Children / Arrows

There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. [1 Chronicles 5.18]

The descendants of Jacob's sons Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh are the subject of this passage's description. While genealogies are the greatest portion of today's OYCB reading, I found myself intrigued with the the weapons of the tribes.

Of the three weapons listed, only one was a long-range weapon: the bow.

This caught my attention today for only one reason: because in yesterday's sermon in the church I attend, the key scripture reference was Psalm 127.1-5, but for my reference today I will focus on verses 4-5.

Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. [Psalm 127.4-5]

Children were not referred to as swords or shields, but as arrows. Children were not referred to as close-range weapons of combat, but as long-range weapons.

What does this mean?

I don't know, but it seems significant at this point in my life and so here I write!

I can imagine that close-range combat required brute strength and aggression more than anything else. However, the bow and arrow combination required something much different. That would explain why "archers" were a whole regiment of soldiers all by themselves in many biblical references.

Archers would naturally be required to be practiced and highly skilled. Precision comes to mind when thinking of archers. Consideration for factors such as wind and elevation are critical. Also, an understanding of the characteristics of each arrow would be essential to successful archery warfare. Each arrow, not being mass produced in that time, would have characteristics necessary to be understood in order to be effectively utilized and factored into the shot calculations (weight, length, and abnormalities).

I can only speculate here, but I would think that in most cases, archers made their won arrows partly because it would make sense, but also because men 'make' their own children that are compared to arrows in Psalm 127.

Interesting to note here is that Psalm 127 was written by Solomon, son of King David, perhaps one of the greatest warriors to ever live. Who would better understand the analogy of children being like arrows in the hand of a mighty man than the actual son of an actual mighty man?

It is of no surprise that we have Biblical record that Solomon attributed a vast amount of wisdom and instruction to have come from his father. The book of Proverbs in the Bible records most of this. How far-reaching is that (speaking of children being like arrows)! The impartation of such wisdom and instruction that Solomon received would have required nothing short of enormous amounts of time on the part of King David.

Bottom line: the analogy of children being like arrows in the hand of a mighty man was no mistake. There is deep meaning found in this analogy - meaning I am sure I have only scratched the surface of.

Father, You are so amazing and Your Word matches Your character! Thank You for designing Your Word to speak to our hearts at ever-increasing depths as we 'dive deeper.'