23 John Roddam Spencer Stanhope - The vision of Ezekiel - Valley of the Dry Bones, Photo by 50 Watts © May 27 2010. To see more work by 50 Watts, visit http://50watts.com/ In February, I had the opportunity to teach my 12th Grade Bible Class the Major Prophet Ezekiel. I was very excited about this because I love the book of Ezekiel. Since 2009, I have been putting the book into poetry. Most of Ezekiel uses poetic imagery and I knew that we would have some creative assignments as part of our learning collaboration on this amazing book of the Bible. One of our assignments encouraged drawing a picture, or writing a poem. I was not disappointed. The students delivered some amazingly well thought out and creative responses to the assignment. One of the poems was particularly well done. “I Will Know,” by Alexandra Beneche, put the valley of dry bones, from Ezekiel 37, as well as other imagery and words from Ezekiel, to poetry, along with the reoccurring message from God, “Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”
The following is “I Will Know,” reposted with permission from Alexandra.
Guest Post - I Will Know - By Alexandra Beneche
I Will Know
(Inspired by Ezekiel 37)
I want to know that You are the Lord,
Lead me to streams that I must ford
Shake the mountains and calm the seas,
Whisper to me ’tween the barks of the trees
Light my path, show me the way,
Darken my nights and brighten my days.
Shame me, disgrace me, show me my fool,
Then wash it away, as the sheep’s warm wool.
The valley is dead; disgusting and torn.
The valley is dead; lost and forlorn.
The valley is dead; in doom and sin.
The valley dead; no one can win.
Bones and dust, malice and lust;
Can these bones live? They must, they must.
Bring me to the temple; show me your glory;
Heal my mind and tell me a story.
What are stones? To be held in my heart?
Cast them aside! Make them depart!
Break the earth as I stand on my feet.
Power! Strength! Fire! No one can defeat!
Sit on Your throne, rest Your feet on this land
Four-faced and winged, on hooves they stand
Then silence, the end, the fat lady has sung.
I opened my eyes and stretched out my lungs.
And there in the stillness, a soft voice that said:
I am for you! Don’t fret, rest your head.
Then peace like a rainbow fills my insides.
I’m running… and jumping! No longer I hide!
Restored, oh redeemed; I could never afford,
And then I WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE LORD!
© February 2012, Alexandra Beneche
