Sandra Haynes, who attended this year’s Convocation, applied her poetry skills to encapsulate some of the keys points the speakers made from the writings of the minor prophets. For the poetry lovers out there, you will be richly blessed by this gift of poetic insight from Sandra:
Hosea, Prophet of God
Hosea was a prophet who received a strange commission,
Instructed by God to marry a whore, it was a strange position.
The situation was a chance to teach an object lesson,
When Israel turned her face from God and lacked sincere confession.
God’s tender love conceived a plan to wake His people up,
For they had worshipped other gods and then became corrupt.
The prophet was a type of Christ; the whore was much like us:
God’s lost and erring children, created from the dust.
Thinking to enrich themselves by sinful lovers fair,
God’s people chose a worldly way, which was to them a snare.
Though God had taken special care to meet their every need,
Yet they had turned their hearts from Him, their selfish souls to please.
God hedged His people’s way about and sought to wall them in,
To steer them from idolatry, which was their grievous sin.
In time He wooed them back again, so they would realize,
That He had always blessed them with the things they should have prized.
Whenever self gets in the way, calamity occurs,
God’s way is proved the better way, despite what man prefers.
The story shows the magnitude of God’s redeeming love,
And what He’ll do to point the way and lift man’s eyes above.
Assurance
Because we hail from Adam’s stock, there’s something that we lack,
When things don’t happen fast enough, somehow we will react.
We find we lack the patience just to sit around and wait,
For things we asked for long ago and still anticipate.
Where are you, God? Are You still there? And don’t You understand?
For waiting and uncertainty were never in my plan.
Yet pain and trouble came my way and family problems, too,
I am bereft, for what is left? I don’t know what to do.
I know You have the answers, Lord; Your book has told me so,
Your providence is hid from me; it’s not for me to know.
Your people languish in this world with equity amiss,
They cling to hope and promises of happiness and bliss.
We grope in shadows of this life and look for comfort here,
Yet comfort has eluded us; we wrestle with our fear.
Oh, God of Job and Jacob, too; they wrestled with you then,
And pleaded for deliverance, which only You could send.
Because You heard their plaintive cry, I know You’ll hear me, too,
And though I may not hear Your voice, I know just what to do.
For I have found Your faithfulness is all I’ll ever need,
And that Your words are bread enough on which my soul can feed.
The Force of Love
The Jews desired their coming King to take the Romans out,
And raise the Jewish banner high, their enemy to rout.
But when Messiah came to earth, He had a different plan,
He breathed another attitude to spread throughout the land.
He said His kingdom wasn’t here, or else His men would fight,
He didn’t come to start a war, but came to bright the light.
For words of truth came forth from Him when counsel would unfold,
His weaponry was charity—not swords or sabers bold.
A healing touch was in His hand; He catered to the needy,
He minced no words of strong rebuke to patronize the greedy.
He preached His gospel on the hills and from a fishing boat,
And quieted a raging storm to keep some men afloat.
He healed the sick, the lame, the blind, with just a simple touch,
He even brought the dead to life, now rescued from its clutch.
Because He was not violent, but humble, pure, and kind,
He wasn’t the Deliverer they featured in their mind.
His mode of operation was of love and not of force,
Because of that, they set about to criticize His course.
Jealous of His following, their anger knew no end,
Until it festered into hate, in which death would descend.
The use of force is not God’s plan; He uses love to win,
He shares with men His gracious heart to coax them not to sin.
He proves Himself a gentleman by giving men a choice,
And though He’s kind and patient, He will have the final voice.
The True Temple
When the Jewish temple was being built, it came to a sudden halt,
So twenty years later when Haggai came, he dealt with the grievous fault.
“While the temple lies in ruins,” he said, “you dwell in your houses fair,
No wonder the Lord cannot bless you now, for you act like you really don’t care.”
The Lord stirred their spirits to build His house, while Zerubbabal tried to lead out,
Though problems arose, they muddled on through, but when finished, no one gave a shout.
Although the temple was finished and done, with the first one, it couldn’t compare,
For Solomon’s temple outshone it by far, with all its accoutrements there.
Yet God had remarked of this temple new, “I will fill this place with my glory,”
And in it, all nations of earth would be blessed as part of Israel’s story.
For it wasn’t the building that would make Israel great, but Messiah would walk in its halls,
Bringing the glory of heaven to all who would answer Christ’s passionate calls.
In the new earth, we’re told that no temple will be, for Christ is its temple so fair,
He excels any building that one could erect, and He’ll dwell with His people there.
For although earthly temples were needed below, the true one is Jesus, our Friend,
With whom we will worship with unrestrained joy in that city where time has no end.
To learn more about the minor prophets, you can download and listen to the entire 21-part series for free.
Light Bearers
Light Bearers' mission is to vindicate the beauty of God’s character. As the immensely blessed recipients of God’s grace, we possess an abundance of life-transforming truth and we deeply desire to share it with every person on earth.
