Wisdom Truck 2

 

The second place the word Wisdom appears in the Bible surprised me at how far ahead it jumped; Genesis 41:8:

Gen 41:8  So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. 

God even helped me out here, because my physical Bible had a note that connected it to a New Testament verse:

Mat 2:1  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 

Mat 2:2  saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 

If you are saying, "Wait, what?" Well so was I, at first.  So I went into researching "Egyptian wise men".  This led me to several obscure Egyptian gods, most of which even my quests into mythology never heard of.  Rather than hop down that bunny trail, the cut-to-the-chase was this:  the wise men were "magicians", they were called on to invoke gods who tapped into the creative force of the cosmos.  They were called mainly for three reasons: to ward off evil (which I believe was the function of our boys in this verse), Curative- invoking the correct god to add his/her touch to whatever illness or injury was being treated, or transformative- either changing a prospective lover's feelings towards you, or later easing the transition into the "next world."   

I had no idea what to do with this, until I got a "work with what you got" flash.  What was the difference between the wise men in Genesis and those in Matthew?  Those in Matthew, Bible scholars believe, were carrying on a tradition first taught them by Daniel when he was the lead wise man in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon.  Otherwise, why would they even care about a newborn King of the Jews?  So now let's look at three sets of wise men- and here's the passage for that third set:

Dan 2:2  Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 

Dan 2:3  And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 

Dan 2:4  Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 

Dan 2:5  The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 

Now the Pharaoh trusted his wise men; he was a man, not yet a "god", and he was worried.  But they couldn't help; they were seeking a divine source of wisdom, but not GOD'S wisdom.  They might trip over an interpretation on other things, but God sent this dream, and only God- through Joseph- would interpret it.   

Nebuchadnezzar very much thought himself a god, and demanded results.  Like Eve, not considering that she had God and sought wisdom from a fruit, Nebuchadnezzar never considered the obvious thing:  if he WAS a god, and his magicians had to go TO a god to learn the dream and its interpretation- why didn't HE know the interpretation?  Truth is, he already knew the BS sleight of hand tricks HIS magicians used, and wanted a true interpretation.  Making it impossible would guarantee the truth.  But that very impossibility pointed away from him as god and dependance on the one TRUE God...

Dan 2:46  Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 

Dan 2:47  The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 

But while this got it in his stubborn head there was only one god, it didn't cure him from trying to BE God, and that would lead him to trouble down the road.

The third set of wise men, they had been taught part of the story- but they didn't know the details.  Thus they did the exact right/wrong thing: They went to Herod to find out exactly where this child would be born.  The right thing, because Herod sent for his "wise men"- the scribes- and found that the child would be born "in Bethlehem of Judea".  The wrong thing, because Herod- another man who thought he was a "god"- would use the info to kill the children of Bethlehem to eliminate "his rival".

So where do we go with this? Pharaoh's wise men had an idea of divinity, but it was not complete enough to lead them to God.  That's like the spiritualists of our day, knowing there is a power, focused or unfocused, out there, but not knowing God's true nature.  Nebuchadnezzar's wise men were frauds, and seeing the true God opened his eyes.  Still, it had yet to change him at his core.  The wise men who came to Herod, had the right idea, but incomplete knowledge.

And for us, that means, 1) we have to seek the right God, the True God.  2) We have to internalize this, develop a relationship with the True God, so that we might be transformed in our minds.  3) We have to KNOW our scriptures, our Bible, so we don't depend on fraudsters and those with evil intent to guide us. 

Martin World News

 

So last week about this time I vented about the news.  Sometimes you gotta let go and let God, and I didn't do so.  This week, I'm a bit less crotchety and a bit more level headed, so let me go seek the fun in the pages....

DW (Germany)- The headline is enough for a groan...

Headline: Baa-rgain hunters: 50 sheep visit German supermarket

Welcome to Burgsinn, Bavaria, where about 50 sheep decided to come shop at a Penny Supermarket.  It was a section of a herd that wandered away from the shepherd, and mistook someone's shopping bag for a feed bag, and followed them in.  Luckily for the store, they just kind of milled around the entrance, and an employee banging on a register scraed them off.  And luckily for us- and non-obvious jokes- the store wasn't a Woolworths.

