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.

Mary, Arabella, and I were in our “green room.”

Stormie and Joan were talking to Ethan on the swooning couch, but I must admit, a lot of it was gibberish.

Arabella held the door and bowed.

Mary gathered Ethan into her arms, and I herded the two girls into the den.

Mary led us in prayer, since Rev. Joseph was preaching during my father’s vacation.

Then Emmett gathered the children from the play area.  There was Lauren and Samuel MacDougall, Reuben, Samantha, and Levi ver Waarloosd, Liam, Olympia, and Ellie Rain Allott, Josie’s little Daniel, Mary Jo’s little Franklyn, and then the door burst open and Kanok, Joon, Sparkle, Valin, Thanh, Asha, and Catalina came in.

Then, I noticed a puppet show stage was in the room.  Emmett and the choir sang God Said Go, and a puppet of Jonah appeared.  Then it looked like Jonah was falling into the water.  Then the fish swam in and swallowed Jonah.  Then the water started going down, and the fish spat out Jonah.  Then Jonah was in front of a big crowd of puppets and people’s hands went up.  Then Jonah was sitting under a large plant for the last verse of the song.

I asked, “That was wonderful.  And don’t tell me that you did that in a week.”

Emmett laughed, “No, our puppeteer suggested it months ago, when we started going through every book in the Bible.  He built the thin water tank to make it look like Jonah sank to the bottom of the sea.  He designed the big fish.  They printed everything using the 3D printer, and then he had Samuel paint everything to look realistic.”

I asked, “But who is the puppeteer?”

“Puppeteers!” Blaise said, as he and Margie emerged from underneath the puppet stage.

I gasped, “But all the children were singing the chorus.”

Emmett laughed, “They’ve been coming to the practices all week.  And having the older children helping, the younger ones were at least ready with the ‘Go’ and ‘No’ type responses.”

I laughed, “Even my own daughter was singing.  That was great!”

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

I smiled, “We are looking at Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah.  Arabella, do you need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella nodded, “Was Oh, Bad, Diah really that bad?  Was it a fish or a whale?  And was Micah made out of stone?  And the usual Who, When, Where stuff.”

Easy smiled, “Obadiah – all one word.  Jonah was swallowed by a big fish.  A whale is a mammal, but I do not know how the people in biblical times distinguished that.  Yes, no known fish is that big, but God could create a fish just for the purpose of swallowing Jonah.  Maybe an angel indwelled a large-mouthed bass and then grew large enough for the job.  Let’s not get bogged down in a spiritual event and science that cannot disprove the story.  Micah was his name.  He was human.  He was not made out of mica.  I am surprised you made that connection.  Who, When, and Where: Nothing is known regarding Obadiah.  There were several Obadiah’s in the Bible, but this one would have to be around after the fall of Jerusalem.  ‘The vision of Obadiah.’ (Obadiah 1:1a). Nothing else.  Jonah was from Israel, not far from Nazareth.  He was the earliest of these three, maybe about the same time as Elisha.  ‘The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:’ (Jonah 1:1).  ‘He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.’ (2 Kings 14:25).  Gath Hepher was in the tribe of Zebulun.  But an odd tidbit is that the story is about Jonah, but we can only assume Jonah wrote the book.  And Micah was probably of poor status since no name is given for his father or ancestor.  Moresheth is about twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem.  So, we can assume he was from the tribe of Judah.  That’s all we know.  ‘The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.’ (Micah 1:1). This pinpoints his service as a prophet to coincide with Isaiah.”

Easy took in a deep breath, “But Obadiah is unique.  It is the only book dedicated to the destruction of Edom, otherwise known as the descendants of Esau.  Prophecies against Edom also appear in Ezekiel 39, Isaiah 34, and Jeremiah 49.  So, Obadiah is dedicated only to a prophecy against one other kingdom, Edom, and the only prophecy against Edom in the minor prophets.”

Brenton asked, “If the book is so short, so specific as to talk about a family line that is totally destroyed, why is it in the Bible?”

Easy smiled, “What did Edom do to warrant their destruction?  They cursed God’s chosen people.  God may punish the Israelites, but you seek their destruction, and you will pay a heavy price for that.  That relates to today.  And it relates to the future.  The world will come to an end when the evil armies will descend from the north, some crossing the Euphrates River which is dried up at that point.  And what is their goal? Jerusalem.  It is scary and amusing that these people that hate the Jews and Christians are fulfilling prophecies.  And the hatred and rattling of swords continues.  Obadiah is important in that sense.  What happened to Edom will happen to those who oppose God’s people today.  Timing is the only thing that we do not know.”

Arabella smiled, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.”

I said, “And thank you, Sweetie.  We have no Christophanies and few quotations.  But we have a few suggestive things.”

Brenton (Obadiah1:17) “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.”

Brenton said,”This is about the End Times, and Jesus will be reigning, but it says nothing directly about Jesus.  Is that where you are going with this, Aunt Jemima?”

I smiled, “Yeah.  Like I said, there are a few things that are suggestive.”

Carla (Obadiah 1:21) “Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.”

Carla said, “Again like Brenton’s verse.  Our Deliverer is Jesus.  And when He reigns in Jerusalem, He will reign over the mountains of Edom.  In verse 18, Obadiah says there will be no survivors from Edom.  And While I am answering Aunt Jemima’s question, Brenton and I have a visitor.  It took some negotiating with her mom, but this is Gymra Harris.  She is living with us now.”

I smiled, “Thank you for the introduction, Carla.  Is she friend or family?”

Carla smiled, “Sort of a friend for now, but I hope it feels like family.  Officially, she will help us around the house, especially after the baby comes and I start trying to get in shape for softball season.”

