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Chapter
29
AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Take a child, a boy of 11, and set him to hold his hands in piety. Place upon him a talis of tichales and white, having him gird in black. Teach him to repeat: “Give me, my father, whatsoever I ask of thee.” Let him bow three times before his father. Let him approach and walk around him thrice. Let him say: “Give me my bread and I will help thee when thou art old.” And when his father in the midst thereof doth strike him on the cheek for his selfishness, say unto Israel, SO SAITH THE LORD UNTO THEE!
Is this not this Israel before me? saith the LORD. So have I seen their insincerity. So do I see vain gestures, and empty words do I hear all the day long. Away with it! My soul loatheth it! Your souls are not made cleaner for the vanity of your words. They make you not clean but filthy.
Behold, foolish people, man is not greater than God. He is not deeper than the ALMIGHTY. His eyes are not sharper that the LORD is so dim. Nor is his perception so sensitive that the LORD is dull. There is no creature that can make itself small enough to escape his wrath, nor is there one so base as to be unworthy of his salvation.
But the haughtiness of this people maketh them dumb to reason. Are ye not moved to indignation and can ye not see the selfish acts of your children when they supplicate in such a manner? Shall you endure them? I think not, saith the LORD.
But this people is ignorant, saith the LORD. They lift up a shield of my law; on the outer face thereof it is written for all to see, but their face is to the underbelly wherein is written their own law: ‘Thou shalt seek thy want more than anything.’ O ye hard hearted and foolish hypocrites! Ye cannot keep my law without first your heart. Behold, it is right, saith the LORD, that I should smite you grievously this time; that I should strike your shield and break it, that ye may bend to pick up the pieces and there again see its face and my laws written thereon, lest the world should say of my great name, He spoke not unto us from Horeb.
My mouth shall devour you, and the sword of my vengeance shall cut your hearts. Speak now, and declare if you can, when I commanded in a corner that ye should love the LORD your God. Set your mind to recall. I cannot not, saith the LORD. I mumbled it not from under a stone that ye did not hear; but the whole mountain quaked at my word.
Turn ye unto the LORD from now on and forevermore. Plunge your hearts into the LORD and rest ye there assured. For surely the LORD saith, the God of hosts, This shall silence the impious lips. Justifying tongues I do not hear. It is as language to the deaf. But love the LORD your God more than anything, and then shall your prayers issue from your soul and the LORD shall say: This day I have heard you. This day I have made your fears acceptable. Then shall ye know he is deeper than a father and more knowing than the wisest of men.
I see your heart and know your impiety, saith the LORD. Your words and rituals do not fool me. They make you not clean but filthy.
Chapter
30
THUS saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Hearken Judah, art thou not in captivity in thine own land? Hearken Jerusalem, art thou not the city of the great king, but abhorrest his crown? Why tremble ye at your neighbours? Is it not because ye have turned from me unto the land and because thou, O Jerusalem, abhorrest that which is thy glory? Now do the wise of your children walk in the nations as upon egg shells, and the man of wisdom placeth his forefinger upon his lips as counsel.
Yet though ye discern the times and their rough edges, ye cannot incline your heart to discern the ways of your God. Ye who pride in being my chosen pride not in him that chooseth thee, I the LORD. Ye know not even what ye are. There are those who say they are Jews and are not, so that they may milk your cow and gore your ox. Wherefore bring ye upon you men of different customs, brutish men, men of other religions who say they are Jews that they might live off your wealth? Because ye are foolish, saith the LORD, and know not even what ye are, also whereof setteth ye apart. Is this not remarkable, saith the LORD: the left hand and the right hand join only when ye sit on them.
Furthermore, saith the LORD, Did I scatter you amongst the nations that ye may settle by a neighbour, and say, Unclean, thou unclean! so that ye may boast of thy heritage? Nay, ye know me not, even what is clean and unclean.
Even in simple things have ye trespassed against the LORD your God; and your hearts have been double sided like a coin with two faces engraved thereon, in that ye have taken my gift and ye have straightaway thrown it back in my face, for I have heard you say of my Sabbaths, They are not a gift; and that my day of rest, It is a day of merit. Behold, ye have made my rest work, in that ye say there shall be merit from it. Ye break my law and ye mock my heart, saith the LORD. Keep my Sabbaths as a gift from me, not as an investment for a reward. Indeed, ye trespass in simple things.
