Family Jewels

Battle lines are drawn. The armies are gathered. It is time to go to war. Time to reach for the shield, sword, armor, crown, and the bracelet. Wait…doesn’t that seem like an odd list for a soldier? The shield we understand. The sword without a doubt is an essential piece of equipment. The armor, a soldier’s life depends on it. But a crown and a bracelet? Why would anyone go to a war zone bedazzeled? It may seem odd, but it is not unlike the stripes that today’s high-ranking officers display on their uniforms. The king would wear the crown as he entered battle to signify his authority. The king and his sons would wear a bracelet or armlet (around the upper arm) to denote their position and rank as royalty.

Flaunting the family jewels, King Saul faced off against his archrivals, the Philistines. He had been fighting them for years and had been victorious in the past. However, this time he found himself defeated and mortally wounded. Rather than facing torture and public humiliation at the hands of his enemies, Saul fell on his own sword. Meanwhile, David, fresh off a victory over the Amalekites, was brought word that Saul and Jonathan were dead. When David asked the messenger for proof of his story, the young man produced the king’s crown and bracelet as verification. The conversation with this young man also revealed that this young man was a descendant of the Amalekites. Ironic. A descendant of the very people Saul failed to destroy as God commanded now showed up with Saul’s family jewels.

We can quote all the verses about our armor and our sword, but what about the family jewels? According to Luke 10:19 and John 1:12, we have been crowned with authority and blessed with the position of sonship and royalty. We must learn from Saul’s mistake. The enemy we allow to stay alive will produce a descendant that will destroy us! What relationship, habit, tendency, or situation is still producing offspring in your life? Wonder why you struggle to control your tongue, your thoughts, your desires? It could be because it is absolute purity that produces absolute power. The offspring robs you of the authority to do battle. Confidence shaken? Self-esteem through the floor? Where is the security you once felt? Position stolen by that thing that was supposed to be dead and buried?

Find the thief and take the jewels back. They are yours. They are family property. Claim them, wear them, protect them, and walk in them. You will look like a king.