johngumbs Offline

81 Divorced Male from Nijmegen       28
     

Blog

The witch of Endor

Saul was King of Israel. He was close to God in the beginning, but later he became cruel and would not listen to what God had to say. He would not listen to the prophet Samuel. He had murdered many of the priests who ministered to God. He banned all the witches from the land. Here is what the bible say:

The Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel.

Now Samuel was dead and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land.

And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem; and Saul gathered Israel together and they pitched in Gilboa.

And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

Then said Saul unto his servants: ''Seek me a woman that divineth by a ghost, that I may go to her.'' And his servants said to him, ''Behold, there is a woman that divineth by a ghost at En-dor.

And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said: Divine unto me, I pray thee, by a ghost, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.''

And the woman said unto him: Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that divine by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land; wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?''

And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying: ''As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.''

Then said the woman: Whom shall I bring up unto thee?'' And he said: ''Bring me up Samuel.''

And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying: ''Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.''

And the king said unto her: ''Be not afraid; for what seest thou?'' And the woman said unto Saul: ''I see a godlike being coming up out of the earth.''

And he said unto her: ''What form is he of?'' And she said: ''An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe.'' And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and prostrated himself.

And Samuel said to Saul: '' Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?'' And Saul answered: ''I am sore distressed; for the Philistines amke war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.''

This story can be read in 1 Samuel chapter 28.

Them spirits

I have just finished watching a film of True Stories, ''Yesterday Children.''

This pregnant woman had dreams about seeing another family in Ireland. She saw a chrch with a clock and she made a drawing of it. She also drew a map of the village where the family lived. She knew the name of the place. She also knew the names of each member of the family. Her own husband told her it was ridiculous, he thought she was out of her head. Her son believed what she said, and accompanied her to find the village. It is a very interesting film that makes one think again. The priest told her that it had nothing to do with reincarnation, but that the spirit of the dead woman must have contacted her.

So now, I will tell you of a strange thing that happened to me.

I was in my last year in the army. We were sent away on an exercise lasting a couple of weeks in a certain place.

On the way, while in my vehicle, driving along the autobahn, along with the other chaps, we happen to see on the left hand side of the road, a layby, and we saw men working there.

We finally got to the place where we had to be, and we set up camp. That night, one of the guys went out with a shovel to dig in the undergrowth in the woods, and to ease himself. He had not been away very long when suddenly he was back and panting. He said that he had found a body. I rushed out along with the other guys, and when we got to the place, it was true, there was a body, it was that of a man.

We reported the incident to our superiors. The next day we heard that the German police had been there along with others. WE were not around because we were miles away doing work. The man apparently had been missing for some time.

When the exercise finished, we packed up and was on our way back to base. About a hundred metres away from that layby which we saw on the way up, our vehicle stopped abruptly. The engine went out and we could not get it to start again, nor could we push it. The wheels just would not turn. We were on a busy autobahn, so I quickly set up signs as was the procedure in such cases when a vehicle is broken down. One of our ambulances came by and offered to pull us into the layby. He hooked us up, and had trouble moving our landrover. Later, a big heavy German truck came along, and he too had problem moving the landrover.

There was a road leading from the layby and going down to the left to another samll main road. We had to get to a phone to make a report to our camp. There were a few houses on the other side of that small main road. We were really dirty and smelly, for the place where we had camped was wet and muddy.

I went up to the middle house and knocked on the door. A woman appeared with her two daughters. As soon as they saw us, the woman went and brought back newspapers and laid it in the small corridor leading into the living-room. She let me in but not the others. I went in, walking on the newspapers, and into the living room, after a short conversation, I used the phone and called my camp. Then I left, and the occupants of the house acted in a way as if they knew me all their lives.

Finally we got our vehicle away with a special truck with crane and big chains...but they had problems for awhile, because the rover kept dragging along the path.

Later, when we were back in camp, we talked about the whole incident, and we even came up with the idea that that house could have been the house where the man whom we found in the woods, lived. Up to this moment I do not know if that was so. It was very starnge the way things happened.

More from Psalm 69,71, and 72

Psalm of David 69:

And I wept with my soul Fasting, and that became unto me a reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment, and I became a byword unto them.

