Mark 10:13-15
KIDS IN THE HOOD
One of the
suggestions submitted for this summer’s sermon series was to explore “children”
in the Bible. There aren’t many
mentioned by name. Mostly children are
in the background. But in my research,
which took longer than anticipated, by the way, I found there to be some kids
who certainly bear note. Some of whom
you know quite well and some who may be new to you.
I thought I would
start off by giving you all a little quiz.
Just to see how more informed you are on this subject than I was. So take a moment and pull out the quiz in
your bulletin and let’s go through it together.
(go through the quiz)
Anybody know the
answers to all the questions? I guess
we still have a lot to learn!
Let me start out
by saying that living in Biblical times was not easy for children. You thought women had no rights back then
(they didn’t) – with children it was even worse. Children were valued to be sure – without
children there was no one to take care of you in old age, there was no one to
help around the house and often no one to help in the fields or in the
carpentry shop etc.
But the lives of
children were often perilous. Just read 2 Kings, chapter 17 or Ezekiel, chapter
16 where we find that children were actually sacrificed and burned to death in
order to appease the Gods or to insure a good harvest. Children could also be
sold to satisfy a debt their parents could not pay or sold so the family (what
was left of them) would be able to put food on the table.
And amazingly we
read in Exodus that children were allowed to be sold as slaves – and this was
under the auspices of the God of Israel.
No, it wasn’t easy
being a kid back then. Even if you
weren’t killed or sold – still there were no televisions, video games,
computers, or movie theaters. Most kids
wouldn’t have had much time to indulge in those things anyway – they had work
to do, almost from the time they could hold a broom or a hammer.
After the age of
five the boys usually worked with their fathers as an apprentice learning a
vocation. At the age of six, many male
children also attended a synagogue school for several hours a day. They were trained in the Torah – the first
five books of the Old Testament. The
boys were required to memorize long sections of the Torah which they still do
to this day.
Girls did not
receive any formal schooling. They were
educated in domestic skills by their mothers. Boys and girls, though,
had to memorize one very important scripture that was intended to guide them
for the rest of their lives. It was
found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and it goes like this:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. 7
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when
you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your
hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates.
And they did. They learned (among other things) about the
children, children like them, who went before them and grew into great leaders.
Children like Isaac. Isaac as a boy is
mentioned in Genesis 22. Does anyone
know what well-known incident Isaac was involved in when he was just a young
boy?
Isaac was the “miracle child” of
Abraham and Sarah. Can you imagine
getting pregnant at 50 years of age? How
about 90? That’s how old Sarah was. Anyway, you know the story – God tells
Abraham to go up to the mountain and sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham didn’t argue which blows my mind, by
the way, but goes up the mountain with his son.
I guess Abraham trusted God. And
Isaac trusted his father. When Abraham instructs Isaac to climb up on the altar
that is surrounded by wood and realizes he is to be the sacrifice – he doesn’t
argue either. Luckily an angel of the
Lord stops Abraham before he sacrifices his son and a ram is found in a nearby
thicket which was then substituted for Isaac. Whew!
So what do we learn from this
child? The first thing that comes to me
is trust. Abraham trusted God and Isaac
trusted his father Abraham. And it was a
trust that was based, I’m sure, in a deep love. Do we love God enough to trust him
implicitly?
Then there is the
story of Jephthah. Not many know this
story, but it is found in the 11th chapter of Judges. To make a long story short – Jephthah was a
mighty warrior who was chosen to lead the Israelites against their mortal
enemies the Ammonites. Jephthah made a
vow to the Lord that went something like this: “If you give the Ammonites into
my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return
in triumph will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
Well, you know
what is going to happen right? Remember
the quiz? The Israelites are victorious
and on returning home – out runs Jephthah’s daughter – his only child! I mean, what was he thinking? Even if he was dumb enough to make that kind
of a vow – at least send someone ahead to warn your family to stay inside!
Jephthah is
devastated. He explains to his daughter
the vow he made – and because of her great faith – she tells him to keep his
word. The text isn’t clear if he actually had her killed or just turned her
over to the service of God. Whatever the
outcome, his daughter was ready and willing.
Are we as willing? Do we have the
faith necessary to do the hard things that God may ask of us?
As a result of her
faithfulness, she is revered by Hebrew women everywhere.
