Jesus said that except one receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he cannot enter in... That has to do with the innocence of childhood, but it also has to do with the faith of a child. It's funny how, as we grow older, we become more experienced, and more disillusioned. Sometimes we start to think that this world is just an ugly place.
When Goliath challenged Israel, he said that he would face any one champion of the Israeli army, and, if the Israeli were able to defeat Goliath, then the Philistine army would surrender to Israel. Of course, if Israel's champion lost, then the Israeli army would be expected to surrender to the Philistines. In some ways, it was a good deal; Goliath's offer meant that only one person would die, and everyone else could go home. The problem, of course, was that Goliath was a giant. The Bible says that he was 6 cubits and a span tall. Unfortunately, those are somewhat inexact measurements, so we don't know how big that actually made Goliath. A cubit was the measure from a man's elbow to the tips of his outstretched fingers; a span was the width of the palm of his hand. Generally, a cubit is about 18 inches, and a span about 4, so 6 cubits and a span would be about 9 feet 4 inches. Nobody in Israel's army wanted to fight him, especially not with the fate of all of Israel hanging in the balance. To be honest, there is a certain wisdom in that. Goliath wasn't just huge, he had been trained in the art of war from the time he was young. The odds of any of Israel’s champions, by his own skill, beating Goliath was extremely small. So along comes this little kid, David, who says that he'll fight the giant. The Bible doesn't actually tell us how old David was, but it does tell us that he was the youngest of eight brothers, and that the three oldest brothers were in the army. That would suggest that he had three older brothers that were not yet old enough to enlist. In other words, he was pretty young. Why would King Saul send such a young person into battle, with the fate of the entire country resting on the outcome? possibly because he really had no choice. David was the only person Saul knew of that was confident that he could beat the giant--of course, even then, David didn't think he could kill Goliath with his own strength, but he believed that God could work through him. Of course, we know the story, David did kill Goliath, and the Philistines tried to renege on their agreement, and it ended up being war, anyway, but the Israeli army was considerably less defeatist, having just seen a little boy destroy the Philistines greatest champion. David had a calling on his life, and he had faith as a child, and he just stepped out and did what God wanted him to do. That energized everyone around him.
So, when Jesus tells us that we need to be ‘as children,’ we have David as our example.
When Goliath challenged Israel, he said that he would face any one champion of the Israeli army, and, if the Israeli were able to defeat Goliath, then the Philistine army would surrender to Israel. Of course, if Israel's champion lost, then the Israeli army would be expected to surrender to the Philistines. In some ways, it was a good deal; Goliath's offer meant that only one person would die, and everyone else could go home. The problem, of course, was that Goliath was a giant. The Bible says that he was 6 cubits and a span tall. Unfortunately, those are somewhat inexact measurements, so we don't know how big that actually made Goliath. A cubit was the measure from a man's elbow to the tips of his outstretched fingers; a span was the width of the palm of his hand. Generally, a cubit is about 18 inches, and a span about 4, so 6 cubits and a span would be about 9 feet 4 inches. Nobody in Israel's army wanted to fight him, especially not with the fate of all of Israel hanging in the balance. To be honest, there is a certain wisdom in that. Goliath wasn't just huge, he had been trained in the art of war from the time he was young. The odds of any of Israel’s champions, by his own skill, beating Goliath was extremely small. So along comes this little kid, David, who says that he'll fight the giant. The Bible doesn't actually tell us how old David was, but it does tell us that he was the youngest of eight brothers, and that the three oldest brothers were in the army. That would suggest that he had three older brothers that were not yet old enough to enlist. In other words, he was pretty young. Why would King Saul send such a young person into battle, with the fate of the entire country resting on the outcome? possibly because he really had no choice. David was the only person Saul knew of that was confident that he could beat the giant--of course, even then, David didn't think he could kill Goliath with his own strength, but he believed that God could work through him. Of course, we know the story, David did kill Goliath, and the Philistines tried to renege on their agreement, and it ended up being war, anyway, but the Israeli army was considerably less defeatist, having just seen a little boy destroy the Philistines greatest champion. David had a calling on his life, and he had faith as a child, and he just stepped out and did what God wanted him to do. That energized everyone around him.
So, when Jesus tells us that we need to be ‘as children,’ we have David as our example.
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