05-22-2019, 10:37 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-22-2019, 11:01 PM by Charles Wilson.
Edit Reason: Emphasis and Clarity
)
There may be a "fit" here with a Section of Second Chronicles:
2 Chronicles 7: 12 - 14 (RSV):
[12] Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.
[13] When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
[14] if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
1. There certainly was a Great Famine in Judea, so great that Herod hocked everything of value in the Palace to buy grain from the Procurator Petronius in Egypt. Compare this with Leviticus 26. Verse 13 here would be "active".
2. Accept that "Turn/Change" IS the meaning in Matthew 18: 3. The meaning of "Humble" is well understood.
3. The Passage in Matthew 18 then becomes an embodiment of this Passage in 2 Chronicles. There is a war between the Hellenized and Corrupted Jerusalem High Priesthood and the Mishmarot Priesthood that serves in the Temple.
4. To review:
Matthew 18: 1 - 4 (RSV):
[1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
[2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,
[3] and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
As an aside, the answer to the question in verse 1 is, "Anyone who is alive and has made it into the Realm of Heaven from the Slaughter outside is the greatest in the Realm of Heaven", recalling Ecclesiastes, "Even a live dog is better than a dead lion...".
"[2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them": The use of the child here is not merely as a "Prop". It is significant to the exposition of the Passage. Verses 2 and 4 bracket the Sayings. If this is simply about "Be Converted" there is no reason for the child. The actions of the child are Primary and it is the source of my puzzlement.
Again, let us assume that "Turn/Change" is accurate. If this is an embodiment of the 2 Chronicles Passage then we should infer that the child is self-conscious and gives the affect that reflects this.
"[4] Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven": This "humbleness" is affirmed in the statement given. The child appears humble. He has been brought in front of adults and he should be seen in appearance as somewhat puzzled and self-conscious as to why he is being singled out.
The child lives, or at least, the child he represents. The child he represented sought the Realm of Heaven, even when famine rages, the very High Priesthood is Corrupt and fellow worshipers are being hacked to bits all around him. He saves a Priest and they are able to enter the Realm of Heaven through the "Narrow Door".
The comparison to 2 Chronicles may be a stretch. I still remain certain that the child is a model for those who achieve entrance through the "Narrow Door". The passageway is so small that you must "scrunch down" to the smallest shape you can in order to squeeze through to obtain passage to the Realm of Heaven. You may even have had to crawl upside-down for a short distance at some point.
I can, however, achieve a little peace here with this reading. To me, it'll probably always be "TURN", as in, "physically turn your body to get through the small passageway". If it is "Turn/Change", I believe I can live with that as well. Thank you, 2 Chronicles.
CW
2 Chronicles 7: 12 - 14 (RSV):
[12] Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.
[13] When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,
[14] if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
1. There certainly was a Great Famine in Judea, so great that Herod hocked everything of value in the Palace to buy grain from the Procurator Petronius in Egypt. Compare this with Leviticus 26. Verse 13 here would be "active".
2. Accept that "Turn/Change" IS the meaning in Matthew 18: 3. The meaning of "Humble" is well understood.
3. The Passage in Matthew 18 then becomes an embodiment of this Passage in 2 Chronicles. There is a war between the Hellenized and Corrupted Jerusalem High Priesthood and the Mishmarot Priesthood that serves in the Temple.
4. To review:
Matthew 18: 1 - 4 (RSV):
[1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
[2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,
[3] and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
As an aside, the answer to the question in verse 1 is, "Anyone who is alive and has made it into the Realm of Heaven from the Slaughter outside is the greatest in the Realm of Heaven", recalling Ecclesiastes, "Even a live dog is better than a dead lion...".
"[2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them": The use of the child here is not merely as a "Prop". It is significant to the exposition of the Passage. Verses 2 and 4 bracket the Sayings. If this is simply about "Be Converted" there is no reason for the child. The actions of the child are Primary and it is the source of my puzzlement.
Again, let us assume that "Turn/Change" is accurate. If this is an embodiment of the 2 Chronicles Passage then we should infer that the child is self-conscious and gives the affect that reflects this.
"[4] Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven": This "humbleness" is affirmed in the statement given. The child appears humble. He has been brought in front of adults and he should be seen in appearance as somewhat puzzled and self-conscious as to why he is being singled out.
The child lives, or at least, the child he represents. The child he represented sought the Realm of Heaven, even when famine rages, the very High Priesthood is Corrupt and fellow worshipers are being hacked to bits all around him. He saves a Priest and they are able to enter the Realm of Heaven through the "Narrow Door".
The comparison to 2 Chronicles may be a stretch. I still remain certain that the child is a model for those who achieve entrance through the "Narrow Door". The passageway is so small that you must "scrunch down" to the smallest shape you can in order to squeeze through to obtain passage to the Realm of Heaven. You may even have had to crawl upside-down for a short distance at some point.
I can, however, achieve a little peace here with this reading. To me, it'll probably always be "TURN", as in, "physically turn your body to get through the small passageway". If it is "Turn/Change", I believe I can live with that as well. Thank you, 2 Chronicles.
CW