![shield of faith 5e shield of faith 5e](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f3/c5/0a/f3c50a4ad5c5f58cb90928596191264f.jpg)
But this can’t be what he is saying, because we’ve already seen in weeks prior that it is not the most important piece.
![shield of faith 5e shield of faith 5e](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/af/97/63/af97634cc978e8108fa5d205a9ba3bf9.jpg)
When we read the words, above all, we think that Paul is saying this is the most important piece. Both ways of translating this are right, but at the same time, both leave out the idea of what I think Paul was really trying to get across.
![shield of faith 5e shield of faith 5e](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2cbfdf6e9f3dcd6dcb915eda3dbb78b1/be9bdc0d88a1852f-56/s1280x1920/d565fd229cad026ace51be5459259b3d5eae0d98.png)
He says there at the beginning of verse 16, above all, or as it says in some of your translations, in addition. Soldiers crouched behind it as if they were behind a wall.Īnd we also see from Paul’s choice of words in introducing this piece of the armor that this is the type of shield he has in mind. Sometimes, because of the nature of this shield, it was referred to as a “door.” To get the soldier, you first had to get past the door, or get past the shield. In this way, it all but covered the whole body. Rather than moved around to fend off attacks, it was planted in front of the soldier, and sometimes fixed in the ground. It was much larger than the other, and it was used differently. This is generally the type of shield we think about when we imagine a shield.īut there was also another kind of shield. One was smaller and round and could be used by moving the arm to defend a certain part of the body which was being threatened. There were two kinds of shields used by soldiers in Paul’s day, and two different Greek words to describe each. Finally, we will look at how we can take up the shield of faith. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.Īgain, like with the other pieces, let’s look at the picture Paul was using here and how the shield was used in his day by the Roman soldiers, then we will look at how Paul meant for us as Christians in spiritual warfare to use the shield. Today, in Ephesians 6:16, we are going to look at the Shield of Faith.Įphesians 6:16. This fourth piece is what gave them confidence in God and gave them certainty of victory-even in the face of overwhelming odds. Caleb walked by faith, in the strength of his God.Īnd as we turn to Ephesians 6 today to study the fourth piece of spiritual armor, we will see that it is similar to what Joshua and Caleb had. And even though he was now 80 years old, because God was on his side, Caleb was victorious. In fact, it was the very same “giants in the land” that had so scared the ten spies 40 years earlier that Caleb went to battle with. 14:7), knew that if God was on his side, he could not be beat.Īnd so when the tribes entered into the land, Caleb went to battle some of the fiercest and strongest opponents there were (Josh 14:12). After the forty years of wandering were complete, we read about how Joshua was chosen to be he leader of Israel as they entered into the land, and that Caleb, though he was now 80 years old (Josh. Joshua and Caleb trusted in God that He would be their shield if they followed Him, but the rest of the nation did not have faith, and so they perished in the wilderness.īut Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of that whole generation to survive and to receive their inheritance in the Promised Land. That is what always happens when we do not trust in God.
![shield of faith 5e shield of faith 5e](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/00/d3/4b/00d34b41c5922172c828d8d645c6f0df.jpg)
It was only an eleven day journey from Sinai to Canaan, but because of their lack of faith, that eleven day journey turned into forty years of agony and death in the wilderness. If they had followed God into the promised land, they would not have had to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness. They knew that all they had to do was follow God, and He would protect them and provide for them. Joshua and Caleb knew that the Lord would go before them as their shield and as their strength. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread the protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. They said in Numbers 14, “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Two of them, Joshua and Caleb, knowing and remembering that God had provided for them and protected them time and time again, trusted that God would do the same thing for them here. In the book of Numbers, there is the famous story of the twelve spies who went in to spy on Canaan, and after spending 40 days looking around, they came back and said that while the land was good and rich, there were giants in the land, and the Israelites would get killed and enslaved by them if they went in to attack.