Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our “green room.”  Arabella lurked on the swooning couch.

B.B. asked, “Stinker, do I look wiser than I did before?”

I laughed, “B.B., I never saw you as wise.  You have always been a good friend who has become my best friend, but right now, Mommy, you look like the wisest of sages.”

B.B. groaned, “Stinker.  Did you just call me your Mommy?”

I laughed, “Yes, and no.  To that child that you are holding, you are the most influential wise person for the next few years.  Do not take your role as a Mommy lightly, B.B.  Do not rush back into fulltime work.  Yes, you trust Wilma with a lot of things, but not all of them.  Loosen up more and focus on being the light of Christ for Ethan.  Focus on teaching Ethan.  Focus on loving Ethan.  Between Dr. Ellie, Wilma, and me, we can function in the Turtle like you were still there.  With each little change in the Turtle’s occupants, we get a different chemistry.  Without you will be noticeable because you are not part of that chemistry.  And you will be back soon.  But it may be like me, never fulltime.”

The familiar voice from the swooning couch, pretending to read the latest copy of Voice of the Martyrs magazine, said, “Can I move up to fulltime?”

B.B. groaned, “Please, Fireball, you have just finished your freshman year of high school.  Being fulltime can only be done while in college, and you cannot throw away your dream to become a veterinarian.  Three more years of Spring Break trips and the big summer trips.  The rest of the year, it must be left to the college students, graduate assistants and professors.”

Arabella asked, “The subject has not come up with the Sunday school class, but do we call Aunt Jemima ‘professor’?”

I snickered, “Let’s keep it Aunt Jemima.  I am just barely a graduate assistant, and Aunt Jemima is easier to say.”

Arabella opened the door, and we went to the den.

Rev. Joseph led us in prayer and the entire band and choir were ready.  They sang The Perfect Wisdom of Our God.

I said, “Emmett, that was wonderful.  And Mags, your playing is wonderful.”

Mags Kildare laughed, “Perfect therapy, my dear Aunt Jemima.  When I am having a bad patch, I practice more.  Besides, I love that song.”

Samuel asked, “Where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I smiled, “We are looking into the book of Proverbs.  Arabella, do you need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella shrugged, “Where does the word ‘proverb’ come from?  Is it a verb that is proactive?  And Mom and Dad keep quoting proverbs like they were the next 50 Commandments or maybe 50 prophecies from God.  It is often very exhausting growing up in our household.”

Sarah’s tablet said, “Mostly, it’s Arabella talking herself into trouble when the lectures start.  For a while, Emmett and I laugh, but then we agree with Belle, it gets exhausting.”

Arabella said, “Wait till we get home, Sis.”

Sarah smiled, and the tablet said, “After church, I’ll be visiting Clay with Detective Evident as a witness.”

Jochebed said, “Detective Sergeant Georges Evident.  He got his promotion.”

I said, “Congratulations, Georges.  And I see Ruthie Toody and her arm candy, Officer Trevor.  But back to Arabella’s questions.

Without opening his eyes, Easy said, “I may forget some of what she said.  The etymology of the word ‘proverb.’  Pro- as in forward or forth.  Verbum as in word.  Put it together and you have a ‘word brought forth’ or a ‘common saying.’  It has grown to mean a wise common saying.  Middle English from about the 1300s it became a maxim or a saying of common sense.  Of course, with the Proverbs of the Bible, the common sense focuses on God, and His common sense.  But they are not prophecies.  They are what should happen in an ideal situation and can happen in a limited sense.  You can never get those things perfectly done.  And as commandments, Belle, do you want to act recklessly?  Do you want to do things that are almost guaranteed to cause pain, if not to you, to your parents as they watch you do unwise things?”

Arabella smiled, “Nope.  I guess I’ll just have to listen to the lectures until I can get better at being wise.  Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.”

Easy said, “Start by trusting in Jesus.  Then move on to living a wise life, instead of trying to be a wise cracking funny girl.”

Arabella sneered, “I can’t do that!  That is my entire persona!”

