****
“…and so you see the sacrifices are not all the same. Some are of grain and some are of oil, but the most important of all is the burnt offering—a living animal killed and consumed on the fire.”
Phinehas broke off, for he saw that Ardon’s eyes were distant. “Are you listening to me, Ardon?” he asked.
“What? Oh…yes, of course.”
“No you weren’t. Your mind was somewhere else.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I am a bit woolly-headed today.” Desperately Ardon tried to throw himself into the heart of the lesson. “You know,” he blurted out, “it must have been wonderful to hear God speak directly. Your grandfather Aaron did, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. God visited him, but not as often as He visited Moses. My grandfather told me about it many times.”
“I wish God would speak to me.”
“We all wish that,” Phinehas said, smiling, “but that’s one thing Moses’ book is about. God may not speak to us out of a burning bush, but He’s spoken to Moses, and Moses copied His words down, and now we can read in the Book what God demands.”
Phinehas, the grandson of the great Aaron, was the high priest from the house of Levi, and he knew the Law. He had actually helped Moses with the Book, going over it and checking it carefully. He and Ardon were very close, and Phinehas had often said, “That young man Ardon is my best student. He will be a true man of God.”
Now, however, Phinehas studied the youthful face of Ardon and saw that he was troubled. “What’s the matter, friend? You can tell me.”
“No I can’t.”
“Of course you can. You can tell me anything.”
Ardon’s face was swept by a powerful emotion. His words did not flow easily as they usually did. When he tried to speak he could only stutter. “There was this…this young woman…don’t you see, and I…I was…interested in her …”
Phinehas listened as Ardon described his encounter with the young woman. He had a great affection for Ardon, as he had for his father, Caleb, and for the entire family.
Ardon finished by saying, “I must be the worst sinner in Israel to have such thoughts.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“I tell you I nearly took her, Phinehas. I was that close.”
“And you think that makes you the worst sinner in Israel? Don’t you think other men have had that kind of temptation?”
“I don’t care about other men. I hate myself for what I almost did.”
“You’ve got something wrong in your mind about this thing,” Phinehas said quietly. “Listen to me now, friend. You are a man. I am a man. I am the high priest of Israel. Do you not think I have had this feeling, this temptation, to commit fornication?”
Ardon stared openmouthed. “You? You’ve had trouble with feelings like this?”
“Of course I have. All men do. Don’t think you’re something unusual. Moses never spoke of it that I know of, but I’m sure he had the same feelings. Why, our fathers Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, they all had to struggle with temptation, many temptations.” He smiled and put his hand on Ardon’s arm. “And I’m not sure right now that fornication is the worst sin.”
“What could be worse than that?”
“Pride. Doubt of God. Things that nobody can see and go on inside your heart. These would be worse.”
Phinehas could see that the young man was suffering with his guilt. “You’ve got to learn to be honest with yourself and with God. You are a man. You’re going to be tempted to do wrong. At times you may even give in to that temptation. That doesn’t mean you’re the worst sinner in Israel, my brother. It simply means that you’re on a pilgrimage. On a pilgrimage a man stumbles, he falls, he cuts his knees, he gets scars. But if he loves God, he’ll get up, scars and all, and fall forward. Then God has promised to be with him. Now, we will talk about this later, but you must stop beating yourself up.”
“I’ll try, Phinehas, but it’s hard. I want to be a good man.”
“No, you want to be a perfect man, and that man has not lived since Adam. Determine to be obedient to God and make up your mind when you fail that you won’t quit.”
Ardon studied the face of the priest and knew that he was right. He always was! “I’ll try, Phinehas. I’ll do my best.”
****
“I’ve decided to send some men to spy out the land, Caleb.” Joshua had called Caleb into his tent. Now, looking very serious, Joshua abruptly added, “I’m telling you this because I’m going to send Ardon and Othniel to do the job.”
Caleb wrinkled his brow. “I understand Ardon. He’s a fine soldier, but Othniel—you’d better think twice about him. Why would you choose him? He’s never shown any signs of being responsible.”
“I’ve never told you this, but your brother Kenaz saved my life one time.”
“I didn’t know that. He never spoke of it.”
“I’m sure he didn’t. He was a modest fellow. We were hunting together and a lion came out. I was caught totally helpless. Kenaz stood his ground and sent an arrow straight into the lion’s open mouth. It killed him instantly. That lion would have destroyed me. I tried many times to thank him, but every time he just laughed. You know how he was.”
“That sounds like him all right. He was a good man. I wish Othniel were more like him.”
“Well, I think I owe Kenaz something. Besides that, I think I see some potential in Othniel. I may be wrong, but I see a good man under that woman-chasing exterior. I want to give him a chance to become a man. So we’ll send the two of them out together. It’ll be all right. Ardon will keep an eye on him. You talk to him.”
****
“Joshua has given me a mission, and he’s chosen you two to carry it out.”
Ardon and Othniel stood before Caleb. They had been brought in immediately, and now they listened as Caleb said, “Joshua wants to get some idea about the city of Jericho. It’s the most powerful city in our way. We can’t conquer the land until Jericho is conquered. Joshua wants to know more about it. How many soldiers are there? What kinds of weapons do they have? Are they good soldiers? The things we need to know that would help us.”
Othniel shifted uncomfortably. “Did he really say I was to go, Uncle?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t see why. I’m not much of a soldier.”
“Joshua is the commander in chief, Othniel. You’ll go, and you, Ardon, will keep an eye on him. Joshua is putting a lot of trust in you, and so am I.”
“I’ll do it, Father,” Ardon said. He felt a gush of relief that he was able to do something to wipe out the sinful feelings that had been his since he had nearly fallen to the wiles of the Amalachite woman. He said, “Tell us everything you want to know.”
