The Bible

This is the beginning of a major project for me. Hopefully I will go through the entire Bible highlighting events and people. I expect it to take a year or longer. Originally, I set this item to not permit rating so it would be rated as a whole rather than in bits and parts. However, since it does not show up on searches when set this way, I have changed it to permit rating. It is fine to rate it, however, my real interest is to hear your comments and suggestions. I have been seriously writing poetry only about a year and value those of you who have been writing much longer, therefore please send any comments you have. I will try to add verses weekly, so please come back on a regular basis to read and comment. I definitely value your input.

Thanks,
Winds

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The Bible

The Bible

“In the beginning, God created…”
And so began God’s relationship with man;
Then out from the place where only God dwells,
He spoke and the curtain of darkness was dispelled.
As He cast untold galaxies of celestial light
Across the vast expanse of darkness into the night,
Setting in motion creation’s master plan.
Breathing precious life into the soul of man,
The Creator and creature communed in the cool of the day,
In an intimate relationship till sin led Adam astray,
And sin reared its ugly head into the balance of life
Bringing pain and suffering and a life filled with strife.
Cast out of the garden, forced to labor and toil,
Man fought with his brothers over life’s pitiful spoils;
His legacy passed down in his penchant for sin,
Bequeathed to his children and all of their kin.
Then in anger Cain jealously murdered his brother,
Which led to the killing of many another.
So man devoted his life to mischief and mayhem,
Proving the crown jewel of creation was no perfect gem.

From sinful mankind, sprang one who was upright,
Ready to do God’s work with all his might.
Having never seen a flood, he was ready to embark,
On a hundred-year task to build the ark.
Faithful was his character and his faith in the Rock,
Having never seen a flood, yet God would be his dock.
This man of the ancient east with his family of eight,
Went into the ark, and God closed the gate.
Then out of the depths, fountains sprang forth and rains fell into the sea,
And the naysayers wished they had heeded his plea.
As waves raged, and rains fell, yet Noah was safe inside,
For he trusted God’s word till again the earth had dried.
Forty days they spent on those storming seas,
Resting in the ark confident of God’s guarantee.
For a year the ark was home to his clan,
So God might continue His relationship with man.
And when finally the earth was dried from the sea,
A dove went forth and brought back a leaf of the olive tree.
The long night was o’er and Noah knelt, worshipping God,
And with stones, he built an altar on that ancient sod.
There on that mountain, a covenant God did bestow,
And in the sky confirmed it with a colorful bow.
Never again would He destroy life in this place,
But would always preserve it by His boundless grace.

But time proved that Adam’s seed had not been erased,
For again it reared its ugly head in the human race;
As men thought they could outwit Almighty God,
As though they held the mightier rod.
And began to build a tower to reach the sky,
So when the flood came again they would not die.
For years they labored on that tower of stone,
As if somehow their work could atone.
Then while they labored on the tower it occurred,
And the language of each to the other was blurred.
Not understanding the language of each man,
They parted ways, for Almighty God had ruined their pitiful plan.

Then from that ancient city in the east Abraham came,
A man God called righteous and without blame.
A prophecy his family would be more than the sands of the sea,
A covenant made with God that would last through eternity.
So he gathered his family to the promised Canaan land,
And dwelled among stranger and idol worshipping clans.
God proved faithful through the promises He made,
So that kings and their armies were all afraid,
To challenge the might and wealth Abraham possessed;
For God had blessed him to great excess.
In a land of pagans he was God’s only one,
Then came the promise of Isaac his son.
But Abraham and Sara doubted the promise that was theirs;
Weren’t they too old now to have heirs?
When finally there came the time of Isaac’s birth,
Proving God’s promises of divine worth.
Joy beyond measure flooded their hearts,
But a specter was soon raised, would Isaac depart?
God said, Take thy son, thine only son,
And before the morrow’s day is done,
Take Isaac up to the mountain of Moriah,
Along with the wood and the fire;
And take thy son, thine only son,
And offer up Isaac on the altar on Zion.
So Abraham and Isaac left on the morn,
To the altar on Moriah Isaac was bourne.
Bound and forsaken to die a sacrifice;
While a loving father trusted God to suffice.
And in time a faithful God reached to stay his hand,
A foreshadowing of his own eternal plan.
And Isaac grew to be faithful to God’s word,
Though like all men at times he erred.

He had two sons, Jacob and Esau,
One irresponsible, the other a character flaw.
Then Jacob stealing the birthright, escaped from the land,
Leaving his brother a broken and bitter man.
Jacob escaped running from his brother,
Returning to the ancient home of his mother;
To seek a bride of his own,
One that would be bone of his bone.
Seeing Rachel, he at once adored,
And again his hopes soared.
A bargain with her father, he did make,
And for seven years he labored for her sake.
Then on his night of wedding bliss,
He was unaware anything was amiss;
But on the morn when he looked for his beautiful maid,
He learned that the trickster was finally betrayed.
For Laban had swapped the light of his life,
And instead of Rachel, Leah was his wife.
So for seven years more he labored again,
Because the evil trick had dealt him great pain.
Till he and Rachel were wed as one,
And their adventure together had finally begun;
With he and his wives, their children began,
And twelve healthy sons were born into his clan.