Japan Times- Yeah, I don't see "White Day" catching on

Headline: From ‘senpai’ to ‘love hotel’: 11 new Japanese words enter the Oxford dictionary

This was a fun opinion piece on Japanese terms that made the latest update of the (slightly addled) Oxford English Dictionary.  While some of them the writer could kinda see, many times, the reaction of staff writer Mike Fu was, ' yeah, English speakers will really use that!'  I know two of them you are "dying" to hear, and one is this "Love hotel"- Which is basically the Japanese version of "no-tell motel."  Others of some note are: "Washlet", which Google AI tells us: A TOTO Washlet is a brand of electronic bidet toilet seat by TOTO that provides warm water cleansing, often with features like heated seats, warm air drying, and deodorizers, replacing traditional toilet paper for enhanced hygiene and comfort...

and the phrase "Mottainai" whose meaning pretty much sums up the whole list- "What a waste".

And White Day?  March 14th, when whoever receives a Valentines Day gift is required to return the favor.  What's "Another Hallmark rip-off" in Japanese? (answer: Mata shite mo hōrumāku no pakuri shōhin).

Xinhua: Somehow, I'm not as impressed as I was...

Headline: In pics: giant snowman at Qunli music park in Harbin, China's Heilongjiang

So, the interesting part of this was how big this snowman really was: "19 meters tall, measuring 14 meters in length and 11 meters in width".  The disappointing part, part one:  With 35,000 cubic meters of snow used, I thought, wow, thats a lot of snow!  So I asked how much snow would need to fall across the city of Harbin to get that much snow? Answer- less than a quarter inch. Somewhere between 4 to 11 feet per ONE acre...  I guess snow really piles up.  Disappointing part two:  As I scrolled down the article to learn more informastion, I found there was none... 10 different pictures, with the same 2 sentences attached to each one.

GB News: the Woke get woked

Headline: Woke outrage as Springsteen classic censored by UK radio station: 'Britain is a LAUGHING stock!'

I find it amusing that Bruce Springsteen, about as woke a celebrity is there is out there, got hoisted on his own petard, to wit:

A radio station in the UK has sparked outrage from music fans after reports emerged that it had been purposefully editing the lyrics of a classic Bruce Springsteen track.  Absolute Radio has reportedly begun censoring Mr Springsteen's 1984 classic Born in the USA, muting the phrase "yellow man" when broadcasting the track.

The term, which appears in the song's lyrics, is regarded as a derogatory slur against Asian people.  In the original recording, the 76-year-old rock star sings: "So they put a rifle in my hands, sent me off to a foreign land, to go and kill the yellow man, Born in the USA."

I would defend him over this senseless chunk of stupid, but Lord knows he'd run over me with his Cadillac, so screw 'im.

And now, the end, and I do mean, the end...

CTV News (Canada)- I really could just stop at the headline...

Headline: ‘Stop sending butt plugs to Bahrain’: Toronto sex store receives letters from U.S. Department of War

Toronto's Bonjibon sex-toy store has been fighting the tariff battle over returns from the US they've been getting.  But in examining a couple of returns, they got a surprise:

The letter was sent by the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command fleet logistics centre in Bahrain, an island neighbouring Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf.

“During security screening by Bahrain Customs, pornographic materials and or devices were identified in a package addressed to you. This letter is to notify you that your parcel was returned to the sender,” the letter, with the subject line ‘Adult item Identified during X-ray Mail Screening,’ reads in part.

“Please notify the sender that pornographic materials or devices are not allowed into the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

Appartently, according to the owners of the shop, a middleman must have bought them and then shipped them to a US Military base in Bahrain. “We didn’t even know it (the product) was going to Bahrain until it came back to us months later, and it just kind of unraveled this whole … hilarious moment,” according to co-owner Grace Bennett.  CTV reached out to the Pentagon ("...don't have anything to offer on the topic") and to  Bahrain's Ministry of Interior Customers Affairs (crickets) to no avail.  

