Even At Your Weakest, You're a Spiritual Warrior
God uses infants and toddlers, He can use you even when you're weak | Random Thoughts | Spiritual Warfare | Jesus Christ | Christianity
Out of the Mouths of Infants and Children
Studying a Bible Verse Is Like Peeling Onions
Sometimes a Bible verse captures my attention, no matter how many times I’ve read it, and it sticks in my thoughts day after day. When I explore the verse more deeply, the Lord reveals new things to me. A missionary I once knew used to say it’s like God peels back the layers of an onion, exposing a new layer of understanding.
Last week, I published this post:
The Verse I Couldn’t Shake
After I had published last Sunday’s post, I kept coming back to verse 2 in Psalm chapter 8. The verse’s words echoed in my thoughts, especially the phrases I’ve put in bold font below that the psalmist wrote to the God of Israel.
Psalm 8:2 (BSB)
2 From the mouths of children and infants
You have ordained praise
on account of Your adversaries,
to silence the enemy and avenger. [Emphasis mine]
Whoa.
Little ones praising the Lord can silence His enemies?
The youngest and most vulnerable among us can wage spiritual warfare simply by praising and worshiping God with their cute, innocent little voices?
Yes!
What Ordained Means
Typically, the word ordained in the church world means that “holy orders” were bestowed on someone by the laying on of hands and prayer, setting that person apart for sacred work in the church. Depending on the church’s governance, the person is ordained to lead God’s people as a priest, a minister (pastor), an elder, or a deacon.
The psalmist is saying that God set apart for sacred work the praise that comes out of the mouths of little babies and toddlers. The sacred work of their praise silences His enemies, defeating them.
[The psalmist] “declares that even the words of the most helpless about God are used by God to defend His people.”
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ps 8:2.
If you do a little deeper reading yourself and look at various translations, you’ll find that “ordained” is sometimes translated as “established” and “praise” is translated as “strength” or “stronghold”. Here’s a screenshot of a lexicon on Bible Hub.
Key Point
God’s holy, set apart, work of praise through the mouths of the youngest and weakest among us lays down and establishes a spiritual foundation of strength and might, a stronghold that silences (shuts down) His enemies.
That’s powerful!
I Went Down the Rabbit Hole
I couldn’t help myself. I went down the “rabbit hole” and started my online research of Psalm 8:2. I found several resources that you can dig into this next week.
Look what first popped up.
Matthew 21:14-17 (BSB)
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
14 The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. 15 But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”16 “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked.
“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read:
‘From the mouths of children and infants
You have ordained praise’?”17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2!
Of course the chief priests and the scribes (especially the scribes!!) had read Psalm 8, and they knew of verse 2. They didn’t expect the verse to be fulfilled right in front of them. They didn’t realize the children’s praise was ordained, set apart, by Father God for the Son of God, the only One who could do the holy work of silencing His enemy, our enemy, through His sacrifical work on the cross.
Psalm 8 and Jesus
If you’d like to go way down deep into the “rabbit hole” of research on Psalm 8 and how it’s linked in the New Testament to Jesus, here’s some wonderful resources from BibleProject:
Visual Commentary: Psalm 8 - Study Notes (PDF file, 18 pages)
It’s a resource that accompanies this BibeProject’s video on YouTube.
(Select to watch the video.)
Video Transcript
Open this PDF file to read the full transcript of the video.
Jesus and Children
And then, there’s verses where Jesus talks about children, such as these verses that come after Jesus spoke about the importance of His cousin John the Baptizer, and He had also spoken His “woes” to the unrepentant cities:
Matthew 11:25-26 (BSB)
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
[Emphasis mine]
Similar to what we see in Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, here Jesus is saying that Father God can reveal deep spiritual truths to the little ones while the chief priests and scribes remain in their spiritual blindness, not able to acknowledge Yahweh’s truth. If they had been able, they would have shouted “Hosannah to the Son of David” as well.
Finally, there’s these two verses that speak volumes about Jesus’ view of, and love for, children.
Matthew 19:14 (BSB)
14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
[see also Mark 10:14 and see Luke 18:16]
The last verse is one that’s very familiar. It’s also a severe warning from Jesus.
Matthew 18:6 (BSB)
6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
[see also Mark 9:42 and see Luke 17:2]
Volunteer at Your Church
So, with good humor and a sincere heart I encourage you: The next time your church announces a need for teachers in Sunday School or in Vacation Bible School, pray about signing up to serve. If you do, you’ll be surrounded by some wonderful tiny spiritual warriors in tiny suits of spiritual armor. You can mentor them to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What About Us Older Folks?
For those of us who are teens or adults, what does all of this mean for us?
Everything.
Feeling Weak and Vulnerable? You’re Still a Warrior
Many biblical scholars find in Psalm 8:2 symbolism that applies to any human image bearer, redeemed by Jesus, who isn’t in a place of strength in their life. The scholars say we can take much comfort during our times of weakness and vulnerability, no matter what has caused these times, to live in confidence that God can—and does—use us to fight along side Him in spiritual warfare even when we’re very weak. If you have the strength to pray, if you have the strength to worship and praise Him, you are still His effective spiritual soldier.
If this describes your life situation, please take heart. God hears you. This week, take time to read this blog post from BibleProject:
Ruling the World through Weakness in Psalm 8: What Do Babbling Babies Have to Do with Strongholds?
Thanks for reading this long post from Night Owl Christian.
Maranatha, come (again) Lord Jesus.
Soli Deo Gloria!
If you’re a not-yet follower of Jesus Christ, please come along on this journey with us. You are welcome here.
And, I invite you to read my series on the book “What Does God Want?”.
Conversation & Community
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Thank You, Mark and Jenise. GOD bless you both!
GOD's children we are.
"Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." 1 John 3:1 BSB
Thank You, our "Abba Father," for Loving us and calling us Your children, because that is what we are. Yes, LORD, truly nothing can separate us from your Love. Neither the forces of evil on earth or in the heavenly realms can even change that. Yes, we are forever secure in the Loving arms of our Father in Heaven, who calls us His own.
"My God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my Salvation.
My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior,
You save me from violence.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
so shall I be saved from my enemies" 2 Samuel 22:3-4 BSB
GOD bless you all!
My God and Father - Maranatha! Singers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDIW-zcY7Y
Thank you Night Owl. In regards to Matt 19:14 when Jesus said "For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" did He possibly also mean that if children die before they reach adulthood, that as innocents, they go directly to heaven?
I thought of that because I recently heard an atheist ask that if a child who was too young to have a religious belief (or is born into another faith) dies, does that child go to hell as an unbeliever? Of course, the atheist was asking in sarcasm, but it made me think about the question.