Adam” is translated “son of man.” To label someone a son of Adam, a son of man, is to label him as Cain, a son of the Fall, a murderous brother. There was another Son of Man who was also born of a woman, but this Cain ruled over the sin that crouched at His door. This Cain did not allow the dragon in; this

Cain fought the dragon and won. But this Cain became an

Abel, and was slain for all the sons of Adam. And

when this Cain died, He took all evil

and sin into Himself,

What motivates a murderer? Is it greed? Is it lust? Power? Revenge? The question of murder always goes back to the early chapters of Genesis, when the first murder oc-curred. Every murderer is a Cain and under the curse of God. Every murder victim is an Abel whose blood cries out to God for justice. Cain was the first son of Adam. The promise of God had been that a Seed would come from Eve and crush the head of the serpent, but instead of her firstborn seed crushing the serpent, he embraced the serpent. Instead of ruling over evil, Cain invited the evil in, and he was cursed like the dragon before him and driven from the land of the living. The name Adam literally means “man,” and frequently in the Old Testament, a “son of

D e a t h o n t h e n i l e

o m n i b u s i V2

She was the writer of many great mysteries and so cre-ated many great characters. Her other great detective is Miss Jane Marple, an elderly lady in a small English vil-lage, who most people ignore as a doddering senior citi-zen but who always finds the killer. Much of Agatha Christie’s life and experiences are seen in the settings and characters of her novels. She traveled extensively, and even some of the more dif-ficult experiences of her life can be found as echoes in her novels. Christie lived through both World Wars and witnessed the many challenges and transitions of those periods. She served as a nurse during World War I and found it very rewarding. Some years after the war her

first husband was unfaithful and divorced her. She married Max Mallowan, an archaeolo-

gist, in 1930. Knowledge of medicine, wounds, history, not to mention per-

sonal experience with love and betrayal, are significant themes

in a number of Christie novels, Death on the Nile no less than

others. Christie was wildly popu-lar and successful during her own lifetime, and is still known for the eighty mys-tery novels she wrote and a number of highly success-ful stage plays. Her stage play Mousetrap is the lon-

gest running play ever, still running as of this writing.

Christie received a number of awards during her life: a Com-

mander of the Order of the Brit-ish Empire in 1956, President of

the Detection Club in 1957, a Dame Commander of the Order of the Brit-

ish Empire in 1971. Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976.

Significance Agatha Christie deserves recognition for the broad popularity and appeal she had throughout so much of the twentieth century. Guinness Book of World Records ranks her with William Shakespeare as having sold more books than any other author. It lists only the Bible as hav-ing more sales. John Dickson Carr, a celebrated detective novelist, judged Death on the Nile to be among the ten greatest mystery novels of all time. Christie herself noted Death on the Nile as holding a

and He took it into Himself not so that it could find a home but so that it might finally be destroyed. For when this Son of Man died, sin died with Him. Death on the Nile is in many ways a traditional de-tective mystery novel. We know that someone is going to be murdered. But every good murder mystery is always a faint reflection of the story of history. It’s always a story of the murderer being revealed, justice being done, and the wisdom and wit of the hero leading us to the truth.

General information

Author and Context Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on September 15, 1890, the third child of a fairly affluent fam-ily. While she would not have been old enough at the time to appreciate them, her family’s dinner parties included such esteemed literary giants as Henry James and Rudyard Kipling. Her father died when she was eleven, leav-ing the family in a hard spot, and eventually she and her mother moved to Egypt and rented out their home in England. She married Archibald Christie in 1914. While she would eventually be known formally as Lady Mallowan (taking her second husband’s last name), she has al-ways been known popularly around the world as Agatha Christie and play-fully as the Duchess of Death. She also authored romances under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. Christie’s first novel was The Mysteri-ous Affair at Styles, published in 1920, which introduced and started the career of her fictional Belgian detective hero Hercule Poirot (pronounced “Airkewl Pwa-ro”) who would go on to star in 33 novels and 54 short stories. By the end of the 1930s she would begin to grow tired of Poirot, but she is said to have been concerned to please the public who so enjoyed the character. As the final epi-sode in the Poirot series, she wrote Curtain during World War II, but it was sealed in a bank vault for over thirty years until 1975. Poirot, however, is not Christie’s only great detective.

