#and the almond tree shall flourish

[madwomansapologist]

AUTUMN THUNDERSTORM | CHAPTER 8 — A NIGHTINGALE SANG

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thranduil thought the recent attack of spiders on a periphery village was the only thing deserving of his attention. if he could've imagined what he would found there, who he would found there, the elvenking would wait a millenia in front of that river so he could see you sooner. or: how gandalf managed to keep a secret for 14 months.

Forests are secrets in themselves. They hide things. That is what they do, their primordial essence. A forest without a secret is a human without a soul, a planet without a star. That is the real language of the woods.

You knew all the meadow’s secrets in Rivendell. You knew where the sprouts flourished, where the clearing started, where the trees fall after storms. You knew all its secrets, until you did not.

Because in kind places a forest hides wisteria and sage sprouts. In cruel ones it hides wargs and warm blood. And for those who are lucky enough it hides suspended gardens.

Stone pillars, embedded in gold, supported all seven floors. It would already be a beautiful sight, light reflecting in waves of warmth through Greenwood, but the ascending series of tiered gardens above each floor turned it into a paradise. Each specimen from the wide variety of trees, flowers and vines were part of this mountain constructed of golden bricks.

“I got goosebumps”, you whispered. It smelled like honey there. “Why did you hide this place from me!?”

Strangers had been born and buried and their lifetime would be nothing compared to all the time the Elvenking spend on the suspended gardens. And still, looking into your moist eyes, Thranduil discovered a new sort of beauty in this place.

The green of the vines, more verdant. The gold of the pillars, more golden. The pink of the flowers, rosier. The whole world was brighter. Wind whispering against the autumn leaves, birds flocking, river crashing against stones: the world became a song. Such a beautiful, intricate symphony. One that he never noticed before.

It must be fate. That was meant to be. Since the world was first created and the stars were put into place. For what other reason did he survived this far, if not to admire you admiring the world his ancestors build? For what reason did Thranduil endured this far, if not to be alone in this world with you?

The Elvenking gestured towards the gardens. “Shall we, idril?”

Thranduil watched as you prepared a raspberry pie in silence, which was better than when he tried to make you let someone else finish it. As if it was offensive for you to get your hands dirty. Your last job was to take care of horses. What is a pie compared to that?

Cleaning your hands, you could hardly believe your ears when the invitation came. It was strange of him to have free time during the day. He never had before, not once since you first got into his realm. But you were not the one to remind a king of his duties.

Not when that can take him away from you.

“You really should stop doing that”, you continued along the paved way, and Thranduil followed your eager steps. Turning to look at him instead of facing the path, a delicate smile showed you did not mean what you were saying. “Calling me words I do not know.”

“Yet”, Thranduil completed. “Do not know yet.”

On the first floor, you understood that the construction did not matter. Its halls were simple, with long open arches and practically empty except for the occasional sculptures. Anyone there would only have eyes for the gardens, and whoever built them knew that no amount of gold or jewels would ever compete with nature.

Quince flowers draped over the walls; pears were almost to the point of crop. Thranduil showed you almond flowers, his long fingers brushing against the tiny buds. You did not even know almonds came from flowers.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, you brushed your hands against the rough trunk of a pistachio tree.

Following through the halls, you could see the garden suspended over the first floor. Butterflies and bees flew around the almond flowers, which made you speed up the pace. You heard Thranduil laughing, but you were too scared to open your mouth to complain only to ended up eating a bee.

A swallow landed on your hair, and you tried your best not to move so Thranduil would see it too. When he stopped in front of you, Thranduil’s eyes seemed so… calm.

You knew he was tired and worried. That he had much to do, to understand, to protect. In Rivendell people believe that Sauron is gone, but here they have more than faith to prove the contrary. But now Thranduil looks so peaceful.

“A little one mistook you by a tree”, Thranduil stretched a finger towards your hair. You felt the swallow moving, pulling your hair along, and saw it on his ring finger. Such a small thing, with greenish down.

Your smile went wider when you looked at his face.

“And you by a flower.” In his wood crown, butterflies found a new home. A smirk spread across your face. “If you pay attention, you really look like a sunflower. Always smiling, never yelling at anyone.”

Thranduil’s response was to roll his eyes.

On the third floor, you passed through ebony, cedar and rosewood. You told Thranduil how most of the trees surrounding Aerin’s inn are ash trees, and how sad it is that most of the stories you read use them as metaphor for dead things. Thranduil shared a poem about a willow tree.

It surprised you how he recited it from memory.

Junipers were new for you. Never before you heard about them. But myrrh was not. You told Thranduil that Luthien gave you a bottle of its oil and practically ordered you to use it on your shoulder. His peacefulness oscillated for a second, but it appeared again.

The floor with fruits was your favorite one. Thranduil split open a pomegranate, revealing clusters of seeds inside it. You both shared it, eating slowly while watching the sun reflecting upon Greenwood. You took a tangerine from its branch and gave him half of it. With half of a fresh fig on your hands, you were more interest in plum flowers than on its fruit.

There is something about sharing some fruit with someone that just makes it feel holy. The way Thranduil cut the fig in half. How you cleaned the tangerine. Your fingers brushing against one another to take another seed. It just felt better than eating one alone.

You brushed your fingers against ferns and orchids. Cherry blossoms floated, washing you both upon pink petals. A few got stuck on your hair. A few that Thranduil did not warned you about.

On the last floor, there were tables and chairs made of wood, but what really mattered to you was the view. From up there, you could see everything. Greenwood, every floor and its suspended garden, a flowing river in distance.

“A step back,” said Thranduil. He sat down, observing carefully. “Your fall is not worth the landscape.”

“Do not be afraid. That will not happen”, your eyes locked on a bird flying away. You think it was a nightingale. He was so small, and yet he knew a type of freedom you would never have. How must it be to fly? It happened for you to fall from places that made you feel like you were flying, until you met the ground. Does it work the other way around? You imagine so. “You do not need to worry about me.”

“How could I not?” replied Thranduil. “You reign in my mind. It is my duty to worry about your safety and happiness.”

Your mouth went dry. “It was never my intention to make you worry about me”, you whispered.

Words, when commonly used, tend to lose their initial meaning. It dissolves, disappears with each repetition, until the word is just a ghost of what it once was. Of what their meaning once was. So many men use love almost as a greeting, but not an ellon. Never an ellon.

“I never said it was.”

The silence pierced your mind. His words… Why does Thranduil keep on doing this? Why does he keeps on saying those sweet, toothachingly sweet things? Thranduil is so beautiful, and every time he opens his mouth you get sure that his heart is just as pretty. If you could open his skull and study his brain, you would.

“Still”, you licked your lips. “I am not falling.”

Thranduil nodded. You came back to watch the sky, mostly because you did not know what else to do. It was rosy. A breeze made chills go down your spine, and a petal fell from your hair right into your hands. You caressed it and moved it closer to your nose.

“Who created this place?” You sniffed it. “They must be so proud.”

“It was my father.”

That warm feeling spreading into you faded away. He never talked to you about his father before, but you knew that there was only one way for a prince to become a king. What you do not know is how much does it hurts. It must be a lot. Usually, things that we love hurt way too much.

You walked towards Thranduil. The way he made your thoughts hazy did not matter anymore. You pulled yourself a chair and dragged it until it was right beside him. Thranduil chuckled at the act.

“He must have been really creative”, you told him. “How was he?”

That surprised Thranduil. People never ask things about his father. They only say that they are sorry, that they feel so much, that it must be so difficult. They never talk about Oropher. They always remind Thranduil that he is dead, but they never talk about him.