I nodded, “Can I add to what Easy has said, a biblical definition that starts the book of Proverbs. ‘The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.’ (Proverbs 1:1-6).  So, these are wise sayings for prudent behavior.  They are meant for the wise and the ‘simple.’  Nothing in here about commandments nor prophecies.  But once you have a few scars from doing something stupid, you might want that prudent behavior.  Life just works easier that way, even if there is no guarantee that it works the way Solomon or the other wisemen said it should work.  So, now, we are going to have to stretch things a bit.  We believe in one God in three persons: God the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The embodiment of wisdom is found in all three.  Of course, the entire book of Proverbs is about wisdom.”

Jethro (Proverbs 1:19-23) “Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.”

Jethro said, ”Aunt Jemima, you writ down some questions in the reading assignment.  Things to look for in the passage.  First Wisdom calls out loud.  I guess God as a Father and having a Son, this attribute takes on flesh almost. Then Wisdom asks the simple to give up their simple ways.  Then Wisdom goes after them mockers and fools.  Fools hate knowledge.”

I smiled, “Very good, Jethro.  And maybe we covered it in class before you joined us, but the biblical definition of a fool is someone who does not believe in God.  Thus, they would hate knowledge in that all lasting knowledge in this world is from God.”

Jethro asked, “What do you mean by lasting knowledge?  Is some of this knowledge going away?”

I straightened, “Well, I sure hope so.  In the New Earth, there will be no pain, no crying, no sin, no death.  So, would anyone ever say, ‘Ouch!’  What about ‘Woe is me!’ When we look back at our life on this earth, we will never see things that might cause us pain.  That knowledge that we now have will be gone along with our sin nature.  And who will need a computer or a cellphone when the full capacity of our brains are kicked into gear?  All will be perfect.  So, would knowledge of imperfect things do us any good in heaven?”

Bart suggested, “We would not have friction.  Nothing that we would build, if we need to build anything, but none of that would ever wear out.  It completely changes everything in engineering.”

Sophie said, “My Dad talked about a dream he had.  In Heaven, he was out of a job.  He couldn’t be a homicide detective.  There was no longer death.  He couldn’t be a detective at all, no sin.  He couldn’t lead a Bible study with Jesus standing right there answering everyone’s questions.  But then, he knew he would be doing something.”

I smiled, “Bart and Sophia, thank you for those comments.  There is a lot of knowledge from this earth that is useless or non-existent in Heaven.  It sure makes playing those games on the phone seem more like a waste of time.  You might need the diversion, but not the addiction.  Jethro, anything else?”

Jethro nodded, “It confused the heck out of me, but Wisdom is feminine.  Josie and I looked it up.  In Hebrew, the word for Wisdom is feminine.  What does that even mean?”

Anna laughed, “The German language has articles that represent male, female, and neutral genders.  Let’s say you go to the kitchen to the table, der tisch.  It is der because the table is masculine.  You put a bowl on the table, die schüssel.  It is die because the bowl is female, but don’t look for a female utensil to eat your feminine soup, die suppe.  Die gabel is a fork.  You would need der löffel, a very masculine spoon.  All you have in English is a, an, the.  So, unimaginative.”

Jethro scratched his head, “But a lot less confusing.”

I added, “And Solomon played on that feminine gender for ‘Wisdom’.  He could then compare a feminine Wisdom with a ‘foolish’ woman, what he later calls a prostitute.  So, Solomon uses that comparison and the biblical concept of fool to give the extremes for the comparison.”

Josie (Proverbs 1:24-33) “But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Josie said, “Most of this talks about how folks reject wisdom, but at the end it talks about how you gain safety and you are at ease when you accept wisdom.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Josie.  That sets the table.  We should love wisdom, but we often reject it.  And I quit one verse too early when I was reading. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Proverbs 1:7).”

Jethro said, “Just two more things that fools don’t like: knowledge, and now wisdom and instruction.  I guess those are the ways to get knowledge.”

I smiled, “So sweet of you to say that.  I didn’t writ, I mean write, that down in the email.  But I thought you did not have a computer, Jethro.”

