Elijah Poem by gershon hepner

Elijah’s struggle against gods called Baal!
A story where the drama’s great:
the proof that God’s the greatest in this tale
provides Elijah with enormous weight.
An oratorio that Mendelssohn once wrote
describes most vividly the pagan scandal,
but from its words and music I won’t quote,
preferring oratorios of Handel.

When Ahab sinned, God hoped he would examine
his conscience, therefore made the people suffer
from drought that soon was followed by a famine.
This didn’t work, for Ahab proved much tougher
than God supposed, and he did not repent.
Instead he searched for water in the springs
and streams, while vainly hoping to prevent
the death of all his horses, mules and underlings.
On this mission he sent Obadiah,
who hid with other prophets in two caves
when Jezebel called him a dreadful liar
and killed all prophets, or made them her slaves.

On this mission Obadiah met
the prophet who commanded him to tell
King Ahab whom Elijah had upset:
”I’ve met the prophet, who’s alive and well! ”
Obadiah claimed it made him nervous
to bring to Ahab such an evil tiding:
”The king’s so evil he does not deserve us, ”
Elijah said, “that’s why we’re all in hiding,
but we’re obliged now to communicate
with him that God has got the power,
not Jezebel, whom you and I both hate,
to end the drought with storms, not just a shower.”

Obadiah acted as commanded.
When King Ahab met Elijah he declared:
“Of Israel a troubler and a bandit!
It seems your God Jehovah has not fared
too well here in our kingdom. You will fail
if you attempt to make me serve Him now,
for I with Jezebel now worship Baal,
and altars for Jehovah don’t allow.”

Elijah said: “Of trouble you’re the cause,
not I, for you’ve abandoned God, Jehovah;
encouraged by your wife you break His laws––
bad start, but it’s not over till it’s over!
At Carmel gather prophets of the Baalim
and of Asherah, sitting at the table
of Jezebel.” He knew God would not fail him.
To win these prophets he would not be able;
there were at least nine hundred fifty gathered,
while he with God––Jehovah! ––was alone.
Meanwhile the prophets of the Baalim blathered
and could not help King Ahab to atone,
as was required if the famine and the drought
were ever to conclude as people prayed.
So he prepared to watch them clap and shout
as they for Baalim put on a parade.

A word about the god that’s called Asherah:
she once was worshipped with the gods called Baalim.
Some people think that in this ancient era
she was Jehovah’s wife, and used to tail him.
Wherever he was worshipped men would often
adore Asherah with Him, He’d consort
with her, which made His manly image soften,
for men believed together they would sport
like human beings in their godly bed,
a blasphemy the prophets all abhorred,
except the ones who worshipped Baal, who said
that when Jehovah slept He also snored.

Elijah spoke to all the prophets whom
King Ahab gathered by the mountainside
and told them all that they were facing doom:
they’d fooled themselves and to themselves had lied.
“How long do you intend to go on dancing
between two boughs and branches, with opinions
you change each day while you continue prancing,
Queen Jezebel’s toy boys and mincing minions? ’
They gave no answer to this sharp rebuke
since in their hearts they knew that they were wrong,
for though they’d told the Queen he was a kook
deep in their heart for God they used to long.

Nine hundred fifty prophets all were eager
to find out what Elijah would propose,
a very celebrated major-leaguer
who famously would line ducks up in rows
before he ever took at enemies a shot.
They all were most surprised to hear him say:
“Alone I am God’s prophet, you are not,
and now’s the time to act and not to play!
Let us have two bulls, one that you can choose,
the other one will be the bull that’s mine.
Cut the bull in pieces, let blood ooze,
put wood upon the altar and assign
the bull to Baal, but do not use a flame
to light the sacrifice and make it burn.
Call out to Baal, while I call out the name
of God, Jehovah. Let’s do this in turn,
so we can find out which god is receptive
to our demands: the one which is, is God.”
The words he spoke did not appear deceptive,
so he from all the prophets got the nod.

