Untested Armour (1 Samuel 17:39)

 

Friday, June 20, 2025

Psalms 114; 115

1 Samuel 17:24-40

Acts 11:1-18

Untested Armour (1 Samuel 17:39)

...and David strapped his sword over his armour. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.

Reading about the exploits of David alongside Homer’s Iliad, it is exciting to get some wider context on ancient warfare. The ancient Greek waxes lyrical about gleaming bronze armour, martial prowess with spears, and terrifying sword-work. As champions boast at each other from either army on the shores of Troy, arrows fly out. Men bravely charge, blinding sunlight bouncing off polished bronze, spears are thrust through breastplates, swords chop through limbs, and men succumb to “the hateful darkness” of death. There is every reason to suspect that the experience of the Israelites and Philistines were no different.

Yet when David comes onto the scene, everything changes. He is the anointed king, the type that points to Christ, and he is not experienced in the ways of pagan warfare. His warfare is against morally neutral enemies: lions, and bears, and the forces of nature. David’s experience in warfare is not so much focused on killing the enemy, but protecting the flock.

So too with our Lord. He does not need the weapons of war that are used against other humans. He needs no swords or spears, guns or tanks. His war is not about killing the enemy, but saving the flock. His sword is his word; his armour is the love of God. As fun as Homer’s Iliad might be, there is one enemy common to every character: the hateful darkness of death. We need a story about a hero who destroys that enemy. We need a good news story, and we need a saviour.

In our own lives, we come into conflict all the time. We have an array of options of how to respond; a gun cabinet of weapons to wield. As Christians, we are inexperienced in every weapon that harms other humans. But we are very experienced in the weapons that destroy hate, fear, guilt and death. Our weapons do not destroy, but protect. Our armour is the armour of faith, truth, salvation, the word of God, and the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace.

When was the last time you responded to harshness with harshness of your own? How did that turn out for you? How might you practise the art of wielding the weapons of love and forgiveness, so that you may use them in your life better?

Christ our Shepherd, who guides us into the pathways of your peace: give us the opportunity to respond to harshness with gentleness, that the superiority of your ways may be known, and all may come to you.