Exodus

The Poetic Bible: An Epic Poem
(volume 2)

By Bobby Gawthrop

Joseph's bones in coffin lain,
brothers followed in his train.

Yet, lineage great clan did be,
sons of Israel propagate exceedingly.

New king upon the land appear,
heart of dread, engulfed in fear.

Though history be linear,
yet repetitions do occur.

Descended dungeon, Joseph's chains,
horrid dreams fill the night,
awaken morn with screams afresh,
oppression, Hebrew plight.

"So they appointed taskmasters",
imprinted Hebrew neck,
Egyptian chain inflicted pain,
to keep them all in check.

Cruel afflictions, increased pace,
yet propagation Hebrew race.

The more the pain, the more they spread,
till Pharaoh's heart was filled with dread.

Placards fill, the city still,
baby Hebrew boys to kill.

"But the midwives feared God",
Hebrew mothers' tearful glee,
kingly consternation he.

Babies' blood, the death bells toll,
Pharaoh's murdrous troops do roll,
as babies from their mothers strip,
they drowned in Nile, like sinking ship.

Babies' bodies floating dead,
a picture of a future dread,
Bethlehem's mothers grieve and pray,
Messiah, Herod seeks to slay.

Life and light among the reeds,
tar and pitch, papyrus reed.

Prefigured Christ upon the Nile,
Hebrew born, yet now exiled.

There'll come a day when death be done,
"The death of death" in God's dear Son.

Yet now, baby in the basket ride,
Providential eye doth guide.

Surprise! Surprise! Look inside,
the baby from the basket cried.

Pity flowed from Pharaoh's daughter,
drew the child from out the water.

Moses! Moses!, She did exclaim,
two nations now to claim his fame.

Manly fullness he did grow,
to Hebrew clan his heart did go.

Hebrew beaten to the ground,
"he looked this way and that",
his eye did spy no witness by,
he struck Egyptian down.

"He went out the next day",
the news within the clan,
‘Murder! Murder! Moses, he,
the proof is in the sand!'
Hebrew born, Egyptian bred,
Hebrew nursed, Egyptian fed.

Conflicted through, what to do?,
Pharaoh's shrill, "Moses kill!"
A man was dead, so Moses fled.
Dear reader, what would you do?

Midian's well refreshed his life,
Midian's daughter took to wife.

Through the course of many years,
"the king of Egypt died",
yet bondage pressed, their grieves addressed,
their cries doth reach the sky.

Great God did hear, remembered He,
Looked down upon His sheep,
"Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob",
His covenant to keep.

"Then He said, ‘Do not come near here;
remove your sandals from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing
is holy ground.'"

Then Moses hid his face,
Creator creature distinct,
"he was afraid to look at God",
lest Moses become extinct.

The LORD came down to bring them up,
to spacious region fat and plump.

Great God did speak, "I will send you"
"bring My people out of Egypt".

"What am I that I should go"?
and speak to him, the Pharaoh?

Overwhelmed, encompassed he be,
submissive to eternity.

‘The Name I pray, and I'll begin',
inquiring Moses, he to Him,
"I AM WHO I AM",
"This is My Name forever",
‘Memorial Name, your treasure'.

‘"gather the elders", go to the king,
in his ears, My message ring'.

"I will grant this people favor",
‘travel not with empty hand,'
articles of silver, articles of gold,
thus they plundered Egypt's land.

‘But Divine power innate to Thee,
they may not believe me'.

Deity's power, staff endowed,
witness unbelieving crowds.

But Moses sought to shirk and shift,
betwixt the two, he was now adrift,
‘Please LORD!..For I am slow of speech',
‘"I, Even I", thine mouth to teach'.

‘Aaron will speak on your behalf',
‘As God you'll be, with your staff'.

"the LORD said to Moses…Go back",
‘those who sought to hunt you down,
they now abide beneath the ground.'

"so Moses took his wife and…sons"
they trudged on o'er the sand,
courage waning, yet out in front,
God's staff within his hand.
Clash of the titans!, under way,
Moses and Pharaoh, in their day.

