July 2014 – Page 4 – 300 words a day

Suspicions about the king.

Continuing the investigation of “Who killed Uriah?”: It took Jethro two days to get from Rabbah to Jerusalem. He could have completed the forty miles in a day, but he needed time to think. And to arrive in Jerusalem with some energy. After his conversation with the messenger, it was clear to Jethro that David […]

by Jon Swanson

waving.

First published June 16, 2010 Though I sit with my feet on my desk, my mind is racing. I am thinking through teaching projects, writing projects and a retreat. The threads of thinking are tangling; each time I tug on one, my mind races to another. “Is this the project to start or is that? […]

by Jon Swanson

A messenger talks to the king.

From 2 Samuel 11:18-25 “You had to tell David about Uriah? Was that the battle when several men were killed?” The man nodded. Jethro filled the messenger’s cup again. “It was a strange thing. We were sending squads into battle regularly those days. But it was almost a battle game. We’d advance, they’d fire, we’d […]

by Jon Swanson

A crucial messenger.

Last week: We met a soldier named Jethro. At the start of the week he was sitting by the destroyed Ammonite city of Rabbah. He was recalling his investigation of the death of Uriah. His recollections took him to the siege of the city, some months before. When we left him, Jethro had just discovered […]

by Paul Merrill

Faulty voices

We were fresh out of college and went off to the big city. Our first real jobs were exciting – and stretching. My buddy invited me to join him for church one Sunday. He was part of a televangelist-focused megachurch. The main preacher loved the spotlights and glory that came with his position. The wall […]