“No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise, the Hebrews will make swords or spears.” So all the Israelites went to the Philistines to sharpen their plows, mattocks, axes, and sickles. The price was two-thirds of a * shekel for plows and mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes, and for putting a point on an oxgoad. So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.” (1 Samuel 13:19-22HCSB)
Why was there no blacksmith in the land of Israel during the reign of King Saul, as mentioned in our opening bible text? The reason was the Philistines, their enemies, saw to it that there was none. In other words, they used all their political, military and intellectual might to keep the Israelites from learning blacksmithing.
Unfortunately, Saul, who was Israel’s king at the time, did not work hard enough to turn things around for his people. Therefore, as we are further told in the account, the Israelites became unduly dependent on the Philistines even in sharpening their agricultural tools. You can, then, imagine how much money they must have been losing to the Philistines at the time, money that could have been circulating in their own economy.
Also, because they had no blacksmith in the land, on the day that war broke out between them and the Philistines, only their king and his son, Jonathan, had weapons to fight with. Others simply had agricultural implements. No wonder, as the account further reveals, many of them deserted their country at the time with a view to preserving their lives. (Cf. 1 Samuel 13:6-9)
Now while this story is directly applicable to leaders of nations and the need for them to see to it that their people are not behind in any form of progressive and protective education, it is also applicable to individuals. In other words, the story is teaching us too never to take our education and skill acquisition lightly.
Truly, there may be people or circumstances that will do all that they can to keep us from getting some form of useful education or acquiring some skills. But we must not allow them to succeed against us. Instead, first, we must learn to pray to God to daily clear the way for us to acquire whatever kind of education or skill we consider to be useful for our prosperity, safety and peace of mind. Then we too must be serious in taking whatever righteous or legitimate steps we can take in acquiring the education or skills we need in life.
Why do we need to function in the manner I just described? The reason is that there are opportunities for progress and prosperity that we will never be able to take advantage of in life, if we do not possess certain forms of education or skills. Also, unless there is a divine intervention, there are situations of life that we cannot refuse and battles of life we cannot win, if we do not have some forms of education or skills.
King Saul and the Israelites could not have won that battle against the Philistines, if God had not intervened and handed the Philistines over to them. You too may never be able to win some battles or reject some forms of enslavement with the current education, training and skills you have, unless God intervenes in your matter. And because of His love for you, He will surely keep on intervening in your matters to keep you safe and progressive in life.
But will the harassment you are getting in certain areas of your life ever stop, if you too will not take advantage of the grace of God to acquire the necessary education or skills that will make it stop? That is why even though you are depending on God continually for your progress and safety in life, you must also not allow anybody or situation to cheat you or those under your care of the education or skills that can make room for you to flourish in life or that can make you gain the respect of your enemies. Instead, be determined to acquire all the education and skills that the grace of God permits you to have. That way, you may just be making it easier for Him to elevate or keep you safe in certain situations of your life.
Let us pray:
-Thanksgiving to God because He always gives grace to those who are depending on Him to acquire everything they need for their progress, prosperity and peace of mind in this life.
-Prayers that God will remove every obstacle keeping us from acquiring all the education and skills that are needed for us to be where He wants us to be in life, so that every form of harassment associated with stagnation in our lives may end.
-Prayers that God will move in our country and bring about circumstances that will drive our leaders to begin work hard towards making sure that all our people are adequately equipped with the right forms of education and skills, so that we will no longer be slaves of other nations of the world.
-Prayers that God, in His mercy, will perform for our lives all the miracles we need to be free from every form of harassment associated with our lack of education or skills in certain areas of our lives, so that our peace of mind will no longer be disturbed those areas of our lives.
-Thanksgiving to God for the privilege of praying and receiving.
By Johnson O. Lawal
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