“Wise”, said Thranduil. With just one word, he already felt that it was so easier to breathe. Sometimes it feels like Oropher only lives on his memory. Like there is this unsurmountable weight on his shoulders, one that no one can see or help to carry. It felt nice to share. “And ruthless. He was the strongest until the very end.”

You tried to picture Oropher. The king who died too soon. The warrior that led his people against Sauron and saw his knights falling. You picture someone that knew the weight of a sword dipped in blood, the sound of a last breath, the rottenness of a dying land. You pictured this person and then imagined him daydreaming about suspended gardens. Architecting a palace, designing irrigation, choosing seeds.

Oropher sounds like someone worth knowing.

Your fingers dipped into your watery dress, and you bit back a smile. You imagine that Thranduil have the same effect on people. That they will hear how he protects his land and his people and then get amazed about how he can recite poems about a willow tree.

“And how was him to you? Was he good?”

“Not ruthless”, Thranduil smiled at the memories in hindsight. “He was gentle and… When I was just a little ellon, I used to not understand when it was time to shut up. Now I see how awful I was, but he always listened to me. He never made me feel like I should remain silent.”

You held his hand; it was so cold. Stroking his delicate skin, you felt a warmth inside you. Something different from anything you ever felt. You felt… not alone.

“I bet Oropher would be proud of you”, the words escaped your mouth. “You are good. You are also great, but you are good. Gentle.”

Somehow, Thranduil understood exactly what you meant. There are so many great people in this world. So many great poets, great warriors, great rulers. But good… Oh, it appears that the world is always lacking people that are good.

People who will discuss with dragons because their friends deserve their home back. People that will cross a continent to destroy a ring simply because someone needs to. People that will light beacons without permission, that will use helmets to hide the fact that they are a woman, that will fight even as arrows pierce their chest.

“You think I am good?” Thranduil felt his eyes burning. “You really do?”

“Of course, my king.” You intertwined his fingers with yours. It felt right. Like they were made to complement each other. A sly smirk replaced your genuine smile. “You think I would put up with you if I did not?

Thranduil looked at the horizon, hoping you would not notice the redness of his eyes. He reciprocated your touch, squeezing your hand lightly. Maybe it was the sunset, maybe it was the autumn leaves, but everything felt golden.

Everything felt just fine.

“You are good”, murmured Thranduil. “Is it because of your parents?”

You let go of his hand, and Thranduil felt the sky getting darker. Your colors also faded, as if they were robbed of your skin. “It is getting late”, you told him. You were quick to get up. Quick to lie. Badly. “I should come back.”

“I am sorry. I really am”, Thranduil ignored everything you said. There was no need for him to pretend to fall for your bad lies. He stands, just as fast as you. “But you are not a good liar, idril. I will not force you to tell the truth, nor do I wish for you to speak when you do not want to, but you do not need to lie. Not to me. We are friends.”

You threw yourself onto the chair, without any energy to argue. You watched the horizon, the changing colors of the sky, and tried to ignore the pressure on your chest. “I am sorry.”

“No need to”, Thranduil sat too. He tried to be silent, but something told him that maybe you also had an unsurmountable weight on your shoulders. That maybe you also needed to share it. “Were they not good?”

“Maybe yes, maybe not”, you muffled. You responded right away, so Thranduil assumed he made the right decision. “That is the problem.”

With your eyelids closed, you turned your head to Thranduil. When courage made its way into your chest, you looked at him. Was he going to judge you? To see you as too much of a problem? A part of you feared that he would. The other half thought it was mean to think of him that way.

“I have no memories of them.”

He let you talk. About how you have no memories of parents, of any family, of growing or sharing meals or going to school or learning to read. About how for you it is like you were born during a thunderstorm, then wandered until you found Aerin. You told him everything.

After you rant, his silence came. He breathes in, and you could feel his body getting tense. “No one ever looked for you?” Thranduil finally said something.

You nodded.

For Thranduil, now everything makes sense. The way you tend to pretend not to see when Aerin treated you badly. Or how people insisted on not calling you by your name. Why you would have felt bad if you did nothing. The gentleness of your heart. How your intelligence has a touch of naivety.

But it also made him even more intrigued about why you and Gandalf are friends. Does he have any interest in your memories coming back? Is he the reason why they faded? Can you really see him as a friend?

Thranduil never liked those pilgrim wizards, and Gandalf tends to be the one creating more problems for him. If he is right about who betrayed the free people, then maybe you have something to do with it.

Thranduil licked his lips. “I think you are so unlucky.”

That made you burst into laugh. It was loud and ugly and genuine. “I… I agree.”

When silence came, it was natural. It was welcomed. You stared into his watery eyes and decided that you would never try to hide things from Thranduil. It is just not worth the effort, not when he reacts this way. A gentle king.

“You still want to go back home?” Thranduil whispered. There was simply no need to, but he wanted to. It felt right too.

You turned your gaze to the sky, and it was on that marvelous moment when it is not day and it is not night. Thranduil did the same as you. “This place feels like a summer dream.”

A nightingale sang that night. Not that you both heard it, since your voices were louder. But it sang, and it still mattered.

next chapter!

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all rights reserved to © madwomansapologist

[walkwithgod07]

12 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

[childofchrist1983]

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 KJV

This Bible passage continues to remind all of us that the day will one day come when we will have trouble seeing, hearing, eating and getting around. And when our final breath is taken, our soul will return to God, who created us and gave us the breath of life. It tells us how important it is to learn about God early in life. Studies have shown that those who come to the Christian faith early in life, even if they walk away for a while, will return to God. Oftentimes, this happens after they have children of their own, or when they experience a tragedy, and it humbles them to turn their hearts back to God.

There was a book was on the History of Knitting in the United States. In it, it spoke of the need to teach children when they were young, and they were required to finish at least three or four rounds on their stockings before they could play. Learning young was considered important so that they could continue to knit and contribute to the family when they grew old and had trouble seeing. If learning to knit was considered important to a person and that person's family, then consider how much more important and absolutely vital it is to always have God in our lives and to put Him first!

God blesses us and watches over us everyday, from our first breath to our last and everywhere inbetween. And God's Holy Word and His Spirit and overall presence brings the peace and warmth of His love, protection from evil and the promise of everlasting joy in His Kingdom of Heaven when our mortal life comes to an end. What better reasons for faith in God are there? God gives us good advice all throughout the Holy Scriptures. May we listen to Him and take His message to heart, so that we will feel secure in our beliefs today and all the days of our life. May we always remember to thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[headslogos]

Epithalamion

 You, Phrygian Mother, whose protective will

The son of Venus shipped from burning Troy

And aided Scipio Carthage to destroy,

Tell how an almond bough may blossom still,

Though of an age, two score and fifteen springs,

When gnarled become its branches, trunk, and root.

Or Aaron call to witness how sweet fruit

Be borne upon a dusty staff he brings

Up from Egyptian courts through desert waste.

Does not Apollo, now grown old, yet wear

A laurel wreath upon his graying hair?

The bay remains potent despite time's haste.

Therefore, in Flora's month, let groom appear

Like he Athena graced in hyacinth curls

And whom Hephaistos blessed with precious pearls

Of art and handiwork. Let his veneer

Glow, ageless as the soul he bears, and bloom

And blossom in the presence of his bride,

And win the Graces' favour at her side.

When vows are interchanged may Venus plume

Herself on choosing such a bough for groom.

  But who has power to praise the matchless bride?

Not Orpheus, did he live, could such a song

Compose nor rightly warble, not a throng

Of wrens describe when first she was espied.

