3139, her number, 2262, my number. Can you go? Will you come? What are you doing? Where are we going? When will you be here? What time does it start? Who’s driving? How long can you stay? Can you go? Who can we tell? My best friend and I knew each other’s number by heart. The plans made, and questions asked, were in the thousands. Fourth grade we met. Twelfth grade we graduated. If our phone minutes were crossties, we could likely lay train track across central Arkansas.

We recently got a new puppy, an indoor dog named Copper. He’s the sweetest little dachshund, but he can also be a pain to our much older dog, Bud. I’d forgotten how long it takes to housebreak a puppy. He’s done fairly well, but I’m ready for him to learn that he can go through the doggy door without me and take care of his business outside whenever he needs to. This is also the first time I’ve had two dogs trying to get along, especially one so young and the other so old.

I sat there shaking my head. My husband asked me what was wrong to which I responded, “It’s those pesky Israelites!” I had been reading through Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Throughout both books the prophets would speak over and again to the people about their idols. They had made idols of silver and gold.  They had carved idols of wood. They had adopted the evil practices of surrounding cultures and performed them in and around the temple.

What was wrong with these people?  Did they not realize they were God’s chosen people, the apple of His eye?