Isaiah's Daughter

by Mesu Andrews

  Yaira covered a grin. “How long since your last moon cycle?”

  I couldn’t remember. My cycles had become so sporadic over the past year, I’d stopped keeping track.

  My maid offered her best guess. “I think it’s been five months, my queen.” Her eyes sparkled. “Do you think…?”

  Abba’s prophecy rang in my ears. Yahweh will give him offspring and prolong his days. I stared into Yaira’s expectant eyes and refused to hope. “Those first months after Hezi’s healing were excruciating. Each moon cycle brought renewed disappointment. When my body began changing, we started counting each day as both ecstasy and sorrow because every sunset pushed us closer to the end of Hezi’s fifteen-year gift of life.” Fighting a rush of swirling emotions, I fell into my friend’s arms, fear and grief colliding. “I can’t lose another baby and Hezi too.”

  Yaira held me, her words gentle and firm. “I know you’ve lost others, but this child will live, Zibah. This one was ordained by Yahweh.”

  I released her, eyes wide as she placed her hand on my belly. I laid my hand over hers and squeezed my eyes shut. Please, Yahweh, let it be so.

  It had been a week since the bittersweet realization of my pregnancy. Fear made me wait to tell Hezi, but hope grew as my body embraced this baby as it hadn’t the others. Little things I’d overlooked in past weeks were suddenly evident. My breasts had grown larger. I was tired all day. And the heartburn! Only yogurt could calm that burning at the back of my throat.

  I wanted to talk with Ima about what I was experiencing. Abijah and Rizpah would be a wealth of information and would rejoice with me as Yaira did. But I couldn’t tell anyone until Hezi knew.

  “Zibah, where did you put my jeweled leather belt?” My husband was leaning over a basket, tossing out the contents one by one. “I thought it was with my embroidered collars.”

  “Hezi, I need to speak with you.”

  He kept rummaging through the basket. “I was sure I put it in this basket.” He stood, hands on his hips, and glared at me. “The Tyrian ambassador arrives today to discuss an increase in our trade agreement.”

  “And a jeweled leather belt will prove we have more grain?” I couldn’t help it. He looked so silly standing in the basket carnage.

  He cocked his head and lifted an eyebrow. “I’m serious, Zibah. We need to make a good impression. An increased trade agreement with Tyre means shipping, which expands Judah’s market beyond the borders of Solomon’s trade.”

  “I’m pregnant, Hezi.”

  He looked straight at my belly. Expressionless, he said, “Even more reason to find my jeweled leather belt.”

  I stomped my foot. “Ooh!”

  Before I could find something to throw at him, he swept me into his arms, laughing and twirling in circles. “Is this more like the reaction you expected?”

  “Put me down, King Hezekiah!” I hugged him tight and buried my face in his neck.

  Gently, he set my feet on the floor and looked into my eyes. “How long have you known?”

  My cheeks grew warm. Would he be angry I’d waited so long? “Yaira told me last week.”

  He chuckled. “Of course. Yaira would notice before anyone else.” Sobering, he brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. “You were afraid to tell me sooner?”

  I nodded, ashamed.

  “This child will live, Zibah. He is God’s promise to us in these last years of my life.”

  The reminder struck both fear and solace into my heart. “I believe it.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ll announce our son at the end of today’s court proceedings.”

  “Our son?” I smiled at his presumption. “Are you so sure this child is a boy?”

  He cradled my face tenderly, all levity gone. “He will be a son of David, called by Yahweh to sit on Judah’s throne, to fulfill both covenant and prophecy.”

  Our child wasn’t even born, and he—or she—already bore such heavy responsibility.

  My husband assaulted me with a quick hug. “Come, we must find that jeweled belt and get you dressed for court too. What splendid timing! We’ll announce my successor on the same day the Tyrian ambassador arrives.”

  “Push, Zibah. Push!” Yaira shouted and supported my back on the birthing stool. “Your son is almost here.”

  “One more big push, my queen.” The midwife held the blanket as if this child would shoot out like a stone from a sling.

  “Aaaaahhhh!” I pushed with all my strength and felt the release of new life from my body.

  “Welcome to the world, little prince.” The midwife caught the slippery fellow in her blanket and began rubbing him with salt and wine—much to his displeasure. His cries tugged at my heart, the most pitiful yet wondrous sound in the world.

  Yaira and I laughed and cried together while Ima rejoiced at my side with Abijah and Rizpah. Finally, at age forty, I had joined the sisterhood of imas.

  “He is a handsome boy.” Ima bent to kiss my forehead. “Have you chosen a name to bestow when he’s circumcised?”

