Armor up

¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12

The Apostle Paul then tells us…

⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Then he gives us the full picture….

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17

Let’s draw from the same sources that Paul was drawing his teaching from… the first is the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon) which was written about 50 years before the coming of the Messiah.

15 But the righteous live forever, and their reward is with the Lord; the Most High takes care of them. 16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover them, and with his arm he will shield them. 17 The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel his enemies; 18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice (salvation) as a helmet; 19 he will take holiness as an invincible shield, 20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with him to fight against his frenzied foes. Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-20

The next few sources that Paul was pulling from is found in Exodus 28, Leviticus and the book of Isaiah. Exodus and Leviticus were written before 1400 B.C and the book of Isaiah was written around 740-701 B.C.

I’m establishing this timeline to show you that all of these writings took place before the Roman Empire was established. What this means is…

Paul was making reference to the holy garments of the priesthood, not the armor of unholy, bloodthirsty Roman soldiers who in no way compare to God’s armor.

1 Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him,
that he may minister to Me as priest. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. Ex 28:1-4

The first glimpse of a breastplate, belt, and something for the head is in the command to make priestly garments.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

The Lord made it clear that Israel was intended to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation that would be a light unto the world but at times she fell and this is where we see Paul draw wisdom and inspiration.

⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. ¹⁷ He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. Isaiah 59:15-17

Jamieson noted in his commentary that the Christian’s armor is like that of God’s, except that, “We do not possess any `garments of vengeance, or cloak of zeal”.

It makes sense that we would not possess garments of vengeance when the Lord has told us that vengeance belongs to Him. What do we really possess?

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Tsedaqah is the Hebrew word that we translate as righteousness. The dictionary defines righteousness as:

What stands out to me in this definition is purity of heart and coming into oneness with God. The Apostle Paul gives us the best example of how to put on the breastplate of righteousness…

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

The bible tells us that love covers a multitude of sins and that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In fact we are told to:

Do everything in love. 1 Cor 16:14

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col 3:14

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Jn 15:12

The apostles go on to teach us this about love…

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. Eph 3:16-17

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 Jn 4:16

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 Jn 4:12

Paul also talks about putting on faith. Abraham was hospitable to strangers, he showed love, compassion and this was followed by acts of kindness/hospitality. It was Abraham’s faith in God that was accredited to him as righteousness, so you could say that Abraham put on the breastplate of righteousness because he walked in faith and love.

For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 Jn 3:18

To Moses, the Lord gave these instructions:

You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. Ex 28:15

You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. Lev 19:15

29 “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place,  Ex 28:29

The High Priest was required to wear the breastplate it into the Holy of Holies to symbolize his intercessory role, in this role he was to not show favoritism but truly love and pray for the people. There are two passages in the bible that stand out to me and show me the love and true intercession that Moses and Aaron had for Israel. The first one is when Moses stood before the Lord and said…

But now, please forgive their sin —but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Exodus 32:32

The Second is when the Lord was going to wipe out most of them and Moses tells Aaron to grab a censor and stand between the people and God.

⁴⁵ “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown. ⁴⁶ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started.” ⁴⁷ So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. Numbers 16:45-48

This is a glimpse of the love that the Messiah had for us when He died on that cross so we would be protected by His righteousness. We too should put on love and faith as Paul said and pray for others.

HELMET OF SALVATION, HELMET OF IMPARTIAL JUSTICE

36 You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. 39 You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread,
you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work. 40 For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty.
41 So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him.
You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. Exodus 28:36-41

Among the priestly garments was a white turban and a gold plate engraved with the words  kodesh l’YHVH (set-apart to YHVH) which substantiates that Israel was to be a royal priesthood and holy nation set apart for God’s purposes.

It wasn’t uncommon for an owner of property to put his name upon that property, or upon being engaged for a woman to wear a ring which signifies that she belongs with the one she loves.

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Revelation 9:4

Satan copies this concept in (Rev 13:16; 14:9; 19:20; 20;4) by having people take a mark upon their forehead or hands. Going back to what Paul said…

⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5:8

The Hebrew word for salvation is yeshuah (the same name as our Messiah). The root word for salvation is yasa which means to save, help in distress, rescue, deliver, set free. This word is used more in the physical sense like rescuing someone from his enemy, a trouble, illness.

For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. Deuteronomy 20:4

We trust that God is going before us, we trust in Messiah even though we didn’t see Him or touch Him like the apostles. We believe all He taught, all He did for us. Or to put this in Paul’s words…

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? Romans 8:24

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7

Because we do not want anything to take from our hope and faith, Paul gave us this bit of wisdom.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Loins Gird with Truth

Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. Lev 8:6-7

Isaiah tells us that a shoot will come out of Jesse, the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (Wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the Lord) then it goes on to say that:

Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Isaiah 11:5

The Hebrew word for righteousness is tsedeq which means:

Emunah is the Hebrew word for faithfulness which is defined as:

Our Messiah wore the right cause, justice, faithfulness, stability and truth around His waist. I underestimated the importance of the belt. In my thinking I was just seeing it as a piece of material that you might hang a sword from, it actually was worn to hold the whole ensemble together, and when a man was in war or had need to run, they pulled up their robe over the belt so they had the freedom to move. If you go back to Isaiah 59 the Lord says this:

¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. Isaiah 59:15

Our Father’s long term solution was to send our Messiah.

²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Ephesians 4:21

What is truth?  Truth is not subjective, it isn’t based on emotions but it is an irrefutable fact.

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Paul tells us to wrap that truth around us, so we will act, talk, and walk out that truth wherever we go.

Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.   Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Eph 5.8-11)

³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, Luke 12:35

Feet Shod

32 There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. 33 And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die. Exodus 28:32-35

The Priest would go in and minister before the Lord and seek the Lord for direction, and hopefully when he was coming out it was to bring good news, proclaim peace, and proclaim salvation.

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

¹⁵ Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed. Nahum 1:15

Shield of Faith

¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ” Genesis 15:1

Faith isn’t the shield, it’s faith that the Lord is your shield.

But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalms 3:3

⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalms 28:7

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. Psalms 33:20

When the Lord is protecting us, He goes before us like He did with Israel, He goes behind us and surrounds us on all sides. I always picture it like a bubble or dome of protection all around me. A Roman shield only protects from the front.

Sword of the Spirit

² He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. Isaiah 49:2

¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1:16

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Not a physical Roman sword of violence but a sharp two-edged sword proclaiming the Word of God!  The High priest was to pronounce God’s word to the people, to speak blessings over the people.

22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 “The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ 27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rom 12:14

Paul goes on to talk about Praying Always With All Prayer And Supplication, something that probably wasn’t common amongst Roman soldiers but it was among the Priesthood since it was their job to intercede for the people.

God’s armor describes attributes that we should pursue passionately, attributes that our Messiah displayed. It makes sense when we are told:

¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:13-14

Cloth yourself in His love, faith, hope, truth and always remember that God is our shield and He goes before us.