Greetje: New page: {{info}}The sky above the land of Uz
Could change the way the ocean does
In moments, with a boding wind,
As though the blue of day had sinned,
And brought the blood of some gre...

Greetje — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:19:47 GMT

New page: {{info}}The sky above the land of Uz Could change the way the ocean does In moments, with a boding wind, As though the blue of day had sinned, And brought the blood of some gre...

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{{info}}The sky above the land of Uz Could change the way the ocean does In moments, with a boding wind, As though the blue of day had sinned, And brought the blood of some great saint Upon the darkening east — the taint Of some leviathan, up-swirled Beneath the waters of the world, Or worse, poured down like thick'ning gore From some great struggle in the war Of heav'n. 

But Job had seen the years Change dark and early-morning fears To pleasant afternoons and clear Night-skies, star-strewn from here To who knows where beyond the brink Of earth and heav'n. So Job would drink His desert berry wine, and walk Along his garden paths, and talk Of all the years that God had made His fields to bear the golden blade For camels, oxen, asses, sheep — Eleven thousand mouths to keep With grain and grass and streams — and not A flood or drought or wasting rot Or pestilence or early freeze Or looting from his enemies. And Job would lift his hands to God, And wonder why he spared the rod Of suffering. Each day he blessed The gentleness of God, confessed His hope in God alone, and said, "O Lord, if this were lost instead, And all I had was you, I would Be rich, and have the greatest Good. But I do love my seven sons, And all my daughters, Lord, the ones Above all land and name and wealth, And even, God, above my health; For them I praise and bless your name, And pray that any sin or blame In them would be forgiven by The mercy you have shown in sky And earth these forty years that they Have lived now even to this day."

And every seven days Job made A sacrifice for them. He laid A lamb across the stone and prayed, "O God, if they have sinned, and played The fool and cursed your name, lay not This folly to their charge, but blot It out with this lamb's blood, and heed My prayer: Far better one should bleed For all, than all unpardoned live And prosper without God. Forgive, O Lord, and let your pardon pull My sons from wealth and make them full Of God." Thus Job would bow and seek To save his children every week.

For seven days his sons would feast, Down from the eldest to the least, Each day a different son and spouse Would play the host, and make their house A banquet hall for all the rest. The daughters too would come, all dressed In finest fabrics from the looms Across the land of Uz, with plumes And jewels in their hair. And they Would eat the finest foods and play And dance and sing as if in all The world there were no pain or gall To see, much less to bear; nor was Their father ever there, because He carried in his soul a weight Too heavy for the young, for late- Night levity and bantering. They knew about his offering The lambs each week, and how he'd pray.

And so Job wasn't there the day His children gathered to begin Their seven days of feasting in The home of Zachan, oldest son.

That morning early Job had gone Alone with sheep and knife at dawn To make his sacrifice. And while He prayed, God put his heart on trial: "O, man of God, today again You seek the precious lives of ten Young souls. Now tell me, with your heart, Would you be willing, Job, to part With all your children, if in my Deep counsel I should judge that by Such severing more good would be, And you would know far more of me?" Job trembled at the voice, and fell Before the bleeding lamb. "Compel Me not O God to make this choice, Between the wisdom of your voice And these ten treasures of my life. Far better I should take this knife And mingle lambs blood with my own Than put my children on this stone. O God, have mercy on my seed. I yield to what you have decreed."

The sky above the land of Uz Had changed, the way the ocean does, When some leviathan, up-swirled Beneath the waters of the world Roils deep and turns the regal blue To grey. And streams blood-red broke through The dawn and flowed along the brink Of earth and heaven, as if the link Were in dispute, and some great war Were being fought to settle more Than Job could ever dream.

That afternoon, beneath a gray, And boding sky — the time of day When families begin to feast — Job sat alone, and watched the east Grow dark, and felt the outskirts of A distant wind that made him love His children more.

And then a man, With torn and bloody garments ran To Job and fell before his seat. "O master, only these two feet, Of all your servants still can run. Sabeans struck, and everyone Is dead, and all the oxen teams And asses gone; I heard the screams. O master, this has never been Before. M'Lord, what is our sin?"

And while the question lingered in The air, the silence broke again. Another servant ran and fell Before the man: "Job, whether hell Or heav'n, I am not sure, but God Has loosed a flame and awful rod Against this house, and all your sheep, And wool, and lambs, and all who keep Them safe from wolves are burned to death With fire, and I alone have breath. O master, why? What have we done?"

And while he spoke, another one, A servant from the camel herd, Came running with his bloody word: "Chaldeans took them all and slew The servants. Only I got through To tell you that we've lost it all. O master, every bed and stall Are empty now. What will we do? What will we do?"

And as the hue Turned crimson in the western sky, Job waited wordless with his eye Fixed on the dark and distant hill Where Zachan lived, and ate his fill Tonight with all that Job possessed. And then the servant came, and pressed His face against Job's knees and wept. Job knew the man that Zachan kept For special errands, so he laid His hand on him: "Don't be afraid, But speak." "Good master, I do fear To speak what you might die to hear. "Speak, man." And so the servant said, "Your sons and daughters, Job, are dead. A wind came from the wilderness. We couldn't know. No one could guess That it would blow like that. The whole House fell at once, and every soul Is dead."

The servants waited now To see what Job would do, and how He might deal with his God. At last He rose, and took a knife, and passed It like a razor over all His silver head, and tore his shawl And robe, and fell face down upon The ground and lay there till the dawn. The servants knelt by him in fright, And heard him whisper through the night: "I came with nothing from the womb, I go with nothing to the tomb. God gave me children freely, then He took them to himself again. At last I taste the bitter rod, My wise and ever blessed God."

Light candle one, and count the cost; And ponder everything we've lost. And let us bow before the throne Of God, who gives and takes his own, And promises, whatever toll He takes, to satisfy our soul. Come learn the lesson of the rod: The treasure that we have in God. He is not poor nor much enticed Who loses everything but Christ.

Job, Part 1 - Revision history

Greetje: New page: {{info}}The sky above the land of UzCould change the way the ocean doesIn moments, with a boding wind,As though the blue of day had sinned,And brought the blood of some gre...

Greetje: New page: {{info}}The sky above the land of Uz
Could change the way the ocean does
In moments, with a boding wind,
As though the blue of day had sinned,
And brought the blood of some gre...