 In the South Pacific, in World War Two, guards had to be up to their title, especially
at night, when they had to challenge every sound because the enemy might be sneaking up. And they were trained
to do this, even here at home, as they prepared for active duty overseas. I remember when I was a paperboy on the airbase
near our home, and I was still going from barrack to barrack after dark. And since I had freedom to go anywhere on the
base, I was walking nonchalantly
past headquarters when I heard the word "HALT" in a loud voice.
I halted. Turned out, the guard was just doing his duty, and he sent me on my way. But in war zones, this was
a serious thing...the sentence could be death if a sentry fell asleep on duty...or if the enemy came up behind him and took
his life.
Of course we must remember that although the Japanese and Germans were our deadly opponents
during that war, we're friends now, so we keep that in mind as we relate this item. One way our boys had of identifying
in darkness was to ask the intruder to say the word "lallapalooza." The Japanese couldn't pronounce the
"L" sound, and would come up with something like "rorraparooza." The sentry was trained to then
shoot to kill, and to check it out later.
With Germany, it was a different thing, because they looked
like us. In fact, there were times when they put on U.S. uniforms and gave us problems. Our way with them was
to ask a couple of sports questions, like "who is Babe Ruth," who is Stan Musial." Bad answers could
mean bullets.
This has been used down through the ages. In the Bible, when Israel was at war
with the Ephralmites, they would ask the enemy to say the word "shibboleth."
If the person couldn't say
it, swordplay was next in line. (Judges 12: 4-6). Isn't it good that God knows all languages and although the Jewish
people are His Chosen (Deuteronomy 7:6), he still plays no favorites when it comes to serving Him. You have the same
choice and reward as anyone else. Choose Him!
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