He told the prophets of the Baalim: “You go first! ”
They took their bull and called out until noon
the words that they had earlier rehearsed:
“Descend, Oh Baal, and burn our bull right soon! ”
The bull they’d sacrificed was not ignited,
Which caused the prophets to become depressed.
Elijah said: “Why are you so excited?
Cry louder to him, get it off your chest!
Perhaps the reason why your god’s gone missing
is that he’s busily engaged in con-
versation, or perhaps he’s busy pissing,
or maybe he is fast asleep upon
his bed, and soon will from his dreams awake––
you never can be sure about the Baalim!
Cry even louder, cause your throats to ache:
he’ll surely hear and come because you hail him! ”

They call out loudly, tie themselves with cords,
and flagellate their limbs and necks and backs,
and cut their faces, chest and limbs with swords
in what resembles suicide attacks,
not unlike what the Christians used to do
in Europe in the Ages known as Dark,
attacking when convenient some poor Jew,
and mugging him as now in Central Park
pedestrians are mugged by men addicted
to drugs when they require one more fix.
The wounds Baal’s prophets made were self-inflicted,
like Shiites too, without a crucifix
that Christians used, to emulate the Passion
depicted in the movie made by Mel,
in Karbala, Najaf, in their own fashion
all torturing themselves, a living hell.
It is their own blood that these men are shedding,
which makes their acts less reprehensible
than those fanatics who enjoy beheading
all non-believers deemed not sensible.

They carry on like this from noon to dusk,
but from their gods the sound of silence deafens,
no answer comes, not even short and brusque––
it seems there are no Baalim in the heavens.
Elijah says to all the people: “Draw
much closer: do not hesitate or falter!
and all of them approach him with great awe
as he most carefully repairs God’s altar
which Ahab long ago had smashed to pieces,
encouraged by the evil Jezebel,
and suddenly the noise of prophets ceases,
for they wish to observe the man as well.
He takes twelve stones, the number corresponding
to Israel’s original twelve tribes,
and joins the stones together with a bonding
that unity symbolically describes.
As the prophets of the Baalim clench
their fists in anger at the prophet’s action,
he builds around the altar a deep trench,
and sees how they are puzzled in reaction.
Wood on the altar top the prophet places
and above it lays a perfect bull,
and then to make it look like an oasis
he orders that they make the trench quite full
of water which he orders them to pour
upon the wood and bull that lie upon
the altar, adding water to the gore,
astonishing all men with this phenomenon.
No way could it be possible for fire
to burn the sacrifice that he thus drenches:
it would be hard enough if it were drier,
but soaked and quite surrounded in the trenches
by water, there seems no way to ignite
the bull that lies upon the wood quite sodden;
the prophets sneeze and say: “Gesundaheit,
Elijah’s history, and soon will be forgotten! ”
These words have no effect––no one reckoned
they would, but what he does seems more absurd.
“Pour once again! ” he says, and so a second
attempt to flood the bull and then a third.
The sun has set and shadows that have lengthened
now cast a pall on this bizarre charade,
but trust in God which formerly had strengthened
the patriarchs who fought with no holds barred,
their adversaries, now becomes the weapon
with which Elijah helps to testify
that anything that God would like to happen
can happen, for hot fire from the sky
descended to the altar to consume
the bull and wood together with the stones,
while flames dried water in the trench, a flume
that dried completely like Ezekiel’s bones,
the ones that in a valley were so dry
the prophet thought they never would return
to life, though God can rehumidify
no less than cause a soaking bull to burn.

The people see the fire and they fall
upon their faces, and exclaim: “Jehovah
is truly God! ” great words they all recall
when Kippur ends and Jews all blow a shofar,
for that is what they say when their long fast
concludes and they are ready to resume
a normal life, these words that day their last,
their God most glorious on the Day of Doom.
Elijah says: “False prophets must be seized:
we must not let a single one escape! ”
The polity, so thoroughly diseased,
he hopes he will be able to reshape,
and so he takes the prophets to the Brook
of Kishon, dry as bones––there is no water.
Not one of them does he let off the hook,
the Brook a scene now of a megaslaughter,
death penalty imposed by him with zeal
that shocks our modern sensibilities;
no attempts were then made to repeal
the penalty, which put most men at ease,
as it still does here in the USA
although in Europe it has been abolished,
for sensibilities that they display
seem more sophisticated and more polished.

Elijah then approached the king and said:
“Eat, drink, for soon you shall be very merry!
A cloud will soon be seen right overhead,
to drench us all with rain, libationary.”
His told his lad that he should fix his gaze
up at the sky, for from the distant west
would come a cloud that surely would amaze
the king, and God’s great glory would attest.
The seventh time he said this to the lad,
the lad responded and declared: “Behold,
a cloud as small as a man’s hand, egad! ”
And then the rains came, just as he foretold.
God’s hand was on Elijah as he girded
his loins to go to Jezebel the queen,
who knew what happened, since she’d heard
about it from her friends who were not keen
on Elijah and Jehovah, God,
declared that she would kill him very soon:
a distant pathway from the queen he trod,
and finally God punctured her balloon
when she encouraged Ahab to distrain
a vineyard that she always used to covet.
I’ll say no more in this succinct refrain:
there’s more elsewhere––I’m almost sure you’ll love it!



3/7/04,2/21/05