Prose – Page 26 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Forming Words – Six Sentence Story

Although impoverished Jeff found a ride out of Blislisnis to attend his mother’s funeral held in the rural town that he left decades ago teased by vanity that never bore fruit. A former classmate carrying an oxygen tank with nasal tubing who came to offer his condolences surprised Jeff with how old he himself must now look as did other former companions who proudly told him of their grandchildren.

The pastor asked him if he would care to say a few words in memory of his mother. Standing near the casket with nothing to say he tried to form words, but the only thing people remembered him saying was I’m sorry, momma.

Friends of his mother offered Jeff a place to stay with work to do giving this prodigal son an opportunity, which he accepted, to forget Blislisnis. At the gravesite he silently prayed for the privilege of a few years of usefulness, of blessing not burden to others, before finding a spot of his own somewhere in that churchyard, out of the way perhaps, but hopefully not too far away from his family.

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Denise offers the prompt word “form” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Exploration 108 – Bible Maps

Two resources have helped me get a sense of the geography of the events recorded in the Bible.

The first is William Schlegel’s Satellite Bible Atlas. The second is the Bible Mapper Blog. Besides a blog with pre-made maps they offer software to help you build them yourself. As an example below is the map they created for their recent post Jehu Executes Judgment.

Source: Bible Mapper (permission granted for non-commercial purposes)

Beat – Six Sentence Story

Ever since Walter convinced the city to install electronic voting machines as the Governor recommended he beat all contenders by an overwhelming majority to become, and then stay, the Major of Blislisnis. Knowing that he never came close to winning anything before drove conspiracy theorists nuts.

However, the average citizen had other worries besides caring that Walter got richer and richer without explanation as the years went by. Although few admitted that they themselves voted for him they all assumed a large number of the electorate must have.

Talk went wild when Walter decided to run for Governor in a power-grab that would take out his former ally. One morning the local news reported that Walter had been arrested for voter fraud while computer technicians were busy reconfiguring the voting machines all of which convinced those nutty conspiracy theorists that the Governor would win re-election with more votes coming from Blislisnis than people living there (which he did).

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Denise offers the prompt word “beat” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Exploration 107 – The Origin of Languages

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Genesis 11:1 King James Version

How did we even get one language let alone the thousands that exist today?

An evolutionary answer might start with a cauldron of silent pond scum, but don’t ask where that pond scum came from. Stir the pot with the magic wand of a gazillion years of random motion until you get some noisy critters. Then keep stirring till the croaks, chirps and growling turn into men and women using language. How this happened, how this even could happen, is the hand-waving that seasons the stew.

What we learn from the Bible is something more reasonable in spite of it being more supernatural. Originally there was only one God-given language, but after God confounded communication at Babel because of disobedience there appeared many others. These were highly complex languages. They simplified over a few thousand years into what we have today.

The following commentary by E. Dane Rogers from the Tacoma Grace Bible Church on Genesis 11 goes into this biblical approach in more detail.

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:9 (KJV)

Sin – Six Sentence Story

Phil finished replacing the bathroom faucet, turned on the water supply valves and got off the floor to try it out all while listening to a commercial promoting his hometown as the best Little Babylon in the country.

There’s sin aplenty in Blislisnis! We have everything from soul scorching addictions to petty titillations – all at discount prices! Our trained experts will tease your mind with vain imaginations and pump your darkened heart into a foolish frenzy.

After turning the handles, Phil watched the water leak from the drain pipe. While cleaning up the mess and fixing the leak he told me that my story made no sense and he rarely, if ever – no – he never EVER went to those sin arcades in Blislisnis.

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Denise offers the word “sin” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (KJV)

Exploration 106 – Remembering the Goodness of God

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalm 103:1-2 KJV

How can we be thankful if we don’t remember what to be thankful for? How can we give praise if we have forgotten the goodness of God?

Andrew Wommack begins a discussion of remembrance at about 5:30 in the following video. He says (at 6:55), “The reason it’s a command to remember is because it’s our tendency to forget.” I didn’t realize it was a command before.

Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Mark 8:18 KJV

Space – Six Sentence Story

Trying to find something impressive to say the guide told the group he was leading through the cave that some of the mineral deposits they were looking at were as old as the most ancient graves directly above them in Blislisnis, but none of them were impressed.

He then asked them if they ever experienced darkness blacker than a demon’s heart before? Hearing only snorts of ridicule he waited till they were walking down a precarious set of metal stairs to turn off the lights without warning. Although the space in the cave collapsed abruptly onto their eyes the echoes of their screams convinced them it was still there.

When the guide let the light pop reality back into place with its ups and downs and rights and lefts, the group plotted in whispers to get even, should they ever get out, by filing complaints to the proper authorities of Blislisnis. The guide knew the stirrings of their hearts, but he also knew there weren’t enough live people left in the ghost town above them to care.

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Denise offers the prompt word “space” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Matthew 8:12 “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (KJV)

Exploration 105 – The Historicity of the Bible

I am reading Douglas Petrovich’s Origins of the Hebrews to better understand Moses and the Exodus. I now see the Israelites entering Egypt in 1876 BC in the 12th dynasty where Joseph provided shelter for them during the seven year famine. I see Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt 430 years later in 1446 BC when Amenhotep II of the 18th dynasty was Pharaoh.

What this confirms is the historicity of the Bible. That confirmation is made possible by examining evidence from two sources:

Archeological Research
The rate of radioactive decay may have varied over time. As a clock Petrovich trusts Carbon-14 tests back only toward 1400 BC. Test results beyond that require an offset.
Biblical Research
Biblical manuscript traditions give different accounts of the age of the world based on genealogies in Genesis. Putting the date of the flood at an earlier age provides time for known historical events to have occurred.

In the brief interview below Dr. Petrovich discusses both of these sources of evidence which together support the historicity of the Bible.

Path – Six Sentence Story

One path looked rough and narrow. The other one was wide.

He told me, “Take the narrow way.” I told Him, “Look, the other’s fine!”

My mind persisted: Don’t obey. But what do minds know anyway?

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Denise offers the word “path” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Exploration 104 – Behold the Hand, Behold the Nail

⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11 King James Version

In Hebrew the letters Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey (YHVH) are often translated as Lord, but Lord is a title, not a name. Rock Island Books in the video below attempts to answer the question: Who is YHVH?

The original paleo-Hebrew script was pictographic so we can find clues in each letter that is used. The Yod (Y) is the symbol for a hand. The Hey (H) is the symbol of a man with two hands raised in praise as if saying Behold! The Vav (V) is the symbol for a nail. Translating the word YHVH pictographically they come up with Behold the hand, behold the nail.

These letters can also be used as numbers. The Yod (Y) is the 10th letter representing ordinal perfection. The Hey (H) is the 5th letter representing grace and favor. The Vav (V) is the 6th letter representing man. They offer the following number translation: As a result of God’s anointed and appointed plan man will find himself surrounded on both sides by divine grace and favor.

They ultimately come to the conclusion that YHVH is Yeshua (Jesus). That surprised me, because I am used to thinking of YHVH being more the Father than the Son, but then after thinking of the Trinity perhaps Jesus is a better and more personal answer to the question especially considering that God has given Him a name above every name.