THE SONS OF ABRAHAM
All have heard of Babylon, but long before her time,
Chaldea ruled the ancient world, and worshipped gods malign,
‘Til there came a man named Abraham, who would not bend his knee,
Telling of a single God, Creator of all that be.
* * * * *
Now, he left his home at God’s command, with tribe and family,
Headed south to Canaan land, to fulfill the prophecy,
Oh, that nations shall rise from this man,
To praise the God of Abraham,
And, so that no man may misunderstand,
I tell the Hebrew, and the Christian, and the Moslem,
To remind them once again,
* * * * *
Of Ishmael, and Isaac, Esau, and Jacob, Joseph, and Jonah,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, Mohamet,
Selah, the sons of Abraham are one,
For the sons of Abraham are one.
* * * * *
There were three trees in an ancient forest,
An apple, a pear, and a plum,
Each laden with fruit in obedience to the Creator’s design,
And each equally beloved by the Lord of the Wood.
* * * * *
But, one day a voice whispered to the apple,
“Look, see how the pear does not show its speckles to honor the Lord,”
And the apple looked, and it was so.
The pear had no speckles.
* * * * *
Then, to the pear, the voice whispered,
“Look, see how the plum does not grow large to honor the Lord,”
And the pear looked, and it was so.
The plum was small.
* * * * *
Then, the voice spoke to the plum,
“Look, see how the apple shines to mimic the Lord,”
And the plum looked, and it was so.
The apple was radiant.
* * * * *
So, the three trees began accusing each other of not obeying, and serving the Lord,
And they began to flail their branches,
Knocking off each other’s fruit, to fall to the ground, to crack and split,
No longer able to serve the Lord of the Wood.
And, the whispering voice laughed.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, a starving pilgrim had lost his way in the wood,
And collapsed at the base of the three trees.
But, as he fell, his outstretched hand landed upon some of the broken fruit,
And he clutched at it, and drew it to him.
* * * * *
From each, he found that which was good,
And left the damaged, and spoiled, to decay and rot,
And, as he ate, he gave praise to the Lord of the Wood,
For the provender of the three fruit trees,
And there he remained in prayer.
* * * * *
Now, the three trees continued to battle,
But, the voice laughing, was heard by the Lord of the Wood,
And, when he saw how His trees had been beguiled, and changed, His anger was great,
And with a command, banished the whispering voice to a realm of silence.
* * * * *
But, still the trees battled on,
And, because their anger was a danger to the rest of the forest,
The Lord of the Wood raised a mighty wind to swirl about them,
And uproot them, and cast them from the forest,
And it began to shake them, and rip them free from the earth.
* * * * *
But, the swirling wind also caught up the pilgrim,
And, spinning, raised him high above the three trees,
Where, with uplifted hands, he cried,
“Oh, Lord, have mercy on these trees,
For I lay dying, and they sustained me.
Even, their broken fruit did so.
Have mercy, Lord, for they yet feed your pilgrims.”
* * * * *
And the Lord of the Wood heard the pilgrim’s prayer,
And showed mercy upon them.
“Why do you quarrel?” He asked.
“Are you not each, as I have made you?
Do you not each bear fruit, in size and shape, by My design?
Do you not spring from the same ancient root?”
* * * * *
“Hear, and obey.
You shall feed the pilgrims, --
The faithful, the obedient, and the righteous,
Each as your fruit does bear, and quarrel no more,
For you are branches of a Great Tree,
And serve, but one Lord.”
* * * * *
Oh, that nations shall rise from this man,
To praise the God of Abraham,
And, so that no man may misunderstand,
I tell the Hebrew, and the Christian, and the Moslem,
To remind them once again,
* * * * *
Of Ishmael, and Isaac, Esau, and Jacob, Joseph, and Jonah,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, Mohamet,
Selah, the sons of Abraham are one,
For the sons of Abraham are one.
* * * * *
All have heard of Babylon, but long before her time,
Chaldea ruled the ancient world, and worshipped gods malign,
‘Til there came a man named Abraham, who would not bend his knee,
Telling of a single God, Creator of all that be.