Tag: short-story

F2 Family History – The Price of Godly Advice

This story from my family history is intended as a companion to blog G3 26 verses for 2026 – Seek Advice.

I. DIVORCE AND REMARRAIGE:

My dad’s youngest sister, one of my favorite aunts, had been divorced by her husband. They were both small people and they had one child together, who was always small for his age and, in my opinion, a little naive about the things going on around him.

My aunt remarried a man who had been divorced by his wife. They were bigger people and had two children who were on the larger size for their ages.

Unfortunately, the older and bigger boy picked on my smaller cousin.

II. KIDNAPPED!

Eventually my cousin’s dad remarried a woman with two daughters. When she saw how much her new husband wanted his son to live with them, she devised a plan to keep him with them at his next visit.

They called my aunt and notified her my cousin would be living with them for now on. They said his small stature and reports of being bullied by his stepbrother were criminal, and if she objected, they would take her to court and sue for custody on the grounds that she was an unfit mother. My aunt asked to speak with him to verify if it was his decision to stay, but they refused. Furthermore, they said she could not ever come and visit him either.

This devastated my aunt as he was the only child of her body and she loved him very much. The next year when I was visiting, she told me about the situation and asked for my advice. She knew that my mother had divorced my father, her older brother, so she thought, having grown up in a similar situation as a child, I might have some insight that would be helpful.

It seems her new husband was all about charging up there and taking him by force (the bully apple didn’t fall far from the tree in his son). My aunt was a gentle person, that was one of the things I liked the most about her as most of the rest of my father’s family were very brash. I’m sure you’ve heard that opposites attract, and you couldn’t get any more opposite than my quiet aunt and my forceful new uncle.

But there is a reason that opposites attract. You see, sometimes my quiet and unassuming aunt needed a forceful advocate on her behalf. And sometimes my new uncle needed someone to rein in his overforcefulness. They were able to do these things for each other because of their love, appreciation and respect for each other, and they ended up making a very good couple.

My aunt further explained she had sent birthday and Christmas gifts, but didn’t even know if he had received them. She had tried to talk to him by phone many times, but had been refused and threatened each time. Her question for me was, “What should I do?”

III. THE ADVICE:

Whew! I guess you know you have achieved adulthood when a member of your parents’ generation asks for your advice. Turns out I had a lot to draw on for my advice.

I had not only lived in a broken family with its dynamics, but divorce had become increasingly prevalent during the mid to late 60’s, my teenage years; therefore I had the stories and experiences of many peers to add to my own.

But I had more than ‘worldly’ experience to draw on, I had become a Christian while living with my grandparents between my own family’s divorce and remarriage, so I had the wisdom of God and the Bible as part of my life. The advice I gave my aunt would not have been popular, it was not easy to follow, but it was the right thing to do.

I explained that her son’s new stepmother sounded like a manipulator. (*See NOTE at end for more information.) A manipulator will say anything, true or not, to accomplish their chosen goal. A manipulator will spin everything that is said or done in such a way as to support their viewpoint.

I told her (and my listening uncle), that the last thing they wanted to do was to storm up there and try to take back her son by force. The manipulator would have the law out there quickly, hysterically accusing them of all sorts of heinous acts, either hoping something will stick or goading them into some ill-advised act or words that they could spin. It would be ugly.

Instead, they should play it low key. She should continue to send birthday and Christmas presents and cards. She should continue to write him and tell him how much she loved him and missed him. Even if he never saw a single one of her cards or letters, whenever the manipulating stepmother would tell him that his mother didn’t love him, had even deserted him, even my naive young cousin might pick up on how hollow the words were, because even the manipulator knew differently.

I assured my aunt that one day, her son would turn 18, he would leave his new family and he would remember the mother who bore him and loved him.

IV. REUNION:

My aunt and uncle’s chance to track down my cousin the summer after his high school graduation came when a very powerful hurricane made landfall and created a swath of destruction through the area where the father’s family lived. My aunt packed their suitcases, my uncle threw his chainsaw in the back of the car, and they headed in that direction to help with the cleanup.

A terse meeting occurred at the father’s house, but my cousin had moved into an apartment with a friend at a nearby junior college in preparation for starting classes that Fall. My aunt and uncle obtained his address and phone number and went back on the road.

They made a call when they arrived in the area to let him know they were coming and to obtain some directions (this was before cell phones), and the visit was arranged.

The reunion was subdued at first. My somewhat naive cousin was confused between what the manipulator had been telling him the past few years and the totally unexpected presence of the mother who had supposedly abandoned him.

“You never called!” He said. Then my aunt replied, with the calm confidence of the truth, “I called, but they would not let me speak to you.”

“You never wrote!” He complained. “I wrote you every month and sent you Christmas and birthday cards and presents,” she replied.

“How can I know you’re telling the truth?” My aunt countered with the truth, “Every birthday and Christmas, your father would tell me your size and what you needed the most. I always sent you an appropriate gift and a card with a letter. Give me any of your birthdays or Christmases in the last few years and I’ll describe what I sent. Then you tell me if you received it or not.”

It didn’t take long for even my naive young cousin to realize the scope of the deception that had been perpetrated on him the last few years. Yes, he had received those presents, wrapped and labeled as being from his dad and stepmother. No, he had never received any of his mom’s cards or letters.

“What do you want?” finally asked my cousin, reeling from realization of the years of deception, and not knowing who or what to trust.

My aunt stated simply, with tears running down her cheeks, “I wanted to see you, as I have not seen you for so many years. I wanted to talk to you, as we’ve not been able to talk. I want to let you know that I love you, I care about you, and I want to be part of your life.”

(Just in case you’d like to listen to the song I pulled my title banner from.)

Despite my cousin’s veneer of naivety, deep down he knew his mother. He knew that she wouldn’t lie to him, and the truth was evident in every word she spoke and in every line of her body. With that realization finally came the expected teary reunion between mother and child.

Thereafter followed reciprocal visits during holidays and school breaks. When my cousin graduated, he got a job close to his mother. Unfortunately, my aunt died prematurely of cancer, but for many years, she had her only son back in her life and was able to participate with great pleasure and joy in his life as an adult.

