NOTE: This humorous poem is NOT a rant against store cashiers. I have met a lot of them over my 71 years of life, and some of them are really nice, such as where I have been exclusively grocery shopping for the past twenty-eight years. In fact, I feel sorry for cashiers who are pregnant moms, who have to stand on their feet for eight hours a day. More power to you!
However, having said that, to begin this poem, I needed something that rhymed with “bag”. Thus, “cashier hag” immediately popped into my head, and this nasty, fictitious cashier became the victim of my poem.
However, the REAL issue of this poem is the insanity of outlawing plastic grocery bags, while zillions of other items are still either made out of plastic, or sold in some kind of container that is some form of plastic.
To see other poems related to this one, and to listen to the actual song, go to:
This poem is composed of the following seven KJV Bible verses in this order. Please note that the word “wanteth” in Proverbs 10:19 means to be lacking. In other words, because it says “wanteth not”, it means that if we speak long enough, something wrong — meaning sin — will eventually be found in our words:
“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” Proverbs 10:19, KJV
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” James 1:19, 26, KJV
“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2, KJV
“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” Proverbs 18:13,KJV
“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” Proverbs 29:11, KJV
“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37, KJV
And for good measure, here are two more related verses:
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” James 3:5-6, KJV
In the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, when the Scriptures speak about the nations descended from Abraham, it is talking about the Twelve Patriarchs of the Twelve Tribes of Israel and their descendants. In other words, a tribe is a nation in a Biblical sense. Thus, the Twelve Tribes were Twelve Nations which comprised the whole nation of Israel.
We see the very same thing happening with Ishmael, who was Abraham’s son by his Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. Similar to Jacob, Ishmael had twelve sons who were twelve princes, who each ruled over their own nation — or tribe — of people. That is, their descendants.
At the same time, not to be confused, the word “nations” is also used in the Scriptures to signify non-Israelite nations who did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are also referred to as Gentiles, from the Hebrew “goy”, or plural “goyim”.
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and THOU SHALT BE A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; FOR A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE THEE. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I WILL MAKE NATIONS OF THEE, and KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THEE . . . And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and SHE SHALL BE A MOTHER OF NATIONS; KINGS OF PEOPLE SHALL BE OF HER.” Genesis 17:1-6, 15-16, KJV
“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham SHALL SURELY BECOME A GREAT AND MIGHTY NATION, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” Genesis 18:17-18, KJV
“And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; TWELVE PRINCES SHALL HE BEGET, and I WILL MAKE HIM A GREAT NATION . . . Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarahs handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; TWELVE PRINCES ACCORDING TO THEIR NATIONS.” Genesis 17:20, 25:12-16, KJV
“And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, TWO NATIONS ARE IN THY WOMB, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25:21-23, KJV
“And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; A NATION AND A COMPANY OF NATIONS SHALL BE OF THEE, AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THY LOINS;” Genesis 35:9-11, KJV
“And when Joseph saw that his father [Jacob/Israel] laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and HIS SEED SHALL BECOME A MULTITUDE OF NATIONS.” Genesis 48:17-19, KJV
Folks, there are a lot of strange birds out there.
On one hand, you’ve got the Orthodox Jews who only accept the Old Testament as being valid Scripture. Not only that, but they seem to view the opinions and interpretations of their rabbis in the Talmud — Mishnah and Gemara — as being more important than the Scriptures themselves.
Then you’ve also got what I refer to as the Pauline Extremists who seem to erroneously place the words of the Apostle Paul even before the words of Jesus Himself in the four Gospels. They don’t outright reject the four Gospels, but they view the Gospel to the Gentiles as barely beginning in the Book of Acts, and really beginning in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.
Personally, I view both of those extreme positions as dangerous and a serious imbalance.
For the record, I embrace, read, quote from and teach from the entire Scriptures — from Genesis to Revelation — in many of my articles, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
After all, as they say, “the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed”.
Quite frankly, you can’t have one without the other. As Jesus said, He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, so the Old Testament is very important to modern-day Christians.
In fact, as you may know, even the Apostles quoted from the Old Testament, as did Jesus Himself, many times.
The truth of the matter is that the Old and New Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove. You need to know and understand one, in order to understand the other.
Please remember that a false balance is abomination to the Lord — Proverbs 11:1.
“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:3, KJV
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15, KJV
“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-17, KJV
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” Psalms 34:7, KJV
“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” Daniel 10:5-21, KJV
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12, KJV
“Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52-53, KJV
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12, KJV
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” Revelation 12:7, KJV
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14, KJV
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16, KJV
I was inspired to write this short commentary after discovering that some of my friends didn’t quite understand how a town or city which is located many miles from a coastal area, and which is hundreds or even thousands of feet in elevation, could be so seriously affected by a hurricane coming off of the ocean, such as in the case of Asheville, North Carolina, USA for example.
I think this confusion results from not fully understanding exactly what a storm surge is, which is quite understandable if a person has never been through a hurricane, and if they don’t happen to live in a coastal area.
Basically, a storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level that is caused by the strong winds and low pressure which are associated with a hurricane.
This rise in water level — which can be anywhere from a few feet up to as much as perhaps 30+ feet in the severest of storms — can lead to major coastal flooding, particularly in low-lying areas.
The storm surge is driven by the force of the hurricane’s winds raising and pushing water — like a giant, powerful wall of water — towards the shore, in conjunction with the storm’s low pressure, which allows the water level to rise higher than normal.
But that is not all. The height of that wall of water includes not only the storm surge itself, but the regular tide level as well.
For example, let’s say that at the time a hurricane makes landfall in a particular area, there is a very high tide in progress, or what is known as a spring tide. Even worse is a king tide which is higher than a spring tide.
If the king tide is 2.5 feet in height, and the storm surge is 20 feet in height, that means that when that powerful wave crashes ashore, it will be 22.5 feet in total height. Wow!
My friends, not only is there unimaginable force behind a storm surge, but they move very fast, typically 10-30 miles an hour, depending on the forward speed of the hurricane itself.
A storm surge is one of the most dangerous and deadly aspects of a hurricane, and is often responsible for widespread destruction and loss of life in a coastal area.
Here on Guam, I have witnessed firsthand the results of a powerful storm surge rushing ashore. The level of destruction is absolutely mind-boggling, as if you are in a war zone. Everything is uprooted and just gone down to the bare rock strata! Nothing is left!
Now, to be clear, the destruction that some people are describing at those higher elevations is NOT the result of an oceanic storm surge, because a storm surge can only penetrate inland a few miles at best depending on the topography of the land, the size, strength and speed of the hurricane itself, etc.
The destruction at those higher elevations results from a different set of factors including the following:
1. Wind speed
2. Amount of rainfall
3. Topography of the land
4. Flash floods
5. Rivers, lakes, etc. overflowing their regular boundaries.
For example, even though you live in a town or city that is at a higher elevation and miles away from the ocean, if that town or city is in turn surrounded by even higher hills or mountains — kind of like a bowl — it is going to be in serious trouble!
Now, if that same town or city is also located near a body of water, or even near multiple bodies of water — such as a confluence of rivers — that town or city is going to be in even worse trouble, not just from the excessive wind speed, but from all of that excessive rainfall filling up those lakes and rivers.
But that is not all. You’ve also got flash floods rushing down hills and mountains at tremendous speeds.
Lastly, there are landslides to boot, washed out roads, etc.
My friends, that is exactly what happened at places such as Asheville, N.C. It had nothing to do with the oceanic storm surge many miles away which could not possibly reach those elevations.
I hope this explanation clears things up for some of you.