They that sit in the gate talk of me; and I am the song of drunkards. But as for me. let my prayer be unto Thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time; O God, in the abundance of THy mercy, answer me with the truth of Thy salvation.

Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Answer me, O LORD, for Thy mercy is good; according to the multitude of Thy compassions turnm Thou unto me.

And hide not Thy face from Thy servant; for I am in distress; answer me speedily.

Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it; ransom me because of mine enemies. Thou knowest my reproach and my shame, and my confusion; mine adversaries are all before Thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am sore sick; and I look for some to show compassion, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Many people think that this next passage refer to Jesus, but they are wrong.

Yea, they put poison into my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Now David pray to curse his enemies.

Let their table before them become a snare; and when they are in peace, let it become a trap.

Psalm 71:15

My mouth shall tell of Thy righteousness, and of Thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

A psalm of Solomon, the king's son.

Psalm 72:4

May he Judge the poor of the people, and save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.

Psalm 72:6

May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.

Psalm 72:7 In his days let the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace, til the moon be no more.

Psalm 72: 8

May he have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River unto the ends of the earth.

Psalm 72:9

Let them that dwell in the wilderness bow before him; and his enemies lick the dust.

Psalm 72:10

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

Married

While studying the Cosmic Book, I came across a baptist minister who became famous for holding the record for being married 29 times. His shortest marriage was for 19 days, the longest one lasted 11 years.

He finally married Linda Essex, and she holds the record for the most married woman.

Glyn Wolfe was born 25th July 1908, Blythe, California, U.S.A. He died on 10th June 1997 just a month and a half from his 89th birth Year.

Just before the first Passover

In John's gospel we are told that the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist who he really was.

The gospel goes on to say: The next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed 'Look, here is the Lamb of God!'

Again the gospel said: The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.'

Then the gospel says; on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

There are many writings that are saying that it was Jesus's wedding, but that cannot be true, because John said that they were invited. It couldhave been someone in the family. And we must not forget that Jesus was not at home. He was out on his own, residing in a hut. Then he went to John the Baptist.
John gospel goes on to say: After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.

It wis quite possible that all this took place in March somehere near the end. Weddings normally takes place on a Wednesday for the Jews in those days.

So if we take a Sunday as the day whenhe was with the Baptist, counting three days, we end up with Tuesday or Wednesday. Then after the wedding down to Capernaum for a few days.

Then John says: The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

John does not mention anything about a virgin birth or of any genealogy.

He said that when Jesus got to Jerusalem, he entered the temple. Making a whip of cords, he drove the people who were selling cattle,sheep and doves, along with the money-changers. He said rto them: Stop making my Father's house a market place.

It is important here to understand that Jesus said, ''My Father's house.''
He did not say ''My house.''

So we can see here that Jesus was not claiming to be God, but claiming that the temmple belongs to God.

John says that his disciples remembered that it was written in the scriptures, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.'

In Psalm 69 we read:
Save me O God; for the waters are come even unto the soul. I am sunk in deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come up into deep waters, and the flood overwhelmeth me. I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried; mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are many; should I restore that which I took not away? O God thou knowest my folly; and my trespasses are not hid from Thee. Let not them that wait for Thee be ashamed through me, O LORD God of Hosts; let not those that see Thee be brought to confusion through me, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; confusion hath covered my face. I have become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. Because zeal for Thy house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproacheth Thee are fallen upon me.

WE need to understand that King David had many enemies because he had to fight the wars of Israel. Even his own son Absalom was his enemy. Notice how, " LORD God of hosts,'' is mentioned. David is admitting that he has sin and that God knows his foolishness.

I think we need to read properly what the Psalms are actually saying.

Children of Israel

And thou shalt put the ark-cover above the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

And there I will meet thee, and I will speak with thee from above the ark-cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before the LORD; it shall be a statute for ever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the Spirit of Wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office.

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.

It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee.

And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by My glory.

And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary--the shekel is twenty gerahs--half a shekel for an offering to the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of the LORD, to make atonement for your souls.

While Moses was up on the mountain, and stayed there so long, the Israelites gor Aaron to make them a calf statue so that they could worship it.

God told Moses that the Israelites were stiff-necked, and he got very angry with them.

