Dispatch 002: The Strategy of Disarmament

Tools of the blacksmith

THE TACTIC

The most effective way to defeat an enemy is not to fight him on the field but to disarm him before he ever arrives. If you remove the weapons, the war is over before it begins.

The Scriptures record a devastating strategic move by the Philistines against Israel:

“And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, ‘The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.’” (1 Samuel 13:19)

The Philistines did not just attack soldiers; they removed the means of production. By eliminating the blacksmiths, they ensured that Israel remained dependent and defenseless.

THE RESULT

The result of this policy was total vulnerability. When the day of conflict arrived, the men of Israel stood empty-handed.

“So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of any of the troops.” (1 Samuel 13:22)

This is the state of the modern Christian household. Fathers look for a sword to defend their children against the ideologies of the age, but they find their hands empty. They have not been taught sound doctrine. They do not know how to wield the Scriptures. The blacksmiths, the theologians and solid pastors, have been removed or silenced by the culture.

THE COMPROMISE

What did Israel do without blacksmiths? They became dependent on the enemy for their basic tools.

“Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.” (1 Samuel 13:20)

This is the tragedy of our time. Christian men go to the world, the Philistines, to sharpen their minds. We look to secular psychology to fix our marriages. We look to state education to teach our children. We sharpen our tools at the enemy’s forge because we have forgotten how to build our own fires.

THE COUNTER-STRIKE

The Here Center exists to relight the forge. We cannot rely on the culture to sharpen our understanding of reality. We must recover the art of biblical reasoning.

We must forge our own swords. We must train our own hands for war (Psalm 144:1). The era of dependence is over.