A Holy Broadhead

My wife Becca has an uncle whose name is Jim Winn. Jim lives in California and he is a flint knapper which means he practices the ancient art of making stone arrowheads, knives, and figurines. He is so good at what he does that he has worked for National Geo. and the Discovery channel when they have produced shows on neolithic man and the Aztecs. At family gatherings we often get to see Jim in action. He begins with a carefully selected large chunk of rock that he has found in the wild back country somewhere.

He then begins to pound on the rock with one of his stone tools, or a bone tool from elk or deer antler. He breaks that large stone down until the piece of stone he intends to work with is palm size if it is to be an arrowhead. This palm size stone is jagged with sharp edges and then Jim begins the meticulous work of chipping off the flint until it is a fine very sharp stone edge.

Before long that stone in the master flint knappers hand of the likes of Jim's turns from a rock into a deadly stone broad-head or a beautiful piece of art.

It is now past Easter but during Lent we often read from Isaiah 53, 3"He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." 5 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

The point I want to make is that Jesus was like a stone in his Father's hand. In scripture it talks about Jesus being the Rock, the stone the builders rejected, the capstone, and the keystone.

I want to throw out another image-Jesus was the Rock who in his Father's hand at the cross was crushed. This suffering servant in Isaiah is Jesus at the cross, "a man of sorrows" , and there was nothing in his physical appearance that would cause us to desire him. Who knows exactly what Jesus looked like but it doesn't really matter, what matters is what he became. The sinless one became sin for us and took upon himself a cruel death we deserved in order that we might be freed from the Devil's grasp.

Hebrews 2:10 "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering...Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

In the hands of his Father, Jesus who was the stone the builders rejected, was crushed at the cross. As Jesus hung upon the cross, his adversary the Devil looked on in joy not realizing that God the Father was crushing his son and at the same time breaking, chipping, and knapping him into a Holy Arrowhead. Unknown to Satan, Jesus was the Rock that his Father had carefully selected, prepared, and then used to create the perfect broad-head able to pierce the prince of darkness and bring down the great Dragon/Serpent- the Devil.

When we rest in God's hand we too can trust the master knapper's design for our life. That plan will always include the breaking of our stone hearts- which represent our lives. On this side of heaven,we will experience pain, loss, and struggle, but out of it God will shape our lives into holy weapons used to wage war on the forces of darkness, or create in us beauty that will turn the eyes of people back to the Father "The Master Knapper."

I Peter 2: ⁴"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."