Moses thus spoke, but ere he start,
the LORD had hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Thus Moses preached to heart of stone,
the preacher's life, he stands alone.

Pharaoh be a reprobate,
his soul like coal, his heart like hate.

In deeper cuts of pain they bore,
Hebrew labors, exceeding chore,
no straw given, yet quota keep,
shepherd needed, they but sheep.

‘"Then Moses returned to the LORD".
"Why did you ever send me?"
The Pharaoh's frown, contorted crown,
the people reap his enmity.

Covenantal remembrance,
redemption nigh thru judgments.

So, Moses spoke to Israel's sons,
yet, despondency stopped their ears,
their song not gone, they pressed on,
thru bondage, cruelty, fear.

"So Moses and Aaron did it",
the king they did confront,
God's word they did uphold,
that black holed soul, the Pharaoh told,
‘Let God's people go'!

‘Let the games begin', cried the king

Aaron's staff, transmutation,
serpent now, in same location.

Black magicians, same serpent's feat,
but Aaron's staff to prey did eat.

Frogs in the land did come,
frogs from the field were sprung,
frogs from the swamps did rise,
promised frogs were no surprise!

The staff did strike the dust of earth,
and gnats through all the land did burst.

"magicians tried their secret arts"
dirt to gnats they could not start,
"This is the finger of God", they shrilled,
"But Pharaoh's heart was hardened" still.

Insect infestation storm,
Hebrew people, land, yet warm.

God's wrath abate, His mercy shown,
still, Pharaoh's heart was set in stone.

Great God ordained it all to be,
manifested power, all to see,
His Name proclaimed through all the earth,
some peoples' dirge, some peoples' mirth.

Pestilence from the hand of God,
it tracked the fields, to livestock trod,
of Egypt's beasts, was death and dirt,
of Israel's beasts, not one was hurt.

God's wrath abate, His mercy shown,
still, Pharaoh's heart was set in stone.

Moses stooped and scooped the soot,
extended high in the sky,
"boils breaking out with sores on man",
another plague befalls the land,
swails of puss oozed out the skin,
it flowed from sinful heart within.

God's wrath abate, His mercy shown,
still, Pharaoh's heart was set in stone.

Flashing fire illumined sky,
thunder cracked, and hail did fly.

Torn and shred, low and pale,
Egyptian land by rain of hail.

God's wrath abate, His mercy shown,
still, Pharaoh's heart was set in stone.

Next the day was turned to night,
vision blind, Egyptian plight,
lurking locust grouped and swarmed,
darkened blackness like a storm,
"even a darkness which may be felt",
a blackened shade to senses dealt.

God's wrath abate, His mercy shown,
still, Pharaoh's heart was set in stone.

One final plague befell the land,
one final plague from God's own hand,
"Thus says the LORD,"
"About midnight I am going into the midst of Egypt."

Firstborn flesh, be old or fresh,
all be marked with plague of death,
Sovr'n choice, distinction seal,
as clay from the Potter's wheel,
appointed time, sun pealed back,
revealing midnight hour black.

Shadow thick, His Presence there,
sensed by all, in Egypt's air,
yet O LORD, the Hebrews Thine,
covered now beneath Thy sign.

"‘The blood shall be a sign for you
on the houses where you live;
and when I see the blood I will pass over you,
and no plague will befall you to destroy you
when I strike the land.'"

Unblemished Lamb, Christ therein,
prefigured He, slain for sin.

"Now the time that the sons of Israel
lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years."

Through the wilderness to go,
with Joseph's bones in coffin tow.

"Pillar of cloud by day",
"Pillar of fire by night",
God's abiding Presence,
to lead them in the way that's right.

But "Pharaoh…had a change of heart".

Pharaoh's chariot readied he,
all the host of Egypt seethed,
God hardened Pharaoh's heart,
Pharaoh free, yet plays his part.

Egyptian rider, horse and sword,
the people cried unto the LORD.

Clouded pillar now recede,
protracted rear guard it be,
Moses stretched forth his hand,
the people walked in sea on land.

"At the morning watch, the LORD looked down",
"through the pillar of fire and cloud",
God prepared the watery grave,
their sea shroud.

