God’s Hidden Weapon – January 19, 2023

Before I was born the LORD called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. 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 49:1,2

God’s Hidden Weapon

Some of the most effective weapons are hidden ones. Your enemies don’t know the danger, and you catch them with their guard down. No one expects a hidden weapon. So here is the question: What is God doing with one?

In today’s Bible passage, Jesus says that before he was born, he was called by the Lord for a specific job: to be God’s hidden weapon. He mysteriously compares himself to a sword hidden out of sight and an arrow concealed from view. What does that mean?

To understand his point, think about who Jesus is and what he possesses. Jesus Christ is true God, hidden in human flesh. “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). For millennia before he was born, God kept him ready—hidden in his hand, concealed in his quiver—waiting for just the right moment to shoot him into the world.

Before his birth, an angel spoke his name: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). His name revealed his targets. He was aimed at sin, death, and hell. And “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4).

Like a sharpened sword, the Savior had speech that sliced and severed. Like a polished arrow, he did not fly off course. He hit the exact targets that God wanted him too. He hid himself in the form of a servant who was willing to sacrifice his life to pay for your sins. He was revealed as God’s hidden weapon at his cross and empty tomb, where he decisively defeated his enemies. And he is still a weapon so powerful that he can cut and pierce an unbelieving heart with God’s saving Word!

Prayer:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus, for defeating my enemies and saving me. Amen.