The LORD spoke to Moses: 'Go, get thee down; for thy people, that thou brouightest up out of the land of Egypt, have dealt corruptly; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said: This is thy god, O Isarel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

God wanted to destroy Israel, and make a new nation from Moses. Moses urged God to turn away from his fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Thy people.

And the LORD repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people.

Captives coming home.

The LORD of hosts willcome down to fight upon mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof.

As birds hovering, so will the LORD of hosts protect Jerusalem; He will deliver it as He protecteth it, He will rescue it as He passeth over.

For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

Then shall Asshur fall with the sword, not of man, and the sword, not of men, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall become tributary.

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and as for princes, they shall rule in justice.

the LORD is exalted, for He dwelleth on high; He hath filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart: 'Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall beopened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert and the parched land shall become a pool, and the thirsty springs of water; in the habitation of jackals herds shall lie down, it shall be an enclosure for reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, yea, fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there;

and the ransomed of the LORD shall return,and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Some of Zechariah's writings.

Again proclaim, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion; and shall yet choose Jerusalem!

Ho, ho, flee then from the land of the north, saith the LORD; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.

Ho, Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts who sent me after glory unto the nations which spoiled you; surely he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: Make of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah and of Jedaiah, that are come from Babylon; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; yea take silver and gold and make crowns, and set the one upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and speak unto him, saying, 'THus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: Behold a man whose name is the shoot, and who shall shoot up out of his place, and build the temple of the LORD; even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne and there shall be a priest before his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Jeremiah goes on to say that the people refused to attend when he was talking, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear. Yeah, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore came the great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

And it came to pass that, as He called, and they would not hear; so they shall call, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts; but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. THus the land was desolate after them so that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Getting it right

In Hosea chapter 3 verse 4 we read:

For the children of Israel shall sit solitary many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim; afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall come trembling unto the LORD and to his goodness in the end of days.

Hosea was predicting the destruction of Israel in BC 586 when the temple was destroyed and they were left with no king, or priest, or sacrifices. He states quite clearly that they shall return, which they did when the seventy years was up that Jeremiah predicted.

I am afraid, there is no prediction about a messiah. The prophets were very busy predicting what will happen to the kings and princes, and the nations, and the shepherds, who were the kings of either Isarel or of the nations around them.

Solomon says: Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him, saying : There shall not fail thee a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk in My law as thou hast walked before Me.'

Solomon later broke away from God worshipping the gods of his many wives. God became angry with him and ripped the kingdom in two. It was only for David's sake that God did not completely destroy it. So then, we are left with two houses--the house of Judah and that of Israel.

And now it is made clear when Jeremiah is predicting, he always mention the house of Judah and the house of Israel.

God told Jeremiah: Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth. I have set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and pull down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. Out of the north the evil shall break forth. Speak unto them all that I command thee, be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them. I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

Then we have Hosea in chapter 2 saying: And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land.

This is the joining of the two houses into one, as they go back from the captivity.

In all the fifty-two chapters of Jeremiah, there is no prediction about the messiah.

Jeremiah sometimes say, ''the days come,'' and ''and it came to pass,'' or ''it shall come to pass.''

In Jeremiah chapter 33:16 we find in the Hebrew bible, She shall be called, the LORD our righteousness.

In Jeremiah chapter 23:5 it says: A righteous shoot. In verse 6, it says that Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely.

There is nothing there to do with the messiah because the two houses are mentioned.

Sometimes we find one prophet repeating what another prophet said. This happens often.

Some prophecy or what?

The gospel of Mark starts off like this: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ''See , I am sending my Messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way: the voixce of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straights.''

I am not an expert on the bible nor am I a preacher or teacher. But I have read some of the passages in the bible, and I know that they do not correspond to what some people are saying.

Even biblical experts are in confusion with one another about some of the passages in the bible.

I am not going to beat around the bush, I am going to state what I have found.

In the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah and those prophets who prophecied, they were mainly talking about Jacob who is Israel, the servant of God.

In Isaiah chapter 40 we read : Comfort ye, Comfort ye My people, saith the your God. Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins. Hark! one calleth: Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall me made level, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Jeremiah wrote that the captivity will not end until seventy years are up. Even Daniel knew about that prophecy.

Cyrus has given permission for the captivtives to return and build Jerusalem.
Messengers are sent to tell those who are in the Jerusalem of the good news. Not all was taken into captivity, a remnant had been left behind.

