Creation

Adam and Eve
by
Karl C. Evans
2007

There was a time God breathed into the Man the breath of life. The first human came to know what it was to be alive. There was a garden to explore. There were stars to watch. There were clouds to consider. There were all good things to do.

But God wanted to share creation with the Man. God wanted to share not only creation itself. God chose to share even creative activity and emotion with the created one. Almost – everything was to be shared. Sharing is very good.

So God paraded all the animals in front of the man to see what the Man would name them. This sharing of names would be very good. They could laugh a little, and dream a little.

One animal the man called `Lion'. Another, the Man called `Dog'. Yet another the Man called `hippo – '...no, not `hippopotamus'. That one he called `rhinoceros'. It looked more like a rhinoceros than a hippopotamus. But there are hippopotamuses and rhinoceri – or is it hippopotami and rhinoceroses?

Finally, all the animals had been named. God looked around, carefully. God saw that Man was alone, even yet. That was not good. It was the desire of God that all things should be good for Man.

God sensed the loneliness of Man. God knew that feeling of loneliness, coming up from deep within.

You see, God always wanted someone to love. God had a great desire to fulfill the great capacity for love God felt in the sacred heart. This love, the desire to do for another whatever would be best for them, should be fulfilled. It was the Master's plan. The great over-flowing source that welled up from within the heart of the one called God should be fulfilled. God should find a lover.

It was God's notion that one day there would be another. A being would come to life to whom God could relate the sacred name. That sacred name, given the Creator by the Creator, was the most important word of all Creation. It cried out the very essence of the Divine Being – `I-Will-Risk-My-Very-Being-On-Your-Behalf'. "I will do everything I can for you even though it may cost me everything!"

In Hebrew, we call this name "Yahweh". It is the word which speaks of this willingness to sacrifice for us. This Yahweh is the One you and I call `God'.

God thought and thought about the man, Adam. One night, Yahweh helped Adam sleep a very deep sleep. God gently took a rib from Adam's side. God carefully carried it down by the river bank.

Then God began to pack mud around the rib until God had created Woman, a person of beauty and strength and sensitivity, but different from Adam. From that day to this women have tried to improve on God's work of beauty by using more and more mud packs.

God created Eve to receive the same love that Adam received, and to share love both with God and with Adam. This was the first love triangle. It was very good.

Now Adam and Eve made their home in a beautiful garden. In the midst of that garden rose a bubbling spring. This spring never stopped flowing. It overflowed like the cup of God's love.
From the bubbling waters of that spring rose the headwaters of the four rivers of the earth. The rivers were teeming with fish and frogs and water-skippers and crawdads.

Between the banks of the rivers rose all the vegetation of the earth. There were pine trees and poplars, bamboo and tumbleweeds, bluegrass and roses.

As Adam and Eve stood on the bank of one of those rivers in the early morning, they could survey all that God had done in ordering Creation. The splendor of Yahweh's creation on their behalf filled their hearts with awe and reverence. Their voices would sound beyond the range of the garden as they sang together:

O Lord my god, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to Thee
How great Thou art. How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my saviour God to Thee
How great Thou art. How great Thou art.
(Boberg, Carl. Translated by Stuart A Hine. "How Great Thou Art" (Nashville: The Methodist Publishing House 1966)

But not all life held only a sense of majesty and awe. There was a sense of closeness, of warmth, of caring between God and Adam and Eve. And fun. They joked about the size God had made the giraffe's neck. They laughed at boxing kangaroos and they cuddled koala bears.

Occasionally a light-hearted mood would come over Adam and he would sing a little song that has become a theme song for politicians and television evangelists.

O Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in a mirror.
I get better lookin' each day.
To know me is to love me....
(Oh, Lord, It’s Hard To Be Humble)

And just as God smiled often in the process of ordering Creation, now God smiled again. This was not a smile such as you might see on the evangelist who just saw a thousand-dollar bill in the collection plate. It was not the smile on the face of Grandma when Johnny breaks a centuries-old vase.

God smiled that deep loving and caring smile. God enjoyed the openness and humor and the loving nature of these Ones for whom God was prepared to lay the Sacred Existence on the line. Everything was shared, and open, lit by the radiance of their relationship.

In the evening the three of them would walk arm in arm around the garden, talking about every little event of the day. God relished every moment of this. It was a fulfillment of creative love between them as they walked and talked. This little doe deer was now apparently pregnant.

This rabbit had moved to a new home, a home not threatened by the fox or by the dog.

And when the evening was done, as the fireflies sparkled across their path, Adam and Eve would make their farewell with Yahweh – a hug and a "Good night!" – and settle into good, sound, restful sleep.

Now in the midst of the garden stood two trees. Yahweh had told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat the fruit that abounded on these trees. God had not really given them a reason for the prohibition. There was nothing but trust and openness between them. If God said they were not to eat the fruit of the trees, they didn't eat the fruit of the trees. That was all. Period.

But inside Eve something was gnawing, gnawing the way a tiny termite soon destroys and devours a mansion. A question, a wondering, a searching.....

One night, after the evening walk with God and while the fireflies still made their minute torches seen through the garden, Eve spoke. Quietly, almost with a touch of pain.

"Adam, I've been thinking. You know those two trees near the spring? The ones with the beautiful fruit that God has said we are supposed to avoid?"

Now Adam, lying there with Eve close beside, had nearly gone to sleep in the stillness, but now he was wide awake. Something in Eve's voice warned him of things to come. Something dreaded, something....

"Yes, Eve, I know them."

"Adam, I wonder how they would taste?"

"We'll probably never know, Eve."

"Adam, I wonder what might happen if we ate some of the fruit? I mean, really, what would happen?"

"Well, I really don't know. I cannot imagine that God would let anything hurt us, except when we stub our toe or something."

Again there was a long silence before Eve spoke again. Adam knew his thoughts were echoing hers. "Let's go have some of that fruit. What could it hurt, if God doesn't find out?"
"I suppose that's true. What could it hurt?"

By morning, as the light began to appear over the horizon, over the top of the very tree from which they had eaten, Adam and Eve had still not slept. Together they had lain in the darkness frozen by the awareness of their deeds. The fruit had been sweet, and warm, and had felt good in their stomachs.

But now with that satisfaction, Adam and Eve lay together, close, but could not touch in the night.

Their hearts were cold, and the sweat that poured from their brows was not from the heat. Oh, they were still alive. They now knew there was no great immediate death awaiting them. The tree was not poison. It brought no physical pain.

Their problem was not something the fruit of the tree had brought. They had brought it themselves. They had done something only with themselves. They had shared an event with each other. They knew some moments of time they could not share with their Creator....

This God, who had created them just in order to have someone to receive the love...

This God, who had begun to fulfill the Name that was to be the Divine Calling Card...

This God who loved them and relished every living moment with them...

This God, who risked the very existence of Creation on the potential relationship between Man, and Woman, and God....

They could no longer share every moment with God.

In the early light their eyes met and then turned away. For the first time they saw each other as they really were...unfaithful, untrusting, and...apart. They could not bear the thought of having the other see them in their separation. They turned away from each other.

Through the whole day they hid, afraid to be seen by the other. How they longed for the touch of the other, longed for the words from the other that would make everything all right. Both listening. Both afraid.