AgathaChristie

Death on the Nile 3

Summary and Setting As has already been noted, the rich and beautiful Linnet Ridgeway steals the fiancé of her best friend, Jac-queline de Bellefort. The Doyles are on their honeymoon in Egypt, taking a cruise on the Nile, and to their great dismay they are being stalked by Jacqueline. And the rest of the colorful cast aboard the Karnak brings a host of their own tangles with them. After Jacqueline finally does seem to crack, pulling out a gun and shooting Simon in the leg, she is taken back to her room and kept under ob-servation. The next morning Linnet Doyle is found dead in her cabin, shot in the head.

special place in her own mind: “I think, myself, that the book is one of the best of my ‘foreign travels’ ones. I think the central situation is intriguing and has dramatic pos-sibilities, and the three characters, Simon, Linnet, and Jacqueline, seem to me to be real and alive.”1 Death on the Nile not only enjoys favorite status by Christie, but it is also the favorite of many fans and critics alike. Today there are Death on the Nile Cruises which offer the op-portunity for vacationers to not only enjoy a cruise on the Nile, but also the intrigue and fun of a murder mystery aboard the ship. Actors and actresses play their parts aboard the cruisers, and vacationers are called on to act as detectives to solve the crime.

Main Characters As might be expected, Hercule Poirot, the careful and brilliant detective, is the most important character in the novel. In the opening chapter we are introduced to Linnet Ridgeway (later Linnet Doyle) by two townsfolk discussing her wealth and her beauty. Her best friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, has fallen on hard times in the aftermath of the great stock market crash, and she appears early in the story looking for employment for her fiancé, Simon Doyle. Part 1 ends with the news spreading that the rich and lovely Linnet Ridgeway has mar-ried Simon Doyle and is honeymooning in Egypt. In fact, as Part 2 opens, we find the Doyles aboard the S.S. Karnak along with a number of other passengers: Mrs. Allerton and her son, Tim; Lin-net’s maid, Louise Bourget; Miss Van Schuyler and her niece, Cornelia Robson; Miss Schuyler’s nurse, Miss Bowers; Salome Otterbourne and her daughter, Rosalie; Lin-net’s American lawyer and trustee, Andrew Pennington; a mysterious man named Mr. Fer-guson; the archaeologist Signor Richetti; the silent man James Fanthorp; the Austrian Dr. Bessner; and Jacqueline De Bellefort. We meet Joanna Southwood in the first couple of chapters, and we know that she has a somewhat mysterious relationship with Tim Allerton. Colonel Race, a government agent, is also aboard the Kar-nak tracking an anonymous terrorist of sorts. He becomes the assistant of Poirot as the mystery unfolds.

Not to be confused with the hero of our story, Hercules dis-plays amazing feats of strength on this red-figure vase paint-ing. Hercule Poirot, on the other hand, amazes us with intel-

lectual feats using his “little grey cells.”

o m n i b u s i V4

Worldview

G.K. Chesterton once wrote that the “first essential value of the detective story lies in this, that it is the earliest and only form of popular literature in which is expressed some sense of the poetry of modern life.”2 So detective stories reveal the poetry of modern life. They do this by hiding the truth and then proceeding to slowly and me-thodically uncover it. W.H. Auden defined the plot of a detective novel as “a murder occurs, many are suspected; all but one sus-pect, who is the murderer, are eliminated; the murderer is arrested or dies.”3 Another commentator says that a detective story may be defined as “a tale in which the pri-mary interest lies in the methodical discovery, by rational means, of the exact circumstances of a mysterious event or series of events.”4 In other words, the primary point of a detective mystery novel is the dénouement. This is a French word which means “to untie,” from Old French and Latin roots associated with untying knots. The dé-nouement is the outcome or resolution of the central plot in literature or drama. And that is precisely what a detec-

While the setting does not appear to play an abso-lutely essential role in the story, it is nevertheless nota-ble. One aspect of this includes the fact that the Aswan Dam was built on the Nile around the turn of the cen-tury. This dam caused the river banks to rise consider-ably, a fact that is noted in the novel: “There was a sav-age aspect about the sheet of water in front of them, the masses of rock without vegetation that came down to the water’s edge—here and there a trace of houses abandoned and ruined as a result of the damming up of the waters. The whole scene had a melancholy, almost sinister charm” (Pt. 2, chap. 6). Many villages and archaeological sites were buried beneath the reservoir created by the dam (known as Lake Nasser); only some survived, and that with great effort. The temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel was perhaps the greatest site along the Nile, and it was preserved by cutting it into some 950 pieces, hoisting them up the banks to a new sight safely away from the edge of the river, and reassembling them. There is something haunting, something sinister in the waters covering those houses and ruins. And one won-ders if there are parallels underlying Death on the Nile.