A quiet melody imbues her soul

As if Pan lay beside a gentle stream

To wind his pipe, a place where shepherds dream

In summer shade beneath a verdant knoll.

Her topaz eyes, infused with subtle fire,

May flare with ephod gems and thrill with light

Like angels come to bless a poor Levite

Panting in prayer and trembling with desire.

A laden rivulet of ore, her hair,

Athena's gift, courses through olive groves,

Past spiced headlands of lavender and cloves,

To reach the isthmus of her waist.  The pear

And apple mingle on her lips.  So shine

The merits of the bride that all who gaze

Upon her lovely countenance must raise

Their eyes, like Mantinean sage, incline

Toward ideal form, to that Divine.

  The sun has risen! Bid the bride awake!

Hear!  Philomela sings her matins mass.

Bid bride awake and get her to her glass.

Nature rejoices! Glorious, this daybreak!

Go tell the bride the almond tree has bloomed.

Despite the cold, it blossoms with new life!

Adorned likewise, the groom awaits his wife,

His eyes and face alight amidst perfumed

Processions of the wedding guests.  Advance,

Young lasses, curl and plait her hair, each tress

Dispose, and then array her bridal dress.

Arrange the veil upon her head, enhance

The furtive, close topaz that lights her eyes,

And then be done, for Phoebus rushes on!

Now lead her forth, a vocal carillon

Of horns and voices serving to apprise

Expectant groom and guests that she draws near.

Let all who view her stop and gape in awe,

Enraptured by such beauty, lacking flaw,

Such simple grace, in manner so sincere,

That to their hearts she must herself endear.

  The bride has entered! Let the people stand!

Look!  What allure is kindled in her smile!

With measured gait she proceeds down the aisle

And gives the ravished groom her fragile hand.

Conjoined contraries they, and yet the same,

In pledging troth shall make a fateful choice:

To love or wrath they must devote their voice,

To life or death, though cognizant by name

These attributes their opposites infer.

He vows to take her, and forsakes the rest;

Though dispossessed, she finds she has possessed.

She lives and dies in him, and he in her.

Eternal bonds, the rings, they now secure,

Immortal Ouroboros, and by head

Devouring curling tail, each other wed,

And in these golden circles selves immure.

Mouths resonant with nuptial vows eclipse

The hushed voices of guests, though not remiss

Are they in prayer, or pursed, craving a kiss.

Then arm in arm, embracing, his head dips.

They end, and yet begin, with bussing lips.

  Hymen!  The two are one!  O shout Hymen!

Let young and old join now in chorus.  Sing!

Begin the revels!  Let your voices ring!

Pour forth the wine, and drink and pour again!

In Aphrodite's gaze the Graces dance,

And bride and groom, like Chloris, are transformed.

The colorless and cold, by Zephyr warmed,

Burst into bloom. Seek not by what romance,

Ancient enchantment, or high mystery

The rite is staged. May Hermes stir the clouds

Which hide the scene, half seeming veils, then shrouds,

That eyes profane may view identity

Confounded, but detect no change.  The flesh,

Ounces and pounds, mere matter, they require.

Resign them then to err in their desire,

And new example take: Natures enmesh

By love and death. May Eros shoot his dart!

Then with a flourish let the revels end.

Now hush the viols, dim the lights, and send

This almond gem to bed, never to part,

To learn how flesh turns spiritual by heart.

  Joel Cameron Head

[ckret2]

Violet/Violent

Part 1, Hybrid Cultivar: Jonah’s got a Ghidorah head and he’s not afraid to clone it. Or, failing that, whatever stray biological matter his reluctant team of scientists finds inside of it.

Part 2, Violet/Violent: Dr. Shiragami and his fellow scientists are the proud accidental creators of an impossibility: a fusion between a rose, a human, and Godzilla. But Jonah doesn’t want a miracle. He wants a monster.

(KOTM one-shot, part 2 of 3. Stay tuned for part 3... *checks writing to-do list* ...eventually! If you want to read my other fics set in this KOTM ‘verse, click here.)

###

The pet rose/titan/human hybrid of Alan Jonah's gang of variously bribed and blackmailed scientists was growing faster than any of them had ever anticipated.

Her height had been holding steady for the last week, although she was still accruing foliage that spread her out sideways: an ever-spreading tangle of vines and branches. A matted mass of leaves enveloped the majority of her body like crocodilian scales or like great flakey layers of skin. They told themselves it was a mass of leaves, anyway. It was easier to look at her when they thought of the curtain of mass that made up her "hide" as "plant mimicking flesh" rather than as "flesh mutated to resembled plant," but in truth it was, by all measures—genetically, chemically, cellularly—a fusion of both plant and flesh into something entirely unprecedented and entirely new, in the same way that a mix of blue paint and yellow paint was neither "blue imitating yellow" nor "yellow imitating blue" but simply "green."

At most times, she was about seven feet tall, and typically she moved by undulating across the ground on vines and roots with motions like something between a millipede and a beached octopus. Other times, she pulled the thicket of her body in tight, weaving vines together like muscles and branches like bones, reshaping herself into something hunched but clearly bipedal, with stocky legs and a long thick tail and an array of grasping vines like undersized arms; and like that she stood just over ten feet tall. Most rarely, she would pull her vines and branches even tighter together into an even more solid form, stretching her legs long, straightening her back, lifting her head, sacrificing stability for height—until she stood fifteen feet tall, eerily humanoid, tottering like a toddler learning to walk. But a thick, crude, simple approximation of a human, like a golem made of trees rather than clay.

Back when she'd been about the size of a basketball, they'd started testing her for human intelligence—speaking to her, showing her books for children, seeing whether she could be taught to read and write. Within minutes of being shown a thick cardboard picture book meant to teach the alphabet, she'd seized up a marker and began scribbling letters on every surface she could reach—including letters she hadn't yet been shown. They still wondered if she'd observed them in the lab, if she'd perhaps picked them up from the scientists through some sort of as yet unidentified telepathic sense, or if she remembered them.

Dr. Shiragami suspected she remembered. He had no objective proof of this. Just a feeling, an uneasy feeling, that there was something observing them through the hybrid's strange small eyes; something that, although not human, once had been—and could recall that past life. An ex-human staring out at her former peers from the other side of death.

The letter she wrote most often was V.

She'd write it on a wall and stand beneath it, or on the floor and stand before it, as if using its tip to point at herself. Dr. Shiragami wondered what had been the name of the human whom Monster Zero had devoured and whose DNA had been used for their accidental cloning project.

He had nicknamed their rose/titan/human hybrid "Violet"—he thought that perhaps her name had once started with V, and without any idea what it was, the name of a flower seemed fitting. In his accent, when he wasn't careful, it came out as "Bioretto," which was how it caught on with the other scientists working with her; and the name drifted over the days to "Biorante" until her official name in their documentation on here was changed at last to "unknown Godzilla genetic sample" to "Biollante."

Dr. Shiragami thought the name sounded too much like "violent."

A true golem, made of clay, had two letters written on its head that meant "death." Writing a third letter changed the word to "truth" and brought the inanimate figure to life; removing the letter changed it back to "death" and put the figure back to sleep.

He hoped that, unlike a true golem, adding a letter to her name wouldn't change her nature.

###

"Dr. Shiragami, I did not bring you on to work with Monster Zero so that you could play with a walking plant."

"I work in genetics, sir. Genetics with a specialization in botany. You brought me on to gene sequence an alien that doesn't have genes."

