If an animal fell into a bag of seed, providing the seed was still in its shell, the seed could still be used. But if the shell of the seed was no longer there because water had softened it, that seed was to be thrown out, as the seed itself would have been polluted.

The seed is a picture of the Word (1 Peter 1:23). Therefore, if the seed is not encased by the armor of faith, rats of unbelief will gnaw at it, causing us to question if it truly is infallible, immutable, and applicable. In other words, the Word can lose its potency and power in people who read only to find fault. How much better to read the Word in faith and allow it to find and change the faults within us.