I have been having a lot of fun with a sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent. These are songs that were sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Since they would walk together (there were no cars or buses), this would be group singing. Sort of the sound you would hear from ardent fans as they entered into and watched FIFA soccer/football games in Brazilian stadiums over this past while!
Sunday’s psalm is the 127th (in our English Bibles). This talks about building houses and guarding cities and being workaholics. As a matter of fact, God has this thing about work – he would rather see us rest! All of these are useless if God is not in it.
The end of the Psalm is what intrigues me. Most of us remember the King James Version thoughts on children – get a quiver full. While most meditations on this passage focus on child bearing and raising, I would suggest the point is in the last verse. As I translate the Hebrew words, this would not be an unusual paraphrase: “When those who are hostile to you get together with the town’s people, let your children defend you.”
What a thought. Not only is God our defender and provider in housing, the protection of a country and city, and even in our daily life – now our children are our protectors. What an interesting position to be put in!
Defending yourself is probably not going to work well!
This being the case – make sure that you are right with both God and your children!!!