Lessons in Finding the Ark

If you know Ted Dekker's writing, you know you're in for fast-paced action.

This book is about a search for the lost Ark of the Covenent. (You know... Indiana Jones, except without Indiana Jones, of course.)

While the characters don't know where the Ark is, they suspect that one of them (Caleb) is the key to finding it. But he himself isn't aware that he knows. So, how do you get the information you need?

Below are two excerpts from the book. Rebecca has chased Caleb down in the desert to see if he knows the secret hiding spot. Of course, Caleb won't know the answer, or can't remember the answer. First, here's the setup:

"Where do the oil and the brine mix, Caleb?" Rebecca asked.

"You are with the Jews who overtook the monastery!" he said.

"Yes."

"You... Then my mother and father are safe?"

"Yes. In fact, they have helped Zakkai dig into your old sleeping place below the monastery. They found a letter from Frather Matthew that talks about the place where the oil and brine mix. We believe the Ark is hidden there."

For a long time, Caleb looked into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Caleb. I know I misled you, but considering the circumstances, I'm sure you can understand." She told him Raphael Hadane's story, and that Father Matthew had told his good friend, Father Joseph Hadane, about the Ark. "Israel is on the verge of finding her salvation, and you now hold Israel captive."

Caleb finally spoke. "The presence of God is not in an Ark any longer, Rebecca. It's here in the desert. It's in the ocean. In his eyes. In the heart."

And the payoff. When the characters put two and two together to get four...

...The note was short--the same as Rebecca had been read over the satellite phone.

"Caleb, you alone know the secrets of this majestic rock we shared for a home. It was a gift from God... Where the brine mixes with the oil, there you will find God. Only you will know..."

"Where do the oil and the brine mix, Caleb?" Zakkai asked.

He looked up, wide-eyed. "In the heart."

Zakkai nodded. "And where is the heart of the monastery?"

"The heart of the monastery?" He looked puzzled. "The foundation below the study," he said from memory. Of course! The heart was a place! The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

Zakkai exchanged a quick glance with Rebecca. The torchlight glistened off his sweaty brow. "You are sure?"

"That's what Father Matthew used to call it. You think..." Caleb blinked.

"Show us, Caleb."

Taken from:
Dekker, Ted and Bill Bright. A Man Called Blessed (2002), p.172-3, 214-5.

How did I rate this book? 3 stars