Dr. Kildare asked, “But if she is not friend or family, how is she now a person who is working for you.  You two have a house that you stay in rent free, but you are simply financially comfortable.  How did this get set up?”

Carla said, “How many people in this room have been ‘pinked?’” Everyone raised their hands.  “Let’s narrow that down a little.  How many of you have been down to your last dollar, or thought you were, homeless, jobless, whatever, and Pink Lady pulled you up and gave you an opportunity when there was none before?  The hardcore pinking?”  About half raised their hands.  Carla nodded, “Well, this is the first time Amy G Dala is doing the same thing.  Meet the first person that Amy has helped.  Gymra helps around the house once the baby comes.  We teach her how to play golf.  And she moves from Central to Flintheart and starts thinking about college rather than having no thoughts of a future at all.”

Josie asked, “How did you pull that off?”

Brenton quickly answered since there might have been something embarrassing involved, “Gymra is a standout among the caddies in the new caddy project that Amy started.  And she was one of the neediest.”

I said, “Nice to meet you, Gymra.  I do not call on people the first week or so.  I will let you get acquainted with the people here.  This is a mixture of residents, employees, family, and people connected to the Storm Chasers.”

Gymra said, “Carla has been showing me episodes of the Turtle Reality Show.  I recognize a lot of you.  I have never met people who have been on a television program before.”

I groaned, “It’s just a streaming service. We are just normal college students who are learning how to do something important and fun at the same time.”

Home Wrecker interrupted, “And thinking of that.  We have three more codenames, subject to change, but I want them to know that they are part of the team.  Carla, known as Car to her friends is codename: Lamborghini.  Brenton is codename: Flat Stick, as in putter, and as he says, that is better than Putz.  And Brooke is codename: Octopus.  When it came to unpacking and repacking the Turtle, it was like she had eight arms or legs, but it is embarrassing enough to be a codename.”

I sighed, “We have two Bible books left, people.”

Goober: codename Hightower (Jonah 1:17) “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

Goober said, “This is quoted in Matthew… ‘He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.’’ (Matthew 12:39-41).  Jesus is prophesying His death on a cross, but He is not spelling it out to those in the crowd what that means.  I’m thinking there are no Christophanies nor Messianic prophecies in Jonah, but the three days in a fish and then prophesying at Nineveh afterward is a foreshadow.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Goober.  That’s a good word for it.  There is a lot in those four short chapters.  When God has a calling for you, He will let you get on a boat to go far away, but if God wants you personally, He will make it clear to you.  Yet, Jonah went to Nineveh hoping they would not repent.  And notice the timing.  This is before Assyria attacked Israel and Judah.  So, God allowed the people to repent.  That held off their ultimate destruction until after they had been used to punish Israel.”

Hannah (Micah 5:2, Luther Bible)  ‘Und du Bethlehem Ephrata, die du klein bist unter den Städten in Juda, aus dir soll mir kommen, der in Israel HERR sei, welches Ausgang von Anfang und von Ewigkeit her gewesen ist.”

Hannah said, “And now in English.”

Hannah (Micah 5:2)  ‘“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Hannah said, “And in Matthew 2 … ‘‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”’ (Matthew 2:6).  Everyone stops reading after Bethlehem.  Yes, Micah gives a Messianic Prophecy that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem, but then it says that this ruler that is born there has origins from of old and ancient times.  This is talking about Jesus being the I AM.  He always was, but He made Himself less to become a baby in Mary’s womb.”

Paddy (Micah 7:6) “For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.”

Paddy said, “This is what Jesus said in Matthew 10. “For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’  (Matthew 10:35-36).  I read this verse when we discussed this at home, and I stopped our conversation to call my father.  It is a scary proposition to bring a child into the world.  They have free will, and they might turn away from God.  That is the worst thing that could ever happen for a God-fearing man.”

I asked, “What did Hannah do when you read the verse?  Since her mother only uses the phone for business, did you walk to her house?”

Hannah smiled, “Oh, no.  My mother and Clyde and Barry and Bonnie come to the Gargoyle House with something that Oma has sent them for us to eat, and we all study the verses together.  I gave her a big hug.  But in a way, I went against my mother.  She holds to the Amish ways for the most part, and I have become ‘English.’  And for those who do not know, if you are non-Amish, you are English.  It started with those who spoke English, since we spoke German at church.  But it has come to mean any non-Amish.”  But my mother and I love each other, and she is so happy now that I have given birth to a son.  It is God’s miracle that I am no longer barren.”

Grannie Fannie (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3) “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I said, “I am probably going to change the benediction next week, Grannie Fannie.

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

Brooke said, “Stormie, church time!”

Stormie laughed and said, “Aunt Brooke.  Church!  Yay!”

Brooke asked Stormie, “You are not going to call me Octopus, are you, Stormie?”

Stormie said, “You’re Aunt Brooke!”

Dr. Ellie said, “Good answer, Stormie, Mommies, Daddies, and there friends are called by a respectful name for them.  Right, Michael?”

Michal nodded and sang, “Yes, Mom.  But Mom, isn’t it strange that Mom and Home Wrecker both have ‘O-M’ in them?”

Dr. Ellie, a.k.a. Home Wrecker, ”Do not even think it, Michael Rowe Casey.”

Arabella said, “I think you crossed a line, Michael.  She used your whole name.”

Michael said, “I apologize for even thinking it, Mom.”

Credits

When I am using quoted verses in the New Testament, I got those verses (different translations) from Seeing Jesus – Bible Encounter Study Guide by Marilyn Hickey.  The concept of doing this in a Sunday school setting is based on her book.  In rare cases, maybe another connection.  The rest is from internet searches, a variety of commentaries and study Bibles, and personal knowledge.

Here is the God Said Go – The Jonah Song from Glen Scrivener.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.