There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (CSB)
The Pause for the Cause
An intermission is a pause or break in an ongoing activity. Scripture gives us a significant example in the intertestamental period—the approximately 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, when no prophetic book records a new message from the Lord.
Yet the work of God had not come to an end. The Temple, its priesthood, and its sacrificial practices continued. Then, as the New Testament opens, God breaks the silence by sending the angel Gabriel to Zechariah while he is serving in the Temple. The announcement of John the Baptist signals that the story is moving forward again, preparing the way for the Messiah.
Paul later describes Christ’s coming as occurring in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4).
A pause does not mean the purpose has been abandoned. Sometimes, it is part of the pattern.
From Above to Beneath the Soil
The first twelve Vertiwords studies follow a journey through Scripture, beginning with the Spirit of God hovering over the waters and moving downward, letter by letter, toward the seed beneath the soil.
This collection has been a journey of discovery—looking at God’s Word from the top down, tracing connections and uncovering principles established in His creation and revealed through His Word.
Now, after twelve studies, I am taking an intermission. Not because the journey is finished, but because it is time to pause, step back, and consider the larger picture before moving forward.
Even an intermission can have a purpose.
And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain.
Exodus 24:4 (CSB)
Everyone ate and was satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.
Matthew 14:20 (CSB)
Twelve: When the Parts Become a Whole
Throughout Scripture, the number twelve appears in significant ways. Twelve tribes formed the nation of Israel. Jesus called twelve apostles to walk with Him and carry His message forward. In Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem is pictured with twelve gates and twelve foundations, bringing these recurring patterns to a remarkable conclusion.
Romans 11 gives us another picture of God’s unfolding purpose through the olive tree, where branches are connected to a larger whole. Each picture reminds us that God works through individuals and parts, bringing them together within His greater design.
Even the rhythms of creation invite us to consider how individual measures of time fit together between the sun and the moon within a larger order.
As I look back over these first twelve Vertiwords studies, I see a collection that has reached a natural stopping point. Each study stands on its own, yet together they form a larger journey through God’s Word.
We began with the Spirit of God hovering over the waters. Step by step, the journey moved downward, following the pattern from above toward the seed beneath the soil. But beneath the soil is not where the story ends. A seed is planted with the potential to grow upward, reaching toward the light and eventually becoming something more than what was first seen.
Perhaps this is the purpose of the intermission: to pause, recognize how the parts fit together, and prepare for what comes next.
Twelve studies complete this first collection—not the whole journey, but a meaningful place to pause before the next stage of growth.
After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua: “Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe, and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
Joshua 4:1-3 (CSB)
Elijah took twelve stones—according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”— and he built an altar with the stones in the name of the Lord.
1 Kings 18:31-32 (CSB)
Behold His Glory