HELP IN SLAYING GIANTS

A strange and Interesting Bible Fact

When we talk about David and Goliath, most people have some kind of mental picture. It may be from growing up with the Bible stories or seeing a movie. Young David killed the giant with a sling and five stones, but what about the War Against the Philistines found in II Samuel 22:15-17 (tnab). 

“…David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted.” Someone killed the giant for David. The Bible notes say, “By calling these men descendants of Rapha the writer was saying that they were giants.” Sometimes we can kill the giants in our lives, sometimes we need the help of others to slay our giants—especially during the Christmas season. 

Like A Bottle in the Smoke

A leather bag made of animal skin is the most common kind of bottle in Biblical times. A smaller bottle kept the shape of the animal with the bone removed. The larger ones were hides sewn together.

A liquid was usually carried in a ‘bottle’ with the hair left on, but tanning had to be completed before a bottle could serve to carry wine. A bottle hung in the smoke to dry, it shriveled—thus the phrase found in Psalms 119:83 “I am become like a bottle in the smoke.” 

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.”