Cookies, Soldiers and Boys

Last night we studied Jehovah Sabaoth in my Wednesday night class. The Lord of Hosts. Perfect topic for two eleven-year-old boys who were already talking about war, and guns, and fighting the moment they walked through the classroom door. As we discussed how God is the Lord of Hosts, the different ways He can be so, and how He fought different wars in Scripture...well, I'm not sure either Frankie or Matt could tell me who Ruth married and why that is important but they could give me the battle plan of half the battles in Scripture:

• Gideon's small and carefully chosen army with lamps, pots and trumpets...and the enemy army that turned on each other.
• Jericho's walls coming down with walking and a shout.
• A whole battle won by singing hymns to God.
• The Egyptian army defeated by the Red Sea, after Israel walked through on dry land.
• The sun standing still for Joshua.

If you want to know how God defeated His enemies in battle, ask little boys. They're better than theologians.

For the craft that evening, I had baked gingerbread men and brought tubes of frosting to decorate them into soldiers. My little soldier had his sword, and helmet, and belt, and shoes. It never crossed my mind to add bullet wounds, stitches, eye patches, crushed legs or arrows sticking out of the shoulder. But, of course, that was all Frankie and Matt could think of. For the more battle wounds one has, the better a soldier. And when I thought about it later that night, perhaps they are more accurate. After all, as soldiers of our Jehovah Sabaoth, battling the evil of this world, we are wounded, and sore pressed, and in need of stitches and bandages. And yet, God still uses us. We march on...for we know the victory will be ours.

Matt and his soldiers - including one with an arrow in his shoulder and one with a cannon ball wound.

Frankie and his soldiers - including eye patches, stitches...and, generally, the more wounds the better!

Part of the army.