The day passed slowly, as Thorn attempted to prepare an important speech. It was to be delivered the following evening to a group of prominent businessmen, and it was likely that representatives of Arab oil interests would be there. Thorn wanted it to be a special speech, a plea for pacifism. It was the continuing conflict over Israel that was causing the widening rift between the United States and the Arab bloc, and Thorn knew the Arab-Israeli hostilities were historical in nature, deeply rooted in the scriptures. For this reason he looked to the Bible, not one but three, seeking to amplify his understanding with the wisdom of the ages. In truth, there was a more practical reason, for there was not an audience in the world that failed to be impressed with quotations from the scriptures.

He sealed himself off for the afternoon, ordering his lunch in as he studied, and then, finding difficulty locating meaningful passages, he sent a messenger out for a bibliography and interpretive text. It was easier after that, for he could turn to the relevant passages and then, in many cases, find a theological view of their meaning.

It was the first time Thorn had cracked the pages of a Bible since he was a child. He found it fascinating, particularly in the light of the ceaseless violence in the Middle East. He discovered it was the Jew Abraham who was first promised by God that his people would inherit the Holy Land.

I will multiply thee and I will make of thee a multitude of people. I will give this country to thy posterity and after thee in order that they shall possess it forever.

The country given by God to the Jews was clearly delineated in the Books of Genesis and Joshua as the land extending from the River of Egypt to Lebanon and the Euphrates. Thorn looked at his atlas and found that the State of Israel presently occupied only the narrow strip between Jordan and the Mediterranean. Just a small piece of what God had apparently promised. Could it be that Israel's drive for expansion was dictated by this? Thorn's interest deepened and he looked further. If God could make such a promise, why then could God not fulfill it?

If you keep my covenant you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a Holy Nation.

Perhaps that was the clue. The Jews had not kept the Lord's covenant. It was believed, then, that the Jews had killed Christ. The Book of Deuteronomy bore this out, for after the death of Christ it was declared to the Jews:

The Lord shall scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few in number among the Nations where the Lord drives you. You will be taken captive among all Nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.