Genesis 6:4: "There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same
were the mighty men which were of old, men of renown."
Numbers 13:33: "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
The concept of giants in the Bible, particularly the Nephilim, carries significant theological implications. Let's explore some key points:
I. Student Performance
* **A. Proficiency Gap Between Math and Science (2022-2023)**
* 1. Mathematics Mastery: 35.15%
* 2. Science Mastery: 28.67%
* 3. Proficiency Gap: 6.48 percentage points, favoring Mathematics.
* 4. Potential implications: Investigate causes and address the gap.
II. Staffing and Salaries
* **A. Teacher Shortages and Staffing Comparisons**
* 1. Permanent Substitutes: Significant shortage with only 14.25 FTE statewide.
* 2. ROTC Instructors: Comparatively abundant with 82.50 FTE statewide.
* 3. Potential implications: Reflects prioritization and budget allocation within the education system.
* **B. Salary Disparities Among Teachers**
* 1. Special Education Teacher Salary Gap:
* a. Highest average salary: Monroe County ($61,312.63)
* b. Lowest average salary: Webster County ($45,853.06)
* c. Total disparity: $15,459.57
* 2. Kindergarten Teacher Salary Highlight:
* a. Highest average salary: Marshall County ($62,935.43)
* 3. Middle/Junior High Teacher Salary Highlight:
* a. Lowest average salary: Wirt County ($45,148.00)
* 4. Potential Implications: Salary disparities may impact teacher recruitment and retention across districts.
The history of logging on Cheat Mountain, located in West Virginia, is marked by extensive deforestation and industrial activity, primarily driven by the demand for timber during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The legacy of logging on Cheat Mountain is still visible today. Many of the trails at Snowshoe Mountain are named after logging terms, reflecting the area's industrial past. The remnants of the logging era, such as railroad grades and equipment, can still be found throughout the region, serving as historical markers of a time when the mountain's forests were heavily exploited.
The main logging companies that operated on Cheat Mountain were primarily W. S. Dewing and Sons and the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company.
- **W. S. Dewing and Sons**: This company initially made extensive purchases of timber on Cheat Mountain and commenced logging operations with the intention of floating the timber down Shavers Fork and Cheat River to their mill in Pennsylvania. They introduced the first logging locomotive in the area, a small Shay engine[3].
- **West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company**: In 1899, W. S. Dewing and Sons sold their holdings to this company. The West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company then constructed a large band sawmill at Cass in Pocahontas County and built a town to house the workers. They were a dominant force in logging on Cheat Mountain during the early 20th century[1][2][3].
Citations:
[1] http://www.pocahontaspreservation.org/omeka/items/show/935
[2] http://www.pocahontaspreservation.org/omeka/items/show/934
[3] https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1111
[4] https://www.cheatlake.com/history
[5] https://restoreredspruce.org/2012/05/25/logging-the-virgin-forests-of-west-virginia/
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The logging activities on Cheat Mountain significantly contributed to the development of nearby towns, particularly through the establishment of infrastructure and communities centered around the logging industry.
1. **Cass, West Virginia**: The West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company played a crucial role in the development of Cass. They constructed a large band sawmill and built a town to accommodate the workers. This led to the creation of a community that was directly tied to the logging operations on Cheat Mountain[1][2].
2. **Economic Growth**: The logging industry brought economic growth to the region by providing jobs and supporting related industries. The demand for timber led to the establishment of numerous mills and logging camps, which in turn spurred the development of transportation networks, such as railroads, to facilitate the movement of logs[3].
3. **Infrastructure Development**: The presence of logging companies necessitated the development of infrastructure to support their operations. This included the construction of railroads and roads, which not only served the logging industry but also improved access to the region, benefiting other economic activities and contributing to the growth of local towns[3].
Overall, the logging activities on Cheat Mountain were a driving force behind the development of nearby towns, shaping their economic and social landscapes during the peak of the logging era.
Citations:
[1] http://www.pocahontaspreservation.org/omeka/items/show/935
[2] http://www.pocahontaspreservation.org/omeka/items/show/934
[3] https://www.bobsmarket.com/blog/wvforesthistory
[4] https://www.cheatlake.com/history
[5] https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/west-virginia-cheat-mountain/
create a metaprompt for analyzing and replication the style of a composition
Metaprompt:
Analyze the stylistic elements of the provided composition in depth,
identifying key features such as tone, diction, syntax, figurative
language, and narrative structure. Based on this analysis, generate a
new composition that closely mimics the original style while
incorporating unique content and perspective.
Additional Considerations:
Specify the desired length and format of the new composition.