The Garden was quiet. No laughter. No raucous singing of being humble. Even the birds didn't sing. The pigs didn't grunt. The lions didn't even purr. Even the earthworms tried to quiet their gentle movements....

In the evening, God came to the center of the garden, knowing something was wrong.

"Adam. Eve."

"Adam! Eve!"

"Adam!! Eve!!"

The words rang and hissed through the garden, filling every clearing among the trees just as the thunder after a close lightning strike. When they heard the voice of God, Adam and Eve took some leaves from the fig tree and made clothes that hid themselves.

"Adam!! Eve!!"

Adam and Eve heard, and came, and looked down. They studied the ground in front of God.
Now perhaps what God did next was the second hardest thing God ever did. But there was no choice. Adam and Eve had chosen to be apart from God, to have events and thoughts and dreams in their lives that they could not and would not share with their Creator and Lover.

Because God was betting everything, risking it all on them, God gave them what they had chosen.

As they walked toward the gate, God did what could be done. God took flower petals from the vines and added them to the clothing they had made for each other.

"You will need all the beauty in your life you can get. No one need ever see your shame, or your apartness. If it is your choice, no one need ever see your alienation from each other or from me. Those who come after you, if they choose to be apart from me, it will not be because of your example. It will be because they choose it for themselves. But I will go with you, and be near to you, unless you tell me to leave."

And Adam and Eve walked out the gates of the garden. Their eyes were down, blurred and unseeing. As they walked, the whole garden of trees and plants and grass and animals and bugs and birds sang a prayer for them:

Someone's crying, Lord, come by here.
Someone's crying, Lord, come by here.
Someone's crying, Lord, come by here.
Oh, Lord, come by here. (Kum Ba Yah)

As For Me and My Family . . .

As for Me and My Family
Karl Evans

Zechariah considered himself lucky. He was a priest of Israel. That was enough, but he was more. A holy man, a son in a family of priests. In the very personal way of his ancestors, Zechariah chose to live his life as a very public priest.

Everyone around watched as he put his faith and his beliefs into every motion and word. His friends and neighbors honored his calling. Any priest could and often did fail as a man. The honor was for his calling. The calling came from the Lord.

Zechariah spent his hours and his will helping others. He gathered around himself any who were willing to struggle seriously with life. Their own relationships with family and neighbors, with the temple and with the Lord were their focus.

Together they worked out details of their own faith in action. These faithful Jews tried to be carefully proper in religious practice. As do any who are called to help order this part of life, Zechariah worked hard to develop patterns and habits of faith in action.

The sacrifices and other rituals were in Zechariah’s keeping. Helping his family and his neighbors work out their relationships with the Creator was his life. It was the holiest of callings. The prayers, songs and readings from the scrolls of the faith were his tools. These pieces of literature made relationships with the Lord real in the hearts of the people.

The nation of Zechariah was the holiest of nations. His language was the holiest of languages. The sacred hope of Zechariah was to use himself and his tools completely. His task was to build the Kingdom of the Lord with those tools. He lived to lead the community to deeper relationship with the Lord of the Universe.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were very aware this. They were most comfortable with his sacred portion. He had within his soul the sense and the responsibility of sacred events. The timing and shaping of the most ordinary, important and beautiful human activities were in his care.

Many priests do not have this inner excitement of the soul. It arises from close contact with the Divine One. Some of the priests who seemed most public around the temple were especially tepid with their sacrificial touch. Priestly wannabes often passed ritual sensitivity off as some sort of softness or even lunacy. Spiritual sensitivity taking hold of one’s life is a universally beautiful event.

Sometimes Zechariah felt wonderful ecstasy when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. The only action – ever – in that room was the High Priest speaking the name of the Lord. This majestic act came only once each year. On the Day of Atonement. Knowing that was happening at that precise moment always gave Zechariah a bodily chill.

Sometimes Zechariah thrilled to the sacred chants of the temple priests. It was a high sacred moment when one of them approached the altar. The temple priest usually walked accompanied by two visiting priests. These men came from other parts of the world on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. In the holy city each tried to serve at the temple as an act of faith. Serving two times each year at the temple was the standard.

Together they approached the altar slowly and solemnly. Together they offered prayers as they lit little bits of incense. The incense burned slowly and quietly. As it glowed, the scent lifted the whole environment while Zechariah's heart pounded within him.

Sacred events were Zechariah's full calling in life. More than anything else in life he wanted more than to lift his life to the Lord. It was his way to serve through the rituals of the temple, synagogue and home.

His heart quickened at all such times. Zechariah always preferred to be in Jerusalem. Whether he lived his days out in Jerusalem or not, his soul was there. Sometimes he watched the rituals in person if he happened to be in Jerusalem at the Temple on his semiannual duty.

If Zechariah stayed home in Galilee, he was still a priest. He earned his living trading leather goods at the market. But even in the market place, he lived the temple rhythms. His heart knew the sacrifice and prayer times at the temple.

At these hours his mind's eye filled with the vision of the priests. Zechariah could see them going about their duties a hundred and fifty miles away.

He even warmed to the ancient readings from Ezekiel and Isaiah at the appointed time. These sacred words told of the work of the priests in Babylonian exile six hundred years earlier.

Even the work of the priests of the Babylonian religion was exciting to contemplate. The Babylonians had held the Hebrews captive two hundred years. They had their own gods.
Babylonian life centered around the Ziggurat and the great temples of the enslaving people. But these men and women remained faithful to their gods and to their calling. The Jews knew these priests must be honored and respected as faithful in their way. The calling to be a priest is high in every religion of earth. There is a unity of the priesthood, even across faith lines.

Zechariah's calling as a priest of the One God surpassed any nationalist patriotism. The thought of any faithful priestly action moved his soul to new life.

On one of his duty weeks in Jerusalem Zechariah held the privilege of attending to the temple priest of the day. The temple priest skillfully organized the evening prayer and incense offering. The priest asked Zechariah to lead the procession to the altar. This was both an honor and a personally dramatic moment.

Zechariah walked stately along the aisle. The path carried him between the rows of a couple hundred Jerusalem residents and visitors who had gathered for the daily ritual. The Galilean priest carried the incense box at arms’ length in front of him. Zechariah walked intently and steadily toward the alter. As he walked, he chanted the old call to worship. These stately words echo even today through the assemblies of God's people.

"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"

Now the three priests stood in deep reverence at the altar. This is yet the holiest place of the holiest people. The holiest words spoken carefully by the priest expressed the holiest thoughts of humankind.

Zechariah was to light the incense at the great altar. But the faithful man, lost in spiritual sensitivity before the altar, seemed unable to move. It was as though he were frozen in time and space.

The temple priest was prepared for this. The guild of priests knew the embarrassing possibility. They knew one day some priest from a far land might get stage fright and be unable to serve. When the priest sensed a frozen moment, he covered the clumsiness. Easily he stepped around the frozen priest. The priest took the match from the hand of Zechariah and touched the incense with it.

The patient priest could not know the fullness of the vision of the faithful Zechariah. Zechariah stood, eyes wide-open but unseeing. A brilliant vision came before him at the altar. This vision shaped his entire life in a quick ritual moment. Somehow he knew in this time that Elizabeth would bear a son. The son would be one for whom they had prayed in earnest hope. They knew God would answer.

Zechariah also knew his son’s name would be John. This would be a surprise, for John was not a name from his own family. His inability to speak now told him he would be mute from that day until the day John was born!

