Greetje: New page: {{info}} (The original of this poem is entitled, "Shadrach's Sacrifice." It was read on November 28, 1993) The moon was full and ashen-white,
Like death. And in its borrowed li...

Greetje — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:56:01 GMT

New page: {{info}} (The original of this poem is entitled, "Shadrach's Sacrifice." It was read on November 28, 1993) The moon was full and ashen-white, Like death. And in its borrowed li...

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(The original of this poem is entitled, "Shadrach's Sacrifice." It was read on November 28, 1993)

The moon was full and ashen-white, Like death. And in its borrowed light The golden image of the king Of Babylon lay glimmering And broken on the trampled field Of Dura. So undone! Unhealed, But not, alas, unworshiped. There, Six cubits tall, the fragments, square And jagged from the fall, cast pale And yellow shadows like a veil Around the bent and chanting brood Of worshipers, with relics hewed From ancient idols to the prince Raku, the god of night, long since Passé, forgotten by the mass Of Babylon, but in one class, Revered and pacified with blood. Four-thousand years the fatal flood Of men and beasts had satisfied The thirst of Raku and his pride. Sumerians, long dead, once bowed Before the moon and built his proud And golden image in the plain Of Dura long before the stain Of Babylon exalted Bel And Nebo, hoping to compel The ancient cults to bow and leave Their gods, to come of age and cleave To newer deities—or so They said. But little did they know— The court, the nobles, nor his wife— The king himself had sealed his life With blood and oath to offer up A sacrifice so he could sup With Raku every new full moon. Nebuchadnezzar, every noon, Would pay his dues to Bel, but then Each month, in total secret, when The moon was full, he led the cult To chant and kill and then consult Raku, in hopes to learn his fate, And how to make his kingdom great.

This night there would be secret death. The king would offer up the breath And blood of man to satisfy The rage of Raku. One must die Because, unknown to all who came And bowed down in the royal name Before the image of the king, It was a secret worshiping Of Raku and the moon. That day The king had heard his soldiers say, "Three Jews refuse to bow before Your golden shrine. Do not ignore This insolence or none will fear Your royal throne." "Go, bring them near," Nebuchadnezzar said, and tensed Inside, as if he briefly sensed There was a power near he dare Not touch, or even worse, a snare. "Tell me your names that I may know Whom I shall kill." "Abednego." "Meshach." Then silence. "You, young man, Your name!" Silence again. "I can, You know, burn you to ashes in This furnace now. Your name! You'll win A quicker death." "You know my name. It has not changed. It is the same As when you gave it years ago. 'Shadrach', but now, O king, I know The meaning." "Silence, Jew! One thing I want to hear! Will you now bring Your tribute to the image I Have made of Bel, or will you die?"

 Shadrach replied, "This is no shrine To Bel, you know that well. Resign Your cultic fraud, O king, and learn That there is one true God! Discern This day by choice or force, the Lord Alone is God and will afford His servants safety in the flames In spite of all your haughty claims. And should He not, let it be known To you, O king, we will not own Your image nor bow down before Your gold and fragile shrine. What's more, If we should die, then we will die, And trust Jehovah, God Most High, To save us from the ashes of Your furnace floor. His steadfast love And passion for his own make your Frail flames feel sweet like winter's pure And passing snow. If we should live Or if we die, we will not give Allegiance . . . to the moon." The word So stunned the king, he shook and slurred The edict as he spoke: "Make this Flame seven-fold, like the abyss Of Abaddon, and we shall see How crisp a brazen Jew can be."

But God was gracious in the fire; Not one stitch of their plain attire Was even singed. And when they stood Before the king they said, "Firewood Was meant to come from mighty trees. We thank you, king, for choosing these. But since your flames have our limbs spurned, Perhaps your idol should be burned?" But Shadrach said, "Or, better, strewn In golden bits beneath the moon."

And so it was. The fickle crowd Pulled down the god to which they bowed. And left its pieces on the plain With echoes from the king: "Long reign Jehovah over sky and sea! Long reign Jehovah over me! And over Bel, and Nebo too." But Shadrach whispered, "And Raku."

Now in the middle of the night The moon was full, and in its light The king could see his sacrifice Lashed tight, with moistened leather thrice Against a golden segment of The massive god. "Fits like a glove, Shadrach," Nebuchadnezzar said. "And very soon you will be dead. Raku will not be mocked and let His honor like an unpaid debt Lie trampled in the field. But first Tell me, Shadrach, how are you versed In things so secret that you know The ways of Raku even though My kingdom thinks I bow alone To Bel and Nebo? None has known For all my years but this small flock That I am his. Tell me, Shadrach, How did you know?" "You thought, O king, That in my name the hidden thing Was this: Raku commands and I Obey. Is that, O king, not why You changed my name to Shad-Rach when I came from Judah almost ten Long years ago—and to my shame! You thought by this to lay his claim On me. But my God spoke to me And said, 'Fear not, my son, nor be In dread. This pagan name means not That Raku rules your soul, or what This king had thought. It means, in fact, "Raku commands" but no contract That you obey or ever yield.' And so, O king, as on the field, Today I stood against your god, So here tonight against your rod."

Nebuchadnezzar scoffed, "Do you Think that Jehovah will now do For you again some trick and get You free tonight? Although he let Me trick the whole empire today When I put Meshach on display And said to all the realm that you Abednego and he would do The work of governors and rule At my right hand? The world’s a fool And easy to beguile, not me, Not by a Jewish refugee! Shadrach, no trick tonight will get You free. My sword has never yet Failed when the moon is full. Tell me, Shadrach, do you believe that He Will come?" "I do, O king, but not The way you think. When you have got The blood you need and I am dead, Then he will come, just as he said, For me . . . and you." "And when did he Say this, Shadrach?" "Did you not see, O king, a fourth man in the fire? And do you not, O king, desire To know who that man was? He had A word for me . . . and you. He bade Me on this night to give my life. He said he would not stay the knife As he had done the flame, but then, When I am dead, he'd come again. He said that I should now reclaim That Hananiah is my name: 'Jehovah will be gracious' now, And not to me alone." "And how, Pray tell, when you are dead, will he Be kind and gracious unto me?"

"Each month my blood will cover all The moon, and night by night this ball Of blood will rob your sleep with dreams And turn your pride to fear and screams, Until you lose your mind and eat Grass like an ox, and on your feet The nails grow long like eagles’ claws For seven months and all the flaws Of Raku drip with madd'ning pulse Dissolving all your pride and cults. And thus, O king, the tables turn. The Lord is gracious, come and learn: You gave a deadly name, a sign; Now dying I will give you mine."

Behold the light in candle three, Of Hananiah doubly free. A furnace flames and then a sword, And both are mercy from the Lord. The Lord is gracious giving breath The Lord is gracious giving death. For either way the Lord is gain, We neither live nor die in vain.

Nebuchadnezzar, Part 3 - Revision history

Greetje: New page: {{info}} (The original of this poem is entitled, "Shadrach's Sacrifice." It was read on November 28, 1993) The moon was full and ashen-white,Like death. And in its borrowed li...

Greetje: New page: {{info}} (The original of this poem is entitled, "Shadrach's Sacrifice." It was read on November 28, 1993) The moon was full and ashen-white,
Like death. And in its borrowed li...