Bible Study

by Bing Chang
Graduation caps in air; laminated plaques on wall Inflated the airs I put on; contemptuous eyes cast down on people. Status garnered on the job; authority expanded through ranks I rose Further pumped my bulging pride, slanting up my pompous nose. My small mind trapped in self-confidence turned blind. My poor intellect, soaked in complacent senses, became confined. Agnostic me, pushing nonsense arguments in church like a pest Annoyed a lady who asked me if I had read the Bible in earnest. She was the angel who touched my unconscious spirit. Divinity awoke my slumbering soul from the barren pit. Oh, with my facade melting away, where could I hide my naked shame? Oh, my inner core tormented, realization of unworthiness made me lame. Abandoned in the scorching desert of emptiness; Haunted by the apparition of Dantean eeriness, My soul struggled to seek an oasis for relief and bliss. "..the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." * A ray from the Sacred Book pierced into the abyss of my ignorance. The house of David inscription; Amulet scroll's YHWH discovery; Dead sea scrolls; Galilee boat; Baruch bullae Jeremiah's reference; Pontius Pilate inscription; Ugarit's cuneiform charactery; Revealed Biblical truth with proven evidence and credence. Serendipities from browsing through God's words of saving delivery Filled my heart and soul with hopes, love and dreams in abundance. Thirst and hunger for more light thrust my quest with diligence. Adam and Eve begot a branch of chosen people fallen by the snake's spell, Whose pre-destined fate came from the forbidden fruit. They were banned from the Garden of Eden, with ominous knell. The Chinese ideogram or "Forbidden" is a meaning not to be refuted, Two trees and God's Oracle: In it the hidden truth dwells. Separated from God, man's spirit was broken and uprooted. Bereft of God, man became immoral. Immature free-will bred in human hearts all kinds of evil. The Great Flood ridded Mesopotamian creatures of devil. Providential floods were recorded by many civilizations. The Chinese ideogram for "Big Boat", a divine representation, Depicts Noah's Ark with 8 family members --for human's preservation. Harmonizing Bible stories with world history, Reconciling Scriptures, recordings with scientific theory, Validating biblical events with different ethnologies, Embodied my world view with understanding and clarity. * Numbers 6:25-26