"They were a hoimecoming gift for... a friend..."

Pictures... and not so pictures

 Not to whine, but both my computer and my work have sucked this week.  Computer, I still have no idea.  Work, because the down season is really down- 26 hours this week.  Which did give us time for three walks- one of which I would have had the neatest pictures IF I had taken my camera.

Start Monday...

Seems to be a nice enough day...

Tried to get the neighbor doggie peeking at us, but he ducked

But there were a lot of doggies about

Found a crashed Chinese Lantern from NYE....

With all the melting and freezing, we have crunchy ankle turners poking up in the leafy areas

"Daddy, can we check out the ice?"

And our first abandoned clothing shot for 2026- pair of panties in the middle of the street...

Our second walk came Wednesday, and I abandoned the camera for a trash bag- trying to pick up some of the trash on our way.  So of course we hit the field behind the Swamp and found an entire herd of deer.  First was a younger buck, kind of keeping the warning eye out for the group, which was 6 strong at the time, and not really interested in doing more than looking us.  When Young Bucky decided to retreat to the herd and nudge them a bit, they sorta ambled towards the edge of the woods- still not concerned at all.  As we drew even with them, I saw something out the corner of my eye, over by the river.  Sure enough, here comes the Big Boss, a buck head higher than the rest (and a head and shoulder taller than Young Bucky), sauntering with an aplomb that said he knew he was the biggest SOB in the valley!  By the time he reached the group, a few had actually at least put their heads into the woods, but the closest two to him- along with Young Bucky- just stood there watching us as if to say, "Just try something."  Probably not so wise a choice had I been armed with other than a packed-full trash bag and a dog who lost interest when they stood still; they headed slowly into the woods as they lost sight of us.

Now today, our weird weather put us up almost to 60F, and this time we did take the camera...

It was bright when we started, though it ended overcast

Ambo at the neighbors- prayers for all involved.  An EMS SUV had just pulled out.

These were two of four or so who were rampaging up and down this tree, enjoying the warm

A little rain last night gives Misty a drink- we're supposed to get more tonight

Discers were enjoying, too

Misty was going so hard, I took this pic just to catch my breath!

Obviously, our trash bag trip didn't come out this way...

The presence of Jack Laurie means the Alumni Center reno has hit the flooring stage

Yesterday, there were deer there...

I'm ready for a sit down

Somebody lost a Carhart glove- that gets a bit expensive

Misty was barking to go- this was my first attempt to catch her in mid-bark (fail)

Strike two

Ah, there's the Money Shot

Here's Misty mad at me b/c I won't let her go down to the river

Even madder

A few seconds earlier, ducks were both under water for a good 5-10 seconds

Being a good Daddy, I let her get a sip at the Swamp

In case you thought my garbage excuse was garbage, that's the bag we collected

Those three Bluebirds of happiness were playing just like the squirrels.  This female was the only one to hold still for me

The Wisdom truck I

 

Welcome to this year's project, a term that came to my mind in prayer- The Wisdom Truck! What I want to do is follow the trail of wisdom from one end of the Bible to the other.  The first thing I learned is there are three Hebrew words involved (I haven't looked into the New Testament's Greek yet).  Two of them are used for God's idea of wisdom, the other for a more man-based wisdom.  We kind of saw that in our tour of Solomon- how he used his God-given wisdom to look into man's wisdom- which even he admitted was closely tied to folly.  What my plan is, is to take the words as they come up in the Bible, and look at each case to see what we can apply to us.

Our opening verse is a familiar one...

Gen 3:6  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

One thing I had pointed out to me recently is that the author meant no disrespect in calling Eve "the woman"- it was only AFTER the fall that Adam named her, because it was only AFTER the fall that they had the concept of reproduction explained to them.  Eve means, "Mother of all living", and it was only after God said the word, "childbirth", that they realized that was to be her function.  And that gift- and the attached curse of labor- was proof that even after the fall, God loved them.