V. CONCLUSIONS:

Might this reunion have still happened without the years of suffering and sacrifice? Might they still have come back together as mother and son without her hands-off and month-by-month faithfulness in what appeared to be a hopeless and lost cause?

We can never answer ‘might have’ questions like that. But I was able to give her godly advice that worked. I also constantly supported them in prayer, which allowed me to rejoice with her when she was reunited with her son.

That’s why the Bible instructs us to seek wise, godly counsel when faced with difficult decisions and situations. I am very grateful my aunt was not an impulsive person, unlike her second husband, but I tried to tailor my advice to what I knew about her and about my cousin, as well as general experiences and principles.

The question at this point is, how can we tell who will give us the best wise counsel? There are hints in my story, but I will save that discussion as an idea for another blog.

VI. THE ‘PRICE’ OF GODLY COUNSEL:

So, what is the “price” of (following) godly advice I refer to in my title?

It would have been very emotionally satisfying for my step-uncle to go storming and breathing threats to recover his stepson, but it would not have accomplished God’s purposes. James writes:

Losing one’s temper is easy, holding it in and channeling it into a long-term, constructive plan is very, very hard. Believe me, I know.

I learned a lesson in the 70’s that I have to keep reminding myself about. I learned that we have two choices when it comes to how we react/respond, but we don’t have a choice about what happens afterward. Here is a quote that expresses what I learned:

“Life demands a price. You either pay now or pay later. It is much more expensive to pay later because life charges interest.” — Matt Worthy

(Emphasis added.) So…

1. We can choose to be undisciplined and ‘invest’ in the immediate gratification of sin, but we will find that it results in penalties to us over and over again for a very long time.

2. On the other hand, we can discipline ourselves and ‘invest’ in righteousness. If we choose the path of patience and sacrifice, we may suffer, over and over again for a long time, but righteousness will eventually pay us dividends rather than charge us penalties.

It’s the same decision we face with our money, spend it all now and have nothing later; or sacrifice and save some now and have more later.

VII. NOTE – The ‘Manipulative’ Stepmother:

(AI) The “manipulating stepmother” is an archetype representing toxic behavior within blended families, often characterized by controlling actions, attempts to isolate the child from the biological mother, and causing strain on relationships with the father.

Key Aspects of a Manipulative Stepmother

1. Controlling Actions: A manipulative stepmother may use guilt, shame, and controlling behavior to get her way. This can include controlling communication between the child and the other parent, and otherwise creating a hostile, competitive environment.

2. Isolating Child from Biological Mother: A common tactic is undermining the biological mother by constantly criticizing her, badmouthing the biological mother, and trying to diminish her role in the child’s life by limiting contact and communication.

3. Strain on Relationships with Father. The manipulative mother often feels they can get away with these abusive strategies because the husband/father has chosen her. If he does not remain passive, but attempts to intervene or ameliorate her abuse, then he becomes the target of her insults, threats and other means of keeping him in line.

Psychological and Emotional Impact on Children:

1. Low Self-Esteem and Inadequacy: Constant criticism, belittling, or conditional affection can make children feel unworthy or not “good enough”.

2. Anxiety and Depression: The stress of living in a tense, unpredictable environment often leads to anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms.

3. Trust Issues: Children may develop difficulty trusting others and forming healthy relationships in the future, often fearing that affection is a contract that can be revoked.

4. Emotional Detachment: Children may withdraw from family life, shut down emotionally, or become detached as a defense mechanism.

5. Guilt and Fear: Manipulative tactics, such as emotional blackmail or, in extreme cases, threatening suicide, can leave children feeling guilty or constantly afraid of triggering the stepmother.

VIII. A Personal Response:

A manipulative person doesn’t suddenly become that way just because they married into a blended family. The above manipulative techniques are usually already well-developed aspects of their psyche. I didn’t know my cousin’s dad, but I suspect at least a part of his son’s naiveté was inherited from him.

My other impression about manipulative people and marriage, and a manipulative personality is not limited to women, is they specifically look for a spouse that they can manipulate and dominate. For a manipulative man, that dominance more often leads to physical abuse.

As far as what we can do to help friends or family that we think might be falling under the influence of a manipulative person? I’ve got no great advice beyond praying for them and trusting in the power of God to deliver them.

I do know the first step of a manipulative person is to isolate the potential victim from their friends and family. If we catch that attempt at isolation soon enough, we can try to counter by drawing closer in our relationships with them. If we don’t catch the isolation soon enough, then they can become ‘brainwashed’ and strongly resist any efforts we may try to help them, even seeing us as their enemy.

In the end, I believe there is no hope for deliverance except through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Here’s a great song about how Jesus can break every chain that ties us down in life.

January 20, 2026

bible, christianity, faith, god, Godly advice, jesus, short-story, Stepmother
Christmas Storybreak- No Room…

We studied the end of Mark last week, but it seemed inappropriate to talk about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in December at a time when we’re celebrating His incarnation and birth. So, for my last blog before a break for the holidays, I’m pulling out a story I wrote many years ago and updating it for you.

But first, a little background.

“And Mary brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7)

Much has been made of this last phrase in many Christmas dramatizations–Joseph leading the donkey with a very pregnant Mary on its back from inn to inn, and being turned away time after time because there was no more room.

Many years ago. I saw a program on the History Channel that painted quite a different picture of what this might have meant in the first century.

You see, there were no inns in Israel in those days, so the program asserted. Instead, people traveling within Israel stayed with friends or family. So, instead of meaning ‘inn,’ they said it really meant ‘common room,’ that is, a large room where a family could, for example, throw a party, have a feast, or out-of-town visitors could unroll a blanket and spend the night.

And it wasn’t just family and friends from out of town who might spend the night. One of the provisions of Jewish religious Law was to show hospitality to strangers and ‘sojourners,’ that is, people who were just ‘passing through.’ So traveling Jews could just walk up to a house in Israel, knock on the door, and ask for hospitality for the night.

My mom described something similar during her childhood in the 40’s. When her grandmother was near death, all of the families were brought together for the wake. What she described was almost wall-to-wall pallets in the living room where everyone slept each night.

