout, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” (Judges 7:18-20) This was in keeping with what the Midianites were expecting; and being convinced of defeat, they become panicky and began fighting one another.
Here we have an important lesson. Actually, Gideon and his little army did not use swords in this original attack, hence the term is used symbolically to describe the manner in which the wisdom and power of the Lord operated to defeat the enemies of God’s people. The only “weapons” they used in this particular strategy were trumpets, torches, and earthen pitchers. Through this strange combination of articles the power of the Lord—his “sword”—operated to put the Midianites to rout.
The Trumpet and Torch
Fundamentally, the great battle in which spiritual Israelites are engaged is one between darkness and light, error and truth. Jesus, the antitypical Gideon, was and is the “Light of the world,” and he commissioned his followers that, as his representatives they also were to be the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14; John 8:12) But the darkness hateth the light, and Satan, the prince of darkness, musters all the hosts of sin in battle array against the Lord’s “little flock” of truth people.
We are provided with an “armor of light” to protect us against the “wiles of the devil,” and one of the pieces of that armor is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 6:11,17) In the picture furnished us in the story of Gideon, this “sword of the Lord” is represented by the twofold illustration of trumpet and torch. And in the illustration we are reminded that it is only as the trumpet gives forth a certain sound, and the torch is displayed, that the forces of darkness and evil are defeated. This suggests that the truth only becomes powerful—the “sword of the Lord”—as we trumpet it forth and let it shine. Truth shut up in our hearts will not overcome our enemies, nor make us conquerors in the good fight of faith.
Broken Vessels
The third item of “armor” Gideon provided for his little band of warriors was the earthen vessel, and this played its important role only by being broken. The vessel was used to conceal the light of the torch until Gideon gave the signal for the attack. The three hundred soldiers were divided into three groups of one hundred each, and deployed on different parts of the hill overlooking the valley where the Midianites were camped. Gideon took his place with one of the groups, and his instructions were that all the men were to do as he did, the plan being that he would blow his trumpet and at the same time break the earthen vessel that covered the torch. The men with him would do the same, and when the other two groups heard their trumpets and saw their lights, they also were to blow their trumpets and uncover their torches. In addition to this, they were all to shout, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
The strategy was most effective. Only captains in ancient armies, it is said, blew trumpets and carried torches. Thus it appeared to the Midianites that Gideon commanded a tremendous host, one large enough to require hundreds of captains. This, together with the information in the dream that Gideon and his God would defeat them, caused consternation in the ranks of the enemy, and they began fighting one another and thus fell an easy prey to the little company of attackers.
One never tires of recounting this intriguing narrative of how the Lord enabled so few to defeat so many; however, the important thing to us is not the story itself, but the spiritual lessons it conveys to us as spiritual Israelites, new creatures in Christ Jesus. Perhaps one of the most important of these is that of breaking the earthen vessels to permit the light of the torches to be seen by the enemy. Brother Russell once said that this “represents self-sacrifice to let the light shine out.” The sword of the Lord and of the antitypical Gideon, Jesus, is effective against our enemies only in proportion to our self-sacrifice to let the light of truth shine forth in a dark world.
The trumpet of truth must also be sounded. The shout of Gideon and his three hundred, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon,” was merely an interpretation of the significance of the trumpets and the torches. In our case, it is the sword of truth, God’s truth, the truth of his Word, but made effective in our good fight of faith as we proclaim it and cause it to shine forth. In order to do this, our earthen vessels must be broken—broken and emptied, for the Master’s use made meet.
All the various parts of the Christian’s armor, as outlined by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-17, represent the truth and its application from one standpoint or another. Most parts of this armor are for defensive warfare, to protect us against the attacks of our enemies, but the sword of the Spirit is for offensive warfare. It is the sword that we use in attack; and as we have seen in the case of Gideon, the sword is wielded by trumpeting forth the truth and by letting our light shine.
Jesus, the antitypical Gideon, and his “little flock” of “good soldiers,” are prophetically represented as saying of the Heavenly Father, “He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me.” (Isa. 49:2) Here we have the assurance of protection while we wield the sharp sword of truth by speaking forth the message which our God has given to us and with which he expects us to overcome our enemies.
A “Two-edged” Sword
The Apostle Paul speaks of the Word of God, the truth, as being “quick” and “powerful,” and sharper than any “twoedged” sword, “piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) We are given a similar thought in II Corinthians 10:4,5, where we read, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
Thus we are reminded that one of the new creature’s enemies is the fallen flesh, and that we are expected to turn the sword of the Spirit inward, as it were, in order to subdue and to bring into captivity those earthly propensities which war against us as new creatures in Christ Jesus. And for this purpose the sword is very suitable when properly used. Self seeks to be recognized and to have its way in almost every experience of life. Its reasonings are most subtle, and only by applying strictly the principles of the truth to every situation will we be able to keep self where it belongs. It is with self that the Christian’s warfare begins. “He that ruleth his spirit,” said the prophet, “is better than he that taketh a city.”—Prov. 16:32
But the Christian warfare does not end with self. The flesh may try to make us believe that it does, for thereby the self-sacrifice that is essential in order to let our light shine would be avoided. This false theory, however, is one of the “high things that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,” one of the “reasonings,” as the marginal translation puts it, the purpose of which is to circumvent the will of God that we should lay down our lives in the service of the Lord, the truth, and the brethren.