Thou trespassest in more than this, and I the LORD have seen it. For thy heart is surely foolish before me, and thy fears are born in a cold and guilty soul. But thus saith the LORD, My thoughts are not the thoughts of a merchant, that I should set in store for a profit. Thou canst give me nothing; and if I commanded thee to keep in order to get a return I admit I have want. Then am I a merchant and not God, but I am as the dumb idols of the nations which need men to carry them. Are they not created by the mind first, before the hand layeth hold of a tool? So are the gods of the nations the potsherd by which men pour their own wisdom and from which they balm their own guilt.
Hast thou played upon the bands of Saturn? Hast thou put thy foot upon the dog star to rest thine arch? Hast thou set the galaxies in their place and began evening and morning so that all things revolve? Hast thou formed wisdom from thine own bowels? I need nothing from thee.
Canst thou count the number of my days? Wilt thou lead me when I am old when I have no age? Dost thou generate life from within thyself? I was not. Nor can I become, saith the LORD. I always am. I AM BEING. BEING I AM BEING.
If there is an act awaiting— behold, I am already there. Is there a time to come?— Lo, I have already formed it. How can thy rest make thee acceptable to me? I set thee at liberty that day, and thou madest it a burden. Indeed, your hearts trespass before me even in simple things.
Thus saith the LORD moreover unto this people, To what end did I say ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’ if thou knowest not love? Thou art not that far lost, O Israel, else would I destroy thee entirely. Children of this confused generation, hearken unto me! Thou art dumber than an animal if thou knowest not love.
Wilt thou claim my words were edited, that thou knewest not these things? If thou knowest to love thine own, thou knowest how to love the LORD more dearly.
Where is thy pride in my law, O man, for thou didst not add one measure to it, nor counsel me one iota in one of its jots? Yet thou actest as though it is thy glory that it proclaimeth rather than thy shame.
For if thou wert righteous, why then must I restrain thee with laws? If thou wert wisdom, why must I dress thee? If thou wert not a child, why should I feed thee?
Thou bitest mine hand, and braggest. Thou piercest the feet that led thee, and decry, It is not He. Indeed, thou trespassest even grave things.
Chapter
31
AND moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: Take unto thee a foolish child, an adolescent, that she smoke in the face of her mother who is ill and cannot bear the vapours of it.
When she cougheth, will she bless thee? With every breath shall she believe thy words of devotion?
Thus saith the LORD: So have I said I hate divorce. Why doest thou it then if thou lovest me? Why do the things that I hate and say “I love thee”? I will not be fooled. If thou lovest me thou wouldest do what I delight in and needest no commandment.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: Command a child in secret, tell him to take of thy soft and luscious cake a wedge and tell him when he walketh across the room, through the gathering of elders, that he pelt it in the face of a man.
How long shall it be before his father grab him by his arm and squeeze him until pain overfloweth his eyes? In shame shall he drag him from the room. In shame shall he leave and with stripes will he howl.
The LORD commandeth not good deeds to give thee righteousness, but to care for his creation. If thou canst not stand to see thy child abuse another and cause upon thee shame, what thinkest thou of God?
With what spirit did I breathe into Adam?—was it not mine own? saith the LORD. Thou art surely made in mine image, O man, and have no excuse in that day. Thou shalt cry “The love of God was different” and thou shalt be condemned.
I have no double weight, but thy love hath a double weight toward me: fat toward thine own and lean toward me. Therefore do good unto all men. Thou shalt receive no reward. Thou shalt do it unto the LORD, knowing they are thy Father’s property, and he doth care for what he hath made.
If thou lovest me, and admirest, and makest thy boast that thy God is thy father, then wilt thou love the works of mine hands. Thou doest well in all thy boastings if thy boast is not words but deeds.
Though I hate putting away, yet love I my works. All things are mine, and there is nothing that doth not belong to me, saith the LORD God.
If a wife is sore abused by her husband, then separate her from him and punish him alone, for he hath abused my property, and took no thought of what I made; for I will have mercy and not affliction, and the love of God over the potentate of men.
Other than this and adultery, if thou puttest away, thou doest the thing I hate. If the man repenteth of his arrogance before God, then let her return.
Search the book, make it sure, and see what is written therein of me. For a meal I overlooked rituals, for a full belly in them that love me did I cast aside my strictures. This covenant with David shall never pass. It is as the ordinances of matter. Unto them to whom I say Live, shall no man say Die; and unto those to whom I say, Friend, enjoy, be merry and be free, shall no one make into a servant. There is no more haughty person than he who maketh my covenant a burden to any. But a haughty person I will bring down.
David need not sacrifice and offer, but had a heart after mine own heart. Surely the mercies I showed unto David shall follow them that love me; and surely they who make my covenant with David a bargain shall I bring down. To him whom I call a son, I shall never make into an accused.