In the writings of Isaiah he told the people that a babe will rule over them. He wrote, a chils is born, a child is given to us.

If Isaiah was writing about the future then, he would have said, it shall come to pass. He even went on to mention Assyria. This is clear that he was talking about his time, and the problems Israel had with the nations around it.

God is about to come and bare his arm and destroy the nations, all flesh will see it eye to eye.

Israel will become a light again to the nations. It will rise up out of the dust. For at the moment it was left desolate, the cities ruined and destroyed. And all they will gather at the mountain of the LORD's house.

Isaiah has made it plain that a child is born, and before the child shall know the good from the bad, the two countries that Israel was afraid of , shall be broken.

In some passages in Jeremiah, he was saying that Jacob is broken, he is wounded, he is left helpless.

In Isaiah chapter 53, there is talk about the suffering servant, and when we get almost at the end, we read that, a share of the spoil will be given to him, and he will be joined with the great.

We need to understand why Isaiah used the word ''spoil.''
This is a word used for when one nation comes and attack the other and take spoil. Like when Moses sent soldiers to defeat Midian, and they brought back spoil.

The whole chapter 53 sounds like the destruction of Jacob, the servant of God. Beaten up so badly that it was not a land any more to hold inhabitants. It was damaged so as not to recognize its face. The land once carried the sins of the people, it was the land of their welfare. Now it is destroyed, lying in the dust, but it shall rise again, and many kings will come to its light, when it is shining again.

Isaiah was supposed to write plainly, just like God commanded, but some prophets prefer telling stories to the people.

Some passages from the Psalms

Let Israel rejoice in their maker. Let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. For the Lord takes Delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the Heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Prsiase him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.

The LORD doth build up Jerusalem, He gathereth together the disperse of Israel; who healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear HIm, in those that wait for His mercy.

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his dust; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God. Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is; who keepeth truth forever.

The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind; the LORD raiseth up them that are bowed down; the LORD loveth the righteous; The LOrd preserveth the strangers; He upholderth the fatherless and the widow; but the way of the wicked He maketh crooked.

The LORD will reign forever, thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Hallelujah.

Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

The glorious splendour of Thy majesty, and Thy wondrous works, will I rehearse.

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

LORD, what is man, that THou takest knowledge of him? or the son of man, that Thou makest account of him?

Man is like unto a breath; his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

I will give thanks unto Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth. Thine eyes did see my unformed substance, and in Thy book they were all written--even the days that were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Those younger days

I remember that when I was young, our group of boys used to look for trees that were planted in a cluster. So that when we went up into the first, we can just skip to the others because the branches were so close to each other.

It is strange when I think back now, I used to examine a tree to see if it had branches where you could relax without falling down. I used to climb a lot of tall coconut trees, and go right up into the centre of it, and then with my feet I push the coconuts down.

It is only now I am thinking back, because of a programme I saw about monkeys doing the same things that we did. How strange!

I remember too, that one time I went to a bakery to help, I was only about 15 years old, and the owner was a very nice man. The only trouble was , he liked his drink. We had to work at night to get the bread ready for 6 in the morning when the workers were going to their jobs. We would get the dough ready, let it set, then we would all get around the long table, with thin bread sheets at the side of every one of us. Then we would start cutting, weighing, and twisting the dough on our fingers into penny bread. Then we would go to sleep while we left the boss to look after the lighting of the oven, sewwping it when it was hot enough, and placing the bread in. Then he would wake us up when the bread was baked.

One night, I happened to open my eyes, and looked up at the racks and saw that the bread on the sheets were all running over. I jumped up and went outside only to find the boss at the side of the door stoned drunk. The oven had not been lit, and anyway, there was nothing that I could have done at that time because the bread on the sheets had no shape. I started shking him on the shoulders so that he would wake up, but it was a hopeless case. Then we were confronted with all the people who came for bread, and found that there was none. We had one of those stone oven outside where you had to place wood inside to burn for a while. When it was hot enough, you tested this with your hand. You had to make sure that it was hot enough to take at least three bakings. I learned a great lesson from that night onwards. And whenever I was working at nights, I made sure that I would not fall into sleep just like the boss in the bakery did.