One of the ways in which the great enemy, self, can be slain is, as represented in the Gideon picture, through breaking our earthen vessels to let the light shine out. And as this is done, we will also be giving battle to our other enemies, which are, primarily, Satan and the world. In so far as our individual struggle is concerned, our victory over these enemies will be in preventing them from destroying us, or beating down our courage to fight the good fight of faith. In the over-all picture, however, every member of the church, beginning with the antitypical Gideon, its Head, has been engaged in a battle which ultimately will result in the destruction of the world and of Satan, its prince, and establishing in the earth the divine rule of righteousness.
This is one reason it is called a “good fight of faith.” (I Tim. 6:12; II Tim. 4:7) We cannot now see these formidable enemies falling down before us. Seemingly evil continues to triumph. But by faith in the divine plan we know that when we enlisted in the army of God and of righteousness we took our stand with the winning side, and that ultimately truth and righteousness will triumph everywhere. We as individuals will not know the tremendous power that is being exerted against the bulwarks of Satan by our faithfulness until we gain our own victory and have been given an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.—II Pet. 1:11
The High Praises of God
Psalm 149:5-9 shows the “little flock” army of the Lord, particularly in this end of the age, making effective use of the sword of the Spirit, here spoken of as a “two-edged” sword, and interpreted to be the “high praises of God.” No matter from which standpoint we view the truth of the divine plan, it certainly reflects the praises of our God. The Apostle Peter speaks of showing forth “the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (I Pet. 2:9) To do this, we need to break our earthen vessels in order that the light of truth which has shined into our hearts may be seen by others. Thus, the trumpet tones of truth, sounding the praises of God, to our enemies become the sword of the Lord, and of the antitypical Gideon.
And how effectively the “enemy” is thus put to rout! “Vengeance” is thus executed upon the nations; and “punishments” upon the people. Their “kings” are bound with chains “and their nobles with fetters of iron.” Jesus said to his disciples, and to us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We might think of the “kings,” the “people,” and the “nobles” mentioned in this prophecy as representing the various elements of the “present evil world,” and that we overcome them when we overcome the world; but we think that more than this is implied in the prophecy, for it is clearly one that applies to the end of the present age.
Do the saints, by proclaiming the truth, by wielding the sword of the Spirit, by sounding forth the praises of God, actually bind kings, place fetters upon nobles, and execute the vengeance of God upon the nations, and punishments upon the people? From God’s standpoint, yes, for he thus reckons it. The divine principle which operates here is explained in God’s commission to the Prophet Jeremiah. (Jer. 1:8-15) The prophet’s commission was to pull down and to destroy, but actually all he did was to proclaim the Word of the Lord concerning it. Other agencies of the Lord were used to accomplish the actual work of destruction.
So it is in the case of the church at this end of the age. We are commissioned to declare the “day of vengeance of our God,” and in doing this, we announce that all the kingdoms of this world are being overthrown, and that all rulership of men will cease. God has other agencies for accomplishing this purpose, but the “little flock” is counted by God as having a part in it if they are faithful in proclaiming the truth pertaining thereto.
And how well this is illustrated in Gideon’s rout of the Midianites! Probably the trumpet blowing and torch waving would have been largely ineffective had it not been for what the Lord accomplished beforehand by other means; namely, through the dream given to one of the hosts of Midian. The shout, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon,” would not have meant much to the Midianites had they not already been convinced that they would be conquered by this sword.
And even so, the Lord did not use extraneous force against the enemies of Israel. The influences he brought to bear upon them resulted in their turning upon one another. They destroyed themselves, but Gideon and his little army got the credit for the victory. It is largely thus in the overthrow of the kingdoms of this world. Isaiah 42:13 depicts Jehovah as a mighty man of war prevailing against his enemies, the kingdoms of this world, and explains that he does this by stirring up jealousy among them.
Another element which is now entering into the self-destruction of this present evil world is fear, even as in the case of the Midianites. The nations are now preparing to destroy one another because they fear one another, and this fear has been engendered largely through inventions of weapons of destruction brought about through the increase of knowledge, the bright shining of the Lord’s presence. As the consecrated people of God, our part in this final struggle of the ages is simply that of proclaiming the truth, the great plan of God for the emancipation of the world from the slavery of sin and death. By doing this faithfully, we are blowing the trumpet of truth, we are holding high the torchlight of the kingdom Gospel, and we are shouting, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
And how blessed is the peace of mind and heart which is ours to enjoy in the knowledge of the Lord’s certain victory! The battle is his, not ours. He has outlined every strategic move we are to make. He has provided us with an armor of protection against our foes, and has put his two edged sword of truth into our hands. If we use this faithfully, following the example of the Captain of our Salvation, our share in the victory of the Lord will be certain. But in order to participate in this victory, we must press on in the battle. Our part in the struggle will not be complete until our earthen vessel, broken to let the light shine out, is completely destroyed—until we have been faithful “even unto death.”—Rev. 2:10