When David decided to fight Goliath of Gath, he approached Saul who promptly agreed to let him fight since no one else would, and also lent him his armour. There is so much to learn about this piece of armour, with 2 interesting views on it.
One view states that Israel was not as militarily advanced as their Philistine counterparts and so the limited pieces of armour would go to protect the most important people – Saul. Think about it – if the entire army was well-armoured, Saul could have simply asked a soldier who had the same stature as David to lend him his armour.
Another view would be that Saul had an agenda by letting David wear his prominent armour. This way, should Goliath win, the Philistines might assume that Saul was KIA, and if by some chance, if David won, word might spread around that Saul was brilliant in letting David use his armour. Given Saul’s insecure character, the second view is plausible.
Whatever the view may be, Saul’s armour represents three things.
First, it represents a good intention that may run contrary to God’s intent. And that is a dangerous compromise to be found in.
Second, it represents a locked-in perspective. By donning the armour, David will be expected to fight in a close range combat. That would mean certain death given the giant’s build.
Thirdly, it represents a burden that he was not meant to carry. It takes a certain freedom of movement in the limbs to execute an accurate slingshot throw. The helmet and the body armour would have hindered him.
You know the story – he took it off and the rest is history.
What armour has been ‘suggested’ to you to carry into your battlefield? Take this time to reflect on this, pray and discern on what you should be doing with it. Should it be repurposed? Refined? Or taken off completely?