“O’er Egypt’s land of memory floods are level, And they are thine, O Nile! and well thou knowest The soul-sustaining airs and blasts of evil, And fruits, and poisons spring where’er thou flowest.”—Percy Bysshe Shelley

Still a popular destination for holiday cruisers, the Nile exudes an aura of exotic mystery.

Death on the Nile 5

tive novel is all about. Detective novels are frequently al-most entirely all dénouement, all untying, all unraveling. Everyone knows that someone will die fairly early on and by the end the brilliant detective will have uncovered the truth, but the story is all about the unearthing of the truth. While all stories usually have some sort of dénouement, some sort of resolution, many other genres spend more time leading up to a climax through rising action and the resolution comes at the end, pulling the loose ends all together. And while the detective novel also follows this pattern in some ways, in another sense, for the detective novel, the plot is the resolution. The rising action is the slow uncovering of information leading up to the final revelation of “whodunit.” Poirot describes this very process of dénouement with archaeological imagery toward the end of the novel. His friend and assistant, Colonel Race, is growing frustrated with the case (and with Poirot) because all of the most like-ly suspects, for all their faults and other crimes, have not yet been pegged with the murder of Linnet. “Why all this beating about the bush?” Race asks, and Poirot responds,

You think that I am just amus-ing myself with side issues? And it annoys you? But it is not that. Once I went profes-sionally to an archaeological expedition—and I learnt some-thing there. In the course of an excavation, when something comes up out of the ground, everything is cleared away very carefully all around it. You take away the loose earth, and you scrape here and there with a knife until finally your object is there, all alone, ready to be drawn and photographed with no extraneous matter confus-ing it. That is what I have been seeking to do—clear away the extraneous matter so that we can see the truth—the naked shining truth (Pt. 2, chap. 27).

A detective story is a riddle, and the fun of the riddle is found in the fact that certain rules must ordinarily be observed. The riddle must be solved through erudition, logic, and meticu-

lously observing the tendencies of people. Mary Wagoner points out that in Death on the Nile there is particular attention paid to a number of relationships that revolve around tensions with power and authority. Of the sixteen people on board the Karnak, most of them are struggling with wielding authority, enduring unjust authority, or preparing to rebel against it. Linnet Ridgeway is the most powerful of all the characters. She is powerful in riches, in beauty, and in intelligence. And she bends all of these gifts to serve her purposes. Jacqueline has power in her will, in her determination and relentlessness to achieve her goals. Poirot himself is looked up to by all. He is as famous as Linnet Ridgeway, an intellectual celebrity, but his authority ultimately rests in the truth, in his ability to unearth the original players and actions. In addition to Poirot, there are mothers who are authoritarian or med-dlesome and their children, who struggle in various ways beneath them; Mr. Pennington, Linnet’s guardian; Mr. Fanthorp, the representative of Linnet’s English solicitor; there is Mr. Ferguson, a socialist revolutionary; and an old, wealthy woman who constantly complains and ma-nipulates the people under her. Part of the challenge of Death on the Nile, like many murder mystery tales, is all the suspects. Death on the Nile is packed with people, too many people, too many stories colliding. And of course that is part of the fun. There’s a crowded room, a crime is committed, and you have a front row seat to the investigation. As Poirot unravels the facts, we find that it is not so simple as one bad guy, lots of inno-cent bystanders, and an innocent victim or two. While this is not always the case in Christie novels, Death on the Nile explores the complications of crime and sin when every-one is a sinner, when there are several criminals, and even when the victim is not at all very innocent. And this be-comes both a challenge for readers and part of the poetry of the story. There isn’t really any character who seems altogether sympathetic. Everyone has flaws; everyone has weaknesses. Even the hero, Hercule Poirot, is not particu-larly winsome. He’s brilliant and smart, but he does not appear to be a great man. He seems odd, a little picky and irritable in places, and in the end he even seems a little ambivalent to justice and overly pessimistic. The name Hercule Poirot is not unrelated to his char-acter. The first name “Hercule” conjures up Hercules, the Greek adventurer and warrior, while a poirot is something of a buffoon. And thus we have the juxtaposition of the fierce and valiant son of the gods with a “funny little man” with a black mustache who puts all his ability in his “lit-tle grey cells” and occasionally borders on being annoy-ing with his overly fastidious nature. One commentator goes so far as to suggest that Poirot has something of the feminine in his style and methods. Throughout the novels,

