THE CHILDREN OF THE BIBLE

 

O Lord, our Lord,     your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens;  it is sung by children and babies. 

(Psalm 8:1-2)

THE HEBREWS OF BIBLICAL TIMES REGARDED the presence of children in the family as a mark of Divine favor and greatly to be desired. Psalms 127:3 says "Children are a gift from the Lord;  they are a real blessing".   If a wife proved childless, other wife or wives would be added to the family.  If a man died childless his brother had to  marry his widow, the children of such union being considered the dead brother's.   The gift of a son from Yahweh was the height of joy; the loss of a child marked the depth of woe.  

When God informed Abraham He will bless him abundantly and he will become a great nation, Abraham asked Him petulantly  what good was this blessing, as long as  he remained childless! Rachel was angry as she had no children and blamed Jacob for this. She threatened him she would kill herself if he did not do something about it! Jacob rightly pointed out that the matter was not in his hands, but in God's.  It din't occur to Rachel to ask God for a baby. What a contrast to Hanna who also desperately wanted a child. But she prayed earnestly and God saw her faith, and her commitment to the object of her prayer and opened her womb! 

God refers to Israel as His first born in Exodus 4:22. There are a few references in the Old Testament based on this concept, (see Deuteronomy 14:1, 32:6; Jeremiah 3:4; Zechariah 12:10; Malachi 1:6 etc) but it is Jesus who brought new meaning to it and established it as an eternal truth.             

                                                            

A glance at the Gospels tells us what the Lord felt about children:

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  (Mathew 18:2-5) 

The apostles taught explicitly that God was our Father and we His children. A few examples are:

1. John 1:12 Some, however, did receive Him and believed in Him; so He gave them the right to become God's children.

2. Romans 8:14 Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children.

3. 1 John 3:1a See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children — and so, in fact, we are. 

There are many "star children" mentioned in the Bible. The first one that comes to the mind is Virgin Mary. Experts think she couldn't have been more than twelve when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. When she was told that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, she calmly accepted her role and played it to perfection.

David was a ruddy youth of about seventeen when he took on Goliath and later went on to become the king of Israel. As the second ruler of the united kingdom of  Israel and Judah he founded the Judaean dynasty and united all the tribes of Israel under a single monarch. For his strong faith in God he earned the title as 'the man after God's own heart'.

Joseph upset his parents with his dreams and was hated and ill treated by his brothers who sold him as a slave in distant Egypt. Given a long prison sentence for a crime he had not committed, he eventually  became the favorite of the Pharao and governer of Egypt. He ruled with wisdom and concern for the poor and needy and was great enough to forgive his brothers.

Samuel was dedicated to God as a toddler and grew up in the temple to become one of tallest figures to walk the pages of the Scriptures. As a prophet, judge, priest, administrator, and military strategist he was incomparable in Israel's history.   He inaugurated the monarchy by choosing and anointing Saul and David as kings of Israel. 

Moses is the most important Jewish prophet. He was born during a time when the Pharaoh of Egypt has ordered every male Hebrew to be drowned. He was rescued by the Pharao's daughter. He's credited with writing the Torah and with leading the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. Next to Jesus, he is the most mentioned person in the Bible. 

Naaman's maid, an Israelite slave girl, was instrumental in healing him of leprosy.  Miriam as a little girl approached the princess boldly in regard to her infant brother's care. Josiah who became king at the age of eight instituted major religious  reformations and outlawed idol worship in Judah. It was an unnamed boy who gave Jesus the loaves of bread and the fish and triggered the great miracle of feeding 5000. 

There are more examples in the Holy Bible and among Christian homes about how little children made it big.  Jesus said it all: “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Then He placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Matthew 19:13-15).

Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives. (Proverbs 22:6)

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