Moses' outstretched hand sealed their fate,
the sea returned to normal state.

His mighty wonders now behold,
their senses now restored,
believed they now in the man called Moses,
"The people feared the LORD".

"Then Moses and the sons of Israel
sang this song to the LORD, and said,
‘I will sing to the LORD, for He is
highly exalted; The horse and its rider
He has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
The LORD is a warrior;
The LORD is His name.'"

The Pharaoh's chariot, and his host,
into the sea, no more to boast,
down, down, sea depths dread,
liquid tombs house the dead.

"Your right hand O LORD,
is majestic in power,
Your right hand O LORD,"
to silence their chatter.

"‘Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
awesome in praises, working wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.'"
"‘The LORD shall reign forever and ever.'"

Rejoice! Rejoice! Israel rejoice!
The LORD has proven you His choice.

Dance ye women, ye ladies dance,
Miriam, Miriam, praise & prance.

"Miriam answered them,
‘Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.'"

Through the wilderness of sin,
apropos their hearts within.

Bumble, rumble, stumble, mumble,
against Moses now the people grumble.

‘Why do "you test the LORD?"', said he,
‘your shackles broke, He set you free!
Yet cry you now of food and drink,
as if God would bring you to the brink,
to leave you in the desert dry,
to leave your needs unsatisfied'.

‘Sins, sins, beget thy kind,
repent thy sins from out thy mind,
Massah is this piece of sod,
for here it was you tested God'.

Great God doth speak forth unto Moses,
"‘Behold, I will stand before you
there on the rock at Horeb;
and you shall strike the rock,
and water will come out of it,
that the people may drink.'
And Moses did so in the sight
of the elders of Israel."

To Horeb's Rock, the people nigh,
the water flowed to testify,
life sustaining in that hour,
the Christ to come in word and power,
the water's well, upward spring,
eternal life this water brings.

Moses' burden, heavy laden,
judge's robe, his peoples' plight,
they thronged his bench both day and night.

Moses' father-in-law, saw and heard,
his mind and heart did grow concerned,
Jethro now, he dared encroach,
to Moses now, he dared reproach.

Dear reader, please stay! Don't go,
digression now seems apropos,
digression's riddle to thee fly,
digression's riddle, dare to try?

Here it is:
"What has four legs in the morning,
two legs in the afternoon,
and three legs in the evening?....
A human being"

The baby crawls all fours on floor,
the helpless babe can do no more.

Yet grow he does,
his feet, his hands,
upright he walks,
upright he stands.

Then, in the twilight,
strength doth wane,
he stands to rest,
upon his cane.

The bald and the grey,
their counsel seek,
Jeroboam's future sin, dare not repeat.

Jethro now speaks,
Moses bends listening ear,
with head bowed low, in humble fear,
speaketh there a sage of old,
his words rung true, refined like gold.

Moses, Prophet, man of God,
traverses, dwells, on holy sod.
God did impart, a shepherd's heart.

He guides the flock,
with tenderness,
guides them he,
through wilderness.

Traveled they, familial band,
traveled they, the Hebrew clan,
o'er the sand, feet did trod,
till ere they spied the mount of God.

Covenantal grace bestowed,
on fallen Adam, sinner low,
though Adam left his first estate,
God's pact of love, for Christ's dear sake.

God's covenant of grace extend,
all God's chosen to attend,
Noahic compact, Great God did make,
the world to save for Christ's dear sake.

God's covenant again extend,
all God's chosen to attend,
Abrahamic compact make,
household claimed for Christ's dear sake.

To children of parental faith,
God's covenant impart,
for children of believing ones,
are special to God's heart.

Again, again, covenant extend,
all God's chosen to attend,
at Sinai's mount, God's finger hone,
Christ's law of love, there set in stone.

God's presence there, top Sinai's mount,
from one to ten, Great God did count,
the law of God, His finger hone,
burned, ere etched, twin tablets stone.

His moral law, from age to age,
on heart, on stone, on written page.

Suggestions? Nay! Commandments true,
reiterate for our review.

Great God abhors idolatry,
no other God's beside Him be.