Poirot frequently notices details that we would ordinarily credit a woman with noticing. In Death on the Nile, this manifests itself in the curious notice of a fingernail polish. Would an ordinary man be bothered by the presence of two bottles of nail polish and notice a slight difference in color? Poirot was, and that is how he came to examine the bottles and find a telling clue. All of these elements in Death on the Nile actually blend together quite nicely. Let’s see: a story full of flawed characters, where power struggles, resistance, and ma-nipulation figure prominently, and by the time it’s all over, several corpses are being carried ashore. It sounds a lot like the world we live in, the story of history. Of course, the story of the world is a mystery. God is the genius sto-ry teller, and he knows all the answers to all the riddles, all the mysteries. And yet God also loves the story, loves the mystery, and has written Himself into the story. Like Hercule Poirot, the story of history is God the Spirit, dig-ging away at a treasure, a fossil, brushing away the dirt, clearing away debris, unearthing His glory in the world through the intrigue and fallible stories of His people. While there are a number of important scenes and conversations in the first part of the book, one occurs when the reader is introduced to Hercule Poirot in the restaurant Chez Ma Tante. While the detective is there taking in the crowd, he notices one couple dancing who end up sitting at a table near him. While Poirot does not yet know who the couple are, readers quickly realize that this is Jackie, Linnet’s best friend and her fiancé, of whom she has already spoken to Linnet about, Simon Doyle. Even as Poirot watches them, he notes to himself, “She cares too much, that little one,” and he adds, “It is not safe. No it is not safe.” Poirot is suspicious of Jacqueline’s love for Simon here, and by the end of the story he concludes, “That is why most great love stories are tragedies.” There are several references to the Bible throughout the novel. There is an explicit reference to the David and Bathsheba story and to Nathan’s confrontation of David in particular (2 Sam. 11–12), as well as the incident with Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21). In both epi-sodes there is murder, of course, but both also highlight the misuse of power in taking advantage of the weak. A less explicit reference to Scripture is in Poirot’s warning to Jacqueline, when he urges her not to seek her revenge against Simon and Linnet. “Do not open your heart to evil,” he urges Jackie, “Because—if you do—evil will come . . . Yes, very surely evil will come . . . It will enter in and make its home within you, and after a little while it will no longer be possible to drive it out.” This is very close to God’s own warning to Cain in Genesis 4: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you

The jackal-headed Anubis, Egyptian god of the dead, was guardian of the underworld and associated with the mummification process.

o m n i b u s i V6

Death on the Nile 7

Spirit her desire is for her Husband, but He rules her in wisdom and has exalted her and seated her with Him in the heavenly places to reign with Him until every enemy has been put down. Death on the Nile is not high art. Christie was not pro-ducing great literature in her mystery novels, but the mass production and hugely popular following of fans certainly reveals something “classic” about them. People are at-tracted to the universal themes of love and greed, loyalty and betrayal, and the multiplicity of ways humans have to take perfectly wonderful things and turn them into hor-rific tales of sadness and misery. There is also something fundamentally true about a mystery. It’s the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search it out (Prov. 25:2). There is something built into humans created in the image of God, a certain nobility, that loves a good challenge, a good mystery. And perhaps that is some-thing of the poetry of a detective story, something of the glory in a mystery. Kings are called to wisdom, and wisdom must be searched out, untied, and unearthed. In Christ, we have all been made kings and called into that great trea-sure hunt, the adventure of life, the mystery of the universe which ultimately finds all dénouement, all resolution, and every solution in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that

is the naked shining truth. —Toby J. Sumpter

For Further Reading Most, Glen W., and Stowe, William W. The Poetics of Murder. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1983.

Murch, A.E. The Development of the Detective Novel. London: Peter Owen Limited, 1968.

Osborne, Charles. The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001.

should rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Like Poirot’s warning, God urges Cain not to allow evil through the door, to make its home within him. For if sin and evil are allowed in, they will rule over him. The wording here is exactly parallel to one of the curses in Genesis 3 where God says that sin will create a particular kind of adversity between a hus-band and a wife, where a woman’s desire will be for her husband, and he shall rule over her (Gen. 3:16). Poirot appears to be overly pessimistic. It may be true that many great love stories have had tragic elements, but we know that the story of the world is the greatest love story, the story of God’s love for the world and the giving of His Son for us. And that story is not a tragedy but a com-edy, a story that ends in a wedding and in joy. Yet Poirot’s suspicions with regard to misplaced love seem consistent with Scripture. Recognizing that love is Jackie’s problem, he warns her, “Love is not everything, Mademoiselle . . . It is only when we are young that we think it is.” This is why the greatest commandment is to love God with all that we are. Anything less than whole-hearted devotion to God is dangerous. It is not safe. But our love for God is of course all the result of His love for us. He has sought us out in Jesus; we love Him because He loved us first. And this love is to die for. He came to be a righteous Cain, to rule evil and put it to death in His death. In or-der for Jesus to rule over evil, He had to be a wise king. Like a greater Solo-mon, Jesus was anointed with the Spirit of Wisdom and knew that to destroy all sin and death and evil, He had to take these things into Him-self and die. He had to die like a murderer, for all murder to be destroyed. And the glory of it all is that in the death of Christ, true power was revealed. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He was revealed to be the Messiah, the true King of Israel. And it is this enthronement on the cross, the wisdom of God revealed in the death of Jesus, that answers the curse of sin on the woman. In the death Christ, He took a bride to Himself, the Christian Church (Eph. 5:2, 25). And that Bride is being revealed as the wisdom of God; the church united to Christ is where the treasures of wis-dom and knowledge are found. She is where God’s glory is being revealed from glory to glory. By the power of the