"Hm." Jonah was staring through the observation window into the room they'd set up for Biollante. It was little more than a large room with a soft dirt floor and a skylight, with a water pipe she could work herself, a board to write on, and plastic playground equipment for lack of a better idea of what kind of enrichment a titan-plant-human needed. It was apparently insufficient entertainment; she was currently amusing herself by struggling to lift up and tip over a plastic playhouse designed to look like a castle. She'd fit in the play castle just a few weeks ago, but now it came up to her thighs when she was humanoid.

Dr. Shiragami said, "There's nothing I can do with an alien head without DNA in it, but there's—there's plenty I can do with a plant. A remarkable plant that consists of a genetic splice between three unspliceable species. I'm helping in what way I can—"

"Except you're not helping, doctor, are you? Because my objective is not to create novel freaks of nature; it's to get back on track with unleashing something that can combat the biggest extinction level event in this planet's history, i.e., us. So unless this creature you're wasting my time and resources on can do that—" Jonah suddenly fell silent. He watched wordlessly as the miniature titan knocked over a miniature castle. "Can this creature do that, doctor?"

"I'm sorry?"

"How tall is it going to get? Do you know?"

Dr. Shiragami's throat went dry.

"Has it displayed any violent tendencies?" Jonah went on. "Or are we going to have to train them into it?"

"You can't—"

"Can't I? Will you stop me?" Jonah asked. "What have you got, a doctorate? I've got men with guns."

"This is a living creature! Possibly a person—"

"You know how I feel about people."

"—A child. And a completely new form of life on top of that! I won't help you turn her into a monster."

"Fine," Jonah said. "You're welcome to resign at any time. I wish you the best of luck finding another way to fund your daughter's medical treatment."

Shiragami's blood ran cold.

"I'll leave you alone to think it over, shall I?" Jonah nodded to him and walked away.

Shiragami stared through the window at Biollante.

###

Biollante sprayed spores when she was upset, a thin sickly yellow haze of pollen. It made the scientists' and soldiers' eyes burn and throats close up. They now approached Biollante with pollen-filtering masks and goggles.

The facility hadn't been airtight when they made the discovery. Now it was, but not soon enough to prevent the spores from spreading for miles around them in every direction, settling into the sand, nearly invisible.

The desert was blooming. Trees and shrubs and vines shot into the sky, every species in the Rosaceae family they had ever tried to feed Biollante: roses and rowans and hawthorns, apples and almonds and peaches, more and more and more.

Somewhere in the Sahara, such an immediate reversal to desertification might have been a miracle.

If not for the fact that Biollante's spawn consisted of uncontrolled invasive species.

And at any rate—Jonah had not decided to hide his facility in that part of the Sahara.

Over five thousand years ago, the Sahara had been green. In fifteen thousand years, as the Earth's axis tilted, it would become green again. But even a green Sahara was mostly savannah, covered in shrubs and grasses, able to support clusters of trees only near deep water. The Sahara had never been jungles, never been rainforests. And some portions of the desert, even at the Sahara's wettest, remained desert still—such as the sea of sand dunes shared by Egypt and Libya.

Here, deep in the Sahara's heart, its truth, its natural, its healthy, its correct was desert. This was the part of the Sahara where there always had been, always would be, and always should be desert. A forest—a dry jungle of woody shrubby plants—would choke out the native species, destroy the local ecology, disrupt the weather patterns, displace the nomadic people that called the desert home. Everything about this part of the Sahara, from the temperature to the complete lack of precipitation to the nutrients in the loose sand, was unable to support a single one of the trees now growing there, much less so many.

Nevertheless, the forest spitefully flourished.

Like a fungus in a sack of flour, like a tumor in a heart.

And Biollante grew as well.

The scientists, even under Jonah's blackmail, were reluctant to harm her; so it was Jonah's soldiers who had learned via experimentation what could force her to fight. Fire—first only when it was thrust directly into her vines, but soon they trained her to lash out at the mere sight of it. Weedkiller, but only certain kinds—they'd tried so many different ones, seeing how she took each poison. Flashing blue lights. Recordings of the cries of MUTOs. Being presented with the dead head of Ghidorah, the monster that had devoured the things she was made from.

Dr. Shiragami was sure that Biollante must remember her past lives. Remember being Godzilla. Remember being human. Perhaps even remember being a rose—what did they know of the memories of flowers? Shiragami suspected plants remembered far more than humans gave them credit for.

The sight of Ghidorah made her struggle the hardest and roar the loudest. Once she'd been forced into the room with the dead head, she never cooperated with her keepers again. Now, the mere sight of humans was enough to enrage her.

She fought with spores, with choking vines, with cutting thornlike teeth. She fought with screams that they thought might have been an instinctive attempt to use Godzilla's atomic breath. These roars were horrible things, like Godzilla bellowing in rage and a woman wailing in pain and a tree splintering and falling all at once; they suspected she was twisting and snapping branches inside of her own body to make the sounds. She would no longer let anyone close enough to her to check.

Shiragami was only one remaining out of the original scientists that had been working with Biollante. All of the others either had been killed or else left—some in fear for their lives, but most in protest against what they were doing to a creature they knew deserved better. Shiragami now had new coworkers who cared much less. He would have left too—if not for his daughter, and if not for the fact that he thought someone should be working with Biollante who cared about what happened to her.

Even if he knew he wasn't doing anything to help.

They expanded her containment room when they could, but there was only so much they could do so fast when a facility that had been designed to camouflage into sand dunes was still trying to remain hidden now that it was in the center of a desiccated forest that it seemed the whole world was watching. She was too large to relocate without anyone noticing. Jonah ordered her nutrients be cut off—water only—in an attempt to slow her growth; in return, she began killing and devouring any humans that entered her enclosure. When they stopped entering, she burrowed her roots straight through the concrete foundation of the facility and deep down, they suspected perhaps even into the bedrock below.

As she grew so tall her head brushed the fifty foot skylights over her prison, she stopped using her humanoid form; as she kept growing still, she stopped using her bipedal form. Her prison cell was nothing but a mass of tangled vines, filling the room, brushing the walls. Vines—and sometimes teeth, gnashing between leaves and within blooms as she crashed branches through doors and felt her way down the halls.

Inside Jonah's facility, Biollante threatened to push them all out. Outside the unnatural forest, Monarch exploration crews backed by Egyptian and Libyan forces ventured into freakishly tall trees, as did curious or annoyed locals who wanted to know what strange forest had just appeared in the middle of their desert; it wouldn't be long until someone found the hidden facility.

Between Biollante and the investigating humans, Shiragami hoped Jonah was going to be pinched in the middle.

Jonah had what he wanted now that Biollante had been changed from a docile child into a wild animal. Shiragami wondered if Jonah had any idea how to tame her again. Surely he didn't.

For his daughter's sake, Shiragami would stay until the end, whether that end came from Biollante or Monarch; but for his other daughter's sake, he hoped she crushed Jonah beneath her roots when she escaped.

In the past couple of days, the bud of a rose ten feet long had emerged where her head had once been, up near the skylights.

Shiragami was sure it wouldn't be long now until she broke free. As soon as the rose bloomed.

###

(Click here for my masterlist of fics set in this KOTM verse, as well as my AO3 and Ko-fi links. If you enjoyed the fic, I’d appreciate a reblog or comment!)

[avengingnomad]

Day 6- A Nutcracker

“It’s just a decoration, Steve. I don’t think it can actually crack a nut. Look at it, it’s tiny”, Natasha held out the ornamental figure for Steve’s inspection. Steve tilted his head, squinting at the nutcracker. He screwed up his face, and taking it from Natasha’s hand. He twisted it between his fingers. He raised one eyebrow and looked at Natasha, “Wanna bet?”

“What is it that we’re wagering for?” Natasha was curious. “What is it that you want from me, Steve?”

