| A Meditation: Faith of a Child or a Search for Proof? by Cleone Weigand (May-August, 2003) |
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh‘s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the
sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian
army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty
driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over
the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into
the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that
had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. (Exodus 14:23-28) 1
Children enjoy a story with a lot of action. For that reason all the children were quiet and listened with great
fascination to the story of the Exodus as I taught it in our Vacation Bible School many years ago. My older son
happened to be in that class and as we were making our closing observations, he raised his hand. When invited
to speak, he said, “When I grow up I am going to be a scuba diver.” It took me but a second to guess what
thoughts were floating about in his mind. Boys love swords and spears and chariots and other military stuff. In
his mind’s eye he could see a trove of this kind of treasure waiting to be found at the bottom of the Red Sea.
What a lark it would be to go down there as a scuba diver and retrieve some of this treasure!
My son is a pastor now and I do not know if he ever plans to do anything about that yearning he had as a little
boy in Vacation Bible School. However, I have often thought of this incident when confronted with people who
seem to be overly hesitant to dig into archeology or science material that relates to the Bible. Too soon you
hear too many giving counsel such as this: “The Bible is not a book of science,” and “We should not try to prove
the Bible through archaeology.” So we wonder, was my little son’s desire to find the chariots an example of
strong faith or an example of that weak faith that always demands “proof’ before accepting God’s Word as true
and reliable? I feel it was an excellent example of the strong “faith of a child” that Jesus also admired.
With these thoughts in mind, let us consider all those people who ever made the effort to find Noah’s ark or
embark on some other Bible related archeological venture. How many of them should be scolded for trying to
“find proof for the accounts of the Bible,” and how many should be admired for exhibiting the “faith of a child.” I,
personally, am in favor of putting the best construction on their motives and rejoice with them when findings are
made that are in full accord with the Bible. LSI
1 The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian
army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty
driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over
the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into
the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that
had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. (Exodus 14:23-28) 1
Children enjoy a story with a lot of action. For that reason all the children were quiet and listened with great
fascination to the story of the Exodus as I taught it in our Vacation Bible School many years ago. My older son
happened to be in that class and as we were making our closing observations, he raised his hand. When invited
to speak, he said, “When I grow up I am going to be a scuba diver.” It took me but a second to guess what
thoughts were floating about in his mind. Boys love swords and spears and chariots and other military stuff. In
his mind’s eye he could see a trove of this kind of treasure waiting to be found at the bottom of the Red Sea.
What a lark it would be to go down there as a scuba diver and retrieve some of this treasure!
My son is a pastor now and I do not know if he ever plans to do anything about that yearning he had as a little
boy in Vacation Bible School. However, I have often thought of this incident when confronted with people who
seem to be overly hesitant to dig into archeology or science material that relates to the Bible. Too soon you
hear too many giving counsel such as this: “The Bible is not a book of science,” and “We should not try to prove
the Bible through archaeology.” So we wonder, was my little son’s desire to find the chariots an example of
strong faith or an example of that weak faith that always demands “proof’ before accepting God’s Word as true
and reliable? I feel it was an excellent example of the strong “faith of a child” that Jesus also admired.
With these thoughts in mind, let us consider all those people who ever made the effort to find Noah’s ark or
embark on some other Bible related archeological venture. How many of them should be scolded for trying to
“find proof for the accounts of the Bible,” and how many should be admired for exhibiting the “faith of a child.” I,
personally, am in favor of putting the best construction on their motives and rejoice with them when findings are
made that are in full accord with the Bible. LSI
1 The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