session i: PreluDe

Question to Consider What is power?If Christ is our example, power and authority are graciously bestowed by God. They are bestowed for obedience, so that we might obey, and to those who are faithful with a little, God gives more. Jesus was granted authority when He was baptized and the Spirit came upon Him. But even that authority was glorified when Jesus was obe-dient even to death. The Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead and declared Him to be the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:4). Thus, power is the ability to obey the will of God and the ability to influence others to do so also.From the General Information above answer the following questions:1. How did Agatha Christie’s life inform her writing?Christie’s own life is evidenced in her writing through her travels and knowledge of many foreign places and experiences. Her experience as a nurse is also evidenced in her knowledge of medicine and injuries and death. Her painful experiences of betrayal, love, and loyalty are also recurring themes in her work.2. What is dénouement in literature and drama?Dénouement is the resolution of a story, the unty-ing of the knot of the plot. 3. How is a detective novel in one sense almost entirely

dénouement?Detective novels are all about unraveling the mystery. The plot is simple, and in one sense the reader knows what is going to happen. How it will happen is the question. 4. What biblical allusions appear in Death on the Nile?

How are they significant?There are at least two explicit references: to David’s misuse of power with Bathsheba and Uriah and to Ahab’s misuse of power with Naboth’s vineyard. Both are concerned with the misuse of power and with stealing. Death on the Nile is concerned with the same things. There is also an allusion to God’s words to Cain in Poirot’s warnings to Jacqueline de Bellefort. 5. How might Poirot be accused of being somewhat femi-

nine? How does that fit with the idea of wisdom?Poirot pays attention to details that most men are oblivious to; for example, the two nail polish bot-tles. According to Scripture wisdom is a woman to be loved and emulated (e.g., Prov. 3–4, 8–9).

o m n i b u s i V8

6. What is the glory of God and the glory of kings (Prov. 25:2)? How does that fit with wisdom?

It is the glory of God to conceal matters, and it is the glory of kings to search them out. Wisdom is the treasure which God has hidden in all of creation that God’s kingly people are called upon to search out and prize as more valuable than anything on earth.

reaDinG assiGnment: Death on the Nile, Part 1–

Part 2, chapter 3

session ii: DiscussionPart 1 – Part 2 chapter 3

A Question to Consider When is it the hardest to do what is right?It is difficult to do what is right when we think that someone deserves to “get it good.” When it comes to justice and equity, it tends to be dif-ficult to leave room for the vengeance of God. Especially when we have been wronged, it is difficult to think clearly and act prudently. It is also hard to do what is right when we think that someone is “getting away with it.” There is also sometimes added temptation when it appears that no one cares or no one will notice. If it is a common or ordinary sin that is generally approved of, it is even more difficult to do what is right. Or if there seems to be no way that anyone would ever find out, it can be more tempting to do what is wrong.

Discuss or list short answers to the following questions:

Text Analysis1. What does Joanna Southwood tell Linnet she would

do if Linnet lost all her money?Joanna says she would drop Linnet. She doesn’t think it is worth being friends with poor people (Part 1, chapter 1, section III). 2. What does Linnet notice that Jacqueline does which

she remembers as being “characteristic of her?”Jacqueline “pounces” (Pt. 1, chap. 1, sec. V).3. What does Poirot overhear Jacqueline and Simon

talking about at the Chez Ma Tante restaurant? They are talking about Linnet and not wanting to

Death on the Nile 9

Chart 1 : CharaCter analysis

CharaCter Personality Possible Motive

alibi Questions/ susPiCions

Jackie De Bellefort

Hot, fiery, jealous

Jealousy She tried to shoot Simon, missed, and has been under surveil-lance since.

