Word of God greater than earthly treasure

I often hear Christians say that their weapon is the Bible. Is that really a good thing to say about God’s Word, that it is a weapon? Doesn’t the word weapon indicate something bad?

– T.S.

Dear T.S.: A weapon can be used against someone but it can also be used to defend oneself or someone else. Prayer [and God’s Word] are the most powerful weapons Christians have in their spiritual arsenal and these are to be used against the world’s greatest enemy [Satan].

In the case of the Old Testament story of Daniel’s three friends Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, they were commanded to bow before the statue made in the image of the egotistical Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. They refused and were cast into a fiery furnace.

These brave young men dared the rage of the infuriated tyrant. They remembered the Lord and His promises; they relied on the Word of God as greater than earthly treasure. They said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, … our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But it not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). Man’s weapon can bring harm, but the weapons of God can bring about the opportunity to witness of His truth and righteousness.

When the king looked into the furnace, he was astonished at what he saw and said, “I see four men… and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (Daniel 3:25). God is with His people in the fiery furnace of life and equips us with the most powerful weapon — the sword of the Lord — the Word of God.