The Bible is sharper than any two-edged sword, but for the Tennessee couple, Esther and Obadiah Lamentations take the Bible as a weapon to an entirely different level. One summer, a Sunday after church, Esther and “Obi” caught a burglar robbing their home. Within seconds, Esther suddenly remembered a joke about a God-fearing woman who told a thief to stop, and quoted a scripture reference: Acts 2:38 “as the thief stopped, he froze and ran away from the house. The police and told them what she did. He was caught by them on the road. The policeman who arrested him said, “All the old woman did was say a biblical reference to the Bible.” ‘Scripture? ‘ replied the thief, “I thought the lady had one ax and two 38s!”
The only “weapon” Esther and Obi had in their hands were their own Bibles. He got so mad at the thief that he took the Bible and hit him in the face as hard as he could while Obi turned him around and hit him with his own. Before they knew it, the thief was unconscious.
News spread through church about Esther using her Bible to knock out a criminal. The Lamentations did not stop using Bibles to deter thieves. Esther told a local journalist: “We have Bibles of all sizes and types throughout our home for one purpose: when we have criminals entering our home, we reserve them. In other words, we hit them with our Bibles to knock them unconscious. It is a Christian way of defending yourself by using a weapon that can kill, such as pistols, knives, and tasers. “
She continued, “I come from a long line of pastors. They preached the Gospel and beat their Bible all the time to reach many people with the Gospel.”
The reporter looked stunned, but asked Esther to show him her arsenal of Bibles.
Esther showed her many of the three closets in her house. Esther said, “We have King James, New King James, NVI, ESV. That’s it really. We get them from the local Salvation Army, other thrift markets and churches around here.”
The reporter closed the conversation. “So you stay in shape so you can knock out a criminal?”
“Yes, I am thinking of inviting the public to our house. I would call it ‘Biblical Defense Class.’ We would train them to hold the Bible in certain positions to better defend themselves.”
“Are you going to start so soon?” the reporter asked.
“Yes. It is a completely new way of knowing God.”
