I saw a vision when I woke up in the morning the other day. In that vision, I saw God holding a hammer and breaking into pieces whatever that is not of Him...
I asked the Lord what this means, and He spoke: "I am in the midst of breaking whatever that is not of Me, so that My people will have whatever that is of Me. I am hammering whatever that is driven by pride, greed and lust, and replace it with faith, hope and love. I am doing this in each individual, in My body the church, and in the world with its every form of man-made systems."
He spoke further: "Look to Me, humble yourselves, and I will know how to prosper you even in a time of famine, especially economic famine. Even in such a time, I will exalt you and I will cover you with My hand."
This is the message of the Lord for His people right now.
In the midst of this 'hammering', your response is in humbling yourselves and walking in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 22:4 (NKJV) says, 'By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.'
Indeed, true riches, honor and life comes from God and is given by God. And when God's people learn to humble themselves in times like these, the Lord will know how to exalt them, because He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5-6). When He gives us the grace, it means He gives us the ability and supply that comes from heaven in doing what He has called us to do (that by ourselves, we will not be able to). It is equally important to have the fear of the Lord (deep reverence for the Lord), being and doing what God says, in obedience to Him. Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, i.e. knowing what to do and how to go about (see Proverbs 9:10).
Let's relate this to the vision of the 'hammer'. Hammer doesn't mean it is a bad thing. It may be bad for the wicked or ungodly people, but it is a good thing for the righteous and godly people, and for those who put their trust in the Lord. This hammer breaks what is not of God, so that God's people can be set free from all forms of suppression and oppression by the enemy.
Psalm 75:10 (NKJV) says, 'All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.' Psalm 75:10 (Expanded Bible) puts it this way, 'He will take all power away from [cut off all the horns of] the wicked, but the power of good [righteous] people will grow [be exalted].'
The Lord is in the midst of 'hammering' all those works of the evil one, all those hindrances, all those blockages and all those bondages in your life. Let Him do His work to set you free and release you for the greater things to come.
In Jeremiah 23:29 (NKJV), the Lord says, "Is not My word like a fire? And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"
'Hammer' here is a 'picture' of God's Word that smashes and demolishes whatever that is not of God or whatever that is of the evil one. And as you know, God's Word cleanses, sanctifies and purifies (see Ephesians 5:26-27).
Let's go now to the book of Judges as our cross-reference for this word 'hammer'. In Judges 4:21 (Expanded Bible), the Scripture says, 'But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and a hammer and quietly [secretly] went to Sisera. Since he [Sisera] was very tired, he was in a deep sleep. She hammered the tent peg through the side of Sisera’s head and into the ground. And so Sisera died.'
Speaking of women heroes, this is one example in the Bible!
The word 'hammer' here is 'maqqebeth' in Hebrew; coming from the word 'naqab' meaning 'to strike through, to puncture, to pierce'; and interestingly, it's from the word 'neqe' meaning 'to cleanse, to clean, to purify, to make clean'.
Therefore, 'hammer' here speaks of God's Word that not just smashes and shatters the power of the enemy, but purifies and cleanses His people! Do you see it now? It is bad for the wicked, but good for the righteous!
Now, the background of Judges chapter 4 is at that time the people of the Lord (the Israelites) were cruelly oppressed by the enemy, namely Jabin a king of Canaan and Sisera the commander of Jabin's army. But the Lord raised up a prophetess named Deborah in Israel. Deborah then sent a message from the Lord to Barak commanding him to position himself for a battle against Sisera's army, because the Lord was about to hand the enemy into his hands. Sisera's army was defeated, but Sisera managed to escape to a tent where Jael was. And with a hammer and a tent peg, Jael shattered Sisera's head and presented Sisera dead. On that day, the Lord defeated and subdued the power of the enemy, and Israel grew stronger and stronger, and the land had rest for forty years (see Judges 5:31).
You must know this passage is in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the 'shadow', and the New Testament is the 'substance'. We are now in the New Testament time; and in the New Testament, we are not fighting flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). So, we interpret the above 'hammering' as a 'picture' of God's Word that shatters the power of the enemy and sets God's people free from oppression of the enemy.
People of God, be encouraged therefore in times like these. No matter what happens in the world around you, and no matter what 'shaking' or 'hammering' that comes into this world, know that you are the redeemed of the Lord and the righteousness of God through Christ! Your part is to continue to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, draw near to God, and keep walking closely with God - and He will know for sure how to lead you, guide you, and even prosper you. Amen.