Zechariah was immediately lifted high by the vision. For nine months it didn't matter he couldn't speak. Elizabeth would have a son. That would have brought pleasure and excitement enough to the elderly couple. The greater thrill was that this son would be a holy priest, perhaps even the high priest!

Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were of the Levitic priestly line. That meant their son would have an opportunity to become the high priest of the nation. True, it was somewhat a political office. It was certainly the highest office in the world in the minds of these faithful lovers.

The most difficult condition for a high priest of the nation was met in the marriage of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The high priest had to be the son of a man and woman who were both of priestly families. This possibility alone would validate every part of their lives together. It would give sacred wings to their love!

The second condition for the high priest had to do with commitment. Many men who might be candidates were simply not willing to serve. The high priesthood had sunk to a low level now. The reign of Herod and the occupation by Rome had been hard on the priesthood.

Herod the Great, the alien king, had installed his own high priest. Rome recognized this man as the legitimate voice of the temple. They only wanted to pacify Herod. Recognition by the people as the only meaningful high priest meant extreme danger. It probably would bring certain death. Herod would tolerate no opposition. A high priest and his family must face this as a matter of ordinary life.

On the other hand, Herod could name any man as high priest. Then the priests and lay people of the Jews could and would reject him as legitimate. This would replace the spiritual realities of the temple with politics and rebellion. Zechariah and Elizabeth knew all this. Their faith moved them to go beyond the danger and support their son toward his calling.

The son was born, Zechariah called him "John."

"John?" Elizabeth and many friends of the family were puzzled. "Why have you chosen that name for your son? There is no one else in the family by that name. Have you lost your sense of reason? Is your tongue not working properly?"

Zechariah could only smile and answer "The Lord has told me his name should be `John'. That is all I know." From that day forward, Zechariah could speak again.

For the next twelve years, Zechariah and Elizabeth and the local rabbi, Simeon, schooled him well. Simeon taught John to read the scriptures of the ancient days. Elizabeth told him all they knew about the covenant between God and the people Israel. Zechariah talked through with him the matter of righteousness and holiness.

Zechariah and Elizabeth realized their special calling. Each day they spent hour after hour pouring through all the prophetic teachings about the Messiah.

What is most important, they knew the Messiah was yet to come. They talked as a family about what the Messiah would mean to Israel. They shared visions of the world after he did make his appearance.

The family talked about the Messiah also being a priest. They planned what the family and Israel must do to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. This conversation placed an additional strain on their lives, but it was a good strain. It helped them deal with the stress of living under the Herods and the Romans.

Israel as a nation must constantly prepare itself for the coming of the Messiah. Their son might be the one who would lead Israel in its preparation for redemption. If so, surely Zechariah and Elizabeth would have great responsibility. On their shoulders would rest preparation of their son for his life's work.

They raised their son to be at peace with God. Elizabeth said they should prepare the way of the Lord. They could do this by building into their family an ability to love. Their commitment must be to righteousness. Their call was to serve the Lord without reservation.

In the evenings the family talked of their faith. Young John began to form in his heart deeper feelings about preparation for the Messiah. The maturing youth began to see the radical nature of his call to be the voice of the Lord. He was called to serve without concern for the danger to his own life.

As the years passed, Zechariah often took John along on his duty weeks in Jerusalem. As his father before him, the boy sensed his calling. Young John always found himself caught up in one spectacular moment in the daily life of the temple. At this high sacred point the priest walked down the aisle of the Temple chanting:

"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"

John sometimes stood hidden deep in the crowd. At other times he was near enough to touch his father's hand. Often he could close his eyes, sensing nothing but the grace of the ritual. Now, instead of the priest singing, it was the sound of a majestic angel crying out:

"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"

Always the lessons of the faith ran through his heart in these words. These spoken moments of living faith were precious. They were stronger to him than all the reading from the scriptures. Reading and lifting the covenant required hours of concentration. Deep questions from the synagogue class stretched his mind. John took all this very seriously.

Then came the day they ordained John a priest. He was now a special man. Legally and in the eyes of the religion, he was set apart. He was not just an adult male. That ceremony had come three years earlier at his twelfth birthday. Today he is ordained as a priest in the nation Israel.

For John, fasting for the required thirty days before the ceremony was not bad. He had fasted earlier in his life. The strong young man was all right with the rigors of going without food. John rather enjoyed spending his fasting time in prayer and in meditation. The new priest was obsessed now with the events of this day. He knew his own responsibilities as a priest.

John had always looked ahead to the next few years. He would spend his time learning the rituals and practices of temple service. Then he would be ready to take his turn at the high place.

But in these early days of fasting and preparation, John had become aware of a very different plan for his life. This plan did not seem to come from within himself. He felt it came from his relationship with the Lord. It showed itself as a self awareness vision. The plan would take him in directions away from temple service and ceremonial purity.

John walked slowly to the cool tiled pool in the Essene community. His heart was comfortable here where his ordination was to take place. His warm eyes met his father’s. Zechariah was now a very old man, but his faith was warm.

John's ears – but not his heart – were hearing the tender prayer-psalms of the Essenes, the pious and faithful ones. These were prayers for purity and faithfulness and simplicity. They focused his mind and heart again on the old, old words of the temple chants.

Even in Zechariah’s late years his voice was strong and disciplined and clear. John stepped slowly into the cool waters of the pool. As he did, he heard his father's voice as if again ringing from the steps of the Temple.

"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"

Now the waters of the Pool of the Purification were feeling cool on his feet. Carefully the personal helpers among the priests and laity moved to him. They began to ritually strip him of his robes and his loin cloth. Pausing only for a simple prayer, John was aware at once of the Temple call to prepare the way of the Lord. With that in his heart, he plunged naked into the cool waters of the Pool of Purification.

The determined young John, a Man of the Lord, knelt on the bottom of the pool. A priest ran his hand over John's back and head to be certain the clear waters of the Pool of Purification covered it completely.

The waters came over his body and released him from the forces of gravity and from his own past. John felt himself lifted now. He was not aware whether he was buoyed by something ordinary or other worldly. It might be the physical buoyancy of his body in the waters, by the Spirit of the Lord, or by his own commitment. John knew full well his was a special role in the world. It was a role no one else could fill. Somehow the Lord would use the waters of this Pool of Purification. With them the Lord would release both John and the nation from the sins of the past.

Somehow within John there was a way of knowing sacred things. John knew he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, the Chosen One of the Lord. John would live to greet the One who would redeem the world.

John would see - perhaps even be a catalyst for - the making of the new relationship between the Lord and the People. Then this new way of living would last until the end of time.
John knew it was God's grace which redeems. He also knew it is a person’s responsibility to live the pure life after the redemption. More, it had been the grace of the Lord which had chosen John. He eagerly answered his own call. John was read for his own role. He could and would announce the coming of the Messiah to the world.

His Spirit now felt calmed by the waters of purification. John rose to come out. Here was the new man, baptized by water and purified by grace. He dried himself carefully in the sun. The boy-man who would be priest then wrapped the towel around himself. His mother had prepared a soft white cloth especially for this sacred event.

One of John's mentors among the priests of the Essenes led him to the cupboard where the scrolls of scripture were kept. These scrolls of the laws of Moses and of the Prophets were open to his choice.

