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HINE Arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies, whereby the people fall under thee (Psalm 45:5)
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H that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. (Job 6:2-4)
There is much mention made in Holy Writ regarding weaponry – both of defense and of offense. God, indeed, is our shield and buckler to defend against the blows of the enemy. But we are provided with an array of offensive weapons as well to carry the battle to the very front lines of the enemy. One such weapon is the bow and arrow. The arrow, well-aimed and forcefully drawn, can penetrate behind enemy lines and into the hearts and bellies of the enemy. The arrow must be wielded by a man with strong arm, good vision, and patient soul. Whatsoever the righteous archer lacks in any of these, the Lord will fill the gap. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. (Exodus 15:16) The Lord is a ‘Man of War’ and He will lead and direct the arrows of the righteous. (see Exodus 15:3)
The Church today has become somewhat adept at using the defensive weapons made available through Scripture, but they have fallen woefully short in the use of the offense weapons at their disposal – the sword, the arrow, the spear, etc. The timid Church can no longer judge sin as sin. The cry, erroneously interpreted, goes out, Judge not that ye be not judged. This phrase is taken out of context and means no such thing as to render the Church sterile in judging sin. 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:1-3) If we judge with righteous judgment as commanded by our Lord, we shall be judging from God’s Word and not from our personnel opinions; therefore, we judge with God’s righteous judgment. Perversions of God’s Law regarding the Holy Estate of Matrimony as being between one man and one woman must not be tolerated under color of law.
There are under-shepherds of God’s fold just as He is the Mighty Shepherd. There are, as well, archers in His Church that follow the law and example of the Master Archer on High. If the aim of these is accurate and properly directed, then it is the Mighty Archer who has guided them to their destination. But many arrows are released by the bowman which go astray and are not released according to the will of God. There are many Christian persecuted INSIDE the Church by the very ones whose professed purpose is to protect the lambs.
Each professing Christian has a duty to safeguard and protect those under his care; but he also bears a responsibility to emerge from the trenches of the battleline and carry the battle to the enemy. Timidity is not a trait of the courageous soldier in the Army of God.
Every parent who has children will know the example God attaches to those children as arrows in the quiver: 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5) This has a direct bearing on the biblical principle: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) But how many of us today ‘train up our children’ according to the ways of the Lord and do not allow the public schools to indoctrinate with ungodly propaganda?
An arrow may be compared to a young child. First of all, it must be sought after in desire and action. A straight wooden shaft is necessary at the beginning. All children are unsoiled with carnal knowledge at birth. They are ready to be fashioned into arrows of righteousness, or of reprobation. The wooden shaft must be made completely straight, polished, and of proper length. We cannot keep our children forever, therefore, we must not train them to rely on their parents forever. So, the arrow must be long enough to serve its purpose, but not so long as to alter its path in flight.
Each arrow must have a guidance system. Feathered vanes must be attached at the base to aid the arrow in maintaining a true trajectory. Children, too, must be equipped with a chart and compass for their lives. If the Word of the Lord has been inculcated into their very being as they grow up, they will be equipped for a true course in life. Arrows must be equipped with a sharpened point in order to increase its effectiveness against the presumed target. So must children be made sharp in knowledge, judgment and moral conduct. Such a child will rise well above his or her peers in the eyes of their fellow beings.
We now have our quiver full of fine, polished arrows. Now we need an accomplished archer to send them on their way. The parents of children are the archers. They must know, from the beginning, the direction in which they wish their arrows to fly. There must be an objective insight at which to aim the arrows. Children must be given direction throughout life in the ways of honesty, forthrightness, and sincerity.
The archer must have a strong arm to draw the string of the arrow back before launching. It takes uncommon strength to turn loose our children at the right moment and allow them to pursue their course in life.
As long as the arrow is in the grasp of the archer, he retains control of it. Many parents lose control of their children before they reach the age of high school. How sad! But the archer draws the string back as far as his strength allows, pauses, confirms his aim, and releases the arrow. Once the arrow is released, he has no more control over its direction or trajectory of flight. The same is true of children. They must go out into the world and only the aim that has been given by the archer will aid them in impacting the desired objective.
The arm of flesh is no dependable force for our arrows. If we have trusted in God and sought His wisdom in the rearing of children, it is His mighty arm that draws the string and impels the arrow forward to its Godly destination. Even our poor aim can be corrected by the mighty Providence of the Master Archer. 34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36 And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. (1 Kings 22:34-37)
Unkind words can also be arrows of hate and hurt. They bend their bows to shoot their Arrows, even bitter words, (Psalm 64:3)
God has an array of arrows to shoot against the wicked, famine, disease, floods, storms, wars, etc. When I shall send upon them the Arrow of famine, (Ezekiel 5:16) He has the sword; this is another Arrow of the Almighty, and this Arrow God shot at Job; he brought upon him the Sabeans, who slew his servants with the edge of the sword, (Job 1:15) He hath thunder-bolts and hail-stones, which are also some of the Arrows of his quiver; and these are in readiness against the day of battle. The with-drawings of God from a soul or people, are also part of the Arrows of his quiver, and these go deepest of all, they go to the very heart: For thine Arrows stick fast in me, saith David, (Psalm 38:2)
The vision of the Mighty Archer on High is precise and infinite to see the hidden chambers of the heart. His aim never misses. His arrows may be His Word which we may wield in the battle we face against the powers of darkness. It is His strongest arrow and the one most neglected by mortal men. 12 For the word of God is 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. (Hebrews 4:12) A two-edged sword cuts two ways – one to convict of sin to salvation, the other to condemn to the darkness of eternal night. Our preaching is not wasted on the intransigent unbeliever. The two-edged sword will cut to condemn so that, on the last day, he cannot claim nobody ever told me!
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