Looking at the Greek for clarification, the word Luke used for ‘inn,’ was katalymati (Strong’s G2646) from kataluo; properly, a dissolution; that is, “breaking up” of a journey, or by implication a lodging-place such as a guestroom (used twice), or inn (used only once in this passage in Luke).

So, ‘inn’ is not an incorrect translation, but this Greek word has a wider meaning.

The other two uses of the word are in Luke and Mark, describing the upper room where Jesus celebrated the Passover just before His arrest and crucifixion.

Later in Luke 10, in the story of the Good Samaritan, Luke does use a word that can be more properly called an ‘inn,’ pandocheion , (Strong’s G3829.) It literally means ‘all-receiving,’ and refers to a public lodging-place such as a caravanserai (for caravans to stop at that includes accommodations for the large number of animals), or an inn as we would think of it, where any traveler can stop and spend the night, for a fee. These were usually outside of Israel for the non-Jewish travelers.

So, with Luke using the same Greek word in the Christmas story and for the upper room, and a different Greek word for a public inn, the assertion by the History Channel program for interpreting it as ‘common room’ seems very strong. With that in mind, and my mother’s childhood experience, I decided to write a story as to how the birth of Jesus might have happened.

No Room…

The young man stood at the entrance to the almost full common room with two bedrolls slung over his shoulders. Conversations in the crowded room died down as the residents became aware of him, but apparently finding nothing of interest in a young man still dusty from traveling, conversation soon returned to the former quiet buzz.

Even with the census of Caeser Augustus coming to an end, there still wasn’t much space at any of the homes in Bethlehem, the place where those descended from the House of David had to register. Why couldn’t people just register where they lived? The things governments did sometimes just didn’t make sense to the young man.

Spotting a vacant space on the floor at the far corner, the young man began negotiating the zig-zag space between the patchwork pattern of blankets where couples, small family groups and the occasional oldster sat or lay. As he moved away from the door, a young, very pregnant girl could be seen behind him, clutching his cloak and following as vest she could.

With two bedrolls, also containing their meager belongings rolled up inside, and his pregnant wife clutching him, the young man brushed the people at the edges with one of the bedrolls, necessitating a litany of apologies as he made his way across. ‘I’m sorry ‘ ‘Please forgive me.’ ‘I need to go by, please.’

Reaching the vacant corner, he laid the two bedrolls down while his wife backed up to the wall and used it’s support to slide down to the floor with a huge sigh. It had been such a long trip from Galilee! Even riding the donkey her husband had borrowed, and the stops along the way to spend the night at one or the other’s relatives, being so close to term had just made the jostling ride so much tougher.

They had decided to wait until the end of the census to travel to Bethlehem, hoping the baby would come first. But when it became obvious they would run out of time to register for the census if they waited any longer, they had no choice but to come now.

The young man asked his wife if he could get anything for her and she asked for some water. Navigating the zigzag path more adroitly this time without any burdens, he went to find their host.

The old, but still hale, and smiling woman sitting next to the younger woman introduced herself. “My name is Jezebel,” she snickered. “Can you believe my parents named me after that wicked woman? But everyone just calls me ‘Aunt Jezzie.’ This here is my husband Lemuel, but we just call him ‘Lem.’” “lea ‘o ‘ee’ ‘ou,” mumbled the old, leather-faced man on the other side. It was apparent he had no teeth as his mouth looked like a baby’s gums.

Aunt Lezzie continued, “You look like you’re in a family way. I should know ’cause I bore 10 children for Lem here.” Lem nodded his head, “Uh-huh.” “People said we were trying to start our own 10 tribes of Israel!” Aunt Lezzie and Lem laughed at their joke. “Now, don’t you worry none. I’ve helped deliver many a baby, even some of my own grandchildren. Why, I remember the time…”

Aunt Lizzie reminded Mary of some of her own great aunts back home who could just go on and on with stories from their younger days, and who didn’t really mind if you were paying strict attention or not.

The almost familiar voice quickly had her eyes closing and her head nodding as she fell asleep.

Unnhh!!!

The most severe pain she had ever felt woke her. It was like a giant hand was squeezing her body. There was nothing else in the world for her at that moment but the pain. She remembered her mother telling her to take deep breaths when the birth pangs started, but Mary hurt so badly from the unfamiliar pain she could barely draw a breath. She just tried to ride it out with faith in the assurance from her mother they wouldn’t last forever, even if it felt like it at the moment.

Finally the pain began let up and she could breath again, trying to breath deeply, but just able to gasp at first. She opened her eyes and realized Aunt Jezzie was patting her arm and murmuring words of assurance.

Movement at the door caught her eye and she looked up to see everyone was staring her way. Looking a little higher, she saw it was her husband at the door. In His hands he held an old clay pitcher and an equally old mug in a white-knuckled grip. She realize his face was white with a look of mingled shock and fear. When he saw she was able to look up at him, he rushed across the room with no attention to where he stepped, followed by complaints from the other residents. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” And things like that. Often the complaining men were shushed by their wives who had a better idea of what was happening.

Joseph dropped down next to Mary and absently set the pitcher and mug on the floor. He gently took her hands and looked into her eyes. “I’m fine,” she quietly reassured him.

“Young man, your wife is about to have your baby,” Aunt Jezzie stated.

Joseph looked a question at his young wife. In answer, Mary took his hands and placed them on her bulging belly. Joseph could feel the child moving inside and the rippling of mini-contractions. He looked up at his wife in wonder as she nodded a quiet assent.

Suddenly his sense of wonder began to be replaced with panic. ‘What should he do?’ He had no idea…

Just then Aunt Jezzie spoke up again. Who was she anyway, he wondered? He glanced down at Mary with a questioning look. She took his hand again and gave it a squeeze of reassurance, along with a nod signaling it was fine.

“Young man, this here is no place for a woman to have a baby. My Lem might not have no teeth…” That was when Joseph noticed the old bald man on the other side of the matronly woman, his leathery face split by a toothless smile. “…but he can make hisself understood.”

“‘a ‘igh’,” the old man mumbled.

“Lem, go find our host and see if he has somewhere private-like we can go.” The old man nodded and started toward the door, quickly navigating the zigzag path between blankets with the skill of experience.

