Elijah by Peter Bardsley

Elijah was a prophet of the God of Israel

That he had many enemies it is not hard to tell.

The foremost was the wicked queen whose name was Jezebel.
Ahab refused to trust the Lord and with him have compliance
Preferring with a heathen neighbour to make a close alliance;

To seal the deal he took the princess Jezebel to wife

And she certainly did nothing to uncomplicate his life.

Yes he took to wife the idolatrous Jezebel,

It seemed that she cast over him a wicked magic spell,

Ahab erected a great image of the idol Baal

And led many Jews to worship at its sad corral.

Hundreds of heathen prophets now ate from the public purse
Which especially in a time of drought became an awful curse.
God then sent Elijah to tell the wicked king

That years of drought would now begin and cause great suffering.

The Lord then led his servant beside a little creek

Where he found good water but no friend with whom to speak.
By the crows the Lord commanded he would be quite well fed

In the morning and eventide they brought both meat and bread.

When the water failed God let him to a neighbouring land

A widow there would feed him at the Lord’s command.

He finally arrived at Zarephath &though a little late,

He met the lady gathering sticks just outside the gate

He asked her for some water and a slice of bread.

“Good sir, I’m almost out of flour, then we two will be dead.”

“The Lord has surely promised that both flour &oil will last,

You only need to trust him, not think back to your past.”

The lady’s troubles however were not so quickly done,

A fever overtook then killed her only son.

She wondered if the Lord was now punishing her for sin,

And sadly asked the prophet if he would pray within.

He had never made a more intense effort in his prayers

Then carried the small body to a bed upstairs.

Happily the boy was soon reunited with his mother

Who said “The Lord is now my God, I’ll never serve another.”

The Lord then told his servant to challenge Ahab and Jezebel

To gather all Baal’s prophets to the top of Mount Carmel.

They both would make n altar of well fitted stones

On the wood then lay a bullock, all the flesh and bones.

But they must never light a match, or kindle any fire,

The god who could not send it down would be proved a liar.

The God who could not send it down from his lofty station,

Would be proven but a figment of mans imagination,

Baal’s prophets jumped and danced and cut themselves with blades,

Elijah chuckled, knowing he held the ace of spades.

They tired themselves completely,they jumped&danced all day,

Come on boys he mocked he’s likely far away,on a much needed relaxing holiday

Or perhaps he’s on the toilet badly constipated,

The laxatives he uses, may be quite outdated,

Their exhausting exertion & frantic antics almost made the prophet weep,

They shouted louder and yet louder, yet no one heard a peep.

On second thoughts he mused,he could be just enjoying wondrous beauty sleep,

Or perhaps he’s on the toilet badly constipated,

The laxatives he uses totally outdated’

If diarrhea is the problem hour after hour,

He may have messed his underpants & now is just enjoying a good hot cleansing shower,

Or if his prostate is enlarged & urine he cant pass,

He could be dribbling half an hour to void a tiny glass,

If hes doing yoga feeling greatly stressed,

He may not answer any prayers being to depressed,
& if depression is so severe his life he cant abide,

He might have climbed the story bridge to jump & suicide.

But perhaps dementia is the trouble,his brain could be quite addled,

He may think hes in a canoe & up the river paddled,

Or if hes really very old & ALZ has possessed his brain,

He might then be acting as if quite insane,
He may even now be thinking,

Ive dirtied my nappy & its really stinking,

That is such a frightful stink,
My bottom must be really pink,

Why is mommy just so brash,
Ive got such itchy nappy rash,

Surely shes not out of cash,
Her thinking just seems so outdated,

So completely antiquated,
I must be fully compensated,

Only then will I feel vindicated,

A great crowd had gathered to watch this fascinating duel,

With water they now saturated meat,& stones and fuel.

Elijah then prayed with confidence
‘Dear Lord this one thing do,

That all the people once again will worship only you.”

Then With a fearful searing sound the fire of the Lord fell down
Consuming rocks and sacrifice and leaving a hole within the ground.

The people all fell prostrate before the Lord that day.

Elijah said ‘Kill all those frauds, not one must get away.”

The prophet then told Ahab, he’d better head for home,

Or flooding rain would keep him from reaching his throne.

God gave his servant strength to run before chariot and horse,
But the mighty effort exhausted him of course.

After all the great exertion he surely felt greatly stressed

And Jezebel’s threat against his life made him even more depressed.

So the Lord led him to a quiet spot for much needed rest.

“I’m no better than my fathers” he said unto the Lord.
“
Just take me home, dear Saviour, for
you are Mighty God.

This wicked king and queen have made me greatly stressed

I’m so longing to be with you Lord, to enjoy eternal rest.”

So he anointed Elisha as a prophet in his room,

And a fiery chariot lifted him out of earthly gloom,

Yes he anointed Elisha as a prophet in his stead

And a chariot of fire lifted him safely up to God.

We to must also fight for truth and ever faithful be

We’ll meet many like Elijah in a glad eternity.

Copyright ©:  Peter Bardsley

End of the poem

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