Alike Chapters: II King 19 and Isaiah 37

A strange and Interesting Bible Fact

We are all familiar with Old Testament passages being repeated in the New Testament. But what about two chapters so similar they appear to be copied and pasted. Why? With all the words and stories available, why is the scripture repeated? (Study II King 19 and Isaiah 37 (niv). Why do we hear stories about infamous people and members of our family repeated over and over? That we might know, discern the truth and follow the wisdom of God. Study and know God’s laws. The truth does set us free.

UNBLESSED MONEY

A strange and Interesting Bible Fact

A bag was a shepherd’s wallet, usually made of kid’s skin with a strap fastened to each end to hang from the shoulder. When David went out to meet Goliath, he placed pebbles in his bag. Proverbs 20:23 (niv) is a caution against putting pebbles in a bag to cheat a merchant. 

Haggai 1:6 describes unblessed money as a “money bag with holes in it.” My pondering mind wonders about some of our ill-gotten gains today. Is all my money blessed by God, or do I carry around a bag with holes in it, or is it just the taxation, or is it called a debit card?

The Counsel of a Wise Woman

Many women are given to long speeches. Some are valid, worth listening to and possibly recorded for posterity sake. Many women in biblical times were given only one sentence, a sentence or two that in reflection causes us to pause, think and act upon the woman’s statement or the dedication of purpose. 

Abigail’s speech to David in I Sam 25 is the longest speech by a woman in The Bible, quite possibly one of the wisest counsels recorded.

The Bug Bible

A strange and Interesting Bible Fact:

A few years ago I purchased a Bible, when I arrived home I found that half-way through, the Bible had been published with the print upside down and backwards. I returned to the bookstore with my copy. The clerk found a whole box had been printed in error. 

There are other Biblical errors. The Cloverdale Bible of 1535 became known as “The Bug Bible” because it translated Psalm 91:5 as “Thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for eny bugges by night.” instead of “Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night.”  (Biblical error info from www.alt-usage-english.org)

Omaha WordSowers Writing Fun

To hobnob with other authors brings enlightenment, encouragement and laughter. Last night Jon Miller (17) drove me to Garden Café at Rockbrook Plaza for food, fellowship and fine tuning our writer skills.
Eight out of nine attendees brought a short article about a driving experience. The idea about the exercise was to fool our fellow authors, don’t write in your “usual voice.” I purposely took time to look up current slang. I’m posting my delightful piece here for posterity sake, even if it didn’t fool even one of the other writers.

East Cupcake Driving

My Best Friend (BF) drove from my house to the tullies and then said, “It’s not that hard. The gear shift shows you the direction.” We changed seats. I felt nervous and excited.
“Put your left foot on the clutch and the right on the gas,” BF said. I had to look at my feet to figure out the difference between the two. I let out the clutch too quick, the vehicle bucked and died. I felt sweat bead on my forehead and apologized.
“Now don’t pull a quebby,” BF said.
I didn’t know what a quebby was anymore than I knew how to start a stick shift. I let out on the clutch once more, hit the gas. Zero to twenty-five in one lurch.
“Take a right at the light and drive to East Cupcake, its safer thata direction,” BF said. “Easy, easy. Don’t hit the lagger. Turn, turn, turn quick.” Before I turned BF grabbed the wheel. “Shift, shift. No, not that way.”
“Don’t be haggin’ me,” I yelled at BF, placing my sweaty palm on the gear shift. “I’m not a schmuck. I can see the car ahead is slower than molasses.”
BF’s nagging subsided until we hit the dirt road of East Cupcake. “Stop. Now hit reverse?” BF instructed.
“Reverse? I don’t know how….”
“Don’t be a Palooka, look at the gear shift.”
I managed to not only reverse the vehicle I parked, stopped, started, turned it off and managed to drive the freeway in fifth gear on the way home.
“That was truly san frantastic,” I said to BF when we arrived home. “You’re a great teacher—or maybe I’m a great student.”
I felt really really proud when BF said, “Off the hinges, my friend. Off the hinges.”

HE TOOK TIME TO COUNT FISH

One of the first stories taught to children is about the fishermen. Preschoolers love to catch fish. Give them a toy boat, a make-shift net, fish crackers and have someone read the story in John 21:5-14. Many teachers read, “throw your net,” and then encourage their students to catch and scarf down their gold fish crackers.

But read on. When Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you just caught,” Simon Peter climbed aboard, dragged the net ashore. “It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.” (John 21:11 NIV).

Most fishermen are like Peter and John, they see the importance of the catch—they count, weigh and photograph for posterity sake.

Add trivia to your day. Also visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/kat2009 to stay up to date with Kat's journey

Kat’s Kernals

Fringe and tassels on a garment may seem like a bunch of phoo phoo, but not so. God said, “Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments….” (Numbers 15:37). Awe, such rich symbolism. People of that day understood the hem of the garment was an extension of the individual which clarifies Ruth saying, “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are Kinsman Redeemer. (Ruth 3:9). Jesus knew about the fringed tassels, too, but He had had a different perspective. In Matthew he commented on how the Pharisees did everything for others to see “….and their tassels on their garments long.” Question: I love the added ruffles and even fringe, but then I ask myself, does my clothing today represent who God is in me or do I invite everyone to see me?

Kat Crawford©2011