1 Sam
13:19-23 (ESV) Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land
of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make themselves
swords or spears." 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the
Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel
for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening
the axes and for setting the goads. 22
So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand
of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had
them. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
NOTE: It is an
interesting way to control people, by taking away certain skills. I'm not sure
if they made it illegal or if they killed all the blacksmiths, but the result
was that the whole nation went to the Philistines for blacksmith services.
Consequently, there were no weapons, except weapons that remained for the King
and his son. This may even explain why later, Goliath's sword was such an
important item. What do you when you don't have the required tools? In this
case, you do the best you can. You bring your axe, and your hoe. You bring a
club and a knife. And most importantly, you bring faith that God can give the
victory if your heart is right with him. You do the right thing, even when it
doesn't seem possible to do the right thing. What is the right thing? Deep
down, I think we all know.
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