Joseph started to get up and go with him when he was suddenly jerked back down to his knees by Mary’s tight grip. Before he could say anything, Mary quietly asked, “May I have some water please?”

Joseph looked at her blankly until she nodded toward the forgotten pitcher and mug sitting on the floor. Joseph looked at them for a moment before he remembered that had been the original purpose of his errand. With slightly shaking hands, he picked them up and poured the fresh, cool well water for his wife.

Jezzie sitting off to the side turned away with a smile of amusement. Young woman though she might be, apparently she had already learned how to manage her man.

Staring into her husband’s eyes as she sipped her fill, Mary then handed the mug back and murmured, “You should drink some too.” Realizing suddenly how dry his mouth was, Joseph took the mug and threw back the rest of the water.

While they rested together for a moment, Lem made his way quickly back across the room and mumbled his report to his wife. As Jezzie turned to relay his message, the old man began rolling up their belongings into their bedrolls.

“Lem says our host don’t have nowhere that’s private except his stables at the end of the street. Lem says our host sent the stableboy to clean out a stall and lay down some fresh hay. Lem also asked him for a small kettle to boil some water for washing the mother and the baby.”

As she was finishing her report, old Lem had finished packing their things and slung them over one shoulder. “You haven’t even unrolled your blankets yet?” Jezzie observed. “Let Lem have them here and he’ll carry them on ahead while we walk with your wife.”

Joseph looked down at the two bedrolls, feeling like he was being left behind in the fast-moving events. He nodded and handed them over to the old man. Lem quickly took them with a mumble and a nod, and headed for the door, managing not to brush against a single resident, all of whom were watching events with great interest and the occasional quiet comment.

“Let’s get your wife up, now.” With both of them grabbing an arm, they helped Mary to her feet. That is when Mary realized the contractions had moved the baby down lower in her womb, making standing and walking more difficult.

The common room had become quiet as they readied to leave it. When Mary looked up, she realized the others in there had also stood up, leaving a clear aisle straight to the door. Children were precious in Israel, and this was their way of honoring Mary and the child she was about to give birth to. As she walked out between her husband and Aunt Jezzie, Mary murmured words of thanks to those on both sides of the aisle, her distant relatives from the House of David.

The sun was beginning to set as they reached the end of the street and saw the stables. Mary noticed her donkey was still tied up outside.

Suddenly… ‘UNNHH!!!’

This contraction hit her twice as strongly as the first one, bringing Mary immediately to her knees. Again the world around her disappeared and time stood still as there was nothing else in her world except the unremitting pain…

Finally it let up enough that Mary could gasp in great lungfulls of air and awareness of her surroundings returned.

That is when she realized Aunt Jezzie was crouched down beside her, with one arm around her shoulder, murmuring words of encouragement. When Jezzie realized Mary’s awareness had returned, she cast her eyes up to Mary’s other side where Joseph stood, white-faced with fear and worry.

Mary reached up and squeezed his hand and briefly smiled to reassure him. Just then something caught his eye at the stables and he looked up. Mary also looked up and saw the stableboy wheeling out an empty wheelbarrow, apparently having completed his preparations. Following the boy’s departure with her eyes, that was when she also saw Lem laying a fire underneath a medium black kettle suspended from a tripod off to the side.

Lem had accompanied his wife on many of her midwife outings. He knew his job was to occupy the father when the women needed their privacy for the birth, and to boil the wash water for afterwards. Joseph looked toward the old man with a renewed focus. Here was something practical he knew how to do.

Mary knew what was running through her husband’s mind. Even though they had lived together less than a year, she knew how he preferred to be doing things with his hands. Mary wanted her husband with her at this time. Mary needed her husband with her. So, even though she didn’t feel completely recovered yet, she grabbed his hand, braced herself and began to rise.

That got her husband’s attention back on her as he put his hand under her arm to help her up. Aunt Jezzie did the same on the other side and together they lifted Mary back to her feet.

Standing up, Mary realized the baby was now low in her womb and she wasn’t sure she could have walked on her own. With her husband holding her up on one side and Aunt Jezzie on the other, Mary fixed her eyes on the lamplit entrance to the stables and started toward it.

Step by determined step, Mary made her way toward the stables between her two helpers. It was time for this miracle baby to be born…and Mary was ready to do her part.

December 21, 2025

Bethlehem, bible, jesus, Joseph, mary, short-story
D5, Genesis Part 2, A Wife for Isaac, part 2

Instead of continuing the character study of Eliezer begun in the previous blog, I’d like to focus more on Rebekah for the second half of Genesis chapter 24. After all, she is one of the Matriarchs of the Jewish nation and revered as such.

The culture she grew up in is very foreign to us today. The account lends itself well to story telling mode, so I’m going to present it that way, rather than strictly by the Scriptural account. Be attentive to what we see about her character and we’ll summarize my observations for our Application section at the end.

1) Rebekah at the Well: Eliezer arrived at the city of Nahor in the evening, the time when women go out to draw water, and made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well.

Eliezer himself also knelt and prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. So look, I am by the spring, and the daughters of the city are coming out to draw water. Now, may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one who You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

And it came about, before he had finished praying, that a beautiful young woman, an unmarried virgin, came out with her jars on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, filled her jars, and came back up.

Then Eliezer hurried over to meet her, and asked, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” And she said, “Drink, my lord”; then she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink.

(c) Review & Herald Publishing Association

Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw more, and she drew enough for all 10 of his camels.

Meanwhile, Eliezer was closely watching her to determine whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

When the camels had finished drinking, Eliezer took a gold ring and put it in her nose, and two bracelets and placed them on her arms. He then asked, “Please, tell me, whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” Rebekah answered, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder for your camels, and room for you and your men to spend the night.” Then Rebekah ran back to town to tell her mother’s household about these things.

Eliezer bowed his head and worshiped the Lord saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

Example of a modern nose ring from the Middle East. According to the description, the one given to Rebekah would have been smaller and can be seen depicted in the first drawing in section 3.