She’s been talk-ing about getting revenge and killing the Doyles.

Andrew Pennington

Nervous, a little irritable

Greed for Linnet’s estate

He has no clear alibi, although he says he was writing in his room when the murder occurred.

Why did he rush over to Egypt and pretend to accidentally run into Linnet? What are those papers he was having Linnet sign?

Mr. Ferguson Heartless, cruel Socialism, anarchy

He has no clear alibi.

He does not seem to have any morals.

Signor Richetti

Secretive, archaeologist

He’s too mys-terious to know.

He has no clear alibi.

Why is he so secre-tive? Is he really an archaeologist?

James Fanthorp

Awkward, uncertain

Greed for Linnet’s estate

He was help-ing Jackie and Simon after the initial shooting.

Why did he rush down to be on the cruise after hearing that Mr. Pennington was also along?

Simon Doyle Jovial, can be angry

Greed Was shot in the leg and immobilized

Is he really so cruel to have betrayed Jackie for Linnet?

Marie(Former Maid)

Disappointed, sad

Her engage-ment to an Egyptian man was broken off by Linnet.

Not on board the Karnak (although her former fiancé was)

Could she have been capable of so much planning to pull off the murder?

Joanna Southwood

Harsh, honest Jealousy, planning to steal some-thing of Linnet’s

Not on board the Karnak

Could she have secretly come aboard?

Dr. Bessner Business, some-what irritable

No clear motive

Was with Simon Doyle

One murder commit-ted was with a surgi-cal knife

o m n i b u s i V1 0

Cultural Analysis1. Linnet says that an engagement is not really bind-

ing, and therefore it was actually heroic and right for Simon to break it off with Jacqueline since he had discovered that he really loved Linnet. Would our culture agree with Linnet?

Yes. Our culture believes that the feeling of being “in love” holds ultimate value and trumps all pre-vious commitments. 2. Poirot says that Linnet is upset because she feels

guilty. What is our culture’s view of guilt?Our culture generally considers guilt as some-thing that is either psychological/emotional or something that is purely human, as between indi-viduals. There is no understanding that guilt is something that affects our relationship with God or that guilt is fundamentally the realization that we have disregarded God’s Word.

Biblical Analysis1. Read Psalm 51. The note at the beginning of the

Psalm says that this was the prayer of David after Nathan the prophet confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. What does David’s prayer of confession teach us about guilt with regard to sins committed against other people?

David’s prayer makes it clear that he considers his sinful actions to have done great wrong to God. His sin against Bathsheba and Uriah is also against God. 2. Read Josh. 7 and Acts 5:1–11. What are some of the

similarities between the two stories? What do both of these stories teach regarding hiding sin?

Both episodes are about attempts to lie to God and hide sin. Both times the sin is found out, and the guilty ones die for their sin. Another similarity

let her down. They are also planning their honey-moon in Egypt (Pt. 1, chap. 1, sec. VI).4. What makes Mr. Andrew Pennington angry? And

what does he decide to do?Mr. Pennington is angered by the letter he receives which mentions that Linnet has married Simon Doyle. He and his associate Mr. Rockford are obviously upset by this, and Mr. Pennington decides to take the next boat over to Egypt (Pt. 1, chap. 1, sec. X).5. Why is Jim Fanthorp sent to Egypt?Jim Fanthorp is sent to Egypt by Mr. Carmichael because they receive a letter from Linnet which mentions that Mr. Pennington has coincidentally bumped into Linnet on her trip in Egypt. Fanthorp is sent to Egypt because Linnet will not recognize him, and he must use his eyes and ears and, if necessary, “act” (Pt. 1, chap. 1, sec. XI).6. What reason does Poirot say is causing Linnet to feel

guilty? What does Poirot agree to do for Linnet?Poirot says that Linnet feels guilty for deliberately stealing Simon Doyle from Jacqueline. She knows that she has hurt her friend, and this makes her react more strongly to her when she keeps fol-lowing her. Poirot agrees to speak to Jacqueline

in the interest of humanity, but refuses to be hired by Linnet

to do so (Pt. 2, chap. 3).

To control flooding on the Nile River, the British built the Aswan Low Dam

in 1902. Over the years this proved inadequate, so a second dam was completed farther upstream in 1970. To prevent the temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel from being covered by the lake that resulted, they were

moved and reassembled further from the water’s edge on

higher ground.

