Jamie Soles CD - Giants & Wanderers

Everybody comes from somewhere, everyone has life experiences that shape them into who they are, and everyone relates, whether well or poorly, to the God who made them. Most folks do all this in relative anonymity, with not too many onlookers peering over the back fence. But those whose tales God chose to record in the Scriptures are on display for everyone to see.

These songs try to be worthy of the character of their subjects. Some of them were giants, sometimes physically, but more often spiritually. Many (in fact, most) of them were wanderers, including the giants, looking for the promise and not yet coming into it; or trying to get away from it, wandering in the wrong direction. Most of us have some sympathy for this latter group... so, in this album, we stop at Sodom and tell the tale of a girl who grew up there. We consider Abraham’s other son, who has so many descendants in our world today. We consider those two much-maligned giants of the faith, Rebekah and Jacob, and ask some probing questions of the giant/wanderer Esau (Lay off the descendants, Esau, we want to talk about YOU.). In the wilderness wanderings we find a fellow who God called by name and was instrumental in building God’s house. We praise the exploits of that warrior-babe in the tent, and hope she does not offer us any milk... We visit a lady who seems like a bit player, but who shows up at crucial times in Israel’s history, and we commiserate with her.

We stop and lament with Jeremiah over those who have wandered too far, head to Babylon and interview an exiled Jew who loves God in a foreign land. We hear from a man in the synagogue who is happy to shake your hand, but who doesn’t have too much good to say about his companions. We join the disciples for a night ride across the sea, against the wind. We join those wide wanderers, the Pharisees, in wondering about Jesus. And we culminate at the feast, with a man who has not made it there in 38 years, and how happy is he!