Buried Treasures (Part 1)

by Marion Ueckermann

Every now and then, an author comes along who finds a verse or two in Scripture that the ordinary person reads right over. Out of those seemingly insignificant verses, they weave intriguing tales guaranteed to keep their readers hooked for hours. And when the final page is turned, the reader will never look at that portion of scripture in the same way again.

Sometimes an author will turn those hidden verses into best-selling, life-changing principals. A good example is the two little verses stuck away in 1 Chronicles chapter 4, that have earned The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life international bestseller status, topping the New York Times bestseller list and selling nine million copies. This little book, borne out of two seemingly insignificant verses, also received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Book of the Year award in 2001 and its popularity led to several derivative works for niche audiences.

In 2008, New York Times bestselling novelist, Eric Wilson, published Field of Blood, the first in the Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy. Haunt of Jackals and Valley of Bones followed in 2009 and 2010. The hidden scriptures that ignited the author’s imagination to bring together stories of history, Scripture, and vampire mythology in one epic story?…
    • Acts 1v18-19: With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
    • Isaiah 34v13: Thorns will overrun her palaces...the ruins will become a haunt for jackals.
    • Ezekiel 37v1&10 : I was carried away...to a valley filled with bones... They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

Recently I discovered another author who’s literally (or should I say literary) into buried treasures. In Elisha's Bones, Professor of antiquities, Jack Hawthorne, kept me entertained for hours with his Indiana Jones style of action and intrigue in his quest for the bones of a prophet.

Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but now lives in the Nashville, TN area. He is married to Dawn and they have a son and a daughter. He holds a BA in Communications from Taylor University and has written seven books. His third published novel, The Alarmists, was released this past Friday, 1 April, and he’s currently working on a sequel of sorts to Elisha’s Bones.

Don’s buried treasure that unearthed the idea for Elisha’s Bones comes from the book of 2 Kings and can be found hidden between Moabite invasions and the oppression of the Arameans in verse 21 of chapter 13. “Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

Now how’s that for an appetite whetter to rush out and find a copy of Elisha’s Bones?

On my next blog (Buried Treasures – Part 2), Don will share with us what led him to choose countries like Egypt, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Australia as settings for Elisha’s Bones, and Brazil, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Antartica for The Alarmists.

Visit Don’s website http://www.donhoesel.com/ to read more about his work.

And don’t forget to look out for Part 2 of this blog on 17 May…it’s rumored there might be some buried treasure waiting for one lucky reader!

MARION UECKERMANN’s writing passion was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then Marion has been honing her skills and has published some devotional articles in Winners at Work as well as inspirational poetry online and in a poetry journal. She has written her first Christian Women’s novel (unpublished) and is currently completing the sequel. Marion now lives in Pretoria East, South Africa with her husband, sons and a crazy black ‘Scottie’. A member and moderator of the South African Christian Writers Group, Marion can be contacted via email on marionu(at)telkomsa(dot)net.