Death on the Nile 1 1

says almost the exact thing as Jacqueline said the previous night (Pt. 2, chap. 5). 3. What does Simon Doyle plan to do in order to give

the slip to Jacqueline?He says that they have announced that they are staying where they are for ten more days, but in actuality they plan to take another ship and meet back up with the Karnak shortly (Pt. 2, chap. 5).4. In chapter 7, what does Poirot hear as he is drifting

off to sleep?He hears Simon Doyle talking and saying, “We’ve got to go through with it now. . . .”5. While Linnet is signing papers with Mr. Andrew

Pennington, what does Mr. Fanthorp say and do that seems to annoy Mr. Pennington?

He says that he admires Linnet’s businesslike capacity (Pt. 2, chap. 8). 6. While out touring the great temple of the Ramses,

what near-miss occurs?A large boulder comes bounding down the cliff and nearly misses Linnet (Pt. 2, chap. 9).7. What old acquaintance shows up aboard the Kar-

nak? Why is he aboard?Colonel Race shows up on the Karnak. He is look-ing for a violent criminal (Pt. 2, chap. 10).

reaDinG assiGnment: Death on the Nile, Part 2,

chapters 11–16

session iV: actiVity

Planning a Detective Novel Imagine that you are preparing to write a detective/mystery novel like Death on the Nile. On one page, sketch out the basic plot of the story, all of the main characters, and the resolution. Give enough detail to show how the various characters will make the real perpetrator diffi-cult to identify. Or find a murder mystery game to play as a class or with your family. Try to use as many names and situ-ations from Death on the Nile as possible. Discuss fac-tors such as motives, opportunity, methods, and various circumstances that make suspects more or less likely to have committed the crime.

reaDinG assiGnment: Death on the Nile, Part 2,

chapters 17–23

is in the fact that both stories are at the begin-ning of conquests, in Joshua the conquest of Canaan, in Acts the conquest of the world with the gospel. In the story of Achan there is also the broader affect of his sin on the rest of Israel.

summa Write an essay or discuss this question, integrating

what you have learned from the material above.

What’s the difference between obeying out of guilt and obeying out of gratitude?

Guilt can be a powerful motivator. Arguably much of the good done in the world is frequently done out of a sense of guilt, trying to make up for past failures and wrongs. The problem is that this sort of “obedience” runs out. It is fundamentally based on human strength, personal determination, and it is fed by pain. But guilt and pain slowly suck life away. Only joy and thankfulness multiplies the gift. Only gratitude can keep giving and multiply obedience. Obeying out of gratitude sees obedience itself as a gift from God, and therefore walks by faith and eagerly hopes and expects more obedience to be given. For this reason it can keep on giving, keep on obeying because it trusts in the goodness of the Giver. More will be provided, more given.

reaDinG assiGnment: Death on the Nile, Part 2,

chapters 4–10

session iii: recitationDeath on the Nile, Part 2, chapters 4–10

Comprehension QuestionsAnswer the following questions for factual recall:1. According to Jacqueline, why did Simon Doyle leave

her for Linnet Ridgeway?Jacqueline says that it was Linnet’s glamour, and that Linnet was like the sun and Jacqueline was only the moon. When Simon saw Linnet he was dazzled and could not see anyone besides Linnet (Pt. 2, chap. 4).2. When Poirot asks Simon Doyle if there’s any of the

“old feeling left” for Jacqueline, how does Doyle re-spond? Why is Poirot startled by his answer?

Doyle says that it’s like the moon when the sun comes out. When he met Linnet he completely forgot about Jackie. Poirot is startled because he

o m n i b u s i V1 2

session Vi: stuDent-leD DiscussionDeath on the Nile, Part 2, chapters 24–30

A Question to Consider In order to achieve justice, must punishment occur?This is a challenging question. In one sense the answer is yes because that is the point of the death of Christ. The death of Jesus included tak-ing upon himself the punishment due to us. On the other hand there are at least a couple of notable exceptions. What about King David who stole Bathsheba and arranged to have her hus-band murdered. While David’s son dies as a sort of punishment, David does not actually face punish-ment for his crime. Students should read and consider the example ques-tions below that are connected to the Question to Consid-er above. Last session’s assignment was to prepare three questions and answers for the Text Analysis section and two additional questions and answers for both the Cul-tural and Biblical Analysis sections below.

Text AnalysisExample: How is Mr. Allerton a criminal? Is he punished for his crime?

Answer: Mr. Allerton is a thief, and he has stolen a pearl necklace from the deceased Linnet Doyle. He is not pun-ished for his crime. He flings the fake string of pearls into the river, and Poirot lets him off the hook since he was not Linnet’s murderer.

Cultural AnalysisExample: What does our culture think about punishment and justice?

