Seeds For Thinking

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Scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. (Psalm 118:22, NKJV)

A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest is often referred to as an underdog, at least in our English vernacular. The saying apparently originated in the late 19th century with reference to the beaten dog in a dogfight.
Still, there is a certain satisfaction in witnessing the overlord getting their comeuppance, or suffering a downfall.
The long shot, dark horse, weaker one, little guy coming out on top. Especially if we identify with the downtrodden, the victim, the loser, the fall guy, the person who has little status in society, we want to see the underdog win.
Yesterday's underdog is today's champion!
Think David against Goliath; The host of Midianites and Amalekites, numerous as locusts, routed by Gideon and three-hundred men; Joshua destroying the city of Jericho with the blast of trumpets - and the walls came tumbling down!
The underdog often has abilities that are not recognized by the multitudes, while the top dog, the champion, is a proven winner. Goliath was such a champion for the Philistines, outclassing other men in stature, strength and weaponry. A boy, a shepherd lad, found a vital spot in Goliath’s armor. Arrayed in armor, going toe to toe with sword and shield, the outcome may have been different, but David had faced down lions armed with only his sling and stones. His skills and equipment were sufficient to the task.
Skilled leadership is often a critical factor in a winning effort. The coach, the trainer, the ‘spotter’ following the action makes the difference in many sporting events. These Biblical examples could be said to have had such leadership, Out Of This World leadership, in fact.
The Lord may or may not be aligned with the typical underdog, but David, Gideon, and Joshua were following the strategies from on High. The fact that each was more than overwhelmed by the opposition gave credence to the power of God.
The Bible doesn’t use our phrase “underdog.” Little good was ever said about dogs in their society. But a cornerstone has important and positive connotations in ancient and modern times. A cornerstone forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls; a stone ceremonially laid usually at the corner of a foundation to mark the occasion of a building being erected; an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based. It may be called the keystone, mainspring, mainstay, linchpin, bedrock, base, backbone, key, centerpiece, core, heart, center, crux.
Essential; important. Hardly an underdog. But the stone that the builders rejected, now that resembles the underdog. The looser, having little status in the pile of building stones.
Jesus, the Christ, has been compared to such a stone, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. The stone which the builders rejected. He is the “chief cornerstone; elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” ( 1 Peter 2:6b, NKJV)
Christ is a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God, and precious. Peter writes, “Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient . . . “They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they were also appointed.”
(vs. 7a; 8b)
To become a champion, the Top Dog, the competitor must lay aside all bad habits and actions, and concentrate on that which brings perfection. Note that practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent! So be certain that what you practice is perfect. As Peter wrote, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” (1 Peter 1-2)

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Scripture: But the men who had gone up with (Caleb) said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (Numbers 13:31, NKJV)

“Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!” Many of you will recall these words chanted by the characters in the movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” as they step off into the unknown. “Lions, and tigers, and bears!” There are times when life is scary enough even without the spooky sounding soundtrack, as used to highlight the mood in the movie.
Fear - or “phobia,” to use the Greek word, can indeed paralyze, bring life to a (grinding) halt, freeze, cripple, or disable. Phobias are very real, and not easily overcome. ‘Claustrophobia’, the fear of confined places; or, ‘Agoraphobia’, fear of the marketplace or assemblage of people, confining people to the safety of their homes. Fears of the unknown, as in the movie.“What ifs,” things that we have heard about so they, maybe, they might, exist.- Like lions, and tigers and bears - and things that go bump in the night.
James Whitcomb Riley's poem, “Little Orphant Annie,“ (written in Hoosier dialect) built upon these fears to ‘persuade’ children to mind their manners, their parents and teachers:

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'bugs in dew is all squenched away, -
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' cherish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p [help] the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Compare this to the passage in the epistle written by James: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27, NKJV)
Sometimes the unknown can be alluring, enticing us to confront, to venture into, uncharted territory, even as the explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries pushed beyond the boundaries of the known maps with their warnings of “Here be Dragons,” or even Giants.
The men (spies) who had gone with Caleb and Joshua had seen with their eyes the inhabitants of the land. In their judgment, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” They were not counting on God’s help, as were Caleb and Joshua, who were over-ruled at this point in time.
Eventually, with strength and courage built upon the Word of God, they prevailed against those “unbeatable” inhabitants, whose “hearts melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.” (Joshua 5:1b)
In the words of Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear . . . “ (vss 1, 2a)
Yes, prayer can help. There's a traditional Scottish prayer: "From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us."
As you venture forth in your life, facing the unknown, whether ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, or things that go bump in the night, make God your refuge and strength, and ever-present help.
January 3, 2010
Seeds For Thinking, © Leland Hubbell, 1996-2010

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Joshua said, “Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you.” Joshua 4:5b-6, NIV

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) notes in his poem Paul Revere’s Ride that:
“Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year”

in 1875, when Paul Revere made his ride to spread the news of the British troop movements. While we still commemorate the Declaration of Independence, and the Revolutionary War, we do not relate to the poem the same way the American populace did in the 1800’s, when it was written. http://eserver.org/poetry/paul-revere.html
The poem was still a staple of literature and history during my school days, back a half-century ago, just at the close of World War Two. I committed it to memory at that time, so the line came to mind as I sought an example of how remembrance is diluted as each generation is distanced from the event.
My parents were in elementary school during WWI, and saw older uncles and cousins march off to war. The original “Armistice Day therefore had special meaning for them. They were married in the depths of the Depression, so people born during my generation are called “Depression Babies.”
I was in elementary school during WWII, and will always carry indelible memories of ration stamps, scrap drives, and total war impacting the home front, including bomb drills in the schools.
The “Boomer” generation -1946-1964 - questioned why they had to study “that old stuff” meaning not Paul Revere’s ride, but the depression and WWII. Just think how filled with joy today’s students are when the teacher breaks out the studies of the 20th Century, including the Cold War and Vietnam that the Boomers lived through!
How can you teach, how can you pass on the reminiscences of something another generation has never experienced?
Memorials, statues, music and poetry are often deployed to keep some reminder before the populace. Theater, including video and film, probably come the closest to eliciting the emotions of the original event.
The wandering tribes of Israel had spent forty years preparing for the day they would enter the Promised Land. Now, only the flooded Jordan River stood between them and the land they were to occupy.
As the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the surging Jordan, the waters piled up in a heap a great distance away, and the people crossed over on dry ground. (Joshua Chapter 3)
Twelve men each picked up a stone from the middle of the now dry Jordan River, to build a memorial. Joshua 4:1-9 relates how children were to be told the significance of the stones; that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the covenant of the LORD.
October 26, 2003