Drawn to Duty

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel…
I Samuel 13:19

Oh the tragedy and calamity that is found in such a small portion of scripture. Wrapped up into this one phrase is the possibility of Israel’s defeat and the reason for that possible defeat. As King Saul readies himself to make battle against the armies of the Philistines, he is given word by one of his assistants that there are no blacksmiths available for service. The coals of the blacksmiths had been extinguished. The ring of hammers against the anvils had since been silenced. No longer were there sparks of productivity coming from their tents. Why was such news detrimental to the morale of the Israelites? This halt in labor by the blacksmiths led to the armies of Israel having no swords or weapons to fight with in their battle against the Philistines. Whether or not the smiths compromised their trade to go the land of the Philistines or were forced out of their duty makes no difference because their failure to perform their job had far reaching consequences to the armies of Israel. Yes, their duty was menial, but it had great repercussions.

Oh how serious is this issue in our life. Is it not our failure to perform the small tasks on our spiritual journey that keeps us from succeeding? Are not the small foxes the ones that spoil the vine? The small failure on our part could lead to the grand failure to many in the army of God. How minuscule are the tasks of prayer and Bible meditation, yet we fail to consistently do them? These are the small foxes that ruin the life of the believer. Oh my friend let this be the day your heart is drawn to your duty. There are weapons to be made so that we can battle the spiritual powers of Satan. It is time we heat the coals of the Spirit of God and thrust the dull weapon of our life into His midst so that the process might begin by which we are made dangerous for the cause of Christ and wieldable by the Holy Ghost.