I spoke unto thee face to face and thou sawest me not. Wilt thou now believe me because now thou knowest I am God? Was it the mountain trembling that thou hearkenedst to, or is it the substance of my words?
Yea, had it been that thou wouldest have believed me though my voice was meek and my breath did not disturb straw.
Chapter
32
HEAR the naked truth, O Israel, and be ashamed at its telling! Let the veiled head bow, and the haughty thinker have confusion of face. Did I not free the black man, and bring to the dust empires? I multiplied the Arabian in the desert, and brought the Huns from the Steppes. I caused to inherit Britain the Anglos and the Saxons from the hinter forests and the Normans from France; and they are not yet removed from their lands. The Spanish came from Spain at my command, and the Americans from the uttermost parts. Mine eyes are upon my creation to do according to what my spirit listeth. Mine eyes too are upon them that love me, and my soul delighteth in him that keepeth my commandments.
Wherefore glory ye in your flesh, and wherein find ye rest in your land? Is your flesh and land more than I gave others? Then consider to what end I placed my name upon you, ye idle thinkers of Judaea. Then consider why ye are still in captivity and moreover scattered among the nations. And no man asketh: Wherefore hath his hand been so severe on us alone? Then hear ye this word: Thus saith the LORD, I shall not be severe on you after a time; but I shall gather you, and ye shall put down roots in Zion, and ye shall not be plucked up. Cast off your cynicism and your habits, and prepare ye for the day, for surely it cometh. I shall remove the jealous heart, and replace it with humble knowledge.
No more shall ye speak great swelling words and on your lips will not take my name. When commanded I this hollow respect, and when did I say I crave worship? Prostrate yourselves before your parents and measure your works on a scale to calculate your reward. See if they shall be moved with compassion for your double self-seeking hearts. Ye shall not inherit of their estate, but your selfishness shall bring you to want, to make you a castaway. Why do ye think ye shall inherit of the LORD’s estate, when I can see every thought of your hearts?
Your mindless offerings, O people, are a burden to me. Your prayers are gibberish. I wish I could drown them in the ocean, that I may laugh at the sound of them. But your prayers are not humourous and your ignorance is offensive. Ye read the words of others, but care not for the words of the LORD.
O Judah, thou that dwellest in dark shadows, I have made thy cynicism a boil unto thee. Jerusalem, thou that shouldest be his bright spot, is forsaken. Instead of casting a light, ye draw your curtains. Thy children make love into obligation, sincerity into appearance, and think that I cannot understand what is in their hearts. Ye delight not in my words, but ye put your faith in your strength, and your counsel cometh from the valley of your sojourn.
Is it such a marvel that thou dwellest not in peace, O Jerusalem? I have afflicted thee, but thou hast not grown wise from thy stripes. Thou thinkest with thy flesh, why then hast thou not learned from thy stripes? Instead of thy crown, O Judah, Jerusalem is thy last bastion. The LORD shall plead his cause by his sword, and deliver thee by his mighty hand. What shall your pride be like in that day, O ye stubborn of Israel and ye haughty of Judah? Shall ye speak out of form that day, and bring insincerity in your basket of offering?
But speak ye every day, The LORD hath holpen me; I know not all. Evil hath betimes come to me, yet I knew it not, for the hand of the LORD delivered while I slept. We shall rejoice in the sun’s rising as in the day of our deliverance. Perform not the covenant of the LORD with an eye and heart to getting a reward, lest ye perish as the LORD’s enemies in the day of your deliverance.
As thou seekest the best for the things which thou lovest, so more shalt thou seek after the LORD thy God to do his ways. With all thine heart shalt thou seek after him. With all thy soul and thy strength thou shalt love him.
Then, saith the LORD, Peace shall I bring. I shall make your things heavy unto you, and the love of God an easy thing in that day. Is it not an easy thing to hearken unto your creator? The LORD hath never commanded usury of men. Think of a time when he laid a burden upon your backs. It is the LORD, even I the King, the God of Israel, that freed you out of Egypt. But ye are as a wound upon my side, a pain in mine arch, and a buzzing in mine ear.
Calculate not the measure of thy will with me, nor incline thine heart to consider the measure of thy soul. Thou canst not look into the abyss and there is not weight and form to thy righteousness.
I have shed love upon the Gentiles, and given thee laws for the betterment of all. Measure therefore the righteousness of my ways, if thou canst. Draw a line upon them. Find a scale upon which thou canst bring to harmony the weight of my ways with thine. If I should give thee the Universe to heap upon thy side of the scale thou shalt be found wanting in that day.