2) At Rebekah’s Home

Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. When Laban saw the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists, and when he heard his sister Rebekah, say “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the spring and found the man standing there by his camels. And Laban said to him, “Come to my house, blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside, since I have prepared a place for you in the house, and also a place for your camels?”

So Eliezer entered their home. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash Eliezer’s feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

But when food was set before him to eat, Eliezer said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And Laban said, “Speak on.” So Eliezer said, “I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich…”

“…and I bowed and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.”

“So now, if you are going to deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me now, so that I may turn to the right or the left.”

Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The matter has come from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord. And then Eliezer brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and fine garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank supper, and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, Eliezer said, “Send me away to my master.” But Rebekah’s brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us for a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” However, Eliezer said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” And they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.” Then they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” So they sent their sister Rebekah and her nurse, with Abraham’s servant and his men.

(c) Free BibleImages, used, by permission.

Then Rebekah and her female attendants mounted the camels, so Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and departed.

3) A Wedding!

Now Isaac had just returned with his flocks to his home base in the Negev after a journey to Beer-lahai-roi, the well where Hagar had been rescued by God after Abraham and Sarah exiled her with her son Ishmael. After supper, Isaac went out to walk in the fields and think. It was toward evening when he raised his eyes and saw a caravan of camels approaching.

Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac walking toward them. She stopped her camel and dismounted. Eliezer turned back and dismounted beside her. She asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And Eliezer said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself.

Eliezer walked over to meet Isaac and reported everything that he had done on his mission. Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, where the female servants stayed.

(c) Free Bible Images, used by permission

In due time, Isaac took Rebekah as his wife and Isaac came to love her very much. So he was finally comforted after his mother’s death.

NOTE about women ‘veiling’ in Biblical times. There are two problems with the depictions of Rebekah in the available pictures. First is that all Middle Eastern women wore a shawl to cover their hair. In addition, young, unmarried women pulled one end across the lower half of their face while they were in public. That is how Eliezer could tell the difference between the married women and unmarried ones while they were filling their water jugs at the well–the married ones had their faces showing, the unmarried ones had only their eyes showing. Even at home while their family entertained guests, the unmarried daughters would ‘veil’ their faces.

The second misrepresentation is that Rebekah’s ‘veil’ was a gauzy, translucent fabric such as is used now for veils. That type of fabric was not available in the Middle East at that time.

If you look at pictures of ‘veiled’ women such as the one I inserted above, you can see how beautiful a young woman can appear with just her eyes showing. The husband never saw any more of his prospective wife than her eyes until their wedding night. Understanding this custom also sheds some light on the comment later about Leah having ‘weak eyes.’

We’ll look at some of the character qualities we can see about Rebecca in my next blog.

One of my favorite Christian wedding songs is by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Wedding Song (There is Love) (c) 1971.

No matter how long you’ve been married, listen to the message and worshipful tone of this song, remember the feeling you had when you were first married, and maybe understand a little more about how God feels about marriage. After all, He invented it!

August 4, 2025

bible, faith, genesis, god, Isaac, Rebekah, short-story
D1b, Story break – The Rescue

This blog us dedicated to Eric W., one of MANY Christian men I know that God could use as a Rescuer.

ADVISEMENT: The following is from a vision. Visions are not intended to communicate physical realities. Instead, they use familiar imagery to communicate spiritual truths.

In my vision, my perspective snapped back to the shining path into a man. The man could have been me, it could have been some other guy, but since I experienced the remainder of the vision from his perspective, I will use first person to relate what I saw and heard.

Suddenly I sensed God’s Presence manifest before me on the path. He communicated to me in a series of images faster than words about what had happened. He made it clear that He wanted me to go and rescue my sister in the faith. Immediately I felt a dread at the prospect of leaving the safety and security of the shining path. God reassured me that He would invest me with a portion of His power that would sustain and protect me during this mission. He would also give me a ‘bump’ of direction that would guide me to my lost sister and then guide us back to the shining path. I bowed in humble acceptance of the mission and then God’s presence faded from my awareness.

Taking a deep breath, I plunged through the curtain to the right, the direction that God had indicated my friend had fled, and immediately I felt a sense of what direction to go. Taking another deep breath to steady myself, I began to walk in that direction, not knowing where I was going, nor how far I would need to travel.

As I walked further and further from the illuminating glow of the path, I realized that I was glowing the same sun-yellow color. It helped me to see more clearly than the starlight alone would have and reassured me of God’s provision, as I had not felt any differently when He had made the promise.

Walking without any sense of time in the eternal night, without need for food or rest, I couldn’t say how long it was before I came to the small, dark opening under the boulder that my bump of direction told was the resting place of my exhausted friend. I knelt down, in unconscious imitation of her earlier, and gently shoveled the sand away until I had uncovered her bruised body.

I spoke her name (for the story, one different than her actual name), ‘Kathy.’ But she didn’t stir. I tapped her gently on the shoulder and said her name more loudly, ‘Kathy!’ But once again, there was no response. A third time I squeezed her shoulder and shook her gently, ‘KATHY!’ As I did this, I felt a trickle of God’s power pass from my hand into her body and she began to stir. When she opened her bleary eyes, there was no light of recognition in them. Then I could see the first signs of the unreasoning panic begin to rise up and I squeezed her shoulder gently again and said, ‘Kathy, I have come to take you back.’ Once again I felt a trickle of God’s power pass from me to her through our contact and the rising panic vanished, to be replaced by a dawning recognition.

‘Let me help you out of this hole,’ I offered. I grasped one of her hands and she weakly grasped back, and then I stood up pulling her out as she feebly pushed herself up with her other hand. When she was completely back in the open, she just lay there, panting with the effort. This was my first chance to get a good look at her. I saw that her clothes were practically shredded and her body was crisscrossed with cuts and bruises. She was gaunt as though she had used up every bit of energy in her flight. I hated to urge her on in her debilitated condition, but I knew the only cure for her was to get her back to God’s path. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ I gently urged as I took an arm. Another trickle of God’s power gave her the strength to stand. I pulled that arm across my shoulders, still holding her hand, put my other arm around her waist, and we limpingly began to move off in the direction that my ‘bump’ told me was toward the glowing path, even though we were so far away that it wasn’t even a glow on the horizon.