Then there was
Samuel. Dear Samuel! His mother was the second wife of Elkanah and had not
given him any children. This bothered
her (not him) a lot. She made a deal
with God that if she could have a son she would dedicate him to God’s
service. God was good and gave her a son
and she was faithful and when he was old enough presented him to Eli, the local
priest, so he could be raised in the temple and be Eli’s helper.
Well, one night
when Samuel was about 12 years old, he lay down to sleep. Soon he heard a voice calling him, “Samuel!
Samuel!” Samuel quickly ran to Eli to see what he wanted.
But Eli replied,
“I did not call you. Go back to sleep.”
This happened two more times. On
the third time Eli figured out that it was God that was calling Samuel and so
he told Samuel to listen and if God calls again, to reply, “Speak, Lord, for
your servant is listening.”
And that’s what
Samuel did. The Lord came to Samuel and
Samuel listened. God had bad news for
Samuel to tell Eli – that his sons were evil and since Eli had done nothing to
restrain their evilness, both his sons would die – on the same day … and there
would be no one left to carry on Eli’s name.
Not good news at all!
The upshot was
that Samuel listened to God … and God blessed him. Samuel grew into one of Israel’s
greatest prophets. And it all started
because he listened.
What is God saying
to you that you need to hear? Are you
listening?
David didn’t start
out as the greatest king of Israel. He started out as a shepherd boy – the
youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. The
now Prophet Samuel called all of Jesse’s sons to him to see who the Lord
wanted to be Israel’s
future king. David was not there but was
off tending sheep. All of the rest of
Jesse’s sons stood before Samuel – but none were who the Lord desired. So they called for David … who was!
Not much time
later David volunteered for one of his most famous encounters: his battle with
Goliath, the Philistine, who was a giant of a man. Goliath had issued a
challenge that instead of the Philistine and Israelite armies fighting, that he
would fight one man from the Israelite army – winner take all. No Israelite warrior was willing to face
Goliath … that is except David – who faced him with only five rocks and a
sling. That was evidently enough because
with one rock he felled the giant and the battle was won.
David went on to
be a one of the greatest kings Israel
ever had. And it all started with his
courage. His courage to face the giants
in his path because he knew that God was with him.
When we are faced
with giant problems, giant obstacles, giant headaches – do we have the courage
to trust God and go out and slay our demons?
What would you do
if you were king? Universal health care?
Outlaw war? Demand a college football playoff system? What if you were only EIGHT YEARS OLD when
you became king?
That was the case
for Josiah. His grandfather and father
were kings before him – but each did evil in the sight of the Lord. Bad guys – not Godly at all.
Now being king had
its perks. There was really no one to call you into account. Josiah could do just about anything he
pleased – I mean he was king, right? We
would have expected him to have followed in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather. But he didn’t. The
scriptures tell us that “his heart was tender, and he humbled himself before
God.”
He also had a
friend who led him in the ways of God.
His friend was the high priest Hilkiah.
Josiah grew into a great king who turned Israel
from its wicked ways and restored the temple of the Lord. He became known as the Great Reformer. All because he had a friend (Hilkiah) who led
him down the right path.
So, do you have a
friend to help you stay on the straight and narrow? We all need them. In AA they are called “sponsors.” In church it might be the person sitting on
your right or on your left. But know
this, we can never make it alone. One of
the reasons we gather together for church is to support one another. Need a friend? Be a friend!
We turn now to the
New Testament. This morning we will talk
just a bit about the most famous kid in the New Testament. He is mentioned in all four Gospels, but
never by name. Any ideas? Of course it is the boy who gave up his five loaves
and two fish to help feed the 5000. We don’t know exactly why he was so
generous. Maybe he felt the spirit. Maybe he was moved by Jesus’ words. Maybe he didn’t like bread and fish and
thought he could trade for something better.
Whatever the reason, this boy sacrificed what he had so that others
might benefit. He gave away ALL he had.
Are we willing to
do the same? I don’t mean giving away
ALL you have – but just a little. We
have our own loaves and fishes ministry going on right here at our church. The food pantry that we stock with food that
you bring on Sundays goes to people who many times would not eat if it were not
for your generosity. Especially in these
dark times.
So what are you
willing to give away for Jesus?
Is it any wonder
why Jesus said we needed to be like little children to enter the kingdom of
heaven? If we could have the trust of
Isaac, the faith of Jephthah’s daughter, the ability to really listen to God
like Samuel, the courage of David, a friend like that of Josiah, and the
selflessness of the boy with the loaves and fishes… If we had that, we would be
well on our way.
They say that the
children will lead us. I am not
surprised!
AMEN!