  Of course, I had dreamed of naming a child since I was a child myself. The names changed from a little girl’s whims to a woman’s careful deliberation, but one had grown dearer with each challenge I faced. “His name will be Manasseh.”

  The midwife swaddled my son and laid him in my arms. “I think it’s the perfect name. The Lord has caused me to forget will challenge the young prince to keep moving forward through life. Never lingering in regret.”

  “That’s a wonderful thought, but my reason for choosing it was far more selfish.” I twirled his fine, curly black hair around my finger. “The Lord will cause me to forget my sorrow as I raise this child to be a man. His abba and I will enjoy every day we are together, and Manasseh and I will remember his abba every day after he’s gone.”

  I studied every part of him. He had my nose—praise Yahweh—and rosebud lips. Ten little fingers and ten long, narrow toes. Finally, a child I could call my own. I kissed his downy soft cheek and was drawn to a familiar sound at the window. There, sitting on the ledge, was a dove carrying a budding twig from an olive tree. “Yaira, look what Yahweh has sent me.”

  “I see.” Yaira joined the other women, marveling at the creature. “Is it one of your doves from the dovecote?”

  Mimicking the dove’s coo, I trilled at the bird to call it. She turned, looking at me with one bright eye, no doubt wondering how such a strange-looking creature could coo like her mate. Without another sound, she winged away with her olive twig to fortify her nest.

  Manasseh cooed in my arms, an entirely different sound, but one more precious than all the doves in the world. My nest was being built with sturdier stuff than olive branches. After each of life’s storms, it seemed Yahweh had strengthened my peace—and my nest—with more faith. Manasseh’s little hand wrapped around my finger, and I whispered so only he could hear, “Yahweh must be your peace, my son, when you rule on Judah’s throne.”

  Epilogue

  Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

  Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD….He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also…bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.

  —2 Kings 20:21–21:3

  Author’s Note

  Long ago, Hephzibah became my favorite woman in Scripture because I loved the meaning of her name: God’s delight is in her. I wanted that to be true of me. I became even more intrigued when study revealed she was the wife of Hezekiah, Judah’s most righteous king, and mother of Manasseh, Judah’s wickedest ruler. My heart for Hephzibah sent me to the library to research six years before a publisher contracted this book.

  Immediately, the research uncovered difficulties with ages and dates of succession for Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. In the book, I’ve followed the biblical record and formed a story
line that, though foreign to our modern thinking, could have been quite realistic in the ancient Middle-Eastern monarchy.

  Scripture clearly names two of Isaiah’s sons (Isaiah 7:3; 8:3) and calls his wife a prophetess (also Isaiah 8:3—though it gives her no name). In my previous book, Love in a Broken Vessel, I had given Isaiah two sons early in his marriage and named his wife Aya. So when this story begins, Isaiah’s sons are older when he receives the prophecy of an additional son to mark the time of Israel’s and Syria’s demise. The third son becomes the second named son in Scripture, meaning one of the older boys required a fictitious name (Kadmiel).

  Commentators are divided regarding Assyria’s attack on Judah and threat on Jerusalem. Some say 2 Kings 18:13–19:37 occurred in 701 BCE during a single invasion. Others hold that after King Hezekiah paid tribute in 701 BCE, Sennacherib returned to Assyria, addressing rebellion in Babylon until a second Judean invasion in 688 BCE. I chose a single invasion during the year 701 BCE that incorporated the legend of the mice/rats’ infestation of the Assyrian camp mentioned in the ancient writings of the historian Herodotus.

  The timing and type of Hezekiah’s illness is also heavily debated. The idea for his fulfillment of the suffering Savior prophecy in Isaiah 53 stemmed from a scholarly article by Margaret Barker titled, “Hezekiah’s Boil” [Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 95 (2001): 31–42].

  Which brings me to the most difficult and perhaps the most rewarding part of writing this book: the prophetic interpretations. The Bible’s prophetic books are beautiful literature, but they’re so much more. I believe they are divinely inspired words from the One True God spoken by the Hebrew prophets. I don’t believe, however, that these godly men necessarily understood what their words meant, nor how they would be fulfilled—in their days or in days to come.

  Because God’s Holy Scriptures are His living Word, they have been fulfilled in many ways in many generations and will be fulfilled in ways yet to come. My interpretation of Hephzibah’s story is a fictional scenario of an ancient queen who rose from men’s desolation to God’s delight. She learned to dwell on this earth in God’s peace while remaining focused on eternity. May you and I, dear one, build our nests with the same focus.