“Mmm not much.” Steve replied coyly.

Natasha’s eyes narrowed. “You know how suspicious that sounds, right?”

Steve feigned innocence, “Do you really think the worst of me, Ms. Romanoff?” Natasha didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely. You may have fooled the entire world that you are all about the rules and stuff, but I know the real you. The “lying on four enlistment forms to join a war” you. You can’t play the innocence act with me.”

Steve’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Okay, so you know me. So what is it that I want from you then?”

“I’ll tell you after I win”, Natasha told him.

Steve laughed. “So, shall we begin?” He put his fingers together under his chin.

Natasha mirrored his pose, raising a single eyebrow, trying to hold in a laugh, “Absolutely”

Steve walked dramatically over to the tree, plucked the nutcracker ornament off the tree with a flourish, placed it on the table between them, tapped his fingers together and said, “Your move, Romanoff”

Natasha was going to lose it. This is a side of Steve very few get to see. His image as “Captain America” has made it hard for people to see him as “Steve”. But Natasha knew him. Really knew him. She saw every side of him: the angry, the hurt, the goofy. And she loved every single one of them. Captain America may be a legend, but Steve, Steve was a great man who wasn’t afraid to be silly. And she loved that about him. He may be a soldier and a leader, but he was also a man. A man who liked to goof around and do silly things. He wasn’t afraid to act like a kid sometimes. And that’s something Natasha had learned from him over the years. It’s okay to not take everything so seriously.

“Let’s get crackin’” Natasha ran to the kitchen and found peanuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, chestnuts, and hazelnuts.

Steve stepped aside presenting the nutcracker to Natasha, bowing his head and said, “Ladies first?”, and he smiled at her.

“If you insist”, she smiled back up at him.

[adedots]

DCLM daily manna 14th February 2023 devotional -- The Real Day to Mark

DCLM daily manna 14th February 2023 devotional -- The Real Day to Mark DCLM DAILY MANNA 14th February 2023 DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY BY PASTOR W.F KUMUYI -- The Real Day to Mark DCLM DAILY LIFE 14th February 2023 DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY BY PASTOR W.F KUMUYI -- The Real Day to Mark DEEPER LIFE DAILY LIFE DCLM 14th February 2023 BY PASTOR W.F KUMUYI -- The Real Day to Mark More Of DCLM Daily Manna messages Here You May Also like: Dclm daily manna devotional - Needless Suffering You May Also like: Dclm daily manna devotional - No partisan spirit please You May Also like: knowledge is power by Pastor Kumuyi TOPIC: The Real Day to Mark DCLM Daily Manna for today 14th February 2023 Devotional | The Real Day to Mark You May Also like: DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi -- What is missing? DCLM Daily Manna for today 14th February 2023 Devotional | The Real Day to Mark DCLM Daily Manna 14 February 2023 Devotional | The Real Day to Mark

DCLM DAILY MANNA 14 February 2023 DEVOTIONAL

DCLM Daily Manna Devotional for today By Pastor W.F Kumuyi - The Real Day to Mark You May Also like: Dclm daily manna devotional - Power in the name of Jesus Click here for more DCLM daily manna for today 2023 devotional It is advisable that you prayerfully and meditatively read the text first TEXT: Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 (KJV) 1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. You May Also like: DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi -- Divine command against divorce KEY VERSE: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). You May Also Read: From sinking to singing DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi here You May Also Read: past DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi here You May Also Read: Yesterday's DCLM Daily Manna by Pastor Kumuyi here (Deeper life daily manna dclm 2022)

DCLM DAILY MANNA 14th February 2023 DEVOTIONAL

MESSAGE: One thing very common to most people especially the youth, is the inability to reflect deeply about the possible outcome of many of the decisions and actions they take. This is even more pronounced during festive periods. At such times, youths tend to throw caution to the wind as they give themselves to unrestrained pleasures. Recently, there was a report of four young secondary school leavers who got drowned at Elegushi Beach, Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria while trying to celebrate the end of their secondary school final examinations. Every year, we keep having records of such tragedies marking similar celebrations like birthdays, graduation parties and even valentine day which today is noted for. Those who fall, victims of these tragic incidences, never imagined that such supposed moments of joy and celebrations will result in their tragic end. Our passage today is a direct call to the youths to be more reflective about their lives and actions. The Preacher urges them to see this time of their youthful age as the best time to remember their Creator and surrender their lives to Him. He cautions them against pushing that decision forward till it becomes practically too late to take the decision any more as death would have come and forever end every opportunity of getting right with God. A life lived in pleasure without God is vain. There is no better time to draw our young people to the Lord than now. Today is the real day everyone actually has assurance and guarantee over. In fact, whatever will happen at the very next moment is not within the control of anyone. It is for this reason that it is considered foolish for anyone to gamble with his life and opportunity which today presents. Young people must quit the idea that youthful age is supposed to be a period for pleasure. It is foolhardy to hope to get reconciled with God later in one’s life after one has passed the youthful age. There is no time better than now! Are you already caught in the euphoria of the lustful and sinful activities that mostly charactise today? What if today is to be your very last here on earth; how prepared are you to face God? The real day to mark is the day you get reconciled with your Creator. Why not make today that day! THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A life lived in pleasure without God is a wasted life. BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 11-13 DCLM DAILY MANNA 14 February 2023 DEVOTIONAL You May Also like: Dclm daily manna devotional - Envy is dangerous MEDITATION: You May Also like: Declare your triumph by Pastor Kumuyi DCLM DAILY MANNA 13 February 2023 DEVOTIONAL PRAYER POINTS: HYMN: You May Also like: Deeper life daily devotional - excess provision in famine by Pastor Kumuyi (daily manna for today 2022)

DEEPER LIFE DAILY MANNA DCLM 13th February 2023 DEVOTIONAL

Click here for more DCLM daily manna for today 2023 devotional The sweetest and biggest thing to ever happen to you is to make a decision to be saved through JESUS CHRIST. If you have not made that decision. Please make that decision now and say " Lord Jesus forgive me for my sins and have mercy on me, thank you for dying for me on the cross, take me as your son / daughter and be my father. THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME, in JESUS CHRIST NAME AMEN. If you just prayed this prayer of salvation now, please find a bible believing church where you can grow in the love and the Word of God and fellowship with them. God bless you Please don't forget to share with your friends and families on social media so they can be blessed and be blessings to others. God bless you Click here for more deeper life daily manna DCLM devotional DEEPER LIFE DAILY MANNA DCLM DEVOTIONAL WAS WRITTEN BY PASTOR W F KUMUYI who is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church.

adedots.com

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[shannaraisles]

And now I’m all caught up!

Prompt - Enaste develops a sweet tooth for something the cooks make at Skyhold one time, so her LI/best friend tries (and possibly fails) to acquire some more from other sources before asking the cooks to make this one thing again? - @inquisitionartist

Peaches

"... do not want any further excuses! I am perfectly well aware that peaches are in season in Rivain at this moment, and should you fail to fulfill my order a second time, rest assured that House Montilyet will take great pleasure in blackening your reputation as an honest trader in delicate comestibles!"

Enaste paused on the steps down into the lower courtyard, hidden from view behind the large trees allowed to flourish at the base of Cullen's gate-tower, fascinated by what she was hearing. She had been intending to find Josephine anyway, but it was nothing short of remarkable to find the Antivan lady soundly scolding a merchant in the middle of the fortress. And over peaches, no less?

"I assure you, Lady Montilyet, we have a shipment on the way -"

"On the way is not good enough!" Josephine insisted. "This order was placed over a month ago, there is no reason not to have a crate among the goods you have brought with you today."

