Make Bright the Arrows

I used to be fascinated to watch my dad practice shooting his bow and arrow in the backyard. He was a skilled hunter and it looked so easy…. until he let me try it. It took so much strength to draw the bowstring back, control the arrow and hit the target.  My arm shook as I pulled the tight bowstring back and when I let go of the arrow, the string popped me in the face and the arrow landed only a few feet away from me. I wasn’t hurt except for a sore arm and wounded pride. Archery is a skill that must be honed in order to be successful. It was a necessary skill for warriors in the Bible days. In Jeremiah 51 Babylon had fallen and the Israelites were told to get ready for battle. I found some life lessons in these verses about bows and arrows.

The Arrow

The Shaft- Made from common wayside brush. The Fletcher straightens it and polishes it and makes it useful.  Believe it or not an arrow bends as it leaves the bow. The shaft is flexible and meant to take the force of shooting without breaking. Some are designed to take even more force, but will have a farther reach. We are common people with twisted lives. He makes us righteous and straight by His power. We are able to do more than we can possibly imagine through God’s strength.

Feathers guide the arrow, give balance and stability. We have “feathers” in our life to keep us on the right course. The Holy Spirit, Bible, Godly friends, teachers, parents, and our pastor are the feathers in our life.

The Nock fits the arrow to the bowstring so the power can be applied to the arrow and released. God’s power is applied only when we are under His authority and in His will.

The Arrowhead the business part of the arrow. Set goals and aim for them. Sharpen your talents and skills so you can make a difference in this world. What you learn, develop and study today will be used in the future.  “The battle is won the day before because that is the day the archer makes bright his arrows”.

Make Bright the Arrows (Vs. 11)

¹¹ Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.

The order given to the soldiers meant they were to prepare their weapons. Making bright means to shine and sharpen their arrow.  In a certain sense, every believer is an arrow in God’s hands. God has a mission for each one of us to accomplish and a mark for each one of us to hit. The whole purpose of an arrow is to hit a planned target. The purpose of our life is to hit the mark that God has ordained for us.

Draw Back Your Bow (Vs. 12)

¹² Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

Set up the Standard– This is to protect you. What standards are set up in your life? The life of your family? The life of your children? Do you have a standard for clothing, television shows, movies, social media, music, friends, and speech? If there are no standards set in your life, you will regret the decisions made in the heat of the battle. There must be a preparation time.

Make the Watch Strong-How can we strengthen ourselves for battle. Are you tired, run down, negative, not reading your Bible, praying? Strengthen yourself spiritually and physically by praying, eating healthy, exercising, being positive and reaching out to others.

Prepare the Ambushes- Have a plan of attack for when evil comes your way. Fellowship with believers who are strong in their faith, mentor someone who needs help, use daily check lists to keep yourself on task. Too much free time allows for unwanted things to creep in such as depression, and selfishness.

The phrase “Make Bright the Arrows” encourages us to allow God to sharpen us but it also reminds us to mentor others. We should have a quiver full of people we have help “sharpen” or influence in our life time.

Get ready warrior to draw back your bow and aim for the target God has for you!