  Readers Guide

  1.In chapter 1, little Ishma says, “Sometimes my prayers worked. Sometimes they didn’t. Mostly they didn’t.” Have you ever felt that way? Do you think of God as more like: a) a genie in a bottle, b) a righteous Judge, or c) a wise Father? By the end of the book, how do you think Zibah viewed God and prayer?

  2.In chapter 5, Isaiah struggles to hear God’s direction but listens to the wise counsel of his godly wife. Later in chapter 14, Queen Abijah turns to her father—the former high priest—for support but succumbs to King Ahaz’s bullying rather than holding fast to Yahweh. What is the difference in Isaiah’s and Abijah’s choice of counselor? Why might Abijah have chosen her abba rather than Aya when seeking advice?

  3.In chapter 8, Eliakim explains Isaiah’s prophecy of Immanuel’s coming and Assyria’s attack with the lesson his abba taught him about discipline, “Abba swats me, and it hurts. But he hugs me after.” Can you relate a story from Scripture or a time from your own life when the Lord has sent “His presence to comfort at a time when His discipline [was] most severe”?

  4.Chapter 12 describes Hezekiah’s final day in Samaria after the six-month visit to meet the Assyrian king. In what ways did this journey mold Hezekiah into the king he became? How did it shape his understanding of his father, Ahaz? His perception of a righteous king? His aspirations to make Judah a godly kingdom?

  5.In chapter 16, Hezekiah and Ishma raise the same question many Bible readers have asked for generations: “What benefit is prophecy when we can’t understand it?” Isaiah answers, “Prophecy—even when we don’t fully understand it—is given so we can watch God’s sovereignty and power unfold.” What parts of Isaiah’s explanation satisfy you, and which parts leave you wanting better understanding? Are there any of Isaiah’s prophecies that you understand better after reading this book?

  6.In chapter 17, Isaiah challenged Ishma with these words, “I know change is hard for you, my girl, but we can’t fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives without changing.” Have you found this to be true in your life? How do you cope when Yahweh exchanges your comfortable for new and improved?

  7.In chapter 21, Yaira comforts Hephzibah by reminding her of the purpose of pain. “I experience joy more deeply because I’ve known sadness. And I treasure the bonds of family because I’ve been lonely. The caves taught me to embrace the darkness so I could fully appreciate the light.” In what ways did Hezi and Zibah’s pain hone them for their roles in God’s plan? In what ways have you seen the same happen in your own life?

  8.In chapter 25, Hezekiah explains to Zibah why he has honored the wishes of his dishonorable father to leave Jerusalem and stay away until Ahaz’s death. “It is a choice I made to obey Yahweh, not because my abba is honorable, but because I am.” How did you feel about Hezi’s choice? Was there another option that still honored Old Testament Law?

  9.When Hezekiah begins his reign, he asks the impossible of Yahweh’s priests and Levites but encourages them with these words, “We must attempt more than is humanly possible to witness what only God can do.” How did the various characters attempt the impossible and see God’s power at work? Isaiah? Hezekiah? Hephzibah? Eliakim? Have you ever attempted something that seemed impossible and seen God make it succeed?

  10.In chapter 35, Zibah realizes Hezi is pounded by other people’s words all day long, so she works to make their chamber a place of respite for him. In what ways can you make your home a place of peace and refreshing for your family and friends?

  11.When Isaiah tells Aya that God has called him to prophesy naked and barefoot for three years, Aya’s response is, “You said from the beginning that God called you to proclaim His message to a people ever hearing but never understanding, ever seeing but never perceiving. As long as you’re obedient to Yahweh, my love, there is no shame.” How does Aya’s commitment to Isaiah mirror Isaiah’s commitment to Yahweh? Is there anything in life to which you’re this committed? Why or why not?

  12.In chapter 47, King Hezekiah, blinded by the duties of the throne, overlooks the warning signs of his wife’s emotional pain. Zibah tries to hide the depth of her pain but publicly explodes, proving to them both that only God’s intervention can heal her inner wounds. During Zibah’s year of seclusion in the harem, what was the key to her newfound peace? Can we find similar focus and peace—without a year of seclusion?

  13.In chapter 58, Isaiah explains Hezekiah’s illness—and subsequent three-day healing. “Hezekiah isn’t the chosen King, but he is a foreshadowing of the King that will come one day.” The prophecy he quotes in this chapter is from Isaiah 53, Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Savior, that is most often quoted to describe Jesus Christ. In what ways was Hezekiah’s illness similar to Christ’s suffering? How did Hezekiah’s three-day illness foreshadow Christ’s death and resurrection?