I will call on the name of the Lord
for he is mighty to save.
I lift my voice to the Lord
for he is strong.
I turn to the face of the Lord,
for in his eyes are mercy and compassion.
O Lord, come to us quickly!
Do not be far from us,
for trouble is here and there is no one to help.
Laban’s daughter is in distress
and Rachel is weeping for her sister
for she has become one who is familiar with suffering.
Why is it her lot to be so familiar with suffering?
(Jaw with me, would you please?)
Why is her place to suffer so much, so innocently?
(Tell me!)
Was this not the purpose of the Servant,
To be marred beyond human likeness in our place?
To take up our infirmities and sorrows?
To have the punishment laid on him,
and by his wounds to be healed?
Is it now her place too?
Is it YHWH’s will to crush her and cause her to suffer?
She has never failed you, and never faltered.
She has served you well, in plenty and in want.
She has sung your praises, and become a student of your Word,
Innocent and humble, never to flaunt.
But this innocence is now marked by suffering
a suffering not of her own making.
“Suffer the children to come unto me.”
Is this what is required to fully know Christ?
To be an innocent sufferer?
To fill up in her flesh what is lacking from Christ’s afflictions?
Was the Savior’s jaw broken at Calvary?
John was there, and he told me “not one of his bones was broken.”
As a lamb before the shearers was silent, so he did not open his mouth.
But at least he had that option.
Will she receive the same vindication in his name?
Will she be raised and lifted up and exalted?
After the suffering of her soul, will she see life and receive vindication?
David asked you to break the teeth of the wicked.
I implore you to restore the teeth of the righteous.
John told me that in the Glorious City, “they will see his face.”
Do you see hers?
Those that carry your litter have four faces.
Each.
But our Rose has none to spare.
And her petals are wilting.
מַרפֵּא!
The fathers have not sinned
but the children’s teeth are set on edge.
Jeremiah told me it would be different.
Is there no balm in Gilead? No place for Mephibosheth at David’s table?
A place at the Great Messianic Banquet is predicated on the ability to eat.
Or chew.
Or even swallow.
Many crowded around the Savior’s campfire to receive his healing.
Do we stand at the back of the line asking,
“When us?”
Must she suffer so much, while others have splinters?
Does she matter to you?
They told me that you turned your back on your own son in his hour of darkness.
(I do not believe this.)
Will you turn your back on this, your child, in her hour of darkness?
(I refuse to believe this!)
Talitha koumi!
מַרפֵּא!
You promised that joy cometh in the morning.
I wish you had clarified which morning.
I am fraught, my Father. And ignoble.
I was not there when you knit her in the womb of her mother.
But the knitting was faulty. And now she pays the price.
Come quickly to her rescue, and warranty your work.
I am frail, my Father. And ignorant.
I was not there when you fashioned the Tree in the womb of Eden.
But the knowledge was delicious. And your son paid the price.
I have not set my mind on great things, or things too wonderful for me to
understand.
I neither comprehend nor fathom the mystery of my own life,
let alone those of your purposes and your ways.
In you, the long line of my fathers put their trust.
And you never disappointed them.
“Yea, though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”
Must it come to that?
Paul told me it was your kindness that leads to repentance.
We are of those who are loyal to you, Father.
And loyal to the Suffering Servant.
And we will continue to be loyal.
When the lights are on, we will see you face to face.
Should the lights go out, we will crawl on hands and knees until we find you
and like Mary, cling to your feet.
With strong teeth, we will eat at your table.
Should the teeth fall out, we will gum your goodness until we choke on it.
For Moses, who met with you face to face, told me that you are
“YHWH, YHWH, the great and compassionate God
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
showing love to the multitudes
to a thousand generations.”
Yesterday. Today. Forever.
Come, let us return to the LORD.
For he has injured us,
but he will heal us.
For he has wounded us,
but he will bandage us
and come to us like the spring rains that cover the earth.
Then the poor will eat, and be satisfied.
And we will see him face to face.
O People of God, trust in YHWH forevermore.
Amen.
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