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
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.
Bible Love Notes
its cool
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