"If I could perhaps know the reason -"

"No, you may not. Two weeks, Goodman Jarron, or my business shall be taken elsewhere."

As the merchant mumbled an apology and yet another assurance that the desired peaches would be at Skyhold sooner than that, Enaste peered around the greenery, smiling at the sight of Josephine huffing a breath through her nose as she turned away. She's so cute when she's riled up. The elven woman was about to step down and make her way over, when she heard Leliana's voice speak up in amusement.

"Really, Josie, the world will not end without peaches."

"That is not -" Josephine paused, taking a moment to calm herself. "That is not the point, Leliana," she told the spymaster in a more normal tone of voice. "We do not know when the order will come to march into the Arbor Wilds, and Enaste deserves to enjoy what meals we provide her before then."

Hidden behind the branches, Enaste felt her heart thump, not only at the sound of her own name on those kissable lips, but at the fact that Josephine was riled up on her behalf.

"But peaches?" Leliana was asking, her smile audible in her voice.

"She ... she likes the Antivan peach slices," Josephine told her hesitantly. "The ones with almond? It was wonderful to see her eating with enthusiasm. And the cooks informed me that she and Aran steal what is left over every time we have them."

Enaste bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Josephine was absolutely right - she'd never had much of a sweet tooth before coming here, but those peach and almond slices were divine. She hadn't realized that stealing the leftovers so often had been reported back to the ambassador, though. Or maybe she asked the cooks what I like, she realized, feeling her heart flutter this time. Maybe Dorian was right, after all.

"That is why you were stamping your foot in the courtyard?" Leliana pressed her friend as they passed by the foot of the steps on which the Inquisitor was concealed.

"I was not stamping my foot," Josephine objected. "I simply ..." She sighed, her voice beginning to fade as the two women walked back toward the steps up to the main keep. "She has so many cares, Leliana. I want her to know that I - that we - care for her in return ..."

Hidden behind the greenery, Enaste could feel herself grinning like an idiot, her whole body thrumming with absolute delight at this unexpectedly wonderful discovery.

She likes me.

[holdonendure]

REMEMBER now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the guarders of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goes to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the ruach shall return unto Elohiym who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many cepheriym there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Elohiym, and guard his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For Elohiym shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

QOHELETH (ECCLESIASTES) 12 את CEPHER

[prospergermoh]

Happy New Month -August 2020 -Month Of Flourishing

Happy new month, August 2020 , a great month for greater things. indeed this month will be a month of Flourishing in all side because the harvest will be plentiful. get ready for abundance. Bellow are some scriptures talking about Flourish... Psalms 92:12 | The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Psalms 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalms 92:14 | They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; Psalms 103:15 | As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. Psalms 132:18 | His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish. Proverbs 11:28 | He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. Ecclesiastes 12:5 | Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Philippians 4:10 | But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. So from all these, we must be happy and fulfilled because  this month things will work on their own accord bringing unlimited increase... Read the full article

[joexjuliana]

the man in the high castle s1: sunrise

when they shall be afraid of that which is high, "and fears shall bein the way, "and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden.

[frederickwiddowson]

Genesis, chapter 48 comments: Jacob blesses Joseph's sons

Genesis 48:1 ¶  And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4  And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5  And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6  And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7  And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

Upon hearing that Jacob was ill Joseph took his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see him. Jacob was apparently pretty out of it as he had to be told they were there. He then relates the blessing God bestowed on him through his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham.

Genesis 28:13  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14  And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Remember that it was Abraham who would be told that Canaan was to be an everlasting possession.

Genesis 17:7 ¶  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Jacob states that Joseph’s sons are just as much a part of this blessing as are Joseph’s brothers, Jacob’s own sons Reuben and Simeon. He established them as tribes included in the inheritance by saying that their descendants would be named after them. Then, Jacob mentions his beloved Rachel and where she was buried. It has been many, many years but the pain is still there as it is with many of us who have lost a loved one decades in the past.

Genesis 35:16 ¶  And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. 17  And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. 18  And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 19  And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. 20  And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

Genesis 48:8 ¶  And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? 9  And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10  Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11  And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 12  And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14  And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15  And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 16  The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20  And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21  And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22  Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Many times questions are asked in the Bible in a sort of rhetorical way. The understanding is that the person asking the question knows the answer but the requirement for an answer confirms a greater principle. For instance, in Genesis we know that God knows everything so this question becomes a requirement for someone to admit to something.

Genesis 3:8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

   9 ¶  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Jacob is blind, or nearly so, as a consequence of age. As part of the judgment we in this world are enduring, old age leads to many physical failings on the part of even the noblest and upright of God’s men and women of destiny.

1Kings 14:4  And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

Also read the metaphorical speech regarding old age that Solomon gives in Ecclesiastes

12.

1 ¶  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4  And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6  Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Joseph acknowledged that God had given him his sons and then Jacob said he wanted to bless them. Jacob expresses his joy and satisfaction that he never thought to see Joseph’s face again and yet now he has not only gotten to see Joseph’s face but also his children. One of the laments of we parents who have lost a child to death is that we will not only never see their face again in our earthly life but we will not see the children they might have had. It is an enduring pain and grief for some.

Joseph is holding his boys close and presents them to his father to be blessed and bows himself to the ground, this second greatest man in the world’s greatest superpower acknowledging the authority of his sheepherding father. It is a lesson we should learn as many of those reading this have risen to a higher social, economic, or political strata than their father but still honor him in respect. Position often has nothing to do with worthiness for respect.

Joseph presented the children in a specific order, so that Manasseh, the eldest, would receive the right hand of blessing from his grandfather, Jacob. Jacob crosses his hands and places his right hand, instead, on Ephraim’s head, and blessed Joseph. He mentions the Angel, capital A, as protecting him and asks that Angel for a blessing on the children and asks that they be included in his posterity and in the inheritance promised to his descendants. We’ve already seen what the word angel refers to but let’s review as Roman and Persian mythology have dominated a significant part of Christian history and have polluted our thinking ability and colored the lenses through which we view the Bible’s clear statements.

Remember, an angel is a presence, an appearance of something that is somewhere else, representing that person or thing but with power and ability that would prevent us from distinguishing the difference.

Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Matthew 18:10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Acts 12:15  And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

Revelation 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Christ is the appearance of God; the angel of the Lord, His presence. I want to repeat the definition of an angel in Isaiah 63:9.

Isaiah 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Galatians 4:14  And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

(Even can link two things that are the same such as I, even I, in Genesis 6:17 and over a dozen other verses.)

Who led the Hebrews out of Egypt.

Judges 2:1 ¶  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

You can imagine the angel of the LORD (LORD with all letters capitalized is Jehovah) or the angel of God as this Angel.

Joseph tried to remove his father’s hands, which Jacob had placed very deliberately where they were in full understanding of what he intended, onto the proper child in the order that he thought they should be placed. Jacob insisted, though, that Ephraim the younger would be greater than the elder. This is not the first time we have seen this, is it? Jacob himself was the younger child who supplanted the elder. But, this isn’t trickery or deception here. This blessing is from the beginning done wittingly.

The great leader to come, Joshua, a type of Christ in His Second Coming to conquer and rule, came out of Ephraim.

Numbers 13:8  Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun… 16  These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

Jehoshua is a different spelling of the name Joshua.

Ephraim has its issues as a tribe which shall come out in the narrative as you read. Jacob admits he is dying but tells them they will see the land, meaning their descendants will, that was promised to them. Again, verse 22 is also a prophecy of time to come.

