Greetje: New page: {{info}}The old man and his wife sat by
The winter fire and looked out high
Above the plains of Ephraim,
And saw around the last regime
Of Israel the shadows snake
Their way...

Greetje — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:14:04 GMT

New page: {{info}}The old man and his wife sat by The winter fire and looked out high Above the plains of Ephraim, And saw around the last regime Of Israel the shadows snake Their way...

New page

{{info}}The old man and his wife sat by The winter fire and looked out high Above the plains of Ephraim, And saw around the last regime Of Israel the shadows snake Their way from east to west and take Possession of Samaria. "How long until Assyria,' They thought, "would break Hoshea's rod, And violate the wife of God?" 

But strange as it may seem, the doom They saw across the land left room For hope. And when they looked into Each other's eyes, as they would do At night, they knew, as none could know But they, that God would bend his bow Against the charms of foreign men, And take his faithless wife again. They knew it could and would be done, As surely as the rising sun Drives darkness back unerringly, And drowns it in the western sea. They knew, because they had rehearsed The tragedy and played it first Themselves with passion and deceit.

"It's true that life is far more sweet," Hosea thought, "when it is lost, Then bought again at dreadful cost; And love grows strong when it must wait, And deep when it is almost hate."

Such things as these he often said To Gomer as they watched the red And crimson echoes of the sky Descend Mount Tabor's cliffs and die In darkness far below. And she Would say to him, "Your love for me Was like a mountain waterfall, And I the jagged stone. Of all The knives and hammers once applied None made me smooth or clean. They tried, But harlotry was in my blood, Until your love became a flood Cascading over my crude life And kept me as your only wife."

They knew as none but they could know What it would mean that long ago The Lord allowed his love to swell, And married faithless Israel.

The passing of the years now found The children grown and gathered 'round This night: Jezreel and Loammi, Hosea's sons, and at his knee Loruhamah. The room was sweet With memories, and each replete With pleasure and with ample pain. Among the memories one main Experience above the rest Embraced them all. It was the best; Indeed it was the mountain spring Of every happy stream from which The family ever drank, and rich With hope. It was Hosea's love. The children stood in wonder of The way he loved, and Gomer too. But this had not always been true.

Hosea used to say, "It's hard To be a seer, and prophet bard. The price is high when he must sing A song of ruin over everything In lyrics written with his life And lose his children and his wife."

And so it was, Hosea heard The Lord. It was the strangest word A holy prophet ever got: And every pointed precept shot Like arrows at Hosea's life: "Go take a harlot for your wife," Thus says the Lord, "And feel with me The grief and pain of harlotry. Her father's name is Diblaim; He makes fertility with cream And raisin cakes. He will not see Her go without a price, for she Has brought him profits from her trade. Now go, and let her price be paid; And bring her back and let her bear Your son. Call him Jezreel. For there Is coming soon a day when I Will strike and break the bloody thigh Of Jehu's brutal house, and seal With blood the valley of Jezreel.

And after that, though she's defiled. Go in, and get another child, And make your tender face like rock. Call her Loruahmah and lock Your heart against all sympathy: `Not pitied' is her name. No plea From faithless Israel will wake My sympathy till I forsake My daughter in the wilderness.

Now multiply once more distress: Hosea, go beget a son, For there is yet one child to shun, And call him Loammi, in shame, For `Not My People' is his name."

Hosea used to walk along The Jordan rim and sing the song His father Beeri used to sing. Sometimes the tune and truth would bring Him peace, and he would pause and look At all the turns the Jordan took, To make its way down to the sea, And he would chant from memory:
<blockquote>
Think not, my son, that God's great river Of love flows simply to the sea, He aims not straight, but to deliver The wayward soul like you and me. Follow the current where it goes, With love and grace it ever flows.
</blockquote>
The years went by, the children grew, The river bent and Gomer knew A dozen men. And finally She left and traveled to the sea, And sold herself to foreign priests Who made the children serve at feasts Until they had no shame. And then The God of grace came down again, And said, "Hosea, go, embrace Your wife beside the sea. And place Your hand with blessing on the head Of Loammi, and raise the dead Loruhamah to life in me, And tell Jezreel that I will be For him a seed of hope to sow In righteousness. Hosea, go, The gracious river bends once more."

And so the prophet loved these four Again, and sought them by the sea, And bought them with the equity Of everything he owned. That was The memory tonight, because Hosea loved beyond the way Of mortal man. What man would say, "Love grows more strong when it must wait, And deeper when it's almost hate."

Jezreel spoke softly for the rest, "Father, once more let us be blessed. What were the words from long ago That gave you strength to love us so? Would you please bless us with your rhyme, And sing it for us one more time?"
<blockquote>
"Think not, my son, that God's great river Of love flows simply to the sea, He aims not straight, but to deliver The wayward soul like you and me. Follow the current where it goes. With love and grace it ever flows."
</blockquote>
"And children," Gomer said with tears, "Mark this, the miracle of years." She looked Hosea in the face And said, "Hosea, man of grace, Dark harlotry was in my blood, Until your love became a flood Cascading over my crude life And kept me as your only wife. I love the very ground you trod, And most of all I love your God."

This is the lamp of candle four: A bride made ready at the door. A shabby slave waits her embrace, Blood-bought and beautified by grace.

Hosea and Gomer (original 1990) - Revision history

Greetje: New page: {{info}}The old man and his wife sat byThe winter fire and looked out highAbove the plains of Ephraim,And saw around the last regimeOf Israel the shadows snakeTheir way...

Greetje: New page: {{info}}The old man and his wife sat by
The winter fire and looked out high
Above the plains of Ephraim,
And saw around the last regime
Of Israel the shadows snake
Their way...