We didn’t make it far before Kathy was just too exhausted to continue. We made ourselves comfortable on the sandy ground and I held her in my arms as she fell asleep.I must have dozed too, having no fear of harm in that lifeless landscape and confident in God’s provision of power, as her stirring woke me also. Throughout our rest, God’s power had trickled from me into her. She was noticeably more alert and I could see where the cuts and bruises had begun to heal. I glowed a little less for the loss, but I was confident there would be enough of God’s provision for us to complete the journey back.

I helped pull her to her feet, placing the arm across my shoulders again, but this time she was able to lean on me on her own. Placing my other arm loosely around her waist again, we set out at an almost normal pace.We made it much farther this time before it became obvious that she needed to rest again. Picking out a nearby boulder the right size, we leaned against it for her to rest again in my arms.

Again God’s power continued to trickle from me into her as I held her sleeping form. When her stirring brought me to full awareness also, I could tell her cuts and bruises were further healed. As I extended a hand to pull her to her feet, she was able to pull herself from the ground with her returning strength.This time she just placed her hand on my near shoulder for support as we silently continued our journey across the silent landscape.

When we next rested, then arose to continue, she barely needed my help to regain her feet. Her cuts and bruises were almost completely healed, and we only occasionaly held hands as we crossed particularly difficult sections of the barren landscape. I noticed my glow had almost completely faded away.

I spotted the telltale golden glow on the golden path below. We walked down to it side by side, then I held back and left her to approach it on her own. My job had been to bring her back to this point and sustain her with the power that God had supplied. Now it was her choice, and her choice alone, whether or not to step through the shielding curtain and resume her walk with God.

I stood to the side and a little behind, watching as her memories returned. She had started with a look of awe and wonder as we had approached the glowing wall. Now a slight smile appeared on her face and a wistful look appeared in her eyes.Would she take that last step into the loving arms of our God and Savior, or would she turn back into the desolate darkness? I waited for her decision before I took my own plunge back into the glowing light. There was nothing I could do to help her now, but stand with her until she decided and acted…

Have you ever had difficulty taking the ‘plunge’ into obedience with God? Here is a song about obeying God under difficult circumstances that I hope will strengthen your determination to obey God, no matter what.

If You Say Go (We Wait For You)Vineyard Worship(c) 2002 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing

July 4, 2025

dystopia, god, light-and-darkness, short-story, vision
D1a, Story break – The Escape

Hello my friends! Been wondering where I was the past few weeks? Besides taking a bit of a summer break, I’ve been researching my next series that I’m calling “Basics.” Until I start getting the blogs ready for publishing, I’d like to share the following vision that relates to one of those upcoming blogs named, ‘The Wiles of Satan.

‘Years ago, as I was praying for a friend of mine from a small startup church we were a part of, whrn I had the following vision that depicts the ‘roaring lion’ attack of Satan.

ADVISEMENT: For those of you who are not familiar with visions, please be aware that they are not intended to communicate physical reality. Instead, God uses familiar imagery to communicate spiritual truths.

In my vision, I saw my friend as she was happily walking along God’s ‘shining path.’ The path glowed the bright yellow of the sun and was bordered by slightly translucent walls of the same light that met overhead in a protective arch. Due to the brightness of the glow, what was outside could not be seen from inside.

It appeared as though my friend was walking the path alone, but dimly perceived were many, many others also walking God’s golden path.

For a moment my point of view shifted outside and I had a drone’s-eye view from outside the path. First I noticed that, although the path had seemed straight from the inside, it actually followed the contours of the land, dipping into a valley ahead, rising over a hill beyond, winding around some low mountains in the distance…

Next I noticed the Earth was completely dark, except for the faint light of the stars and the glow from the path itself, as there was no sun or moon. The landscape was completely lifeless. The predominant feature was sand, everything that might have been there once was covered with sand. Protruding above the sand here and there were boulders of different sizes. Around their bases were collars of sand and I realized the boulders were actually the remnant of hills and mountains that uncounted years of lifeless entropy had been reducing to the sand that I saw everywhere.

However, there was a sign that life had once existed. Dotted here and there among the boulders were the remnants of tree tops. There were no leaves and only the thickest of the branches survived as sharp, petrified spikes where the wood too had undergone its crumbling entropy and contributed to the ubiquitous sand.

My perspective then snapped back to the path as the young woman continued to confidently walk along God’s shining path.

Suddenly there was a tremendous roar from the left. It sounded like the largest beast that had ever lived had just sighted its prey and was about to pounce and devour it.

The young woman’s head snapped toward the sound and her heart was suddenly filled with an atavistic fear. Everything else fled her mind except for the overwhelming need to escape from the beast. She made an abrupt turn to the right, away from the direction of that horrendous roar, and she plunged through the protective wall of the path.

She ran as fast as her panicked legs could carry her, glancing back frequently to make sure the beast had not caught up with her. As she left the relatively clear area near the lighted path, her frightened looks back caused her to stumble into the thickening boulders where she bruised herself over and over again. She also frequently brushed against the sharp, hard branches of the remnant trees that sliced through her clothing and cut her skin beneath.

As the frightened woman became tireder and tireder, she began to sob continuously from the fear, the pain and the frustration of not being able to escape. She finally stumbled and fell face first into the sand, crawling in an effort to keep going. That’s when she realized that she could go no further.

Rising shakily to her feet, she looked for a hiding place in the starlit landscape, having outrun the glow from the shining path long ago. She spotted what looked like a dark opening beneath one of the boulders. She stumbled over to it, fell to her knees, and began shoveling the sand away with her hands to enlarge the opening.

When the hollow was big enough to hold her trembling body, she crawled inside and carefully pulled the sand back, leaving only an opening big enough to breathe through. She then curled up into a fetal position, and with one last sob, fell into the deep sleep of the thoroughly exhausted.

Maybe you feel like my friend did in the vision–you’re running in anxiety from you don’t know what. You don’t know what to do, you don’t know where to go. Maybe this song by a Christian music artist who felt the same way might help bring you back to a place of hope and trust in God.