Genesis 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

[araitsume]

Prophets and Kings, pp.75-86: Chapter (5) Solomon's Repentance

Twice during Solomon's reign the Lord had appeared to him with words of approval and counsel—in the night vision at Gibeon, when the promise of wisdom, riches, and honor was accompanied by an admonition to remain humble and obedient; and after the dedication of the temple, when once more the Lord exhorted him to faithfulness. Plain were the admonitions, wonderful the promises, given to Solomon; yet of him who in circumstances, in character, and in life seemed abundantly fitted to heed the charge and meet the expectation of Heaven, it is recorded: “He kept not that which the Lord commanded.” “His heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods.” 1 Kings 11:9, 10. And so complete was his apostasy, so hardened his heart in transgression, that his case seemed well-nigh hopeless.

From the joy of divine communion, Solomon turned to find satisfaction in the pleasures of sense. Of this experience he says:

“I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards: ... I got me servants and maidens: ... I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem....

“And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor.... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

“And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.... I hated life.... Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:4-18.

By his own bitter experience, Solomon learned the emptiness of a life that seeks in earthly things its highest good. He erected altars to heathen gods, only to learn how vain is their promise of rest to the spirit. Gloomy and soul-harassing thoughts troubled him night and day. For him there was no longer any joy of life or peace of mind, and the future was dark with despair.

Yet the Lord forsook him not. By messages of reproof and by severe judgments, He sought to arouse the king to a realization of the sinfulness of his course. He removed His protecting care and permitted adversaries to harass and weaken the kingdom. “The Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite.... And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon, ... captain over a band,” who “abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. And Jeroboam, ... Solomon's servant,” “a mighty man of valor,” “even he lifted up his hand against the king.” 1 Kings 11:14-28.

At last the Lord, through a prophet, delivered to Solomon the startling message: “Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.” Verses 11, 12.

Awakened as from a dream by this sentence of judgment pronounced against him and his house, Solomon with quickened conscience began to see his folly in its true light. Chastened in spirit, with mind and body enfeebled, he turned wearied and thirsting from earth's broken cisterns, to drink once more at the fountain of life. For him at last the discipline of suffering had accomplished its work. Long had he been harassed by the fear of utter ruin because of inability to turn from folly; but now he discerned in the message given him a ray of hope. God had not utterly cut him off, but stood ready to deliver him from a bondage more cruel than the grave, and from which he had had no power to free himself.

In gratitude Solomon acknowledged the power and the loving-kindness of the One who is “higher than the highest” (Ecclesiastes 5:8); in penitence he began to retrace his steps toward the exalted plane of purity and holiness from whence he had fallen so far. He could never hope to escape the blasting results of sin, he could never free his mind from all remembrance of the self-indulgent course he had been pursuing, but he would endeavor earnestly to dissuade others from following after folly. He would humbly confess the error of his ways and lift his voice in warning lest others be lost irretrievably because of the influences for evil he had been setting in operation.

The true penitent does not put his past sins from his remembrance. He does not, as soon as he has obtained peace, grow unconcerned in regard to the mistakes he has made. He thinks of those who have been led into evil by his course, and tries in every possible way to lead them back into the true path. The clearer the light that he has entered into, the stronger is his desire to set the feet of others in the right way. He does not gloss over his wayward course, making his wrong a light thing, but lifts the danger signal, that others may take warning.

Solomon acknowledged that “the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart.” Ecclesiastes 9:3. And again he declared, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” Ecclesiastes 8:11-13.

By the spirit of inspiration the king recorded for after generations the history of his wasted years with their lessons of warning. And thus, although the seed of his sowing was reaped by his people in harvests of evil, his life-work was not wholly lost. With meekness and lowliness Solomon in his later years “taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.” He “sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.” “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished.” Ecclesiastes 12:9-12.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter,” he wrote: “Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Verses 13, 14.

Solomon's later writings reveal that as he realized more and still more the wickedness of his course, he gave special attention to warning the youth against falling into the errors that had led him to squander for nought Heaven's choicest gifts. With sorrow and shame he confessed that in the prime of manhood, when he should have found God his comfort, his support, his life, he turned from the light of Heaven and the wisdom of God, and put idolatry in the place of the worship of Jehovah. And now, having learned through sad experience the folly of such a life, his yearning desire was to save others from entering into the bitter experience through which he had passed.

With touching pathos he wrote concerning the privileges and responsibilities before the youth in God's service:

“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.” Ecclesiastes 11:7-10.

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, While the evil days come not, Nor the years draw nigh, When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

“While the sun, Or the light, Or the moon, Or the stars, Be not darkened, Nor the clouds return after the rain:

“In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, And the strong men shall bow themselves, And the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets,

“When the sound of the grinding is low, And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, And all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

“Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, And fears shall be in the way,

“And the almond tree shall flourish, And the grasshopper shall be a burden, And desire shall fail:

“Because man goeth to his long home, And the mourners go about the streets:

“Or ever the silver cord be loosed, Or the golden bowl be broken, Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the cistern. “Then shall the dust return to the earth As it was: And the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it.”Ecclesiastes 12:1-7.

Not only to the youth, but to those of mature years, and to those who are descending the hill of life and facing the western sun, the life of Solomon is full of warning. We see and hear of unsteadiness in youth, the young wavering between right and wrong, and the current of evil passions proving too strong for them. In those of maturer years, we do not look for this unsteadiness and unfaithfulness; we expect the character to be established, the principles firmly rooted. But this is not always so. When Solomon should have been in character as a sturdy oak, he fell from his steadfastness under the power of temptation. When his strength should have been the firmest, he was found to be the weakest.

From such examples we should learn that in watchfulness and prayer is the only safety for both young and old. Security does not lie in exalted position and great privileges. One may for many years have enjoyed a genuine Christian experience, but he is still exposed to Satan's attacks. In the battle with inward sin and outward temptation, even the wise and powerful Solomon was vanquished. His failure teaches us that, whatever a man's intellectual qualities may be, and however faithfully he may have served God in the past, he can never with safety trust in his own wisdom and integrity.

In every generation and in every land the true foundation and pattern for character building have been the same. The divine law, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, ... and thy neighbor as thyself,” the great principle made manifest in the character and life of our Saviour, is the only secure foundation, the only sure guide. Luke 10:27. “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation,” the wisdom and knowledge which God's word alone can impart. Isaiah 33:6.

It is as true now as when the words were spoken to Israel of obedience to His commandments: “This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.” Deuteronomy 4:6. Here is the only safeguard for individual integrity, for the purity of the home, the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation. Amidst all life's perplexities and dangers and conflicting claims, the one safe and sure rule is to do what God says. “The statutes of the Lord are right,” and “he that doeth these things shall never be moved.”Psalm 19:8; 15:5.

Those who heed the warning of Solomon's apostasy will shun the first approach of those sins that overcame him. Only obedience to the requirements of Heaven will keep man from apostasy. God has bestowed upon man great light and many blessings; but unless this light and these blessings are accepted, they are no security against disobedience and apostasy. When those whom God has exalted to positions of high trust turn from Him to human wisdom, their light becomes darkness. Their entrusted capabilities become a snare.

Till the conflict is ended, there will be those who will depart from God. Satan will so shape circumstances that unless we are kept by divine power, they will almost imperceptibly weaken the fortifications of the soul. We need to inquire at every step, “Is this the way of the Lord?” So long as life shall last, there will be need of guarding the affections and the passions with a firm purpose. Not one moment can we be secure except as we rely upon God, the life hidden with Christ. Watchfulness and prayer are the safeguards of purity.