Example: "Generate a new essay of similar length that maintains the original's formal style."
Indicate any specific stylistic elements to focus on.
Example: "Prioritize replicating the author's use of irony and complex sentence structure."
Provide clear guidelines for content and perspective.
Example: "Explore a different topic but maintain the original's critical tone."
Example:
Analyze the stylistic elements of the provided short story, focusing on
the use of symbolism and first-person narration. Generate a new short
story of similar length that captures the eerie atmosphere and
fragmented storytelling of the original while exploring a different
psychological thriller theme.
Joshua 5:13-15
The Commander of the Lord's Army
13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped[a] and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
15 And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
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Genesis 6:4: "There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same
were the mighty men which were of old, men of renown."
Numbers 13:33: "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
3 And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
21 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
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The Twelve Spies
The Grapes of Canaan by James Tissot. Although the spies brought back a cluster of grapes so large that it took two men to carry it (Numbers 13:23), only two of the twelve brought back a good report of the land.
The Twelve Spies, as recorded in the Book of Numbers, were a group of Israelite chieftains, one from each of the Twelve Tribes, who were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan for 40 days[1] as a future home for the Israelite people, during the time when the Israelites were in the wilderness following their Exodus from Ancient Egypt. The account is found in Numbers 13:1–33, and is repeated with some differences in Deuteronomy 1:22–40.
God had promised Abraham that there would be a Promised Land for the nations to come out of his son, Isaac. The land of Canaan that the spies were to explore was the same Promised Land. Moses asked for an assessment of the geographic features of the land, the strength and numbers of the population, the agricultural potential and actual performance of the land, civic organization (whether their cities were like camps or strongholds), and forestry conditions. He also asked them to be positive in their outlook and to return with samples of local produce.
When ten of the twelve spies showed little faith in the negative reports they gave about the land, they were slandering what they believed God had promised them. They did not believe that God could help them, and the people as a whole were persuaded that it was not possible to take the land. As a result, the entire nation was made to wander in the desert for 40 years, until almost the entire generation of men had died.[2] Joshua and Caleb were the two spies who brought back a good report and believed that God would help them succeed. They were the only men from their generation permitted to go into the Promised Land after the time of wandering.[3]
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In the Old Testament. Joshua, the successor to Moses, is about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. As they approach Jericho, the first city they must conquer, Joshua has a profound encounter.
A Mysterious Figure
While near Jericho, Joshua looks up and sees a man standing in front of him, holding a drawn sword. Undeterred, Joshua approaches the figure and asks if he is a friend or foe. The man responds, "Neither. I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come."
A Moment of Reverence
Overwhelmed by the presence of this divine being, Joshua falls to the ground in worship. The commander instructs Joshua to remove his sandals, as the ground he stands on is holy.
The Significance of the Encounter
This encounter serves several purposes:
Reinforcement of God's Presence: It emphasizes God's direct involvement in the Israelites' journey and their upcoming battles.
Preparation for Battle: The commander's appearance strengthens Joshua's faith and prepares him for the formidable task of conquering Jericho.
Revelation of Divine Authority: The encounter underscores the absolute authority of God and His army over their enemies.
The identity of the commander is a subject of theological discussion. Some believe it was an angel, while others suggest it was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the specific identity, the encounter is a pivotal moment in the Israelites' history, marking the beginning of their conquest of Canaan.
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The church is obliged to be a moral voice in the country and culture, a voice for God. We often hear about Christians protesting specific policies and anti-biblical laws. But is that done without casting a ballot against ideas counter to the faith and God's heart and mind? The first and foremost issue is understanding God's truth, heart, and ways as biblically described and then vote accordingly.
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Imagine the Joint Chiefs of the Pentagon briefing the President of the United States on a complex military operation designed to overtake a strategic city. “Mr. President, we plan to march our troops around the city once per day for seven days. On the seventh day, we will march around the target municipality seven times. After the seventh time around the city on the seventh day, we will blow a trumpet loudly. Then we anticipate the wall of the city will fall down. At that time, we will enter and capture the city and its citizens.” I can imagine the President staring at his top military commanders with a look on his face that says, “Are you kidding me?”
I did not make up the imaginary briefing out of thin air. I found it in the Old Testament book of Joshua, where God instructed Joshua with His plan to overtake the city of Jericho (6:1-25). Joshua learned that God’s ways were not always his way. Sometimes the God of Israel employed unconventional means that required supernatural intervention.
