The Tramp

Date: 3rd August 03

Text : 1 kings 17:8-16

Title: The Tramp

Today was a good day to die

not a cloud in the sky

But that was nothing unusual

Clouds had become a rarity recently

Haven’t seen one for months

Today was a good day to die

Gather up a few sticks

cook the last morsels of food

and wait for the birds

to pick our dead bones clean

Then he appeared

THE TRAMP

SAID HE had walked 70 miles

from a dry brook in Israel

SAID His name was ......

something Jewish and unprouncable

Slicker or HE..LIKE..HER .......Whatever

SAID his name meant .. My god is Jehovah

SAID he had shut up the skies

Stopped the rain

Him !!!

Everyone knows our God Baal

is the only one with the power over rain

Him indeed!!

Oh yes, he also said that Ravens had fed him

till the stream dried up

FOOL !!

Never heard of anyone

getting anything off a raven

without losing the tip of their finger first

RAVENS INDEED

70 Miles in the sun must have affected him

So when he asked for water and food

I certainly wasn’t going to argue

with a madman

I was right about the sun

he said my oil and flour would never run out

whilst the drought was on

SURE ....SURE

I BELIEVE THAT !!!!

More likely it is him that will run out

soon as he has a full belly

Off to nearby Sidon City, for better pickings

He’ll get a lot more there

than flour and oil

But knock me down with an Ashereth Pole

He was right

Every day I fed him

And as I gave away what I had

It was immediately given back

Baal, my God, is good

But I never heard of him doing a miracle before

HE..LIKE..HER said it was his God

But I never believed that

Well .............. not until that awful day.

The tramp had made himself at home

been here for ages

And I quiet liked

having a man around the place

He had become part of the furniture

Well if we had any furniture.. he would have

Then my son fell ill

got worse and worse.... till ..... he ...... died !

I thought we’d be ok

Food every day

A man around to protect us

My son he died ...just died

WHY.....WHY.... WHY ??

What had I done wrong ?

Was Baal punishing me for helping a stranger?

Wait a minute ...............

......THIS TRAMP

That’s it

If he could keep us alive with food

He could just as easily kill us

Jezebel was his enemy

We were her people

So we were his enemies too!!

NEVER TRUST A JEW

I was told as a girl

I should have listened

I faced him with this

Asked him

What have we done to you

Why have you done this

He didn’t answer

He didn’t argue

Then I knew I was right

He just took my dead son

and walked into another room

For all his posh words

I knew I couldn’t trust him

Then .......... sorry I find it difficult

to speak about this ........... without crying

Well ...my.....boy.......was..........................

Suddenly standing in front of me

...W..Well and alive again

The only person I had left in the world

had been returned ......... given back to me

If you’ve ever lost some one close

you’ll understand what that means !!

For a long time I said nothing

Just held him and ........ sobbed

I cried enough tears

to refill our countries empty streams

Now I believed

Knew this man had shut up the skies

Knew he had been fed by Ravens

And knew that from this day on

Jehovah would also be my God as well

Who would have believed

that the death of a child

could bring Glory to God

and honour to a prophet

Glory to God on high

Who replaces what is given

And who renews what is lost

Glory be to Jehovah

For ever and ever and... Ever

AMEN