But the word wise in this one is man's wisdom, and very much connected to folly.  Let's look at her reasoning process. Another topic we've hit before was that Adam as the head of the family, received instruction from God- and somehow Eve was getting some kind of disconnect.  Remember, God told Adam, do not eat from the tree, but Eve added, "Or even touch it".  Adam (whose failure is another issue), might not have fallen for the serpent's lies and half truths; but Eve, somehow was not as connected to God's word and was vulnerable.

At this point, Eve really needed the advice on Satan's tricks that we have in 1 John:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

She didn't have it, though, and her disconnect let her fall for all three.

First, the lust of the flesh- she saw that the tree was good for food.  The garden was FULL of any kind of food she could want- and probably some that tasted better.  Now, we don't know that- and neither did she! It could have tasted like broccoli, for all we know.  She just never asked herself why she wanted it.

Second, the lust of the eyes- and that it was a delight to the eyes- let's think about this.  Do you buy a fruit because of how it looks?  Only if you already know how it TASTES.  Man's wisdom takes in appearances, but never works from KNOWLEDGE.

Third, and most pertinent here, the pride of life- it was desirable to make one wise- the biggest mistake of all. She had contact with GOD- and thought she would gain more from something that, as Jesus said,

Mat 15:17  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 

Here you see how tightly human wisdom binds with folly.  Solomon up there in the truck, he figured it out at length- and his trying to do it his way ripped a rich, prosperous nation in two.  Eve did it, and it tore man and God in two.

Rant: the world outside your door

 So I thought there were a few things in the world you all who occasionally read these posts ought to know about what is happening outside your door.  I know not everybody follows the news, because it can really depress you.  BUT... you NEED to know what is happening right under your noses.  If for no other reason, that you know who to pray for.

In Venezuela, people are celebrating the removal of a corrupt narco-dictator, who annulled the results of an election he LOST, by US forces yesterday.  Key word here- CELEBRATING.

In the meantime, known communist agents in the US and elsewhere, the same ones who have funded Antifa, BLM, and No Kings protests, are pushing PROTESTS against our removing this animal.  And most of the US Congress is following in lockstep, either because they're being paid to, they are Democrats who would ban blue skies if they supprted Trump, or others who are whiny about Trump taking an action they SHOULD have.  And of course, all the Hollywood leftists are following obediently along.

While in Australia, a man who dared to chant USA, USA at another one of these communist-sponsored rallies in favor of the butcher of Venezuela, was arrested, held for over an hour and then released, "When they couldn't come up with a charge to bring against me."  You know, Australia, God love you, but how many had to die on Bondi Beach because anti-gun laws take guns away from everyone BUT those who don't believe in law?

In Iran, the people who have been beggarred to support a nuclear program and half the world's terrorists are rising up against the Islamic regime.  And, they are being shot down by ringers from ISIS, Hezbollah, and Hamas, that Iran's mullahs called in because they can't depend on their own troops to save them. Do you care?

In Germany, thousands are without power because of sabaotage to a power trunk line.  No word on who did it... can we take a good guess?  And while they celebrate, and the government turns a blind eye because, 'diversity', old people without other choices are freezing in their homes.

In Sweden, the city of Malmo has been declared, "more dangerous than Baghdad", because the Muslims have increased the rates of rapes and bombings astronomically, and again the government turns a blind eye, legally persecuting journalists that try to get the truth out to the world.

And don't get me started on the UK.  But maybe Canadians can ask themselves about why it is that Alberta has been looking into independence from Ottawa, why Christians are being arrested while Muslims worship in the streets and truckers are being threatened with de-banking and other things for peaceful protests.

Is the USA immune? Not at all.  The Muslim city council of Dearborn Michigan HAS threatened Christians, and now I hear they are complaining about Sunday Church bells being rang as "offensive" while loudspeaker calls to Muslim worship are just fine.