John was surprised to feel his hand taken by his father. Zechariah gently squeezed it. Then with great determination he placed it gently on the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He firmly but gently pressed the young hand against the document of hope and expectation. The Teacher of Righteousness served as leader of the Essene community. Now he repeated the words said over all priests at their ordination, even to this day.

"Take the authority to teach and to declare that which you find in the Scriptures. May the Lord defend you with righteous strength and heavenly grace."

Again the voices of the community around John rang with the old words. They were the sacred call heard in the temple and in the temple of John's heart.

"Prepare the way of the Lord."
"Prepare the way of the Lord."

Zechariah and Elizabeth spread John's robe around his shoulders. The parents held him in a family embrace for a moment. They kissed and shared huge tears.

As the three held each other, Elizabeth's mind wandered to the first days of her son's life. Those first painful days were filled with humbling awe at the new life. The mother both reveled in and dreaded the prospect of future threats and hurts. Even when she held him as an infant, there was a special quality about him.

John went to greet each spiritual brother or sister in the little Essene community. The young priest hugged each individually. As their faces touched, John heard only words of personal and community support.

As each held John for a moment, one could hear a little prayer and personal request for the new priest.

"Prepare the way of the Lord!"
"Prepare the way of the Lord!"

Then John returned for one last quietly ecstatic embrace with his parents. Now committed and ordained, the new priest stood for a moment alone. Then the would-be high priest of the nation Israel walked slowly off into the desert.

Assyrian Creation Story

Enuma Elish

When on High

Karl Evans


From about the time of Ezekiel
Adapted by Dr. Karl Evans
from the work of Dr. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testaments, and many others.

Sometimes we wonder what difference it makes
What religion we follow,
What beliefs we hold.

Does it matter whether we are Methodist,
Or even Christian, or Muslim or Parsi?
Perhaps there is no difference?

Perhaps it makes no difference what we believe.
Perhaps it makes no difference why we are created,
Or what we believe about our creator.
Perhaps it makes no difference,
The state of the mind of the Creator
At the moment of creation.
We say that sometimes.
But I don't know.
I don't know.

Now our nation is locked into a battle with other nations,
Nations from which our forefathers sprang,
Nations that was the birthplace of Abraham,
The bonds-places of Isaiah, and of Ezekiel,
the home of Babylon and its tower.

When Ezekiel and the people were in slavery there,
Two and a half millennia ago
Ezekiel saw the erosion of the faith.
He saw the ritual
That awful ritual,
That defined the lives of the people of Babylon
on the first day of the
New Year on the tower, that awful place,
the ziggurat,
the holy place of the Babylonians.

Thousands of Babylonians sang and chanted
While standing on the steps of the Ziggurat.
Thousands stood waiting, waiting and listening
For the blessing of the Story of Creation,
For the blessing of being Babylonian.

Ezekiel was confounded by what he saw.
He saw that all the youth of Israel were tempted to join the
Babylonians on the slopes of the Ziggurat.
He knew the story that would be told there,
About the creation.

But there would be no Yahweh
No ancient Lord of Israel,
No remembering the faith
of the Wandering Arameans
who left this place fifteen hundred years before.

Ezekiel knew the citizens of Babylon,
And all those who wished to turn their backs
On the faith of their fathers,
the ancient ones,
Would be there to become as one of the Babylonians
By listening to this story.

They would become as one of the Babylonians,
Free to own land,
Free to marry those cute Babylonian girls,
Free to get a loan at the bank,
By going to the Ziggurat on the first day of the New Year,
By listening to the story,
And allowing the drops of ritual blood to fall on them.

When the children of Israel
Stood on the terraces of the Ziggurat,
This is the story they would hear
That would change them from Israelites
To Babylonians.

Let it be its own witness.
Let it reveal to you the truths of Yahweh and the Creation,
Let it reveal by speaking what is not the truth.
Let it speak by its lies and deceits. Hear,
and understand in your heart
the struggle of Ezekiel.

When on High the heavens had not been named,
Before the fog and mist was brought to order,
Before firm ground had been called forth and named,
There were only two--
By name,
Apsu, the sire of all that was to be,
And Mother Tiamat, she who bore all life in her womb.

The fresh waters of Apsu, the begetter,
And the marine waters of Mother Tiamat,
Commingled together as a single body,
There was no separation between them.
There was no firmness anywhere.
There was not so much as marsh land
In the mist that was their being.

Then it happened that the gods were formed within them,
Gods and goddesses were brought forth,
Being named and ordered by Apsu and Mother Tiamat.

The first of them were formed, Anshar and Kishar by name,
Called before all others.
And Anshar and Kishar lived long and well.

Their child was Anu, the equal of Anshar and Kishar,
The equal of all before him.
The Heir-child of Anu was Nudimmud,
Not the equal of his fathers,
But the master of his fathers
And his fathers' fathers.

Nudimmud was one of broad wisdom,
Understanding,
Mighty in strength.
He was mightier by far than his grandfather, Anshar.
Nudimmud had no rival among the other gods, his brothers.

Nudimmud was leader among the gods,
Chief among the pack, chief at the party.
Nudimmud and his brothers ran and shouted back and forth
Among the mists of all that was.
One day they partied and laughed,
On another day they fought and cried the cries of battle.
Every day they were loud,
Strong in their disturbance of Tiamat, the mother god..

By their loudness and their laughter and their youthful cries
They disturbed the mood of Tiamat as they surged
Back and forth, back and forth.

Apsu, the father of their fathers,
Chided them strongly for their loudness.
"Pipe down in there!
Have a little respect for your elders."
Tiamat was beside herself at their ways,
These young gods and goddesses, their seed.
Their actions were loathsome to her.
Unsavory were their ways,
They were overbearing in their manner,
Rebellious children.

Then Apsu called his wizard, saying
"You who makes my spirit sing,
Let us go talk to Tiamat!"
Together they went to the beautiful Tiamat,
The mother of all gods and goddesses.

Apsu spoke words of anger and bitterness.
"I find their ways repugnant and stupid.
There is no relief during the day
And I cannot rest by night.

I will destroy them,
I will wreck their ways
That quiet may be restored.
Let us have rest!" said Apsu.

Hearing this, Tiamat raged at Apsu.
"What is this?
Should we destroy all that we have built?
These are our children!
We will be kind and gentle with them."

Then the wizard spoke to Apsu.
His advice was evil and self-serving.
"Destroy them and their mutinous ways.
Then you will have relief both by day and by night."

And Apsu's face grew red with rage at what he planned
Against his sons and daughters.

Now, whatever Apsu and Tiamat plotted between them
Was repeated to the gods, the children of Apsu and Tiamat.
When the child-gods heard these things,
They became frightened,
Then fell into silence and remained speechless.

But one of the gods, surpassing all others in wisdom,
Experienced in power and in resourcefulness,
His name was Ea,
He saw through their scheme.
Ea designed a master design, bold and daring,
And by his powers set it into the whole scheme of being so That none could set it aside or depart from it.

Ea made Apsu sleep the non-waking sleep,
The sleep of too much wine..
With Apsu asleep, the wizard was unable to stir,
For his being resulted only from the mind of Apsu.
After Ea chained Apsu,
Ea took the crown from the head of Apsu
And placed it on his own head.
He took the cosmic halo
And wrapped it around his own brow.

Having thus bound Apsu,
Ea slew his father's father.

Then there was peace for a time.