Answer: Our culture puts a lot more emphasis on rehabil-itation than on punishment. Retributive justice has been replaced by protection and re-education.

Biblical AnalysisExample: How can Christians not worry about punishing personal offenses (Rom. 12:17–21)?

Answer: Paul says that we should do good to those who do us wrong since we know that God is the God of ven-geance. He will repay. Other Scriptures to consider: Romans 13:4

session V: character analysis

Deduction Fill in Chart 1 to help you remember and identify the various characters. After completing the chart take a thoughtful guess as to who murdered Linnet Ridgway.

Our next session will be a student-led discussion. As you are reading the following assignment, you should write down at least three questions from the text deal-ing with the issue listed below. These questions will be turned in to the teacher and will be used in classroom discussion. To get full credit for these Text Analysis ques-tions you must create a question that is connected to the reading and to the issue that is the focus of our discus-sion; you must also answer the question correctly (and include a page or line reference at the end); and your question must be one that invites discussion and debate (“why” questions are excellent; questions that can be an-swered by “yes” or “no” are to be avoided). You should also provide two Cultural Analysis and two Biblical Analysis questions. Cultural Analysis ques-tions ask how our culture views the issue that we are dis-cussing. Biblical Analysis questions ask what the Bible says concerning this issue. Again, to get full credit for each question, you must create questions connected to the issue we are studying, answer each question correctly and create questions that encourage and invite discus-sion and exploration. For an example of each type of question and answer refer to the examples provided in the next session. If you are working alone, after creating your ques-tions and answers, have your parent or tutor check over them. Also, if possible, share them with your family at the dinner table, helping them to understand why the issue is important, how the issue arises in your reading, how its importance is still evident in our culture, and how under-standing this issue might change the way you and your family should think and live.

IssueJustice and Punishment

reaDinG assiGnment: Death on the Nile, Part 2,

chapters 24–30

Death on the Nile 1 3

Cornelia’s father was practically ruined by Linnet’s father (Pt. 2, chap. 24).3. Why is Mr. Fanthorp on board the Karnak? How did

Poirot come to suspect his involvement?Mr. Fanthorp is the nephew of Linnet’s English solicitor, Mr. Carmichael. He was sent on the cruise to keep an eye out for any funny business from Mr. Andrew Pennington, the guardian of Linnet and a trustee of her estate and inheritance (Pt. 2, chap. 25). 4. What is Mr. Tim Allerton’s relationship with Joanna

Southwood?Tim helped Joanna steal jewels (Pt. 2, chap. 26). 5. Who killed Linnet Doyle? How?Simon Doyle pretended to be shot by Jackie, and when the others helped Jackie out of the room, he ran to Linnet’s room and shot her (Pt. 2, chap. 28).6. Who killed Louise Bourget and Madame Otter-

bourne? Why?Jacqueline killed them because they had seen Simon and/or her acting out their crimes (Pt. 2, chap. 28).7. How do Jackie and Simon end up at the end of the

book?They end up dead. Jackie shoots Simon and then shoots herself (Pt. 2, chap. 30).

E n d n o t E s1 Cited in Osborne, Charles. The Life and Crimes of Agatha Chris-

tie. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. 147. 2 “In Defence of the Detective Story,” The Defendant, London:

Dent, 1901. Cited in Murch, A.E. The Development of the Detec-tive Novel. London: Peter Owen Limited, 1968. 10.

3 Wagoner, Mary. Agatha Christie. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1986. 33.

4 Murch, A.E., 11.

summa Does the coming of Jesus change how we should view

crime, justice and punishment?

Write an essay or discuss this question, integrat-ing what you have learned from the material above.

Over time, we trust that the work of Christ on the cross will work out the grace of God in the world, slowly overcoming all evil. This means that our hope should be greater and our evangelistic efforts should be seen as part of our efforts in justice. In the meantime, it is still right for rulers to punish evildoers and protect their citizens from those who seek to harm them. At the same time, the justice of the Cross frees the people of God to show mercy, love life, and to be overflowing in forgiveness. Wise Christian rulers ought to see the Cross as an important part of their wise applica-tion of biblical justice to their callings.

oPtional session a:recitationDeath on the Nile, Part 2, chapters 24–30

Comprehension QuestionsAnswer the following questions for factual recall:1. What does Mr. Ferguson think about the three mur-

ders?Mr. Ferguson says that the three women who have died are “no loss,” and he doesn’t care. He says that he thinks “it’s a damned good thing!” (Pt. 2, chap. 24).2. Who was “practically ruined” by Linnet’s father?