Thrillers, Chillers & Sci-Fi Killers. Whether or not you believe the bible is true, it contains stories that trigger imagination.

Bones of Moses

My wife is not convinced by the snake trick, but when she sees the rotting sores, she backs away from me, speechless.

I slip my disfigured hand back under my robe. When I pull it out again, I offer reassurance. “It’s alright. See? It’s clean.”

“Completely?” She beckons me out the door into the daylight.

“Look for yourself. No leprosy. I’ve practiced ten times on the way here and always with the same result.” I hold out my hand, and she inspects it thoroughly.

“It’s a sign,” I say with pride.

“A sign of what?”

“That I’m going to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.” With Zipporah it’s always best to get to the point. She’s a no nonsense woman who deals only with facts.

“Okay Mo. See? This is what I’m talking about. For days, you barely mumble anything, and then when you do speak, it doesn’t make sense. Think about it. Why would people choose you as their leader because you have disappearing leprosy?”

“I’m not saying they will. I’m saying that I’m supposed to lead the people. Disappearing leprosy and the rod changing into a snake are two of the signs.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There’s another sign that might help, but I can’t show it to you until I have water from the Nile.”

“No Mo, I don’t need more signs to understand. I need you to explain. Tell me why you think you’re the man to lead the Israelites against Pharaoh. Who put you up to this? This idea is not like you. You’re the quiet man who’s been content to herd sheep for the entire forty years we’ve been married.”

“Believe me, I know that. That’s exactly what I told him.”

“Him? Did father say you’re to do this?”

“No. It wasn’t your father.”

“Then who? What man? I want to meet him.”

I’m silent. She won’t believe me if I tell her. I know this. The signs did not change her.

Back inside, she sits and crosses her arms. “I’m waiting, Mo. Who is he?”

I clear my throat and try to say the words with persuasive emphasis. “He is… I Am.”

She leaps up as if stung by a scorpion. “Your god told you this? What did he look like this time?”

“A bush.”

“A bush? You heard a voice coming from a bush?”

“It was a burning bush. In fact, it was still burning when I left it. It never burned up.”

She gives me the crazy eye.

“Look Zip, I could take you there, and you could see for yourself.”

“No thank you. Why would I want to do that? Fire or not, a god who talks from a bush is not my kind of god.”

Her flippant words scare me. “You can’t say things like that, Zip. This God sees, and hears, and knows us. He knows how the Israelites are being treated by Pharoah.”

“Does he know the men who would kill you?” She glares at me.

“Yes. He does, and he says they’re dead.” I am resolute. I reach for her hand. “Zip. Look at me. He says I must go back.”

She pulls away.

From then on, she follows my orders to prepare for the journey, but I know she’s mad because all the while, she stays silent.

Her indifference to me settles into a pattern that becomes as routine as the days of our journey. The distraction of travel allows the wounds in my soul to fester and after days of little communication, I become incensed and decide that her disbelief still threatens my authority.

At a resting place, I pull her away from the rest of the caravan to point out her short fallings as a wife. “Your lack of faith causes this gap between us. You must change your mind.”

“Are you ordering me to change my mind? Am I to pretend so that you can be affirmed? How can I do this? Belief is personal. You have your way of looking at gods, and I have mine.”

“Correction. Not gods. God. There’s only one God.”

“And theirs’s our gap. It will not mend.” She stomps away.

That night I become severely ill. The servants try everything to ease my breathing, but I feel my throat closing. In my struggle, I wonder if this happens because of the disbelief of my wife. Will my death be by the same hand of the God who seeks me to lead His people?

Then Zipporah bursts through the doorway and flings something at my feet. In her hand is a blood covered knife.

“What have you done?” I gasp, wheezing and choking on the words.

“A husband of blood you are to me. You listened to me, and now your life is in danger because of your rebellion.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your god is not angry with me. He’s angry with you. You disobeyed Him. Because the circumcision of our son was not done, He said you would die. So, I did what I didn’t ever want you to do.”

She collapses next to me and sobs. “It was horrible, but I did it, because I cannot live if I lose you. I love you.” Her terrible stubborn strength becomes my salvation. Her choice to act makes me ashamed of my cowardice. As I soothe her, my breaths come easier.

Then she sits and asks, “Who is this God who requires such things?

I think a minute about her question, and then I answer. “He’s the kind of God who stops at nothing- even the use of flesh and bone to convince us of His presence.

I laugh as she watches me slip my rotting hand back inside my cloak and then pull it out again.

I’m clean.

This fictionalized account was inspired by Exodus, Chapter 1-4, especially Chapter 4, and verses 24-26

My new blog series, Bible Snaps are short fictionalized accounts of the more chilling stories in the Bible. There may even be a few “science fiction” type stories that reference biblical disasters that seem to conflict with the laws of nature. 

If you follow along, there’s a couple things you should know.

My “Bible Snaps” aren’t an attempt to settle the question, “is the bible true?” Each person must decide that on their own. My goal is to jump into the head of bible characters and try to imagine living the experience described in the story and then use fresh and personal words to tell it.

My other goal is to keep these posts “snappy” quick. In doing this, I might only “snap” a portion of the bible story to tell, but I’ll always give you the bible reference so you can read the actual bible text that inspired me.

There are also other reading options on my website.

If you don’t like my Bible Snaps Stories, then check out “Five,” my medical Sci-Fi supernatural thriller story. All 67 episodes (blog posts) are now available, and if you read them from beginning to end, you’ll have read the entire book and will be ready for my sequel, “Six.”

If you don’t like “Five”, then read my other short stories on this blog- (search word, “un-proverbial”) or Psalms blog posts. All of these were posted before January 2015.

Just read me. I’d be honored to have YOU in my audience!

One final thought.

Why do I re-tell the “bad” or chilling parts of the Bible?

We live in rough times. Many people suffer under injustice. It’s good to see how the Bible, an old book that many value as true, contains many helpful stories of people who were oppressed yet managed to live, survive, and thrive.

Don’t take my word or anyone else’s word about the Bible. Give it a read for YOURSELF. You may be surprised by what you find.

Thanks,

Ann