Ea and his Bride, Damkina,
Dwelled in peace in the holy house
Built on the rounded belly,
the top of the body of Apsu,
The body on which we stand today.
This body, the Great Height of Babylon.

Now, in this holy house,
The sacred home on the holy hill,
Was created a god,
The most able and wise of the gods.

Marduk was his name.
Nursed by the most becoming of the goddesses,
Marduk was rendered perfect in awesomeness,
Strong in his walk, alluring in his figure,
Sparkling the lift of his eyes.

There was no disfigurement to see or to control him by.
Four were his eyes, four were his ears,
Seeing all things and hearing all things.
When he moved his lips,
Fire blazed forth.

Damkina his mother cried out
"My Son! My Son!
My Son, the Sun of the Heavens!"

The child-gods looked among themselves
For a champion,
A hero to battle the awesome Tiamat, their mother.

And Marduk was named to be King,
Conferred with scepter, throne and robe.
They said to Marduk,
"Go and cut off the life of Tiamat.
Sever her into many pieces!
May the winds bear her parts to places unknown!"

Then Marduk laid his face to disturb Tiamat,
The mother of gods,
To wrest from her the last knot of power.

Marduk called forth the storms to disturb Tiamat,
For the gods have no sleep in the storm.

And the words came to Tiamat,
"Watch what Marduk is doing!
When they slew Apsu, your lover,
You did not aid him but lay still.

Because you lay still, and did not stir,
Your lover Apsu was destroyed.
Now Marduk has brought the mighty storm to disturb you,
And there is no rest.
There is none other. You are left alone.
Let Apsu, your lover, be avenged!"

So Tiamat chose from among her own assembled gods,
Her first-born,
A council for battle, and a leader.
This leader was one Kingu, given all power in council.
"Your command shall be unchangeable,
Your word shall endure."
Tiamat set Kingu up as her son, her heir,
In command of all things.
Kingu began to prepare for battle,
Calling from all the council of Tiamat their advice.

From Mother Hubur, who fashions all things,
Tiamat gathered matchless weapons.
Only Mother Hubur could make them,
These master tools of violence.

Tiamat bore monster-serpents with sharp teeth
And long fangs, filled with venom.
Tiamat clothed roaring dragons with terror,
Making them like gods,
So that all who look upon them will die.
She set up the Viper,
The Dragon,
And the Sphinx.
She called for the Great Lion,
The Mad Dog,
And the Scorpion-man,
The Centaur,
Weapons that spare not.

Thus Tiamat prepared to avenge her lover, Apsu,
To make her own peace by destroying her own children.

And thus it came that the battle to be fought,
Came to be fought between Tiamat, the mother of gods,
And Marduk,
Merodach-bashan, to those who read the Old Testament.
It was a battle long on power and on brutality,
A battle not ever to be matched
among those who survived the first..

Marduk and Tiamat fought with demons and dragons,
Powers and beasts,
With sharp teeth and clashing fang.

With loud roars,
Marduk threw lightning bolts through the skies at Tiamat.
With shrieks of anger,
Tiamat tore at Marduk
With her Scorpion-man
And with her Mad Dog.

Then at last Tiamat opened her mouth with a rage,
To the roots of her legs she shook,
Casting leave of her senses.

Tiamat prepared to consume Marduk,
So wide open was her mouth.

Marduk seized the moment,
The decisive moment of the universe,
Drove the tornado into her mouth
So she could not close it.
Her body was distended by the force of the wind.
He slew her with an arrow formed of the lightning,
A flash of fire, a spear formed of the heat of the sun.

Casting her down.
Marduk slew her there.
Marduk slit her body open as a clamshell,
Half of which he posted as the earth,
Holding the waters of Apsu and Tiamat.
Half the body of Tiamat
Marduk made to be the sky.
Marduk named the years and the days.
Marduk set up the seasons and the constellations.
He set the moon ablaze at night.

And then Marduk announce his grandest plan.
"Blood I will mass, and cause bones to be.
I will establish a savage, Man shall be his name.
He will do the work for the gods,
That the gods will be at ease.
For we are gods, and labor should not be our lot.
But one of the gods must die
That the rest of us might live.

Ea, the father of Marduk, spoke to Marduk,
Pleased by the plan for the relief of the gods.
"Let but one of the gods be handed over.
He alone shall perish that mankind may be fashioned.
Let us call the gods into assembly,
And let the god who is guilty before all be handed over
That the others may endure."

In the assembly, the gods cried out,
“It was not I!
It was Kingu!
It was Kingu who brought the uprising,
Who caused the battle!"

They brought poor Kingu before Ea
Who pronounced the guilt
And the condemnation of Kingu.
They opened his blood vessels
And as his blood fell freely in drops to the earth,
Full of the very passion of the gods,
The vision of the gods for tomorrow,
Full of the power of the gods,
The blood was fashioned into humankind,
By the addition of the ways of death
And uncertain knowledge
And humankind became a reality
For the service of the gods.
For the eternal service of the gods.

And it came to pass that humankind,
To this day,
Is called to serve the gods.

Humankind is named from the blood of Kingu
To plow the fields and irrigate the crops,
To harvest the crops,
To build temples for the glory of the gods,
And to bring to these temples
The best of the produce of the fields
That the gods might be satisfied
And rage and battle no more.

And when the old year and all persons die,
The blood of Kingu will scatter upon the earth,
And you will come again to life
And yet again will the gods be satisfied
By your labors.

And as the priest finished reciting the story of the creation,
He gathered up his container of wine,
Shaking it against the skies,
Letting the drops of blood-red liquid fall among the crowd
Gathered on the slopes of the Tower.
And the drops were brought into new life in the persons on whom they fell,
New life to serve the gods,
The citizenship of the nation,
For the service of the gods.

Let no one assume, now,
That the people of Iraq still share that ancient myth.
Today, even the people of Iraq,
Devout Muslims, many,
Strong in their faith,
Have a creation story that is different--
Quite different--
From the one I have just told you.
They have turned their backs on this old story--
Indeed, most of them abandoned it long ago.

Let us consider the new story they have chosen
To establish the relationship between human beings and god,
The god they know as Allah.

Let me read to you just a bit of this story.

In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth,
And the earth was without form and void, adrift in the mist.
And darkness was upon the face of the deep waters. ......

Sound Familiar? It should.

The Scriptures of Islam and the Scriptures
Of Judaism and Christianity are together
Until we reach the story of Hagar and Ishmael.

Then let me read to you something that is said later.
Coming from the covenant God makes with the People,
Who live out this story of life and covenant.

God loved the people of the world so much
that he gave the life of his only son
That whoever lives and has faith with him
might not perish but have eternal life.

Words of Fire

Words of Fire

Luke 19:45-47

Karl Evans

Geminel stood silently before the altar of the Temple. His eyes fogged absently as they took in the fire of the altar. It blazed and cooled, rose and fell as the priests fed it with the sacrifices.

The men of Israel had gently laid their living sacrifices in the hands of the priests. The priest had the responsibility of the last few moments of the sacrifices. Before the fire consumed the animals, their lives were in the hands of the priests. Using the ancient rituals, the priests carefully kill the sacrifices. Then the men of Yahweh said the appropriate prayers and placed the gift on the fire.

These priests worked with a show and reality of deep reverence and respect. They had been selected from their own communities as a gift of honor. The temple guild called them into this position only a few times in a lifetime of service.