Blessed with cattle his wealth had begun,
But Canaan was the land for which he did long.
What would his brother offer him now,
The steel of his sword or an olive bough.
But determined to return, with his cattle and clan,
He set his face toward his beloved Canaan land.
And by the Jabbok he struggled with God,
Who blessed him there on that holy sod.
It was there that God gave him a new name,
And called him Israel for he would never be the same.
Twelve sons he had, but Joseph the special one,
Dreamed of greatness with visions of the sun.
Loved by his father and hated by his brothers,
He angered them all with dreams one after another.
Till they sold him in slavery from the land of Zion,
And told his father he was killed by a lion.
Sold to an Egyptian as a servant in chains,
He labored for his master and did not complain.
For God had His hand on this dreamer of dreams,
Convinced that his lot was part of God’s theme.
And when he was accused of a vile, dastardly act;
He trusted it was part of God’s eternal pact.
And though accused of evil, and bound by prison bars,
He seemed forsaken by man with a life filled with scars.
The dreams of his youth seemed to fade in the night,
Was he forsaken by God? Cast away from the light?
And when one night the king had a dream,
And Joseph interpreted his strange pastoral scene.
So from the depths of a dungeon cell,
To a royal palace where he would dwell;
And save the land of Egypt with all its might,
To stave off the lean cows, through the seven-year night.
So the King’s royal treasure would not be lost,
And Joseph’s godly wisdom would cover the cost.

When his nefarious brothers came for grain,
They came to the place where Joseph reigned;
Exposed for the sin against their father’s son,
They feared his wrath and were repentant and undone.
But Joseph, unwilling to use his great force,
Was touched by their sorrow and obvious remorse;
So the family was united in Egypt that day,
Brought back together from where they had strayed.
And the land of Goshen became home to Jacob and his clan,
Because Joseph was honored throughout the land.
Favored among the people by the king of the Nile,
Theirs was a good life untouched by guile;
Then Joseph slept with his fathers, amid their devotion,
And a horrible night descended on all of Goshen.
For there arose a new king, who knew not what Joseph had done,
And taskmasters with whips made Israel labor in the sun.
Slaves in the desert, making bricks without straw,
Unprotected and abused by the king’s royal law.
Four hundred years, they served the whip,
And without Jehovah how could they worship?

Then God heard their cries, and a babe was born;
Placed in a basket on a clear desert morn.
And there the daughter of the King who was hostile,
Rescued Moses from the waters of the Nile.
And for forty years he lived in the palace of the Pharaoh,
The one who caused his people so much woe
But his mother had taught him, “You’re a son of heaven’s King!”
And it was to that truth that he did cling
And though he knew he had much to lose;
He defended his brother when he saw the abuse.
Then ran to the desert to escape the king’s wrath,
Where for forty years more, he followed the sheep’s path.
Till he saw a burning bush with fire that was real,
While the leaves of the bush were living there still.
“Remove your shoes this is holy ground!”
And God called him out so Egypt he’d confound.
Ten plagues God cast on Egypt that day,
Saying to the King, “Let My people go away!”
But he hardened his heart, and refused to let go,
And increased their burdens, adding to their woe.
Till God said, “Enough! This pitiful little man;
Who think might rest’s in his small little hands!”
And Moses and his brothers made a meal of bitter herbs,
Roasted a lamb and worshiped with their words.
The doorposts were painted with the blood of the lamb
And displayed throughout the land was the power of the great I Am!
The angel of death came slipping through the land,
And the firstborn of Egypt was taken from every hand.

A terrible wail rose from Egypt’s lips,
While Moses and his brothers started a forty year trip.
To the land of Canaan, where they would be free,
Led by the Lord, they came to the Sea.
With their backs against the sea, the chariots coming on.
Everyone thought they’d die at dawn.
But listen to the words Moses spoke that day,
As God’s awesome power kept Egypt at bay.
“Stand and see the salvation of the Lord!”
For their deliverance was not by the power of the sword.
And as they crossed the sea on dry land,
The Egyptians were destroyed to the very last man.
Then at Marah the water was not good,
In the wilderness, God provided manna and quail for their food.
Throughout their traveling, God provided without flaw,
When they arrived at Sinai, Moses went up to receive the Law.
But the people gathered up gold and precious stones,
And made a golden calf, they thought would atone;
While Moses communed with God on the mountain top,
Unaware of their sin or what it had wrought.
Till he came down with the commandments in his hands,
And saw what Aaron had done with Israel’s band.
Consumed with anger, Moses smashed the tablets of stone,
For their idolatry showed, they did not trust God alone.
And Moses returned to the mount once again,
And brought God’s Law to instruct the family of man.
And now that God had given them the Law.
The nation of Israel from the mountain did withdraw;
And set their faces to the promised Canaan land,
For God had given it to them in his covenant plan.
First to Abraham, then Isaac and all the rest,
Now it was time for their inheritance to possess.

To BE Continued...