Juxtapositions: Led by a Child
An interesting juxtaposition
Isaiah describing a decadent and fallen state
And I will give children unto them to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor; the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.
Isaiah describing the millennial state of perfect peace
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
The coincidence here could be what conservatives awhile back used to call immanentizing the eschaton, meaning trying to create utopia using secular means. Which usually leads to dystopia.
Or it could be the old, old problem of confusing the side effects for the causes. In an idyllic small town no one locks their doors, so if we just stop locking our doors we will have an idyllic small town.
Or it could be something else.
Zen
March 6, 2024
It is worth noting, that in Jewish thought, kosher/clean animals represent the Lord’s people, and non-kosher/unclean animals represent the Gentiles.
So, the lion and the lamb, is peace between the Church and all those around it.
E.C.
March 6, 2024
I think part of the difference between the two scenarios is the dichotomy of childish vs. childlike behaviors.
Marilyn
March 7, 2024
I had a strange experience with example #1. I was worrying about one of my children. Thinking about how I was to help him. Second-guessing what I had already done and already thought. I happened upon a scripture in D&C saying basically “keep doing what you’re doing” and then a forceful mental reminder of “babes shall rule over them”–as a BAD thing. And a feeling to not let a temporarily-tyrannical child make decisions (YET) that the parents could make so much better for him. it definitely surprised me, as I’m used to reminders to be meek and deferential and the one who asks forgiveness first and so forth. 🙂
G.
March 8, 2024
Parenting is rule, forget it at your peril.
Thanks for the insight, Marilyn.
E.C.
March 8, 2024
@ G,
My parents always pointed out, when I or anyone else complained about house rules, that their house was no democracy – it was a benevolent dictatorship.