Five sobering words begin the book of Joshua: “Moses my servant is dead.” They remind us that nobody is indispensable, including a great leader like Moses. Leaders come and go, but God’s plan always marches forward. Although Joshua had trained under Moses for nearly forty years, he felt anxious about filling Moses’s big sandals. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, but Joshua would take them across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. The Lord reassured Joshua several times by saying, “Be strong and courageous” (1:1-9).
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The connection between Joshua and Jesus is also worth noting. Joshua is an Old Testament type of Christ. For starters, the name Joshua means “Yahweh is salvation” and is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name Jesus (Yeshua). Furthermore, just as Joshua served as the leader of the Israeli army, Jesus is our Commander in Chief who fights our spiritual battles and wins the victory for us (1 Corinthians 15:57).
There is more to the Christ connection in Joshua. Before the battle of Jericho, a mysterious figure appeared to Joshua and identified himself as “the commander of the army of the Lord” (5:14). He must have been impressive because the Bible says that Joshua immediately fell on his face to the earth in reverence to the man. “And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so” (Joshua 5:13-15).
Perhaps the commander was a theophany, a visible appearance of God Himself because the scene reminds us of Moses’s encounter with God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5). If the commander was God Himself, then he was most likely a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. However, because the Bible says nobody can see the Lord and live (Exodus 33:20), others suggest the commander was an angel of the Lord. Regardless of the commander’s real identity, the Lord gave Joshua every reason to attack the city of Jericho with confidence, knowing that God was for him and not against him (Romans 8:38).
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This giant cluster of grapes is a picture of the abundant Christian life. Some call it the normal Christian life because abundance should be the normal experience for all believers in Jesus Christ. An abundance of what? Start with an abundance of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This list of nine Christ-like characteristics found in Paul’s New Testament letter to the Galatians is known as the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit wants to produce an abundance of godly character in you.
Jesus might have had a large cluster of grapes in mind when He said, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). I am certain that He was thinking of grapes when He said to His disciples in the Upper Room. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Are you abiding in Jesus? Are you experiencing the abundant Christian life?
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At last they came to a place just on the border between the desert and Canaan, called Kadesh, or Kadesh-barnea. Here they stopped to rest, for there were many springs of water and some grass for their cattle. While they were waiting at Kadesh-barnea and were expecting soon to march into the land which was to be their home, God told Moses to send onward some men who should walk through the land and look at it, and then come back and tell what they had found; what kind of a land it was, and what fruits grew in it, and what people were living in it. The Israelites could more easily win the land if these men, after walking through it, could act as their guides and point out the best places in it and the best plans of making war upon it.
So Moses chose out some men of high rank among the people, one ruler from each tribe, twelve men in all. One of these was Joshua, who was the helper of Moses in caring for the people, and another was Caleb, who belonged to the tribe of Judah. These twelve men went out and walked over the mountains of Canaan and looked at the cities and saw the fields. In one place, just before they came back to the camp, they cut down a cluster of ripe grapes which was so large that two men carried it between them, hanging from a staff. They named the place where they found this bunch of grapes Eshcol, a word which means "a cluster." These twelve men were called "spies," because they went "to spy out the land"; and after forty days they came back to the camp, and this was what they said:
"We walked all over the land and found it a rich land. There is grass for all our flocks, and fields where we can raise grain, and trees bearing fruits, and streams running down the sides of the hills. But we found that the people who live there are very strong and are men of war. They have cities with walls that reach almost up to the sky; and some of the men are giants, so tall that we felt that we were like grasshoppers beside them."
One of the spies, who was Caleb, said, "All that is true, yet we need not be afraid to go up and take the land. It is a good land, well worth fighting for; God is on our side, and he will help us to overcome those people."
But all the other spies, except Joshua, said, "No, there is no use in trying to make war upon such strong people. We can never take those walled cities, and we dare not fight those tall giants."
And the people, who had journeyed all the way through the wilderness to find this very land, were so frightened by the words of the ten spies that now, on the very border of Canaan, they dared not enter it. They forgot that God had led them out of Egypt, that he had kept them in the dangers of the desert, that he had given them water out of the rock, and bread from the sky, and his law from the mountain.
All that night, after the spies had brought back their report, the people were so frightened that they could not sleep. They cried out against Moses, and blamed him for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. They forgot all their troubles in Egypt, their toil and their slavery, and resolved to go back to that land. They said:
"Let us choose a ruler in place of Moses, who has brought us into all these evils, and let us turn back to the land of Egypt!"
But Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said, "Why should we fear? The land of Canaan is a good land; it is rich with milk and honey. If God is our friend and is with us, we can easily conquer the people who live there. Above all things, let us not rebel against the Lord, or disobey him, and make him our enemy."
