Today's Scripture Reading (November 11, 2024): Exodus 11
The story is called "The
Adventure of Silver Blaze." It is a short story published in 1892 and
written by Arthur Conan Doyle. For most of us fans of Sherlock Holmes, "The
Adventure of Silver Blaze" is really the case of the dog that didn't bark.
Arthur Conan Doyle said "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" was one of
his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. The story centers around the
disappearance of the racehorse "Silver Blaze" and the murder of the
horse's trainer. The mystery of the theft turns around the curious incident of
the dog at nighttime. The surprise in this curious incident is that the dog
didn't do anything, which is Holmes's point. If the dog didn't even bark, then
he must have known the intruder and have been comfortable with the presence of
the one who committed the murder. It is a theme that has been used several
times in various fictitious works since its inclusion in "The Adventure of
Silver Blaze." The dog who didn't bark shrunk the pool of possible
offenders and was the critical clue that pointed the detective toward the
guilty party.
According to the story in
Exodus, this would be the night when the firstborn of Egypt would die. It meant
that from the firstborn of the Pharaoh right down to the firstborn of the slaves,
and even the firstborn of the animals was condemned to death. It was a night
that a wail went up in Egypt. There was much pain in this African nation on
this night. Tears were shed because the future of the country had been
compromised. It was a time that was bereft of hope because that is what our
children symbolize; they are our hope for a future.
That is, hope had disappeared
in Egypt except for the place where the children of Israel lived. Within the Israelite
community, there were no tears. No pain was experienced in the middle of the
night. On this night, the dogs in Israel didn't even bark. Because nothing
happened there that would cause pain. There was no discomfort among the
Israelites, not on this night. The nation was in an uproar, except for the part
of the nation where Israel lived. The neighborhood of Israel existed in such a
sense of peace on this night that even the dogs were quiet. That is amazing. I
live in an average neighborhood, and almost every night, I hear some of the
dogs in my area start barking at someone. But in the community of Israel on
this night, peace reigned.
Moses tells us that, on this
night, anyone who even took a cursory glance at Egypt and the neighborhood of
Israel would know that there is a difference between the nation and this one
neighborhood. Dogs were barking all through the nation, but among the homes of
Israel, the dogs were quiet. If you have ears, you will hear the difference. I love
how Walter Kaiser describes this night in his commentary on Exodus. "An unprecedented outpouring of grief would
follow, but among the Israelites there would be such tranquility on that
evening that no dog would have occasion to bark" (Walter C. Kaiser,
Exodus, The Expositor's Bible Commentary Volume 2). Maybe this is the
first occurrence of the curious incident of the dog at nighttime. Sherlock
would have noticed this and understood the importance of this night when the
dogs didn't bark.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Exodus 12
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