And how do I hear all this?  By not being blind to the world around me.  But speaking out? Last night I saw on the "bastion of free speech," X, the Muslim mayor of NYC attacking Trump over, once again, the butcher of Venezuela.  So I replied:

For which I was LOCKED OUT of my account for "Violent speech".

And THAT is the world outside your door, friends.

The 2025 top ten

 

So I love to pack as many songs as I can on these lists, but I got looking.  72 songs made my M10 this year- with this week, there are 966 total songs since late August 2015.  And while I've enjoyed the freedom of not doing the weekly posts anymore, I do want to share some... so here is this year's top 10 songs on the Martin list.  Enjoy!

#10-

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#9

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#8 

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#7

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#6

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#5

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#4

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#3 

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#2

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And my #1 tune for the year...

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Hope you enjoyed, happy music year!

New year will be no smarter...

 So this morning, a friend on X told me (and others) a item that claimed, " absurd leftist assertion that time was invented by imperialists-colonists as a tool to enslave brown people." After a good hard laugh at that one, I asked grok to give me a top ten of stupid liberal/far left/woke claims.  Grok's list:

1- Math is racist: Because equations and correct answers enforce a "white supremacist" standard of objectivity, ignoring cultural ways of counting or estimating.

Math is supposed to be objective, people; whether you use a supercomputer or your buddy's toes, 2+2 will give you a simple, non-racial 4.

2- Trees are colonial oppressors: Planting non-native species is an act of environmental imperialism, displacing indigenous flora and perpetuating botanical hegemony.

Now see, the big ridiculousness is in how this is phrased; the tree planted isn't the oppressor, the planter is. But since you are talking about people on the level of the 74 women in Bristol, UK, who married trees in 2021, maybe they do blame the tree.

3- Gravity is ableist: It discriminates against those who can't jump high or climb stairs easily, reinforcing societal norms that favor the physically privileged.

Okay, I officially give up on the tree thing, because once you start accusing a fundamental force of nature of prejudicial behavior, the screw has well and truly come out, and the marbles are ready to jump...

This is the one who started this rumor...

4- Water is patriarchal: Rivers "flow" in a linear, goal-oriented manner, mirroring male-dominated narratives instead of embracing fluid, non-binary cycles.

So in a fair universe, we would not have rivers, brooks and streams.  But puddles, a LOT of puddles.

5- Sleep is a capitalist plot: The 8-hour sleep schedule was invented by factory owners to maximize worker productivity, enslaving us to the clock's tyranny.

Considering how generous eight hours for sleep would be to workers at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and how hard unions had to fight to GIVE you 8 hours sleep, I have got to think Karl Marx  took a twirl in his grave over this one.  On the other hand, it just might explain a lot about him...

6- Oxygen privilege: People in high-altitude areas are oppressed by thinner air, while sea-level dwellers hoard breathable resources without checking their atmospheric entitlement.

I do have another X person that is going through this "oppression" having just moved to Colorado.  But, it's like Sam Kinison said about deserts- you don't like it, move where the air is!

"You live on the edge of space!  There's NO AIR there! OH! OH!"

7- Punctuation is elitist: Periods and commas enforce rigid structure on language, marginalizing free-form expression from marginalized communities.

My first thought was, there are plenty of ancient languages that did not use punctuation; learn one of them.  Second thought:  I wonder if this explains Kamala Harris's speeches...

8- Photosynthesis is speciesist: Plants converting sunlight discriminates against nocturnal beings, prioritizing daytime ecosystems over the underrepresented night shift.

I honestly am stumped on this one.

9- Colors are culturally appropriated: Rainbows steal from indigenous prism lore, and using "black" or "white" in descriptions perpetuates chromatic colonialism.

I have to ask the LGBTQ flag designers how they feel about this one...

10- Logic itself is a tool of the patriarchy: Deductive reasoning suppresses intuitive, emotional truths, silencing femme ways of knowing in favor of rigid male paradigms.

Which is in essence saying, men are always right, women are always wrong.  These things are so stupid, they trip right into the jokes.

Now to its credit, grok tells me some of these are varying levels of satire, but usually based on something actual.