**The Song of the Oppressed: A Story of Deliverance**
The sun hung low over the hills of Judah, casting long shadows across the terraced vineyards and olive groves. In a small village nestled between the rocky slopes, an old man named Eliab sat beneath the shade of a fig tree, his gnarled hands tracing the weathered lines of a scroll. His voice, though aged, carried the weight of generations as he began to recount the sufferings and triumphs of his people to a group of wide-eyed children gathered at his feet.
*”Many times have they afflicted me from my youth,”* he began, his voice trembling with memory. *”Let Israel now say—many times have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.”*
The children leaned closer, their young hearts stirred by the sorrow and strength in his words.
### **The Plowmen of Affliction**
Eliab closed his eyes, as if transported back to the days of his forefathers. *”Long ago,”* he said, *”when our people were but slaves in Egypt, the taskmasters laid stripes upon our backs. Their whips cut deep, their cruelty knew no bounds. Like a plowman driving his oxen, they drove us mercilessly, turning our flesh into furrows of pain.”*
One of the children gasped, clutching his tunic. *”Did they break us, Grandfather?”*
Eliab shook his head, a fire kindling in his eyes. *”No, my child. Though they plowed long upon our backs, though they made their furrows deep, the Lord is righteous. He does not let the wicked triumph forever.”*
### **The Rope of the Wicked**
The old man’s voice grew firmer as he continued. *”In the days of the judges, when the Philistines oppressed us, they bound us like prisoners, tightening their ropes around our necks. They mocked our God and defiled His temple. But what became of them?”*
The children waited in silence.
*”The Lord cut the cords of the wicked!”* Eliab declared, striking his staff against the ground. *”He shattered their strength like dry reeds. Remember Samson, who broke his bonds as if they were thread? Remember how the Lord delivered us from the hands of those who hated Zion?”*
A young girl, her face alight with hope, whispered, *”So the wicked will always fail?”*
Eliab nodded solemnly. *”Yes, little one. Those who pass by and say, ‘The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord!’—they are the true children of God. But those who trust in their own strength, who oppress the weak and despise the righteous—they will wither like grass upon the housetops, which the wind carries away before it can take root.”*
### **The Harvest of Justice**
As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of crimson and gold, Eliab lifted his hands in blessing. *”The Lord has not abandoned His people. Though we have known suffering, we have also known deliverance. The plowmen of affliction may scar the earth, but the harvest belongs to the Lord. And in the end, the righteous will stand, while the wicked vanish like smoke.”*
The children sat in awed silence, their hearts burning with the truth of his words. And as the first stars appeared in the darkening sky, they knew—the God of Israel was faithful.
For though the furrows of oppression ran deep, the Lord had cut the cords of the wicked. And His people would sing His praise forever.
**”May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!”** (Psalm 129:5).
