So, I was writing Bible verses for evangelism when someone said “You should do Psalms 137:9 next”.
I had typed my reply “Thank you for the suggestion :D”, but deleted it and decided to search up the verse, just in case it could be perceived as controversial.
Psalms 137:9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! ERV
So good thing I checked, or I could have stepped on a a proverbial land mine. It’s why I always watch out for wolves in sheeps clothing.
So I looked through this thread and then replied “Psalms 137:9, like many other parts of the Bible, is not meant to be taken literally”
So they replied “alright thanks for clarifying”
You may have noticed I said “proverbial” land mine. That’s because, Psalms 137:9, like much of Proverbs, tells of a spiritual truth.
Another common one is The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. ECTer’s love to use that in debates, but when you imagine it as a metaphor of the Jews and the Gentiles, it makes sense.
he who seizes
שֶׁיֹּאחֵ֓ז (še·yō·ḥêz)
Can be seen as grabbing a spiritual hold of something, not physical. Like, if someone’s learning math, they can say they have a “grasp” on the topic. They aren’t physically holding it, they just understand it.
your infants
עֹ֝לָלַ֗יִךְ (‘ō·lā·la·yiḵ)
Strong's 5768: A suckling
and dashes
וְנִפֵּ֬ץ (wə·nip·pêṣ)
Strong's 5310: To dash to pieces, scatter
Is also used in the following verse as “little ones to pieces”
Hosea 13:16
Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
Hosea 13:17
Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!
Reveals that the reason why the little ones are dashed on the rocks is because of sin, which is their downfall, and the LORD, is trying to persuade Israel to return to Him, thus the LORD is actively trying to stop the children from being dashed on the rocks!
reveals that “dashed on the rocks” is an idiom like “on the rocks”
On the rocks.
If something, like a relationship, is on the rocks, it is in trouble and may come to an end.
Thus, when the Bible says “dashes on the rocks” in Psalms 137:9 it means “ending a relationship”. The LORD wants all people to have a relationship with Him through Christ, thus, the relationship that God wants to end is the relationship humans have with sin in Hosea 13:17!
That’s why it’s a blessing! The little ones have a relationship with sin, so God “dashes them on the rocks”, ends their relationship with sin and dashes them against The Lord, who is the Rock (which is mentioned frequently in the same chapter of Psalms)
Psalm 18:1-3 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior
3. Psalm 71:3
Psalm 71:3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
Psalm 62:7-8 My honor and salvation come from God. He is my mighty rock and my protection.
Psalm 31:3-4 Yes, you are my Rock and my protection
Is God literally a rock? No, He’s not physically a rock. He’s spiritually a rock, his spiritual protection is as hard as a rock.
And now I just used Psalms 137:9 in spreading the Gospel by saying “The Lord is our Rock. He keeps the little ones on the Rock. Christ is our Rock. All will be saved through Him. He will save the world.”
So, what was originally used as a controversial verse meant to stump Christians has now been transformed into a powerful loving verse meant to stump those who do not believe, leave them stunned by the sheer awe and splendor of the Lord’s love for all of humanity.
Why? Because, it was always meant to be a reflection of God’s grace towards all of mankind.
2 Samuel 22:2 He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge
And as well, thank you to everyone who has participate in this forum. Even a decade later, the discussion on here has helped me tremendously when spreading the Gospel of Universal Salvation through Jesus Christ to people.