Jethro said, “Elroy gave me my computer back, but he added some stuff to keep me from getting on the dark web, and it copies everywhere I have looked on the internet.  I don’t want to get into trouble, so I just read my email, send email to Pa, and do my homework.  Josie sent me pitchers of her and Daniel, and me.  Pa likes the idea of me having friends.”

I asked, “In saying pitchers, you mean pictures?”  He nodded.

Josie (Acts 9:31) “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”

Josie said, “So, the church had been persecuted by the religious leaders in Jerusalem.  They had to scatter for safety.  But now that the persecution lessened, they feared God.  There is nothing to fear because God is with us, but then we fear God, we hold Him up in child-like awe.  But this verse in Acts 9 is like this  ‘Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,’ (Philippians 4:12).  ‘And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”’ (Job 28:28).  ‘Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13).”

I laughed, “I only gave you one other verse, and you came up with three other verses.”

Josie smiled, “Jethro and I enjoy doing a deep dive into the verses.  Since he can’t deep dive into the internet, we are deep diving into the Bible.”

I smiled, “As long as you two aren’t deep diving into each other.”

Josie shook her head, but then Jethro said, “One night after Daniel was put to bed, we sat on the sofa and we got to smooching.  Josie excused herself and went to the bedroom.  She came back with her softball bat.  I asked what that was for.  She said it was for later when we had gone too far.  I told her I had smooched enough for one night, so I said goodbye and left.”

Josie sighed, “It was for later, honest.  We hadn’t gotten close to the too far at that point.”

Jethro nodded, “I don’t want to go too fast either.  I think we should have an education first.”

I laughed, “Good answer.”

Julia (Proverbs 8:22-31) “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.”

Julia said, “This sort of sounds like Jesus, but it says that at the point of creation, this person was born.  So, it must be Wisdom that was born, a specific wisdom that works with this world, like the Laws of Physics and such.  But since Jesus is the embodiment of Wisdom, then this Wisdom is what Jesus used in the earth’s Creation.  It’s why everything has a sense of balance until mankind thinks they know better and starts messing with it.”

I said, “Yes.  Very good, Julia.  We’ve heard from the upcoming bride, now for the groom.”

Gordo (Proverbs 30:4) “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!”

Gordo said, “Now this surely looks like Jesus.  He asks some thought provoking questions, but the last about the son’s name must mean Jesus.”

I said, “Now, let’s have a couple of quick quotes.”

Irusya (Proverbs 3:11-12) “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

Irusya said, “The author of Hebrews is reminding us that we are children of God.  ‘And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”’ (Hebrews 12:5-6).  He disciplines us, but as a good Father to His children.  We must learn from our mistakes.”

I replied, “Yes!  And one more.”

Elroy (Proverbs 26:11) “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.”

Elroy said, “Okay, you gave me this one because I have three dogs working for me and one is having a huge litter of puppies in a couple of weeks.  You really are a Stinker.  But hey, I love the dogs.  Part of our agreement is that all the puppies go to the military once they are weaned.  And then, we may not get more than one or two back.  But we should be smarter than the dogs.  ‘Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”’ (2 Peter 2:22).  Please, no requests for puppies.  They will each grow up to eat more than the entire family combined.”

Josie said, “You haven’t seen Jethro eat.”

Irusya said, “You haven’t seen Caulk eat.  She weighed nearly 180 pounds before she got pregnant.  And yes, dogs return to their vomit.  We should stay clean.  When God washes us as white as snow, why get dirty again?”

I replied, “Thank you, both of you.”

Grannie Fannie (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13) “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

Brooke picked up Stormie and strapped her into the carrier.  Brooke leaned in close, “Stormie, did you miss me?  I was helping Flintheart win their third softball championship in a row.  But I don’t know about next year.  Margie is an unbelievable pitcher, and I was the only consistent power for the team.  We’ll both be going to the university where your Mommie will be teaching this coming year.”

Stormie just laughed and said, “Book.”  It didn’t matter what Stormie’s unofficial Aunt Brooke was saying.  Stormie had missed her while she was off playing softball.

Credits

Here is The Perfect Wisdom of Our God.  Kristyn Getty is the soloist.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.