Preparing Our Hearts for Resurrection Sunday: Piece by Piece “HisStory” Unfolds

A poem that concisely describes the wonderful  Love of God as it was continually revealed throughout history.

To celebrate Christ's resurrection, I want to share a poem I wrote twenty years ago. It takes us from Genesis through Revelation.

Piece by Piece "HisStory" Unfolds
by Gail Burton Purath

Bible Love Notes YouTube
God simply spoke and the world was formed 
A beautiful garden to welcome man 
No waste, no pain, no sin or sorrow 
Pure paradise just as God planned 

But then the Serpent hissed his lies 
And man chose death instead of life 
One bite and sin was brought to earth 
           With pain and sorrow, sadness, strife 

No more sweet walks and talks with God 
Man chose to walk away instead 
But God still offered hope and love 
One day He’d crush the Serpent’s head 

Sin’s ugly stain began to spread 
Cain chose to shed his brother’s blood 
Mankind became completely evil 
God brought about a worldwide flood 

But water could not cleanse men’s souls 
God’s love they stubbornly refused 
With pride they planned and built a tower 
Until their language God confused 

Now came the time for God to choose 
A man who would a blessing be 
Four promises He gave to Abram 
His Seed would someday set men free 

From Abraham through Isaac and Jacob 
The Deliverer’s bloodline God maintained 
Son Judah was the chosen tribe 
But Joseph double honor gained 

They moved to Egypt for God’s provision 
But grew so great they proved a threat 
Pharaoh despised these Promised People 
Who did not have a land as yet 

Then God sent Moses to the Pharaoh 
Ten plagues, but still he answered “No!” 
How hard the Pharaoh’s heart became 
Before he let God’s people go 

God’s breath then blew the Red Sea dry 
And drowned Egyptian chariot rumble 
He gave his people loving care 
But all they did was gripe and grumble 

God’s voice then spoke the Ten Commandments 
Life principles to guide their way 
But they would rather serve a cow 
 And to an idol bow and pray 

Yet God still loved these stubborn people 
And brought them to the Promised Land 
They had no reason to doubt or worry 
They should have trusted in God’s plan 

Twelve spies returned with mixed reports 
“They're giant warriors we can’t kill!” 
“Not so!” cried Joshua and Caleb 
“God said we’ll conquer, and we will!” 

But fear controlled the vast majority 
They stubbornly maintained their grief 
Again they pushed God’s love away 
And lost the land through unbelief 

When forty years came to an end 
The younger Jews embraced the task 
This time they let God fight for them 
And took the Promised Land at last 

But dark years of the Judges followed 
“Right in their own eyes,” enjoying sin 
God rescued them repeatedly 
Repeatedly they sinned again 

Then Samuel came and brought relief 
He sought the LORD in everything 
But the people didn’t want God’s rule 
They longed to have an earthly king 

King Saul lost his respect for God 
But David had a shepherd's heart 
Solomon wasted his gift of wisdom
Rehoboam split the land apart 

Eventually Israel rejected God 
Years later Judah did the same 
Israel was conquered and destroyed 
Judah bound in foreign chains 

But in God’s time King Cyrus took power 
Wielding God’s justice through Persian hands 
He destroyed the Babylonian nation 
And the Jews regained their Promised Land 

History came and went thereafter 
With God faithfully, repeatedly extending His grace 
But man was bent on pagan unbelief 
 Continually rejecting God’s loving embrace 

Then all of history did converge 
 As Christ was born one starry night 
An act of wisdom, grace, and love 
God sent His Son to make things right 

When baptized and when tempted 
Christ proved that he was qualified 
The incarnate Living Word of God 
Exposed the Serpent’s deadly lies 

Repentant throngs clung to Christ’s words 
The Twelve lived with Him every day 
He healed the sick and raised the dead 
But many sinners still turned away 

Then came the day it all was “finished” 
The purpose Christ had come to serve 
He paid a debt we could not pay 
And took a death that we deserved 

What hellish torture He bore for us 
Nails tore his flesh, the sky turned black 
His Father could not comfort Him 
When He bore sin upon His back 

Yet still He cried in sweet forgiveness 
“Dear Father, they know not what they do” 
And when His task on earth was done 
The temple curtain tore in two 

His death destroyed the Garden lie 
It crushed the head of Satan and sin 
Creating a path of hope and life 
Securing redemption, He rose again

“Now go and tell My story” 
He says to all who’ll hear 
Then He took His place in glory 
But His coming back is near 

 The Holy Spirit blew with power 
 Equipping man to spread 
The message of salvation 
Bringing life just as He said 

 At last the sin of Adam 
Could not keep God from man 
For all who would be reconciled 
Need only grasp His hand 

 And just so none would flounder 
And none would be subdued 
God left a Book of His own Words 
Replete with countless clues 

 The mystery explained now 
The way of God made clear 
The hope of future glory 
 For all who would draw near 

 But more is in the works, you see 
We only know in part 
For when our Jesus comes again 
Then true life really starts 

 There’ll be no room for tears at all 
 When songs of praise are sung 
I cannot wait to see you, Lord 
Come soon, Lord Jesus, Come!

If you have not yet followed Christ 
Dear friend, do not delay
Nothing else will save you
 Jesus is the only Way
 
💙💙💙💙💙

I wrote this poem in seminary when I took a class that taught us how to give an overview of the Bible through narration and images. After I graduated, my husband and I went to Budapest, Hungary, to do Christian work, and I edited my narration to use for a women's seminar called "The Bible's Love Story." I typically gave the seminar in English and it was translated into Hungarian. But I have a video of one of the times I gave it in English if you'd like to take a look. My video equipment was not very good, and the quality of this video is terrible. But it will give you a flavor of the presentation: The Bible's Love Story Part 1. And if you take a look, please let me know if you think it's something you'd enjoy if I took the time to update it.

Biblical, concise, affordable devotional

💙 Be sure to check out Gail's devotional Wisdom for Life.

Discounted on LifewayAmazon, and CBD
A poem that concisely describes the wonderful  Love of God as it was continually revealed throughout history.


Bible Love Notes

1 comment: