insurrection against the religious leaders.”
Zerah nodded his head in agreement
.
SEVEN
MURPHY WAS SITTING at his desk when Shari entered, carrying an armful of papers. She smiled and her eyes twinkled at the sight of him.
“So, what’s the occasion?”
Murphy looked at her curiously.
“What do you mean?”
“I usually get to the office way ahead of you. You must have some burning project you’re working on.”
“I just needed to do some thinking.”
She plopped the papers on his desk. “Here’s one less thing you’ll have to think about. It’s all the book reports and test papers. I was up till two this morning grading them for you.”
“Thanks, Shari. That’s a real help. Above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Well, I know how much you hate grading papers…. almost as much as I do. Since I’ve finished your dirty work, maybe I could get off a little early this afternoon?”
“To get some sleep?”
“No, to do some shopping.”
“Now, that sounds real restful.” He stifled a yawn and Shari studied him closely.
“Speaking of restful. You look a little tired yourself.”
Murphy nodded his head.
“Oh, I get it. You must have been off having fun with your friend Methuselah. He plays a little rough.”
Her eyes noticed the turnip-sized bruise on his forearm and the slight swelling around his left eye.
“Those bruises look like they hurt.” There it was. The protective, motherly tone. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What happened?”
Murphy recounted his trip to the Hall of Records in Charlotte, and the discovery of the shaft that led to the fun house. He omitted some of the gory details, knowing that she would not be pleased to hear how close he had come to death. He handed her the strange messages on the three-by-five cards that Methuselah had left for him.
“This is weird. Who is King Yamani? What town is he talking about? And what does that have to do with I Kings 8:9?”
“No idea. Methuselah doesn’t ever make anything easy.”
“What about the Bible reference?”
“The passage in Kings refers to the Ark of the Covenant.”
“You don’t think he’s found the Ark, do you?” Shari’s eyes were wide with excitement. “That would be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here’s what it says in that verse:
Nothing was in the ark except two tablets of stone which Moses put there atHoeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”
“So where does that leave us?”
“Well, you have to refer to several passages to get the clue. In the book of Exodus, God instructs Moses to put the Testimony—you know, the Ten Commandments—into the Ark of the Covenant. He then instructs Moses and Aaron to collect an omer of manna and put it into a pot and place it in the Ark along with the Ten Commandments.
“Manna, that’s some sort of food, right?”
“Yes. Manna was the food that God fed to the Children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. It was like a white coriander seed, supposed to taste like wafers made with honey. It was to be kept in the Ark as a reminder of how God had provided for all of their food requirements.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“Have patience. In another passage in the book of Numbers, God instructs Moses to put Aaron’s Rod into the Ark along with the Ten Commandments and the jar of manna. But, if you remember, the Children of Israel started to rebel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The leaders of the twelve tribes came together for a showdown. They each brought their rods (or leadership staffs) with their names on them. They placed them in the tabernacle of meeting to determine who would be the leader. The next day, when they looked at the rods, they were all the same—except for Aaron’s. During the night, it had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.”
“I guess
Zerah nodded his head in agreement
.
SEVEN
MURPHY WAS SITTING at his desk when Shari entered, carrying an armful of papers. She smiled and her eyes twinkled at the sight of him.
“So, what’s the occasion?”
Murphy looked at her curiously.
“What do you mean?”
“I usually get to the office way ahead of you. You must have some burning project you’re working on.”
“I just needed to do some thinking.”
She plopped the papers on his desk. “Here’s one less thing you’ll have to think about. It’s all the book reports and test papers. I was up till two this morning grading them for you.”
“Thanks, Shari. That’s a real help. Above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Well, I know how much you hate grading papers…. almost as much as I do. Since I’ve finished your dirty work, maybe I could get off a little early this afternoon?”
“To get some sleep?”
“No, to do some shopping.”
“Now, that sounds real restful.” He stifled a yawn and Shari studied him closely.
“Speaking of restful. You look a little tired yourself.”
Murphy nodded his head.
“Oh, I get it. You must have been off having fun with your friend Methuselah. He plays a little rough.”
Her eyes noticed the turnip-sized bruise on his forearm and the slight swelling around his left eye.
“Those bruises look like they hurt.” There it was. The protective, motherly tone. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What happened?”
Murphy recounted his trip to the Hall of Records in Charlotte, and the discovery of the shaft that led to the fun house. He omitted some of the gory details, knowing that she would not be pleased to hear how close he had come to death. He handed her the strange messages on the three-by-five cards that Methuselah had left for him.
“This is weird. Who is King Yamani? What town is he talking about? And what does that have to do with I Kings 8:9?”
“No idea. Methuselah doesn’t ever make anything easy.”
“What about the Bible reference?”
“The passage in Kings refers to the Ark of the Covenant.”
“You don’t think he’s found the Ark, do you?” Shari’s eyes were wide with excitement. “That would be one of the greatest archaeological finds ever!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here’s what it says in that verse:
Nothing was in the ark except two tablets of stone which Moses put there atHoeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”
“So where does that leave us?”
“Well, you have to refer to several passages to get the clue. In the book of Exodus, God instructs Moses to put the Testimony—you know, the Ten Commandments—into the Ark of the Covenant. He then instructs Moses and Aaron to collect an omer of manna and put it into a pot and place it in the Ark along with the Ten Commandments.
“Manna, that’s some sort of food, right?”
“Yes. Manna was the food that God fed to the Children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. It was like a white coriander seed, supposed to taste like wafers made with honey. It was to be kept in the Ark as a reminder of how God had provided for all of their food requirements.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“Have patience. In another passage in the book of Numbers, God instructs Moses to put Aaron’s Rod into the Ark along with the Ten Commandments and the jar of manna. But, if you remember, the Children of Israel started to rebel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The leaders of the twelve tribes came together for a showdown. They each brought their rods (or leadership staffs) with their names on them. They placed them in the tabernacle of meeting to determine who would be the leader. The next day, when they looked at the rods, they were all the same—except for Aaron’s. During the night, it had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.”
“I guess
Similar Books
Iron Cast
Destiny; Soria
Peace
Antony Adolf
Left To Die
Lisa Jackson
Neverland
Douglas Clegg
His Seduction Game Plan
Katherine Garbera
The Real Life Downton Abbey
Jacky Hyams
Chanel Bonfire
Wendy Lawless
Chasing Happiness
Raine English
The Pool of Fire (The Tripods)
John Christopher
The Skin
Curzio Malaparte