“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. / As arrows are in the hand of mighty man; so are the children of the youth. / Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”
Psalm 127: 3-5
I had a thought the other day while I watched both of my children play together. I thought about how children are compared to arrows in scripture. He talks about full quivers and blessings. Trust me, children are little blessings. However, it got me thinking: why would they be compared to arrows?
In Psalm 127:4-5, Solomon writes, “As arrows are in the hand of mighty man; so are the children of the youth. / Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” Solomon compares children to arrows, so it made me do a little research.
Why The Arrow Comparison?
Arrows are typically made from wood to begin with. The wood must be cut and sanded down to the desired shape. Nonetheless, sometimes the wood isn’t as straight as it needs to be. When the wood isn’t straight, the arrows will not glide through the air as they should and miss the intended target. So there are times that the wood has to be heated and bent again.
There is a lot of work and care put into these arrows to make sure they are perfectly straight. There are three feathers that are put on one end of the bow. These three feathers help the arrows have more accuracy about them as they soar through the air. It helps stabilize them in a way. The number three is divine to me because three is the number of completion! One day, friend, our jobs as parents will be “complete” in the sense that our babies will leave the nest. Lastly, there is an arrowhead “mounted on the shaft” (http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Bow-and-Arrow.html). Without the arrowhead, the arrow would just be wood with feathers on the end. It would never stick to the intended target without that.
A Divine Comparison
This comparison is so divine from God. As you can see, there is a lot of work put into forming arrows. All this work is to ensure that the arrow can and will hit the desired target. My! What a blessing parenting is! We have the privilege of shaping our children into the young men and women the Lord desires them to be. It takes a lot of prayer on our parts. Like those arrows, some of our littles need a little fire put under them to help with the shaping process. We have to discipline them. We have to protect what their little eyes see and what their little ears hear. It is up to us to be the parents that they need us to be.
Safekeeping & Shaping Is Up To Me
I know that puts a lot of responsibility on us as parents. Trust me, there are days that I buckle under the load too. However, this I know for sure: one day, our arrows will be grown. It’ll be time for them to leave our quivers. The Lord will load them into His bow and shoot them where they need to go. That’s my prayer anyway, but there is a catch. My children are not going to hit the target if I don’t teach them to follow God.
Therefore, this shaping starts with me. My husband is the head of our house, and he has great influence. Nevertheless, as the mother, I have the most influence. I am home with my children all the time, and I control what they watch and what they hear. All those things enter their little hearts and help shape them. It is my job to guard those little hearts, and I do so unapologetically.
The Privilege of Raising Arrows
The Lord entrusted my children to me for safekeeping. There are days that I fail at this. I fail miserably! Even so, I pray the Lord sees that I tried. I’ve had to apologize more than I like. Yes, I apologize to my two-year-old often for my actions! However, I did it and continue to do it to try to lead by example because I want to raise strong, godly arrows. I believe if I do my part, then He’ll give the increase.
One day, my children will be out of my quiver. They’ll grow up before I know it and be in situations that I have no control over. They’ll be in places where I am not. God might put them in His bow and shoot them close to home, but He could also send them to a different state entirely! I don’t know what His will is for them. I wish I did, but I don’t. All I can do is fulfill my small part of taking them to church, disciplining them, shaping them, guiding them, and praying for them. No matter where He directs their paths, I know they’ll be in God’s hands. His are much stronger and way better than my own. My, friend! What a privilege it is to raise arrows!
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Yes, and it’s important to pray for your children’s mate from the time they are born as well!! We can do all you said, and our children still have Free Will to choose that mate and they can completely derail all that teaching and all you can do is pray they eventually come back to God before it’s too late for them and your Grandchildren!! 🙏
Yes, agree completely. I believe the Lord can retrieve those little arrows that miss the mark in His timing and when they’re ready to come home.