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| C. Kevin Thompson |
I wrote a series of articles several years ago when 30 Days Hath Revenge originally came
out. It was a quick history of The Plague. It covered The Justinian Plague of
542 A.D., The Black Death, or Black Plague, in the 14th century, and the Third
Great Plague of the 17th century. There were other, more recent outbreaks, too,
which I discussed, like The Barbary Plague in San Francisco during the early
1900s, and smaller outbreaks in Chandigarh, India (1994) and in Bunia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa (2003).
As I researched for my book, I became fascinated by a
portion of Old testament scripture I had read numerous times in the past, but
it was an author who specialized in germ warfare who pointed out to me what I
had missed.
In 1 Samuel 5:1-7:1, we have the story of the Ark of God
being captured by the Philistines. They take the Ark back home and place it in
the temple of Dagon in the city of Ashdod. At first, the Lord God sends a
little message to the Philistines by causing the image of Dagon to fall on its
face. The priests of the pagan temple, finding their god on the ground that
next morning, picked up the image and put it back in its place.
(As an aside, how much does this look like us? God knocks
down an image we tend to worship, and we, like the priests, pick it up, dust it
off, and continue to live our lives in the same fashion, missing the inherent
warning? Hmmm…Now, back to our story.)
So, the Lord God does it again. When the image of Dagon fell
a second time the very next morning, the head and hands also broke off. They
were found lying on the threshold of the temple. A very symbolic act by the
Lord God to denote His dominion and power over the pagan god. Problem is,
neither the priests nor the people of Ashdod got the message. You would think
they would have put two and two together and thought to themselves, “Hey, we
didn’t have this problem until the Ark of God arrived.” But, they didn’t. So,
God proceeded to Plan B.
(One more aside: This, by the way, shows how merciful God
is. He could have just gone ahead and enacted Plan B, but He tried to get their
attention by other means first. This is often how God operates. Unfortunately,
we often miss the earlier messages and only see the bad ones that follow, like
the people of Ashdod. Then, we have the audacity to criticize God and ask why
He is so vicious, so uncaring, and so malevolent in His ways. “Why does He
allow bad things to happen to good people?” Had we listened the first time, He
wouldn’t have to enact Plan B. Hmmm… Now, back to our story.)
In verse six and following, it says the Lord God’s hand was
heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and He inflicted them with “tumors.” In the
Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, they add this line (NIV): “And rats appeared in their land, and death and destruction were
throughout the city.”
That’s when the priests and people of Ashdod finally figured
it out. Oh, it’s the Ark… So, they
called for a meeting and decided to move the Ark. To Ekron. Duh. Now, two
cities were infected because God did not stop the affliction in Ashdod. Verse 9
says the people in Ekron were also infected with “tumors.” In the Septuagint,
it adds: “in the groin.”
The Bubonic Plague was referred to by that name because of
the buboes (in the Biblical account =
tumors) which appear under the arms and in the groin area. Lymph nodes swell
with a mixture of the bacteria, both alive and dead, and puss (hence the
stories about the “stench” and “smell of death” often recorded by historians).
In 1 Samuel 6, seven months passed before the Philistines
called a major conference. Seven months of the plague devastating five major
cities of the kingdom. Such is sin. It causes great suffering and stubbornness.
So, when the conferees arrived and discussed the situation, they decided the
Ark of God must be sent back to Israel. They also decided a guilt offering be
sent with it: five golden tumors and five golden rats, to symbolize the
affliction, and one for each ruler of the five major cities of Philistia (vv.
1-18). They finally got it.
Historians believe that this account in 1 Samuel is the
first recorded account of a bubonic plague. There may have been other outbreaks
in biblical times, too. They just didn’t get recorded.
What can we take away from this? It’s interesting how God
uses the effects of sin (in this case, war, pride, and disease) to “preach a
sermon,” of sorts (cf. Romans 1:19). In one of the worst accounts in recorded
history, it started with one little microscopic bacteria and a flea. But that’s
how sin operates. One seemingly small incident, decision, or choice against the
laws of God, even by those who seem religiously devout, hatches in one
individual and spreads throughout that person’s body, who in turn, comes in
contact with another and another.
And the rest, they say, is history.
If only we would listen to the first message, we’d never
have to experience God’s Plan B.
A
Clandestine Mission.
A
Cryptic Message.
A
Chaste Promise.
Blake
Meyer dreamed of a peaceful end to a dutiful career with the FBI. Married now,
his life was taking him in a new direction—a desk job. He would be an analyst.
Ride it out until retirement. Be safe so he could enjoy his grandchildren some
day.
But when
a notable member of the IRA is murdered in a London flat, Blake’s secretive
past propels him into the middle of a vindictive, international scheme so
hellish and horrific, it will take everything Blake possesses—all of it—to save
the United States from the most diabolical terrorist attack to date.
C.
KEVIN THOMPSON is an ordained minister with a B.A. In Bible
(Houghton College, Houghton, NY), an M.A. in Christian Studies (Wesley Biblical
Seminary, Jackson, MS), and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership (National-Louis
University, Wheeling, IL). He presently works as an assistant principal in a
middle school. He also has several years of experience as an administrator at
the high school level.
A former Language Arts teacher, Kevin decided to put his
money where his mouth was and write, fiction mostly. Now, years later, Kevin is
a member of the Christian Authors Network (CAN), American Christian Fictions
Writers (ACFW), and Word Weavers International. He is the Chapter President of
Word Weavers-Lake County (FL), and his published works include two
award-winning novels. The Serpent’s Grasp
(Winner of the 2013 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference Selah
Award for First Fiction) is scheduled for reprint with Hallway Publishing,
Spring 2017. Kevin’s second book, 30 Days
Hath Revenge - A Blake Meyer Thriller: Book 1, is also scheduled for a
second edition Oct. 2016, with Book 2 coming soon. Kevin also has had articles
appear in The Wesleyan Advocate, The Preacher, Vista, The Des Moines Register and The Ocala Star-Banner.
Kevin is a huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Criminal Minds, loves anything to do with Star Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, too.
Facebook: C. Kevin Thompson – Author Fan Page
Twitter: @CKevinThompson
Goodreads: C. Kevin Thompson
