Zechariah 9:13 says that the Lord will make us like a warrior’s sword. That got me thinking about how a sword is made and how it’s used by a warrior. The picture that emerges is a beautiful analogy of how we are exactly like a warrior’s sword in the hand of God.
Begin with how a sword is made. All swords start out as nothing more than a lump of iron that’s been pulled out of the ground. Then the iron passes through fire to burn off the impurities. Next, the iron is mixed with a stronger material to make it more powerful. Then comes the process of heating, beating, and cooling the metal until it is formed into a blade. The sword is not complete until a handle is fashioned and attached to it. Without a handle, the warrior has no way to interact with the blade. The handle is the most intimate part of the sword because it is where the sword and the warrior come into contact with each other. Lastly, the sword is sharpened until it becomes lethal. This process involves bringing the sword into contact with other metal until the edges are nice and sharp.
Now, you have a finished sword. It might be impressive to look at, but it’s quite useless and pointless until the warrior picks it up and takes it into battle. Also, the sword cannot take itself into battle. It must wait until the trumpet sounds and the warrior takes it up and charges into the fight. Lastly, it’s important to recognize that the victory belongs to the warrior, not the sword. The sword is just a tool that the skilled warrior uses to fight the battle, but the victory belongs to the warrior.
Now, reconsider what it means to be a Warrior’s sword in the hand of the Lord. The Bible makes clear that we are all dead in our sins until we come to Christ. But, just like the lump of iron that’s been pulled up out of the ground, we have been raised up from death into life through Christ Jesus. Also like the unrefined iron, Jesus says that He baptizes with fire, so our impurities are burned away. The same way the iron is mixed with a stronger material, we, too, are mixed with something stronger than ourselves to make us more powerful - the Holy Spirit. We also go through a process of refinement where we experience trials that can feel like we’re in a fire or being beaten, but we are also comforted by the rivers of living water that flow from Jesus. The Lord uses our trials to form and shape us into who He wants us to be.
Even as we start to take shape as a sword, we still need a handle if the Warrior, Jesus, is going to be able to use us in battle. Remember, the handle is that point of intimate, personal contact where the sword and the Warrior come in contact with each other. We form that contact through worship, prayer, Bible study, serving the Lord, and serving others. When we have a strong relationship with the Lord, it becomes like a handle on a sword where the Warrior can hold onto us tightly. We can’t forget about the sharpening process, either. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). When we are united with other believers, we become more sharp and more useful as a Warrior’s sword.
But, even after we are refined, formed, and sharpened, we are rather pointless and useless as a weapon until the Warrior picks us up and takes us into battle. We can’t charge in to battle on our own. We must wait until the trumpet is sounded and the Warrior charges into battle. Otherwise, we cannot win. Lastly, the picture of the Warrior’s sword reminds us that the victory belongs to Jesus. We are useful and powerful tools in the hands of a skilled and powerful Warrior, but never forget that the battle belongs to the Lord.
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