Accommodation human tongue,
descriptive words by God be rung,
thou shall not fashion imagery,
for God emotes jealousy.

Thou shall not take that Name in vain,
for if you do, you'll reap the pain.

Call to mind that holy day,
consecrated it must stay.

Labors strain, in six day test,
but Sabbath day be one of rest.

Obey the LORD, this first stands true,
yet, submission more required you,
pedestaled parents doth be your mirth,
thy life extend upon the earth.

Thou shall not kill, in vengeance quake,
reflection too, no life do take.

Intimacy bound, union holy,
to thy promise true,
God did join their flesh as one,
unique relation's hue.

In all God's ways, thy hands commit,
thy thoughts be captive holy writ.

Tongue enclosed by pearls of white,
liberty seeks to speak the right.

Subdue desires of malice wants,
cravings must abate,

"Love thy neighbor as thyself",
content with first estate.

Glory clothed Sinai's mount,
Moses climbed nigh the fount,
God called to Moses,
"from the midst of the cloud",
Israelites no longer proud.

Their eyes, now indeed grew dire,
God's glory, "like a consuming fire".

Trepidation Moses be,
within the midst of cloud goes he,
"Forty days and forty nights",
he spent with God, ere out of sight.

Testimony tablets, twain tomes,
God's mind & heart etched ere in stone,
man of God descend from high,
hoary heights, Sovr'n sky,
instant revelation see,
sin, sin, debauchery.

‘Ah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
"Moses' anger burned" aloud,
golden calf, dancing crowd.

Twin tablets freshly hewed,
from out the fountain,
shattered now,
"At the foot of the mountain."

Out of his mind with holy zeal,
righteous anger, woe and weal,
Moses burned the calf to fire,
ground to powder,
scattered ire,
scattered powder ne'er did sink,
for Moses made "The sons of Israel drink".

"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp,
and said, ‘Whoever is for the LORD,
come to me!' And all the sons of Levi
gathered together to him."

Sword upon the thigh did bear,
dirth and death doth fill the air,
civil slayings in the camp,
God's holy zeal through Moses' stamp.

Swords drawn, the Levite men,
to their brothers, to their friends,
to their neighbors, they did slay,
"About three thousand men of the people fell that day."

"Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses
face to face,
just as a man speaks to his friend."

‘Great LORD, I've brought up the people,
now in dismay,
But now, who will lead and light our way?
"But You Yourself have not let me know
whom You will send with me",
to lead and to show'.
"Now therefore, I pray You,
if I have found favor in your sight,
let me know Your ways
that I may know You,"

‘Thine eyes, sweet LORD, upon me flow,
thy favor grant, and Thine bestow,
consider too, Thy Hebrew clan,
sinners yea, yet here we stand,
"If Your presence does not go with us,
do not lead us up from here",
for without Thine Presence, be doubt, be fear'.

Great God doth speak:
"‘My presence shall go with you,
and I will give you rest.'"

Holy vocals, heaven send,
Creator…creature…Friend to friend,
common condescension go,
Triune God, to Moses low.

"I pray You, show me Your glory!"
"I Myself will make all My goodness pass before You",
‘this I shall give,
‘but "you cannot see My face and live!"

Within the cleft of hither rock,
the LORD'S own hand, protects the flock.

Glory veiled by Glory's hand,
till Glory pass, and Moses stand,
God's Presence dwells outside the cleft,
his servant near, and yet bereft,
God's back now bare,
those hind parts rare,
yet face no man can see.

Moses' face shone out bright,
spoke he, there to Him,
reflector now, of Divinity's light.

Israel's sons behold that skin,
sore afraid "to come near him",
God's glory speaks on Moses' face,
that face now veiled, to veil such grace,
yet veil removed and glory shone,
when Moses speaks with God alone.

"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting,
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting
because the cloud had settled on it,
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."

The tabernacle's glory thrills,
the LORD of glory now doth fill,
the covenantal Shepherd lead,
His covenantal Church to feed.

His Presence stays their course aright,
the cloud by day, the fire by night.

"For throughout all their journeys,
the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle
by day and there was fire in it by night,
in the sight of all the house of Israel."