MercyMe – Even If, (c) 2017

July 1, 2025

christianity, dystopia, fantasy, short-story, vision
C10b Son of God Affirmed-Transfiguration

2. Mount of Transfiguration

The second time God spoke an affirmation from heaven of Jesus as His Son was at an event called the “Mount of Transfiguration.” Here’s an account in story form assembled from the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke.

One day while Jesus and His disciples were passing by the tallest mountain in southeast Galilee, Jesus took Peter, and the two brothers, James and John, up the mountain for some alone time and to pray. When they got at the top, the three disciples made themselves comfortable on the ground and Jesus walked up to the summit where He began to pray.

Just as the three disciples were nodding off, they began to hear the murmur of voices and the light started to become brighter. The three looked up to see what was happening and they saw the light was actually coming from Jesus! Even as they watched, the skin of His face shone brighter and brighter like the sun, and His clothes shone whiter than any laundry could make them.

Appearing on either side of Jesus and talking with Him about what was going to happen when Jesus went to Jerusalem, were two glowing figures who could be none other than Moses and Elijah!

The three disciples were awestruck and didn’t know how to respond. Peter blurted out mindlessly, “Master, I’m so glad to be here to witness this glorious event. I want to put up three shrines, one for each of you…”

As Peter was babbling, a bright, white cloud had been forming directly above them. It became so big and so bright that it caught the three disciples’ attention and they looked up at it, beginning to be frightened, wondering what it might be. Peter even fell silent.

Suddenly a loud voice thundered from the sky,

This was just too much for the terrified disciples as they fell flat on their faces on the ground and lay there shaking and moaning in terror.

When the echoes of the thunder died away, the bright light also faded. Jesus walked down to them and gently touched each in turn, telling them they could get up.

As the three cowering disciples shakily arose and looked around, they saw the bright cloud and two glowing figures were gone. All that was left was the ordinary, everyday Jesus that they had been following for the last 3 years.

Jesus motioned for them to begin the trek back down the mountain. As they were walking, Jesus sternly charged them not to say anything about what they had seen and heard until after He was raised from the dead. The frazzled disciples didn’t really understand what Jesus was talking about, but they readily agreed to tell no one about their harrowing experience.

When the three disciples rejoined their companions below, none of the three said anything to anybody about what had happened with Jesus above, no matter how much they were asked and how badly the others wanted to know.

IMPORTANCE FOR US

The Apostle Peter later wrote of the importance of hearing God’s direct affirmation of Jesus as His Son,

.. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.” 2 Peter 1:19a

Do you sometimes feel the need to have God’s word more fully confirmed in your life? I know how uncertainty can weigh on someone. It would be nice to have some kind of miraculous event like the Transfiguration to assure us…but we don’t. We just have the Bible with its eyewitness accounts and faithful recording of God’s and Jesus’ words.

When you see a Scripture repeated multiple times in the Bible, you should take note because that means it is important. Here is one:

The original spoken by God to the prophet Habakkuk as the Chaldeans were invading Israel reads:

Hebrew meaning of the last word: faithfulness, fidelity, steadfastness, trust, faith.

The faithful are contrasted with the proud (puffed up), that is people (in the immediate case the invading Chaldeans) who are not considered upright, not living a straight life, not in right relationship with God, and therefore not pleasing to God.

This verse is quoted three times in the New Testament:

Greek meaning of the last word: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

Paul applies Habakkuk’s ‘life of faithfulness’ to faith in the gospel, where God has revealed His righteousness in sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins and therefore reconcile us with Himself, that is restore us to right standing with Him. Thus OUR faith is in something that is in our ‘rear view mirror,’ the past event of Jesus’ sacrifice detailed in the New Testament.

Paul next contrasts the life of faith with the Jews who placed their reliance on right standing with God by keeping the Law of Moses. The Law served a purpose in preserving a people of faith through which the Messiah could come, but the Jews of Jesus’ and Paul’s day had turned the Law of Moses into a performance-driven religion rather than the life of faith that God had intended.

The last quotation contains elements of the Septuigent translation into Greek:

…which emphasizes the importance of FAITHFULNESS, trusting God first, foremost and always. This echoes Paul’s ‘from faith to faith,’ which can be interpreted to mean the Christian life starts with faith and then continues in faith to the end. If you’re struggling with your faith, consider praying this prayer of faith below from when you feel the need for some assurance or confirmation:

Like our spiritual forefather, Abraham, we must CHOOSE to believe what God and Jesus, God’s Son, have said and done. It can be a very difficult road to travel, the road of faith, but if we can just hang in there…it will be worth it.

Maybe this worship song about the Beautiful One, like the Jesus the disciples might have seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, will help strengthen your faith as it does mine.

June 7, 2025

bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, short-story, transfiguration
B5. origin stories- THE SACRIFICE epilogue

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

Two pairs of sandals walked on the gravelly path that led down the mountain.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

Shepherds by their dress, one was an old man with a bushy white beard, leaning on a staff as he walked.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

The other was a young man, tall and confident in his walk, carrying a haunch of roast mutton to share with the servants waiting below.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

That morning, a man of God and his son had walked up the path to the peak above.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

While there, they had an encounter with their God and learned a new aspect of His nature, that He is the God Who Provides.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

Now, two men of God walked back down the path in the end.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

May 12, 2025

Abraham, bible, Isaac, jesus, short-story
B4. origin stories – THE SACRIFICE, part 4

Rustle, rustle…

Abraham’s head jerked up at the unexpected sound. Isaac leaned back at the sudden movement, rubbing the tears from his eyes and started to ask a question “What…?” Abraham’s hand snapped up in the command for silence as he continued to scan the landscape for potential dangers.

Rustle, rustle…

Both men’s heads turned to look down the mountainside where the sound had come from. A rustle in the bushes could just be a mountain goat foraging for tasty new growth, or it could be a mountain lion looking to feast on a tasty goat. Bears also denned in caves in the mountains.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

This time the men saw the branches of one of the bushes move in time to the sound. Abraham reached down and picked up his discarded knife without taking his eyes from the suspect bush. He motioned Isaac to go to the left while he began his stalk to the right. Isaac absently removed the loop of the strap still snugged around his wrist and tucked it into his sash in unconscious imitation of his father. He then picked up a fist-sized rock which he could throw with such force and accuracy to discourage many beasts.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle…

The motion had become more violent as they approached the sides of the shaking bush, their hearts thumping just as hard, but what they saw was totally unexpected.

