At Wit’s End Or?

I know of a woman

She was most discreet

So she begged all that came

Her secret to keep.

Now this is not hearsay

I have a reliable word,

It is through something I read

And not something I heard.

You could take my word though

This is as true as they come,

I’ll tell you what I know

And then I’ll be done.

I know of this man

He was a very powerful man

But he did as he liked

And did not stick to the plan.

Well he got into trouble

And was at his wit’s end,

There was none to help him

Not a relative or a friend.

He tried calling on God

But that didn’t help

So you could well imagine

How this man felt.

Well, he asked around

Through the people he knew

And soon a particular woman

Came into view.

But to do what he wanted

His own law he must contravene

However, this was no big thing

It was a regular scene.

After all he was a big one

And a law maker too,

Remember I told you

He did whatever he wanted to do.

To this woman he went

And of her made his request,

It was clearly illegal

But she promised her best.

She reminded him of the law

And the penalty of death

But he swore to secrecy

Putting her mind at rest.

He took with him two men

And it was night:

The ideal time to do those things

Which by law were not right.

Well she knew his request

But she needed the specifics,

This he revealed to her

And the results were terrific.

An old man appeared

He was wearing a mantle,

By now you must have guessed

It was the prophet Samuel.

When the woman saw Samuel

She cried with a loud voice,

What she had encountered

Was not of her choice.

Straightway she recognized

That her patron wore a disguise,

It was he who’d passed this law

This law he’d now despised.

He inquired of her

Of what form was he,

"An old man wearing a mantle,"

Alarmingly said she.

This great man showed respect

To the prophet he had ignored,

Now before him bowed

Unlike what he had done before.

There one conversation ended

And another begun

Initiated by the prophet Samuel

That this man had shunned.

“Why have you disquieted me?

Why have you brought me up?”

This powerful man responded

By detailing his bitter cup.

He had had little regard

For the prophet during his life

But now disturbs his rest

Alerting him of his strife.

Well the prophet reminded him

There was nothing he could do,

God had rejected him

And that was his just due.

Before the prophet left him

He did prophesy

But the prophecy was of no comfort

For on the morrow he would die.

To the woman he kept his word,

She even prepared him a meal,

Eventually he and his two men left

Anticipating what was revealed.

True to every word

Came to pass what the prophet said,

The Philistines defeated his armies

Leaving him and his sons also dead.

Noticed the play on the title?

Did you pick it up?

To make a law than break it

Must be a poisoned cup.

How this great man had fallen!

What a devastating plunge had he!

Right down to the witch at En-dor!

I wonder how much was her fee.

Such has been the case

Of many a man in God’s Word,

That’s where I read it

It was not something I heard.

Stewart Russell © October 2017