Earlier this week, Jews all over the world observed Tisha B’Av, the Ninth day of the Jewish month of Av. Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning in Judaism, wherein several calamitous events are remembered. The first of these is a central element in my second book, By the Waters of Kadesh—the report of the spies. When the scouts returned …
In the Footsteps of Abraham
Just a few verses in Numbers 13 presage a major turning point in the life of the young nation of Israel. Twelve men are chosen to be the first ones to enter the Promised Land and report back. The twelve spies left Kadesh-Barnea and went north into Canaan. They were instructed to “go up through the Negev and on into …
Father Knows Best
Yesterday was the Fourth of July, so like everyone else I was thinking of our freedom, our country, our privileges. As you know, my three adopted kids came from Kazakhstan. Buggy had to apply for her citizenship after we brought her home in April 1999. It was a formality—they had to grant it, but we still had to fill out …
The Other Ten …
Everyone knows Joshua and Caleb were the two spies who believed God when He said the Israelites could conquer Canaan. But what about the other ten? Who were they? What happened to them? All their names are listed in Numbers 13. They were all leaders of their tribes. So what happened? Why did they fail to trust God? The Bible doesn’t tell …
Joshua vs Jerusalem
I was finishing drama #8 last night in my series on the life of Joshua for Christ to the World Ministries. This particular episode dealt with what is often known as Joshua’s “longest day”—the day he ordered the sun to stand still. Many of us know that Joshua, in the heat of battle, commanded the sun to remain in place, …
Help me, Mama!
Mutter (German). Mère (French). Majka (Serbian). Mat’ (Russian). Madre (Spanish). And in Hebrew: Imma. In any language, mothers are special. They are who we run to whenever we are in trouble. Even Bezalel. Bezalel considered his choices as he hiked home. He knew severe punishment awaited any slave who ran away, but he could not leave Ahmose behind. A seven-year-old …
Meri – from Captive to Cherished
This is the first scene where Bezalel actually is able to speak to Meri in In the Shadow of Sinai. Meri was forced to be a concubine in Ramses’s harem. He took in a sharp breath. She was even more beautiful than he remembered her. Without her heavy kohl makeup, her deep brown eyes seemed to take up her whole …
Meet Ahmose
This is Ahmose. An orphan-slave in Ramses’s palace, befriended by Bezalel, in Sinai he finds his forever family. He returns in By the Waters of Kadesh. Below are excerpts from some of our first encounters with him in Sinai. It was late in the evening, long past the time he normally went home, but Bezalel had stayed a little later …
Meet Kamose
This week I’ll introduce you to Kamose—or you can catch up with him if you met him in Sinai. Kamose was the captain of the guard in the palace in Egypt. He escaped with the Israelites in the Exodus. Kamose brushed the dust from his face, dust kicked up by hundreds of thousands of sandaled feet, hooves, and wooden wheels. …
True Liberty
This week was spring break at our house, so we took a couple days and drove up to Philadelphia. We did the standard tourist stops—Independence Hall, Congress Hall, the Liberty Bell. I was again reminded that the Liberty Bell is inscribed with Scripture (something that surely would never be allowed today). Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land …