Baaa…, the sheep sounded as he saw them, clearly asking for help from them. Abraham nervously scanned the landscape to see if there was a response to the sound, but seeing nothing, he sheathed his knife and stared at the scene before him. What he saw was not unusual–a young ram not yet used to their newly grown horns, foraging for tender shoots in a bush, as they were used to doing, but then their new horns catching on the limbs as they backed out.

It was also not unusual to see a young ram apart from a flock. Sometimes when the young rams began to feel the first strength of their adulthood and acted too aggressively toward the other rams, and would not submit to the lead ram, they would often be driven away from the flock. The situation was not unusual to the shepherds, but the location was. Sheep were creatures of the plains and meadows. It was not natural that a lone ram would be this far up a mountain.

Suddenly, Abraham straightened and his eyes grew wide. Isaac saw the sudden motion and, after a moment’s thought, his eyes grew wide too, remembering his father’s words on the path up, “The Lord will provide the young sheep for the sacrifice.”

Abraham shook his head to clear the thought and returned to the practical. He motioned Isaac to the rear of the sheep and the young shepherd knew what was needed. He took the strap from his sash, looked down to check the slip knot and suddenly was reminded that just a few minutes ago, it had bound his own hands as a sacrifice. He bound the sheep’s hind legs and then held the animal still while his father bound the front legs. Then Isaac lifted him while Abraham untangled the horns from the limbs. Feeling itself free, the ram tried to get to his feet and run away, but only fell to its side.

Abraham left the foolish sheep to kick and buck until it gave up while he studied the size of the ram and the steepness of the slope–it would take both of them to carry the ram up. As the ram finally lay still, breathing heavily from its exertions, Abraham motioned his son beside him and with a practiced motion they lifted the heavy ram over their heads and settled it on their shoulders, Abraham taking the heavier head end. Putting their arms around each other for stability and holding the ram’s bound feet with their other, arm in arm and step by step, the two men carried the sacrificial sheep up the steep slope to the altar waiting above.

May 11, 2025

Abraham, bible, faith, genesis, god, Isaac, short-story
B3. Origin stories – THE SACRIFICE, part 3

The old man raised his knife high and prepared to thrust it through his struggling son’s chest…

“ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM!”

The voice of God blasted across the mountain top like a windstorm, kicking up sand and debris, and staggering Abraham back from the altar. His hand dropped to his side and the knife fell from his nerveless fingers. Then it was like his joints failed him as he dropped to his knees and then prostrate on his face before his God. He was barely able to choke out a reply past the lump in his throat, “I am here.”

Then God continued, “DO NOT LAY A HAND ON THE BOY AND DO NOTHING TO HARM HIM; FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU REVERE GOD, SINCE YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON, FROM ME.”

Abraham lay there a moment longer after sensing the Presence had departed, then he shakily rose to his hands and knees and looked up at Isaac on the altar. The boy was staring up in the direction the voice of God had come from with a look of wonder. He had heard God too!

Getting to his feet, Abraham stumbled over to his son and undid the strap around his feet that he had just tied there, absently tucking it into his sash. Isaac swung around to sit and lifted his bound hands to his father. Abraham still couldn’t meet his son’s eyes as he undid the strap a little, then stepped back to allow Isaac to remove the strap the rest of the way on his own.

Isaac stepped up to his father, reached down and took his hands. Abraham slowly looked up, hoping to see understanding and forgiveness in his son’s eyes. When their eyes met, he saw that, and more.

What Abraham saw was something he had seen many times in the eyes of youth when they were allowed to accompany the flocks for the first time on their summer trek around the great valley and into the mountain meadows. He had seen this look in the eyes of the young shepherds after they had been attacked by a predator going after a tasty sheep and fought it off, or when they climbed down into a ravine to recover a fallen sheep and slipped with only the rope tied under their arms preventing their own plunge to the bottom, or when one jumped into a swollen mountain stream to recover a sheep that had fallen in and then almost drowned themselves, the look they all had afterward when they had faced their own mortality and realized they had dealt with it. What Abraham saw was a man looking back at him from his son’s eyes.

It wasn’t clear who moved first, but the two men met in a fierce embrace. They had almost lost each other! The beloved son, the beloved father… Only the shaking of their shoulders betraying their silent sobs, not even the emotion of the moment causing them to break the discipline of silence when alone out in the wilderness.

Rustle, rustle…

May 10, 2025

Abraham, bible, faith, genesis, god, Isaac, short-story
B2. origin stories – THE SACRIFICE, part 2

While the youth brought over one last rock for the altar, the wood already being laid out on it, the old man secretly tied slip knots in the ends of the two straps that had held the bundle together. After the youth carefully place the rock and looked toward his father for approval, the old man quickly grabbed his hand and slipped the loop around his wrist.

The boy didn’t quite know what his father was doing as he grabbed the other hand and wrapped the band around both of them.The youth was staring at his bound hands in puzzlement when the old man pushed him onto the wood piled on the altar and slipped the other loop around one of his son’s ankles, quickly wrapping the strap around both ankles and tying it off, then swinging the boy around to lay full length on the altar. Now the youth looked toward his father in puzzlement, the questions in his eyes, but as yet unasked. So far he had not struggled against his father’s unexpected actions, but when he saw the old man draw his knife from the sheath, understanding began to dawn on him and then the struggle against his bonds began.

The old man was not able to stand the look of hurt and betrayal in his son’s eyes. He placed his hand over them so he would not see what was coming and also to hold him still. With tears blurring his vision and running down his cheeks, he looked at his son’s chest to pick out the best spot to kill him quickly and not make him suffer. Steeling himself, holding his struggling son still with one arm, he slowly raised the knife and raised himself on his toes to generate the maximum power when he plunged the knife into his son’s beating heart, just as his God had asked him to do.

May 9, 2025

Abraham, bible, Isaac, Sacrifice, short-story