The historical books of the Bible’s Old Testament are hysterical when you dust off their rattling skeletons and put some flesh and blood back on ’em. They can read like any daytime soap opera, switching almost flawlessly to sound just like a thriller or a detective mystery.
I didn’t name any specific titles for two reasons. Many readers are young enough to be clueless as to any I might highlight; and it’s more fun if you choose your own.
Think about it this way. Let’s say you’re a screenwriter given the job of taking the events of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings and 1st and 2nd Chronicles – Israel’s own history – and writing your own script. Think about who you’d like to play which roles. Decide on the setting, genre, etc. That should keep you busy, and get you curious about those ‘dry old books’. They’re not–not if you’re of a creative mien.
You’ll find the town of Ziklag mentioned in 1st Samuel chapter 30. Let me just lift a couple of salient points and you can have fun with the rest of the story.
Verses 4-6: Cowards whine and blame someone else. Warriors find a way to make things right. I’ve done both. So’ve you. We both know which one worked better.
Verses 13-14: You can’t keep depending on your grandpa’s reputation (Caleb). At some point you’re gonna run into some enemies who don’t know __(Caleb)__ and YOU’LL have to step up and do what’s necessary to show ’em who’s boss.
I love my grandson and granddaughter. Anyone threatening them will have to get past their grandpa first, and I don’t go down easy.
Neither did Caleb; he’s my kind of geezer. Yet at some point Caleb and I will need to step away from this world into the Next, and both our grandchildren will find it necessary to take their own stand. I pray as Caleb did that when that time comes – and it repeatedly will – that my grandson and granddaughter will remember that I love them, believe in them, and have been praying for them nonstop since their birth.
Then I pray that they’ll do what is necessary to instill in their enemies the same fearful respect for them and for their God that their grandpa lived before them.
If you want to know more about Ziklag, head on over to 1st Samuel and get to reading. Don’t forget the chips and salsa and some Dr. Pepper. You’ll be awhile.
And take notes.
© D. Dean Boone, March 2016