Out in the courtyard, the scene was quite different. Far less reverence and respect showed among the peddlers. Many who came from far places expected to pay for their trip by hawking their wares. They sold sacrifices and keepsakes, food and clothing to the pilgrims coming through to worship.

"Get your sacrifices here! Get your doves! Two spotless doves for twenty-five dollars. I just brought these in this morning. My boys have been raising them for pets. Guaranteed no blemishes!" Of course, the doves were usually purchased from Jerusalem youth in the last few days.

"A-number one ram here for the sacrifice! Only five hundred dollars! Only one left in all of Jerusalem!"

The prices asked for the sacrifices by those who bought and sold there shocked Geminel. It seemed almost too much money changed hands.

How could it be theologically correct? How could it be an act of faith? Must the proper sacrifice to God operate on a bottom line cash basis only?

This time, Geminel himself had done what most of the poorer pigeon vendors did to get their pigeons. He had gone at night out into the city in the late dusk. Stealthy moves allowed him to catch two good pigeons sitting on their roosts.

By faint lamplight, Geminel hurriedly inspected them for flaws. These two looked all right. No broken wings or legs. The feathers were in good shape. Best of all, they were free. No feeding. No wholesaler to pay. They would have to do.

Now, with daylight came the morning business. Men and boys whom he had seen out scouring the town for roosting pigeons last night had brought in their unfortunate captives. Now the trappers were selling them at the Temple for outrageous prices.

The people who had actually raised pigeons could command huge prices for the birds. They had invested time and feed in them, and did so to make a profit. They could sell spotless birds to the wealthiest pilgrims. The best birds brought great profits to the entrepreneurs.

The scavengers like Geminel, though, had no investment other than the few minutes it took to grab the birds from the roosts. These were the ones who were ripping off the poorer pilgrims and the less devout. Many of these latter travelers had come from as far as Spain, or India, or Russia to offer sacrifices at the Temple.

Now at the climax of their journey, their own fatigue and the high pressure tactics of the traders took many of them in. This being the case, the pilgrims often offered less than perfect animals at the altar. The priests, fully aware of the problems of pilgrimage and language difficulties, generally looked the other way. No points would be made by embarrassing a traveler. That traveler might not be particularly friendly later to a supplier of inadequate products for holy sacrifice. No one wanted trouble here.

Geminel knelt in prayer at the Temple steps. He tried to avoid the hubbub around him. Concentrating on his prayer, Geminel vowed purity in his heart and commitment to the Messiah. Then Geminel rose in his turn. He stood in the line for a priests to take his two pigeons and ritually slaughter them. Then, after carefully inspecting their insides, the priest burned them as an offering to the Lord.

The flames rose and fell as they consumed the sacrifices. Occasionally a priest added wood brought by faithful pilgrims from their homes. Temple workers brought some wood from forests of the nation.

Geminel looked around at all those who were in the Temple with him. Dozens of people gathered for sacred rituals. Some came as priests. Some came as worshipers. Some came to make money. Some wanted to relieve boredom. Some came to bargain with the Lord for health or wealth or safety.

Everyone there hoped to profit somehow from something which might happen at the Temple. The profit might be money for the traders or for the priests. It might be some better gift from God for the worshiper. Or, it might be just some excitement in life. But something could probably be provided for almost every pilgrim.

Some were wealthy or tried to pretend they were. Some were poor, or tried to convince the thieves they were. Geminel felt nothing but pity for the really poor. Pity because it seemed they were actually hungry. Pity because they seemed out of place in the hubbub of buying and selling. This confusion went on as they offered up their sorry little gifts.

Geminel's mind wandered as he waited in line. His mind's eye pictured the man who controlled all this, who made things happen in the land.

This man in Geminel's thoughts was not the high priest. The high priest was just a functionary named by another. The job of the high priest was to organize the religious work. It was not up to him to build the faith or to run the nation.

The governor named the high priest. He was the one who made things happen around here. Right now, most of what was happening was bad.

Pilate was not really a military man, but he prided himself on his army. After all, it was the strongest force around. He had thousands of men who were well armed. His army was equipped with the latest weapons. Pilate had their swords and shields and helmets made with the strongest steel and iron.

Geminel had to chuckle at the thought of Pilate's army being a sign of strength. Armies are not of strength but of weakness. Strong leaders and diplomats do not need armies to fighting battles within their nations.

We build strong nations on trust and honor, not on swords and spears. Pilate could not see that. He believed all the hype about the need for spears and machines and spies.

Pilate only used the Temple to build his forced dictatorship. He needed protection only from those who questioned his dictatorship over their lives.

The Temple was a good organization to protect the interests of the power structures of Pilate's rule. All Pilate had to do was pass the word.

One priest or another would call judgement on those who were revolutionary enough to speak of a better way. The priest could call them radicals. He used words like "bleeding heart liberals." He could use any words he could find.

Forget their concern came from reading the prophets of ancient Israel. Forget their compassion, their sense of justice. If they challenge the system, they are wrong. Simple as that.

These matters were no concern to Geminel. Geminel only wanted to stand before the Lord, to make the sacrifice. Geminel wanted and needed to make peace with God.

While Geminel waited, he wondered for the profit of all this. How much of the proceeds of this scene would find its way into Pilate's pocket? Making the sacrifice only cost Geminel a few coins tossed into the hand of the officiating priest.

As he waited in line, some sort of ruckus began on the steps of the Temple. From where Geminel stood, he couldn't see what was happening. He could hear men shouting and see pigeons flying off. He could hear sheep bawling. Geminel was not really concerned until the Temple guards buckled on their breastplates and grabbed their shields.

Then a man whom Geminel had not seen before pushed his way through the crowd and came to the altar. There he knelt, obviously in deep and fervent prayer.

While he knelt a silence spread over the temple. It seemed the whole world had come to a complete stop. No one moved.

The Temple guards seemed frozen. Priests stopped their sacrificial slaughter, hands poised with sharp knives, not moving. The milling crowd paused as if waiting for something extraordinary to happen.

When the man rose, a wealthy men in the line walked over to the stranger and whispered something in his ear. The stranger listened to the Pharisee, then slowly lifted his eyes to survey the crowd.

He could see the men in the Temple, going about their daily work. He could see the rich and the poor, the home towners and the wanderers.

The Galilean looked out through the door of the Temple at the hovels of the poor. Forced to build outside the city walls, without water and without the protection of the walls, these poor could only dream.

Now the Galilean eyes filled with tears. He saw the broken down shacks of the poor pushed up against the outside walls of the city.

Inside the walls, the homes of the wealthy stood as fortresses against poverty for the owners. They were vaults for the wealth of the nation.

He spoke. "Go tell Herod, that sly fox, I am here. Tell him I will heal the sick for a couple days. Right here. I will give hope to the poor. I will make the blind see. I will release the captives of a sick world."

"This city, Jerusalem, the city of David, has had its chance. How often the poor of the city came to you. How often have those who live out in those mud huts in filth and disease and hunger come to you in their need? How often you could have taken them in as a mother hen covers her chicks. Yet you would not."

"Instead, you have stoned the prophets. You have slain those who told the truth about you. You have trampled the poor in your search for the almighty gold."

"Jerusalem, they will destroy you. These very ones who are turning a profit from your existence and your faithfulness. They will not just circumcise you. They will clean cut you off."