Chapter
33
BEHOLD, the LORD knoweth that thou canst not see him. Nor can thy light reveal his countenance. Therefore is he pleased with faith, and he hath made it as the sure foot of the babe running to his mother’s comfort. He shall hear thy cries, and he shall be quick to comfort.
Why should the LORD judge a man by his works? A peaceful time breedeth peaceful men; and the righteous of an easy season could very well be the transgressors in a hard season, at the time of the LORD’s testing, at the moment of decision; and contrariwise he who is a rock in an hard time would be overbearing and an offender in an easy time. When the ax is laid to the stump, could not he who died exalted in a peaceful time, falter in a calamitous time? Therefore are the works of man an uneven weight before the LORD. But faith abideth in any time, and the love of God is a steady weight to weigh faith more precious than gold and more enduring than time, and of more value than flesh.
Why seek ye one and all the LORD by the light of your own counsel? But hear these words, O Manasseh, thou who followest thine uncles so close, and hearkenest not unto the LORD thy God. Thus saith the LORD, for thus ye are quickly gone astray: even because the light of the anxious is dim, and it lighteth only their countenance. The LORD is as unto a mirror, and he revealeth thy face. Therefore, ye sons of Israel that follow the sin of Manasseh, ye keep your light dim, for the sojourn of such as ye is as in a dark tunnel.
Thou too labourest with but a dim candle in a dark tunnel, O Judah waiting for redemption, because Manasseh is thy light, and he is thy younger, and Ephraim is belligerent and leadeth with shouts; thou seest not anything but that which is around thee. Whither thou goest thou knowest not, hither by what route thou camest thou hast long forgotten. Thou knowest only where thou art, and the circle of darkness encircleth thee closer. The sum of thy ways is lost. What hath been thou canst not remember, and whither thy way now wendeth thou canst not imagine.
Interpretation is a dim candle, and rationalization is a brittle wick. No man hath seen his heart while he liveth. Therefore walk after the way of the LORD. He declareth unto thee again, thou hardhearted— Ephraim, thou hast made of thyself a god of thine own imagination, and created me in thy changing image. Thou wilt not speak in my name, but thou wilt command and declare thy traditions to be holy and thine oracles to be those of mine own mouth.
Therefore have I spoken clearly unto thee, O Israel, while Ephraim gropeth the walls, and while Judah waiteth to see what shall become of Manasseh. Behold how I, even I, saith the LORD, speak unto thee plainly that thou mightest know in the day of my smiting thee wherein thou hast sinned, and so cry unto me and I will hear thee, and I will turn thee unto me, saith the LORD God. Thou shalt recall my words and thou shalt turn unto me and I will deliver thee out of the troublous hands of thine enemies.
I have written upon mine head Faithful, and I shall call ye back. I the LORD do declare it. My word shall stand, O my people. I shall not see you destroyed anymore. I shall perform my words which I speak here upon you. I shall wound and I shall heal. Though ye have been halt for so long, your legs shall tighten in their joints and spring ye into balance, and ye shall leapcall at my words as a young calf. Ye shall cast aside your dim candle, and ye shall place your feet on the steps of Shiloh. No more shall ye have an idol of your minds— no more shall there be an high place in your hearts, in the day when I bring you back from your coasts and restore you to your dwelling places. Henceforth and forevermore from that day Israel shall say, I am the LORD and Thou art my God.
Chapter
34
I DO declare faith unto them that have not faith. Unto them that thought of me not, shall I be as a fountain of life. Faith I shall give as water that a desert may bloom. As a chorus of fine instruments stirreth the soul, so shall I cause a rushing in the heart. The Gentiles shall see thy resurrection, and they shall come forth to life. For faith is life to a body. It is the picked chord from my soul, a highway from mine heart. Faithful am I, saith the LORD. I shall call thee forth and set thee up as aforetime. Death, get thee from me! Away, thou evil affliction and curse of man! The LORD mocketh thee from his heaven.
If thou be plunged within thine iniquities as in a churning torrent, doth it require much faith to know the land shall support thy foot? Stretch forth thine hand. Come from the river crimson and be thou blotted clean by a clean cloth. Be anointed by a fragrant oil and let thy sins be blotted away and left without trace. The LORD shall change thy countenance with a touch, and he shall give thee comfort to abundance.
For the LORD’s wrath caused the whip to crack, and for his glory sake he was far from us. But the LORD’s mercy is everlasting, and his faith the finger that doth pluck the chord to thine heart and cause it to come to life and hum a new song. He doth declare: I shall make thy children as an ancient, and he who hath few days as if he was from the beginning. My ways have not changed, saith the LORD. As a mother loveth her child and as a father kvelleth for his son, so have my ways not changed, and so my ways shall remain forever.
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