IDOL MINDS BRING WRATH

IDOL MINDS BRING WRATH

Moses was up on Mt. Sinai,

With two tablets made of stone.

On them the 10 Commandments were written,

By the finger of God alone.

He was on the mountain 40 days,

Meanwhile the people grew restless.

They pressured Aaron, brother to Moses,

To make gods, to which he said “Yes.”

Aaron asked the Hebrew people,

For the jewelry they had worn.

All of the people complied,

And a golden calf was born.

Aaron took a tool,

And cast the idol into a calf.

He called the calf their rescuing idol,

But the idol would bring God’s wrath.

He built an altar in front of the calf,

On which people could sacrifice.

It was all done in the name of the Lord,

But their sin would cost a great price.

The next day was a festival day;

It began with a round of offerings,

Then came eating and drinking and revelry,

Which would end in a series of sufferings.

The Lord sent Moses down from the mountain,

When he saw what the people had done.

He told Moses to leave Him be,

He was about to spoil their fun.

His anger burned against the people,

He was ready to destroy them all.

But Moses appealed to the Lord to relent,

For the fathers of Israel.

The Lord relented, and Moses descended,

And when he reached Joshua’s stand,

He was told about the sound of war,

While holding the law of the land.

Moses responded to Joshua,

It’s not the sound of victory near,

It is also not the sound of defeat;

It is the sound of singing I hear.”

When Moses approached the camp,

And saw the calf and the people’s lewd dancing, 

His anger burned and he threw down the tablets,

Which resulted in the laws breaking.

He burned the calf in the fire; 

Ground the idol into powder with a stink.

He scattered the gold dust on the water,

Which he made the Israelites drink.

He said to Aaron, “What did people do to you, 

That you led them into such sin?

Aaron began by telling the truth,

Which turned into a half truth then.

“I asked for gold and they gave it to me,

I threw the gold into the fire, 

Miraculously, out came this calf!”

At that point he became a full liar.

Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, 

“Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” 

All the Levites rallied to him.

Those who didn’t were a thousand times three.

Each Levite was to strap a sword to his side. 

And Go back and forth through the campsite,

Killing even those they loved;

The Levites did right in God’s sight.

Moses commended the Levites for this,

And their quick obedience spared them.

Though God’s anger had dwindled,

Many others he would condemn.

God expects obedience,

For obedience is an act of love.

When flagrant sin runs out of control,

He will punish the sinners thereof.

Becky Wall

PLAGUES & PANDEMICS

PLAGUES & PANDEMICS

(Exodus 7:14-11:9)

Moses went to Pharoah,

And said, “Let my people go.”

Pharoah refused and so God sent,

Ten different kinds of woe.

First, water was turned to blood;

The Nile became a red river.

For Egypt worshiped water gods,

Instead of the true Life Giver.

Next came the plague of frogs,

On a frog-goddess Egypt relied.

Since frogs were a sign of fertility,

God made sure they multiplied.

Third came the plague of gnats,

The first not repeated by a magician.

Since none was able to mimic it,

 God’s finger got recognition.

The fourth plague inflicted was flies,

The fly-god and ours were compared.

All of Egypt was afflicted,

But the Israelite people were spared.

The death of livestock was the fifth plague,

They could truly say “Where’s the beef?”

The people were made vegetarians,

Which still didn’t cause enough grief.

Painful boils was the sixth plague;

Even the magicians had boils.

The goddess of epidemics and the gods of healing,

Couldn’t help the lowly or the royals.

The seventh plague was hail,

Not weather they would commonly find.

Pharoah confessed his sin with this plague,

But he later changed his mind.

When God sent a plague of locusts,

Pharoah tried to negotiate.

His offer was rejected and once again,

He repented but then would negate.

Plague number nine was darkness.

Sent to scare the stubborn monarch.

God’s people had light in Goshen,

But Egypt was left in the dark.

The tenth and worst of the plagues,

Was the death of each firstborn son.

This is the plague that broke Pharoah down,

For Pharoah himself lost one.

Most of the plagues had to do with gods;

The true God made fools of them.

He displayed His power over all their gods,

And left Egypt in total mayhem.

Pharoah finally relented.

And his people begged them to go.

They gave the Jews anything they desired;

They were tired of suffering woe.

‘Tho Pharoah saw punishing miracles,

Which he thought that he could outsmart,

God had given him over,

To the hardness of his heart.

Becky Wall

Note: Each plague was based on the worship of a god which made the one true God very angry. We still have gods today but in America they are not statues; they are things we worship: money, sports, games, movies, music, booze, drugs, etc.

EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A CLOUD

EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A CLOUD

(Genesis 39)

Joseph’s life took a positive turn,

While working as Potiphar’s slave.

He won the respect of his master,

For the faithful service he gave.

But his silver lining still had a cloud,

For eventually things got worse.

His master’s wife told a lie on him,

Then at Joseph her husband would curse.

