EPISODE 468 – THE ROMAN TESTUDO SHIELD FORMATION — PUT ON THE SHIELD OF FAITH 4

THE ROMAN TESTUDO SHIELD FORMATION —

PUT ON THE SHIELD OF FAITH 4

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)

The armor pieces the Lord (through Paul the apostle) admonished the believers to wear for battle are military gears for defensive and attacking strategies.

During ancient times, military gears contributed to battle strategies. New types of military gears were made to suit the strategy for a specific battle. There were times when new strategies or tactics were mapped during a battle, incorporating the number of soldiers, the landscape (the hills or mountains, the valleys, the water bodies, rocks and type of soil) the weather conditions, and even the military strength or strategies of the enemy.

They don’t go to war without military tactics or strategies. The military formations are carefully chosen by the military leaders.

The Lord inspired Paul the apostle, to write about the believers’ warfare and the armor pieces to use. These armor pieces also unveil the warfare tactics or strategies the Lord has given to his army.

The armor pieces of the Lord were not given to believers for fashion but for function.

Let me reemphasis this:

We are at war with darkness over the salvation of souls and the continuous exercising of our victory in Christ.

The day you stop thinking, seeing and living as a soldier of the Lord is the day you expose yourself to the attacks of the enemy.

Live vigilantly as a soldier of Christ. Take up the whole armor of God. This means don’t leave any armor behind.

We have seen the use of:
– The Belt of Truth
– The Breastplate of Righteousness
– The feet shod with the Preparation of the Gospel
– And the Shield of Faith.

There is more to the Shield of Faith.

The Shield of Faith is an armor piece which has a direct contribution to the battle strategy the Lord has given us.

Paul the apostle used the imagery of a Roman soldier and army to explain the set-up and the tactics of the Lord’s army.

During antiquity, the Greeks and Romans did not emphasize the strength of an individual soldier but won battles through strategic formations.

The Greeks had the phalanx shield formation, while the Romans also introduced the Testudo shield formation. Both shield formations were defensive tactics formation.

The Romans used the Testudo formation (which is like the shape of a shelled turtle) to defend and protect themselves against enemy arrows or archer fire.

In the Testudo formation, the Roman soldiers work and stand together as they create a defensive cover on all sides. The soldiers would come together in a tight group or compact rectangular shape. Those on the first line of the formation would hold their shields vertically in front of them. Those on the other sides of the formation would use their shield to also form a shield wall to cover the whole unit (on the left and right sides and even from behind depending on the anticipation of the attack).

Even those inside the lines held their shields horizontally above to cover the spaces between their lines and most importantly their heads and that of those around them.

No soldier leaves the shield wall or breaks the lines. This Testudo formation allowed the soldiers to defend each other and to work together to stand their ground against attacks of the enemy.

They then march forward towards the enemy to attack amidst fiery darts thrown at them.

For the Church, the Lord’s army to put on the shield of faith is crucial as we daily advance against the gates of Hades.

As we see the Roman Testudo shield formation, we must jointly take up the shield of faith.

We must function in the uniformity of love through the diversity of abilities we possess as individuals.

The unity of faith is not a slogan, but a functional strategy of the Lord for His Church.

Though every believer must learn to stand alone, we must not be isolated no matter the challenge which confronts us. You must be within the lines or the formation holding up your shield of faith depending on where you are positioned.

Your failure to hold on to your shield of faith will also affect the defensive strength or tactics of the Lord’s army.

The adversary takes delight when the brethren are not functioning in oneness of heart, mind and faith. This is because he can attack when we are individualistic.