But the people were so angry with Caleb and Joshua that they were ready to stone them and kill them. Then suddenly the people saw a strange sight. The glory of the Lord, which stayed in the Holy of Holies, the inner room of the Tabernacle, now flashed out, and shone from the door of the Tabernacle.
And the Lord, out of this glory, spoke to Moses, and said, "How long will this people disobey me and despise me? They shall not go into the good land that I have promised them. Not one of them shall enter in, except Caleb and Joshua, who have been faithful to me. All the people who are twenty years old and over it shall die in the desert; but their little children shall grow up in the wilderness, and when they become men they shall enter in and own the land that I promised to their fathers. You people are not worthy of the land that I have been keeping for you. Now turn back into the desert and stay there until you die. After you are dead, Joshua shall lead your children into the land of Canaan. And because Caleb showed another spirit and was true to me, and followed my will fully, Caleb shall live to go into the land, and shall have his choice of a home there. To-morrow, turn back into the desert by the way of the Red Sea."
And God told Moses that for every day that the spies had spent in Canaan, looking at the land the people should spend a year in the wilderness; so that they should live in the desert forty years, instead of going at once into the promised land.
When Moses told all God's words to the people they felt worse than before. They changed their minds as suddenly as they had made up their minds.
"No," they all said, "we will not go back to the wilderness; we will go straight into the land, and see if we are able to take it, as Joshua and Caleb have said."
"You must not go into the land," said Moses.
But the people would not obey. They marched up the mountain and tried to march at once into the land. But they were without leaders and without order -- a mob of men, untrained and in confusion. And the people in that part of the land, the Canaanites and the Amorites, came down upon them and killed many of them and drove them away. Then, discouraged and beaten, they obeyed the Lord and Moses, and went once more into the desert.
And in the desert of Paran, on the south of the land of Canaan, the children of Israel stayed nearly forty years; and all because they would not trust in the Lord.
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The Bible states that when they returned they reported to Moses and the congregation of Israel how large the grapes and the clusters of grapes were. They even went as far as to bring some of the grapes back on a branch carried by two men!
All of the spies that went into the land saw the potential of the land and how the land could be a great resource and benefit to their nation and families. The grapes represented more than just potential; they also represented prosperity.
God had made an unconditional covenant with Abraham that He would make of him a great nation. God reconfirmed that same unconditional covenant with Isaac, then with Jacob. God even went as far as to move Jacob’s family into Egypt for 430 years to protect His royal line through which the Messiah would come. Now, this great nation was about to enter into all that God had for them after many years of wandering, waiting, and wishing for the day they would realize the land that God had promised to them.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were only grapes in life? Unfortunately, with every opportunity there is always opposition. This was certainly the case for these 12 spies! They all saw grapes which represented potential and prosperity, but they also saw giants which represented problems! Someone once said, “The door of opportunity swings upon the hinges of obstacles.”
The Apostle Paul, when writing of a great door of ministry opportunity that God had opened to him in 1 Corinthians 16:9 states, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” There is no surprise in Paul’s writing tone when he talks of great ministry opportunities. He did not say, “But there are many adversaries.” He said, “And there are many adversaries.”
Adversity and problems always accompany new opportunities. Dr. Charles Keen stated to me once, “John, when you reach new levels, there will be new devils!” I have never forgotten that statement and wisdom from a pastor that reached many new levels. All of these spies saw the grapes and the giants.
The Bible states that when the 12 spies returned to give the report of the land to Moses and the congregation, they all told of the wonderful benefits and potential of the land. They then broke the bad news that the Amalekites, who were the giants of the land, were spread out throughout the entire region.
The people obviously began to panic because Caleb had to still the people in Numbers 13. Two men named Joshua and Caleb stated in faith immediately, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” I love these men’s spirit of faith!
Immediately, 10 spies began to speak back in faithlessness. They said that the nation was not able to overcome it. In fact they stated in Numbers 13:33, “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers.” This statement sums up the real problem in this story. The real problem was not the giants—the real problem was a lack of faith and belief in the Word of God.
Notice that it was all about their sight. Did anyone ever stop to ask, “What about God’s sight?” How did God view these giants? So many times in life when God opens a door, we see problems and immediately make foolish statements like: “This must not be God’s will.” The truth is every door will have problems, but our perspective is everything.
Someone once said, “Don’t show God your problems, show your problems your God!” We must learn from the foolish mistake of these 10 spies who only saw themselves as grasshoppers in the sight of the giants. May we learn to not rest upon our own potential and strength, but completely operate in the power of God’s Spirit and remember what the Apostle Paul said: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Numbers 13:33, “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers
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