She said he forced himself on her,

Tho’ it was the other way ‘round.

Joseph was totally innocent,

Yet “Guilty” he was found.

He was put in a prisoner’s cell,

With several other men.

There he was treated terribly,

Though he was without sin.

Joseph began to interpret the dreams,

Of Pharoah’s employees in jail.

He asked the freed men to mention his gift,

They promised they would without fail.

But promises are only words,

Tho’ this one they could fulfill,

There was nothing in it for them,

So Pharoah’s employees kept still.

When Pharoah himself dreamed dreams,

The employees had sudden recall.

Joseph’s knowledge impressed the ruler,

Who then made him second over all.

Becky Wall

Key words: #fromgreattoterrible #falselyaccused #dreams #silverlinedcloudagain #steadfast #mistreated

PROMISES FROM HEAVEN

PROMISES FROM HEAVEN

(Genesis 28)

Jacob deceived his brother,

Out of fear, his home he fled.

When the sun had set for the night,

Jacob made his bed.

Using a stone for a pillow,

Jacob slept on the ground.

He must have really been tired,

Because his sleep was so sound.

While fast asleep, he had a dream,

In which he saw a stairway.

It rested upon the earth,

And the top reached heaven’s fairway.

The ladder had lots of traffic;

Up and down it angels traveled.

Above the ladder stood the Lord,

When He spoke, His plan unraveled.

He reminded Jacob who He was,

From high up in the sky,

Then God told Jacob he'd one day have,

The land upon which he lie.

The Lord promised to fill the earth,

From north, south, east and west,

With Jacob’s many descendants,

And they would all be blessed.

God vowed He would watch over Jacob,

No matter where he went,

And that He would never leave him,

Until all promises were spent.

When Jacob awakened, he thought,

“The Lord is in this place.”

He was gripped with fear at the awesomeness,

And honored because of God’s grace.

He took the stone upon which he slept,

And anointed it with oil.

He set it up as a marker,

For it stood on holy soil.

Jacob promised God a tenth,

Of all that he was given.

But he would also pay for his ways,

And the lies that he had been livin’.

God can use a sinner,

If he turns his life around.

Though earthly punishment will remain,

He can still be heaven-bound.

Becky Wall

THE DAY THE HEAVENS RAINED FIRE

THE DAY THE HEAVENS RAINED FIRE

(Genesis 18)

 God told Abraham he heard a cry,

Against Sodom and Gomorrah’s sins.

The outcry was great because their sins were grievous,

The cities were evil twins.

 Then Abraham approached the Lord and said,

As though God would make a mistake,

“What if fifty righteous people live there?”

What about their sake?

 Far be it from you to do such a thing—

To the righteous caught in this plight,

Treating the righteous and the wicked alike.

Won't the Judge of the earth do right?"

 The Lord promised He would spare Sodom,

If fifty righteous people were there.

Abraham lowered the number;

Expecting God to be fair.

 God lowered the number to forty-five,

But Abraham continued to implore.

God said for forty He would spare the city,

Then that number was lowered more.

 God said He’d hold back if thirty were found,

So Abraham asked for ten less.

He said, “What if only twenty can be found?"

His hope had begun to digress.

 “For the sake of twenty, I won’t ruin it."

God patiently replied.

When asked what if only ten could be found,

God vowed to set his anger aside.

 The LORD left Abraham after they spoke,

Who went home to wallow in pity.

Two angels arrived in Sodom at dusk,

While Lot sat at the gate of the city.

Lot bowed to the ground when he saw the Lord's men,

After getting up to meet them.

The two men asked Abraham’s nephew,

If anyone belonged to him.

Get them out of here, Lot was told,

The city will soon be destroyed.

The outcry against the city was great;

So their home they should now avoid.

So Lot went and spoke to his sons-in-law,

Who his daughters were pledged to marry.

"Hurry and get out of this place,” Lot said,

“For this city God will bury!"

 But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

Then before the break of day,

The men of God urged his family to hurry,

So they wouldn’t be swept away.

 When Lot paused, the men grabbed his hand,

And the hands of his wife and each daughter.

They led them safely out of the city,

So they wouldn’t be caught in the slaughter.

 As soon as they had brought them out,

One man said, "Run for your life!

Don't look back, and don't stop in the plain!

Escape with your daughters and wife.”

 But Lot said "No, my lords, please!”

He then told the Lord’s men why,

“I can't flee to the mountains,” he said.

“I’ll be overtaken and die.”

 He asked to run to a nearby town,

Then his life would surely be spared.

Lot’s request was granted;

And he left, though quite unprepared.

 By the time Lot reached Zoar,

The sun had risen over the land.

Then the LORD rained sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—

From heaven came His command.

 He overthrew the cities, the plain,

And Lot’s wife, though it was her fault.

For though she was warned, Lot’s wife looked back,

And became a pillar of salt.

Becky Wall