All who enter the City of God will enter through the strait gate—by agonizing effort; for “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth.” Revelation 21:27. But none who have fallen need give up to despair. Aged men, once honored of God, may have defiled their souls, sacrificing virtue on the altar of lust; but if they repent, forsake sin, and turn to God, there is still hope for them. He who declares, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life,” also gives the invitation, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Revelation 2:10; Isaiah 55:7. God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. “I will heal their backsliding,” He declares; “I will love them freely.” Hosea 14:4.

Solomon's repentance was sincere; but the harm that his example of evil-doing had wrought could not be undone. During his apostasy there were in the kingdom men who remained true to their trust, maintaining their purity and loyalty. But many were led astray; and the forces of evil set in operation by the introduction of idolatry and worldly practices could not easily be stayed by the penitent king. His influence for good was greatly weakened. Many hesitated to place full confidence in his leadership. Though the king confessed his sin and wrote out for the benefit of after generations a record of his folly and repentance, he could never hope entirely to destroy the baleful influence of his wrong deeds. Emboldened by his apostasy, many continued to do evil, and evil only. And in the downward course of many of the rulers who followed him may be traced the sad influence of the prostitution of his God-given powers.

In the anguish of bitter reflection on the evil of his course, Solomon was constrained to declare, “Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: folly is set in great dignity.”

“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.” Ecclesiastes 9:18; 10:5, 6, 1.

Among the many lessons taught by Solomon's life, none is more strongly emphasized than the power of influence for good or for ill. However contracted may be our sphere, we still exert an influence for weal or woe. Beyond our knowledge or control, it tells upon others in blessing or cursing. It may be heavy with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of some cherished sin; or it may be charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. But potent for good or for ill it will surely be.

That our influence should be a savor of death unto death is a fearful thought, yet it is possible. One soul misled, forfeiting eternal bliss—who can estimate the loss! And yet one rash act, one thoughtless word, on our part may exert so deep an influence on the life of another that it will prove the ruin of his soul. One blemish on the character may turn many away from Christ.

As the seed sown produces a harvest, and this in turn is sown, the harvest is multiplied. In our relation to others, this law holds true. Every act, every word, is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of thoughtful kindness, of obedience, of self-denial, will reproduce itself in others, and through them in still others. So every act of envy, malice, or dissension is a seed that will spring up in a “root of bitterness” whereby many shall be defiled. Hebrews 12:15. And how much larger number will the “many” poison! Thus the sowing of good and evil goes on for time and for eternity.

[shijumoni]

Ecclesiastes 12 1: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; நீ உன் வாலிபப்பிராயத்திலே உன் சிருஷ்டிகரை நினை; தீங்குநாட்கள் வராததற்குமுன்னும், எனக்குப் பிரியமானவைகளல்ல என்று நீ சொல்லும் வருஷங்கள் சேராததற்குமுன்னும்., 2: While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: சூரியனும், வெளிச்சமும், சந்திரனும், நட்சத்திரங்களும், அந்தகாரப்படாததற்குமுன்னும், 3: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, மழைக்குப்பின் மேகங்கள் திரும்பத்திரும்ப வராததற்குமுன்னும், வீட்டுக் காவலாளிகள் தள்ளாடி, பெலசாலிகள் கூனிப்போய், எந்திரம் அரைக்கிறவர்கள் கொஞ்சமானதினால் ஓய்ந்து, பலகணிவழியாய்ப் பார்க்கிறவர்கள் இருண்டுபோகிறதற்குமுன்னும், 4: And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; ஏந்திர சத்தம் தாழ்ந்ததினால் தெருவாசலின் கதவுகள் அடைபட்டு, குருவியின் சத்தத்துக்கும் எழுந்திருக்கவேண்டியதாகி, கீதவாத்தியக் கன்னிகைகளெல்லாம் அடங்கிப்போகாததற்குமுன்னும், 5: Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: மேட்டுக்காக அச்சமுண்டாகி, வழியிலே பயங்கள் தோன்றி, வாதுமைமரம், பூப்பூத்து, வெட்டுக்கிளியும் பாரமாகி, பசித்தீவனமும் அற்றுப்போகாததற்கு முன்னும், மனுஷன் தன் நித்திய வீட்டுக்குப் போகிறதினாலே, துக்கங்கொண்டாடுகிறவர்கள் வீதியிலே திரியாததற்குமுன்னும், 6: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. வெள்ளிக்கயிறு கட்டுவிட்டு, பொற்கிண்ணி நசுங்கி, ஊற்றின் அருகே சால்உடைந்து, துரவண்டையில் உருளை நொறுங்கி, 7: Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (at Taramani railway station) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5fHu2HACB5/?igshid=560bylqca3v1

[nauvoonumerology]

ECC 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

ECC 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

ECC 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

ECC 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

ECC 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

ECC 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

ECC 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Take away the Book of Mormon, and the revelations, and where is our religion?

We have none;

For without a Zion and a place of deliverance, we must fall, because the time is near when

the sun will be darkened,

the moon turn to blood,

the stars fall from heaven and

The earth reel to and fro;

then if this is the case, if we are not sanctified and gathered to the places where God has appointed, our former professions and our great love for the bible,

we must fall,

we cannot stand,

we cannot be saved;

for God will gather out his saints from the gentiles and then comes desolation or destruction and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered.

[benjywong]

Summary of a Good Life

Solomon as the wisest fool thought through how to share his failings and the recipe for a good life in the book of Ecclesiastes. He summarises his thoughts in a final statement in chapter 12 verse 13:

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

In the first half of chapter 12, Solomon spends time showing us why we must keep remembering that this life here is very short. The pleasures that we find in are temporal and vain. Even if we love it much as young people, it will be vain when we get old.

We will start to feel the symptoms of aging:

Recover slower from exercise or going out - “nor the clouds return after the rain.” v2

Loss of strength - “the strong men shall bow themselves” v3

Failing of eyesight - “those that look out of the windows be darkened”

Less energy to go out - “doors shall be shut in the streets” v4

Insomnia and shorter sleeping hours - “rise up at the voice of the bird” v4

Those that were eloquent in speech and had good voices to sing will find faculties weakened - “all the daughters of musick shall be brought low” v4

White and graying of hair - “almond tree shall flourish” v5

The legs that used to run fast shall then become a burden - “grasshopper shall be a burden” v5

Life that hangs on a string shall shatter into pieces irreparably - “silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken” v6

And afterwards the dust shall return to the Earth, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. v7

Solomon’s conclusion then after describing in vivid detail how aging will make life vain, concludes to say that how vain is a life; how meaningless and empty is a life, if lived without God?

Thus, Solomon hopes that we remember his words in Ecclesiastes, 1) “as goads” v11, which is used as a piece of wood to prod oxen in those days, and these words/Bible should be used to discipline and direct us in our lives, and 2) “as nails fastened by the masters or assemblies” v11 which tighten our paths to His word, as strait and narrow and broad as the Word of God.

Solomon then says that there is no wisdom, no satisfaction in life to be found in the seeking of truth, by “making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh” v12. There is nothing wrong learning philosophy and to understand God’s natural world, and is not a plea of ignorance. But it is vain to seek them instead of seeking God who has the answers. Do not fall into the trap of Adam and Eve who sought truth instead of seeking God.

Thus, how can we find satisfaction in life? Verse 13 gives us the conclusion - that we are to Fear God and keep His commandments. Not just a fear of Him that He can put us into hell, but a reverence for Him, such that in everything we do, to obey His Word. For every thought and deed shall be brought “into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (v14).

Let us walk in a way to fear God knowing that all that we do will have to be answered to Him. Will we find peace in our heart and heaven on Earth by finding satisfaction in Him, or will we cast our time on things with no eternal value, leading to great vanity