Jesus paused a moment. "I will go away now, but I will be back. When I come back you will say `Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!'"

As the man left, Geminel knew he would be back. More trouble was coming -- lots more trouble. Geminel knew Herod's soldiers would be waiting for him. Geminel knew the Temple guards would fight against the man. He had told the truth about the city and the Temple and the priests.

Somehow, Geminel knew down deep inside this man was no loser.

All the armies of all the nations did not destroy this man of the world. The most elite Temple guards can not hold him. The self-righteous statements and the hypocritical patriotism of the wealthy could not protect the temple. They could not hold back the forces this simple fisherman would loose. The class system that made up the nation could not withstand his justice.

This fellow would be back, all right. Jesus would be back to stay.

">Yachats Blue Link

The Brothers

The Brothers

(all rights reserved)

Karl Evans

O Cain. Sad Cain.
Cain who was born first of the brothers.
Cain who knew the blessings of birthright and name.

Now, without doubt,
Cain was a good man.
Hardworking farmer,
Backbreaking labor,
Breaking up the virgin earth to plant seeds and chop weeds and harvest crops.

Not a loud-mouthed braggart as some would suppose,
But a man of steady heart and bronzed arms and dusty hair and tired muscles.

But crops are slow in coming to glory,
Slow to turn the sun and sweat to gold and green.
Except for new potatoes the first fruits of the soil are rarely good,
rarely sweet and choice.
Rather, it is the fruit of the peak of the harvest
That wins the prize at the county fair and turns the mouths of the satisfied to drooling.

But the response one is called to make to the Creator is to bring to the Maker the first fruits.

And Abel. Doomed Abel.
Abel, the second son,
The one with nothing at stake.
The one with no birthright,
No land, no home.

Abel is an exile, One with no fields.
One with no fields becomes a hunter,
A worker with roaming animals, a shepherd by necessity.
Abel wanders with his flock of sheep
And when the sheep brings forth a lamb Abel brings that little bleating, nestling, suckling pile of skin and bones to God as offering.

Have you ever seen a day-old lamb?
Have you ever held one in your arms--
Had it look into your face with innocence and beauty?
Felt its pounding heart against your own?

You know, then, the heart of God.
Who among the loving gods could put the lamb down?
Who could ignore the curly wool,
The wondering eyes,
the warm body--
And turn then to nestling a sheaf of wheat,
an ear of corn,
a box of apples,
a bale of hay?

O Cain, sad Cain.
Your best has been brought side by side with that of baby brother.
Baby brother gets the blue,
You get the red.
Just the red.

No matter, Cain, that you have the name and the birthright
And the fields and the muscles.
No matter that Abel has only a few sheep and a bow and arrow.

Cain, sad Cain,
Your brother has the spotlight,
That which is yours of right.
No matter your crops are growing and yet to come on in beauty.
No matter the hard work ahead that will feed you both through the long cold winter.

No matter Abel is your brother,
Shared the same womb,
Suckled the same breasts.
Your brother dies at your hand,
O Cain, sad Cain.

All is lost.
Now you have no brother, Cain.
More than this,
You have no land, your home
Your firepit shall lie in ruins, sad Cain.

But more!
From the face of God you shall be hidden, Cain,
From seeing the smile,
From hearing the laugh.
And those hands, Cain--
Those hands that formed you from the clay

and laid you in your mother's womb--
You shall not lay into those hands your first-fruits of the ground!

Shall you be forever nothing, sad Cain?
But no!
Sad Cain, I promise 'tis not so!
Though you be adrift from fields of right
The God of Grace goes with you.
As your parents did before you
You have chosen to be cut off, sad Cain,
cut off from the face of God!

But who is that beside you, Cain?
Who is that who reaches out the hand for yours?
By your side moves the face of God,
Beloved Cain;
You shall not be cut off!

And is this not reward enough already,
That God is yet among us?
That added fame and wealth need not be sought,
For God is yet among us?
Bury your face in the shoulder, Cain,
Cry the tears of Joy.
Let your heart beat gently, Cain,
For God is yet among us.

I Am Not A Godless Man

Job

All Rights Reserved

Karl Evans

Once upon a time in the Land of Uz there lived a man named Job. You have heard of Uz. The land is not too far from here. It is a comfortable and pleasant place to live.

Job was a good and just man. He did his best to live the kind of life he knew he should. It was a life that reflected his best dreams. He was deeply concerned about his faith with Yahweh, his Lord.

Job was rather a typical man in many ways. He lived with his wife and children and grandchildren. Job's adoring family gathered around him in the evening when the work was done.

With the children close around, Job told them the stories of the past. When he told these stories, he always talked about his Lord. It was Job’s way of making certain his family was easy with the Lord.

Job had friends and neighbors who wanted to trade with Job. They trusted Job. Because of his honesty and his fairness, Job had many friends.

Job always had much to trade. His farm was blessed with an abundance of sheep and goats and cattle. Job’s crops always produced plentifully for harvest. The hay and grain fed many sheep and goats and cattle. Job’s harvests of vegetables and fruit were always prized for their quality.

When Job struck a deal with a neighbor to trade, his word was as good as gold. No one ever suggested he tried to substitute poor products for good.
In most ways, Job was very much like everyone around. However, most believed Job to be a little stronger and a little more honest than others. He might have seemed a little more sensitive than some to the needs of those around him. That is, he was a little different.

Job had only one real worry. He was concerned that he might do something that would be counted as sin. This worried him every day.

This deep concern led to one unusual task each day. Job handled it as regularly as clockwork. He finished his work with joy over the blessings provided by the Lord. Then at the close of the day Job would make a little sacrifice. This was to show repentance for any misdeed he might have committed.

Often the sacrifice was a dove, or a chicken. Sometimes it was a handful of grain thrown into the fire or into the wind. On special occasions it was a spotless lamb that was slaughtered. Job so wanted to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

Each evening, just before sunset, Job's family gathered around the table. They ate their good food. They talked about the events of the day.

One evening a neighbor rode up with word that thieves had raided Job’s property. The oxen and mules had been captured and the servants killed. A bunch of rogues such as occasionally infested the area had done the dirty work.

As Job went from the table to investigate the situation, a servant rode up. This servant told Job that some wild Chaldeans from across the river had raided one of the camps. This was a wild mob of raiders from across the Jordan River. They had killed some more of the servants and stolen Job's camels.

Job was now confused and heartbroken. This servant began to pour out the details. The confused Job hardly knew where to go first. He had been leaving to investigate one tragedy and been called to another.

In a moment, yet another servant came running. This servant cried "Your children have been caught in a tornado and all of them are killed!"
At this news, Job was just beside himself. His family, his crops, his animals, his servants--all were gone. Job wept. Big tears cascaded down his cheeks, staining his robe.

Job raised his voice to the heavens as he wept. He did not lift his voice in anger. Rather, the hills rang with praise as he spoke an ancient poem:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb;
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"

Being faithful was very difficult in such a trying time.

Being faithful was very difficult in such a trying time.

As the days and weeks and months went by, Job tried to keep his face and his faith. He struggled to recover the work of his life.

But one day Job found himself with sores all over his body. The sores were not only ugly, but they smelled and ran with liquid. They made other people afraid to be near him. The neighbors thought maybe he had leprosy.

