A Guest Post by Henry O. Arnold<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are told that words are powerful, that words matter, that a spoken thought has a ripple effect in the world whether for good or ill. The main character in my novel A Voice Within the Flame<\/em> is Samuel, the last great judge and prophet before the monarchy was introduced in Israel. There is a descriptive phrase written of Samuel that is used nowhere else in Scripture, nor is it used to describe any other character. It is stated of Samuel that God \u201clet none of his words fall to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is biblical poetry and does not just refer to Samuel\u2019s prophetic declarations. Those pronouncements, while profound in effect, were infrequent and not the everyday life that Samuel led. This idiomatic expression reveals Samuel\u2019s deep and knowing character rooted in truth. Whatever Samuel spoke, either in the sacred language of God or the common communication of man, it could be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ancient Hebrew phrase \u201cfall to the ground\u201d means that something is useless and carries no weight or power. In Samuel\u2019s case, his words did not fall to the ground like \u201cprecious liquors if spilt upon the earth, or like an arrow shot from a bow not arriving to the target,\u201d as one commentator wrote. As spilt liquor upon the ground or a missed shot of an arrow are useless, so are thoughtless and foolish words when spoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Samuel spoke his words carried the full weight of truth. Many times people did not like what Samuel had to say or the way he said it, but the measure of everything he spoke was bathed in the oil of truth, and the people trusted him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n