That’s why a whole set of armor is used in this illustration. Whole books could be written on the armor of God. The fact so many parts are mentioned shows that there are many things we need to prepare for the battle.
Salvation, of course, is the key. We can try to be as nice as we want, but that sin nature will get us every time. It’s no wonder that the helpmet is used in this chapter for that, though the illustrations are different in other places. The helmet protects your head, and without a head, you won’t be fighting or anything else. If you don’t have Jesus as your personal Savior, you need Him so you can win.
Other things, of course, are also very important. Truth, righteousness, faith, and so on all help us to remain strong. Faith stops the fiery darts of doubt, unhealthy fear, and so on. Just as you can move a shield around, you need that faith all around you because attacks on your faith can come from many directions.
The sword can be used for defense, to block someone, but please note that it is also the only tool for offense. Well, unless you throw your shield at someone. Seriously, any army would get worn down after constant pounding without some sort of attack. It might take a long time, but any person will get worn down without using the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This has two meanings.
First, it refers to memorizing Scripture. The Shunammite woman (did you think we forgot about her?) had to keep thinking about God’s word, so she wasn’t discouraged, with her husband not helping much. The first five books of the Bible are mentioned in Joshua as being with them. Other Bible books confirm they were written by Moses. A few other books would have been written by her time; Job, Joshua, Judges and Ruth, possibly First and Second Samuel. If she couldn’t read, she would have heard it orally and memorized that. It was much easier in those days to remember things that one read, since that’s about all one could do in one’s spare time. Ezra supposedly memorized the entire Old Testament (all but a few smaller books). And, of course, she could hear the Word of God spoken by Elisha, the prophet.
So, she hid God’s Word in her heart, so she wouldn’t sin. (Psalm 119:11) It was easy, when she thought about how to handle something, for her to remember God’s Word and learn what to do that way; just like when I used Matthew 6:33 earlier. That’s one way she was proactive in standing against evil.
The second thing this means is found in Hebrews 4:12. It speaks of how the Word of God is very powerful, sharp enough to get through the toughest heart. The person may not make a decision for Jesus, but there will be an impact. Somehow, in a way we can’t totally understand, Scripture works in people’s hearts in a way that a message without any Bible verses doesn’t as well. We know part of this is because it was inspired by God, and His Holy Spirit is always working in people’s hearts.