Job's wife was an understanding and kind woman. She worked hard to make a good life. She tried to help Job get out of his misery. She said, "Job, I love you dearly. But you would be better off if you were dead. Curse God, and God will make the lightning strike you dead."

Job did not hesitate but answered "Hush, honey! We accept good from the hand of the Lord. Should we not also accept the hurt that comes?"

So Job kept the faith, but it was not easy. The day finally came when Job could not take any more of the pain. He could not fight the battle of faith any longer.

Job had some friends, people he trusted. They listened while Job, he who would never curse the Lord, cursed the day he was born. "Damn the day that I was born! Damn that sunrise and that sunset! Damn the clouds that drifted by on that day! Damn the water that flowed in the streams of the earth on that day!"

"May the memory of that day fade in the infamy it so richly deserves! Why couldn't I have died at birth rather than live so long as to see my life destroyed?"

Job’s friends listened. They could scarce believe their own ears! Eliphaz, a scholar who had come from Te'eman, spoke first. "Job, my friend, we know you are a good man. You have helped all of us at one time or another. But we know the Lord, and you know the Lord. It is certainly true that the Lord does not punish anyone for nothing. You must have done something very bad."

"I know you don't know what it was. Think of it this way, my friend. With the punishment comes a release. As you pay the price for what you have done, you will be free of the burden of your sin. You will live a good, long, healthy life. You have paid such a great price for whatever is your burden."

Job angrily listened to the words of Eliphaz. He was bitter both Eliphaz. Job was bitter at the Lord. "Eliphaz, I don't know which is worse. I serve a god who takes away the lives of my family and my servants. This destroys me. I have a friend who accuses me of some guilt without naming the guilt. I do not understand this strange thought. My God chooses to destroy my people. I would rather that God would destroy me than take the lives of my people."

"What gain is there if the Lord claims I am guilty but I have not the knowledge of my own evil? I need to know how long it will be before I am forgiven by the Lord. If the Lord waits too long, I will be lying in the grave. I will not be available for forgiveness. I need to know now!"

Another old friend, Bildad, the wise man from the land of Shuh, said "Job, please remember that I am your friend. Don't talk about God that way. You must really pray. Pray hard. If you will really get down on your knees and just pray, that will do it. The Lord will forgive you and everything will be all right."

By now Job was willing to try anything. "I will try. But I don't really even have self-confidence enough anymore to even pray. How can I be a just man before God? Do you not see all these things have happened to me? They are the proof that I am a worm, and not a good man."

"If I come before God he will truly destroy me. Oh, would that I had never been born! Leave me alone, Lord, just leave me alone!"

These words of anger caused another friend, Zophar, the community leader from the land of Na'aman, to speak. "Job, buddy, let me give you some words of wisdom. You are feeling a great guilt. You say you have failed in some way before the Lord. You try every day to do what is just and right."

"But you get no words from the Lord saying what is wrong and what is right. You cannot know the secrets of the Lord."

"You are feeling guilt. You know no reason for guilt. You just know bad things are happening to you. Therefore you think you must be guilty for some unknown reason. You believe that the Lord would not punish the innocent."

"Surely the Lord does not require so much of you? You surely cannot be guilty of that which you are unaware. So my advice, my friend, is simply to love the Lord with all your heart! Do not be so concerned to understand. Perhaps you simply cannot understand. Perhaps it is not the will of the Lord that you should know!"

At these words Job roared with anger, both at Zophar and at the Lord. "No doubt you are the only wise man. When you die all wisdom will die with you. Is that not true?"

"Come now. I am not so dumb. I have some understanding of the ways of the Lord. Ask the birds and the rabbits and the foxes the ways of the Lord. They will tell you. If you ask the tree and the bush and the worm, they will tell you."

"Am I so dumb?" queried Job. "Am I dumber than these other creatures of the Lord? I know something of the way of the Lord!"

"And you just watch! I am preparing my case to lay before the Lord. I am not a godless man. A godless man will not stand before the Lord. I will. I will lay my case before the Lord, face to face, toe to toe. I will challenge the Lord!"

"I will ask `Why, Lord?'. I will ask the Lord `Under what pretext do you do this to me?’"

Eliphaz by now was ready for the lightning bolt to strike. "Your words! Your words! Your words are doing away with the fear of the Lord! No one will be filled with awe and terror at the name of the Lord if you stand to the Lord face to face and survive. Because of this, the Lord cannot let you win your case."

"You will be finally destroyed! Back off, my friend. Relax, don't be so possessed. Don't worry so much about it. Let it be!"

Zophar said "Be at peace, my friend. You know you don't have long to live. You know people are frail. We are not really of much worth to God. You know God could well do without all of us. God does not need even a great teacher such as me. Take it easy."

Bildad spoke up. "Remember, the peace of the ungodly comes only when they are destroyed. Those who do not dwell in the house of the Lord will be destroyed."

By now Job was in no mood to dink around. His family was gone. His servants and his cattle and his flocks were gone. His body was covered with sores that caused people to back away from him.

His friends, people with whom he sought counsel, did not support him. Some accused him of deserving the pain and punishment. Others just told him to buck up and take it like a man. They said he should suffer without complaint at the injustice.

Finally Elihu, the fourth friend, began to speak with words that brought strength and hope. "Job, listen carefully. I have some things to say on God's behalf. Don't let the evil that has come on you destroy your faith. Do not pay attention to the words of those around you. They must not turn you to scoffing at the Lord. The ways of God are just. There is neither evil nor selfishness in them."

"The Lord does not need to show us the divine ways. But the Lord shows us what the Lord will show us out of choice. Remember what the Lord has shown to you! The Lord has prospered you in the good times as well as the hard times. Do not scoff at the power of the Lord!"

Now Job was silent. He had to listen, for what Elihu said was truth. In many ways, he had been fulfilled by the Lord. Job knew that though he wanted to find fault with the Lord, he could not. For what fault could there be in the Lord?

Then out of the cloud the Lord spoke to Job. The voice of the Lord was deep, like thunder. "Job, prepare to do battle. Gird up yourself like a man, and come before me face to face."

"Let me question you. How strong are you? Your muscles were big, and strong. Could you plant a ring in the nose of the hippopotamus?"
"Your hands have tamed the wild bull. That is really something, I will grant. But can you go fishing for a crocodile? Can you pierce a python with a hook as bait for the croc?"

The Lord did not wait for an answer. He knew there would be none. "No? Then what makes you think you can do battle with me?"

Job did not look down. Instead, he answered the Lord in words so true in all the ages.

"I have met you face to face. For this, I expected to die, but I did not. Now I live and I understand. Before the evil came on me, we were not close. Then the evil came, and the only way I could finally win would be to do battle with you with words and emotions. You might have destroyed me, for you are God. You have all wisdom and heart."

"But you did not take my life. Now we talk together, you and I. Our words and our questions are stronger than battle. Our common victory is in knowing the heart of the other. I ask you questions and you answer me."
"Before, I had only heard of you. Now I know you face to face. I have not been destroyed but redeemed. Before, I knew the joy of things. Now I know the joy of knowing you."

Now Job and the Lord walked arm in arm together. Job no longer needed to do battle with the Lord. Job did not now risk his own destruction. But Job was now not afraid to ask the Lord "Why?"

Job was now not afraid to listen to the words of the Lord. Job was not afraid to love the Lord.

Karl Evans
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