The two young men listened. After a while Caleb said, “You’ll leave at dawn tomorrow. Make sure your weapons are ready. Joshua and I are depending on you two, so be faithful.”
As the two young men left, Ardon was exultant, but he saw that Othniel was glum. “What’s the matter with you, Othniel? This is the chance of a lifetime!”
Chapter 9
Ariel closely watched Ardon prepare to leave on his mission. Caleb had told her the sort of mission it was, and she had asked him if it would be dangerous. He had replied brusquely, “Of course it’s dangerous. Every mission in a war is dangerous. Now, go away and don’t bother your brother.”
Ariel ignored Caleb’s order, however, and stayed to talk to her brother. “I’m worried about you, Ardon.”
Ardon looked up, surprised. “What are you worried about?”
“You could be hurt. It’s a dangerous thing you’re going to do.”
Ardon came over and put his hand under Ariel’s chin. The two were very close, and he studied her face with a smile. “It’s exactly what I need.”
“Something’s been bothering you lately. What is it?”
Ardon was not surprised at her ability to read his moods. “Oh, nothing, really.”
“I bel
ieve you are troubled. You can tell me.” She frowned. “It’s not a woman, is it?”
“No, not a woman,” Ardon said.
Ariel stared at him. “You said that too quickly. I believe it is a woman. Who is she?”
Ardon was uncomfortable with the conversation. “You’re too curious. There’s nothing wrong with me. It’ll be good for me to go on this trip.”
Ariel knew she had touched a sore spot, and that made her unhappy. She had long wondered why Ardon had not yet taken a bride. He was twenty-five, and many young men were married and had families by his age. But he had not shown the same interest in women as their cousin Othniel had. Thinking of Othniel made Ariel shake her head. “I don’t know why Joshua chose Othniel to go with you. You need a hard, tough soldier so you can protect each other.”
“Joshua knows best.”
“What good will Othniel be? All he can do is sing songs, eat, and romance loose women.”
“Don’t be so hard on him.”
“You’re hard on him yourself. I’ve heard you lecture him about such things.”
Ardon remembered the conversation he had had with Phinehas. The priest had said something very like this. Ardon had been thinking of it ever since with a troubled mind. He had always been so sure of himself. That he was right and Othniel was wrong. Now the close encounter he had had with the young Amalachite woman was troublesome to him, and he said in defense of Othniel, “He’ll grow out of it.”
“Grow out of it? He’s twenty-one years old, Ardon. He’s not growing out of anything. He’s getting worse. Why don’t you ask Father to let you take somebody else? Take Menaz. He’s a fine soldier.”
“He would have been my choice, but it’s not for a soldier to question his commanding officer. I’ve got to go.”
Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek and left.
She called out after him, “He’ll probably get you killed!”
****
“I never saw anything like that!” Othniel stared at the massive wall that surrounded Jericho. The two young men had traveled mostly by night to keep themselves hidden. Now dawn was breaking and the city rose up before them. “How will our army ever get over those walls?”
“There are ways,” Ardon said grimly. His nerves were on edge, for there were patrols out. They had already encountered one of them, and there had to be others. Jericho was on its guard! “I’ve heard there are ways to knock down walls. Soldiers build platforms with roofs on them and shove them up against the walls. The roofs protect them from the enemy’s arrows raining down from the top of the wall.”
“But we don’t know how to do that. Nobody in the whole camp does.”
“God will help us find a way.”
Othniel studied the wall despairingly. “That wall is at least wide enough for two chariots to go around side by side. I saw one only a moment ago. It so big there are houses built on it, Ardon.”
“I see that, Othniel, but you may as well be quiet.”
Othniel fell silent. The two hid in a stand of scrubby trees and watched as the sun continued to rise. After several hours Othniel could stand it no longer. “How are we supposed to judge the army and what it’s like? They’re on the inside and we’re on the outside. All we’ll ever see out here are small patrols.”
“I know it. We’ve got to get in there.”
“There must be a way.”
They planned to wait until darkness before making an attempt to enter, but as the afternoon crept by, they decided to do some scouting. “Let’s circle the wall,” Ardon said. “Surely there is a gate, some way to get through the walls.”
Circling the city of Jericho turned out to be a difficult task. It was a large city and there was little cover. They dared not move out in the open for long, because they were close enough that watchmen on the wall could spot them. They had to dart behind boulders, shrubs, and stunted trees to hide. It was tiring, dirty work, and their water was soon gone. When they came to a creek, Ardon said, “We’d better fill up our water flasks here.”
As the two filled their flasks, Othniel said, “You know, this creek runs right through the city.”
Ardon blinked with surprise. “You’re right. It does. It goes right to the wall.”
“We could go into the city through that opening, couldn’t we?”
Ardon considered this for a moment, then nodded. “I haven’t seen any other place we can try. What we’ll have to do—”
A voice cried out, “You two stay right where you are!”
The two leaped to their feet and saw four soldiers headed straight for them. They had appeared out of a clump of stunted trees “It’s too late to run.” Ardon said. “We’ll have to fight them.” He cast a quick glance at Othniel. “Draw your sword and do your best.”
“Throw down your weapons!” The guard was a burly man, short and thick-armed, and he wore a brass helmet that glittered in the sun. His lips turned up in a cruel smile. “Where are you two from?”
“We’re just passing through,” Ardon said. His eyes studied the four as he calculated their odds. He wished fervently he had brought a real soldier with him instead of Othniel.
“Put your weapons down. You’re coming with us. We have questioners here who will know how to get an answer from you.”
Instead of throwing down his sword, Ardon swiftly drew his weapon and charged straight into the four. “Kill them, Othniel!” he shouted.
Othniel drew his own weapon. He had been almost paralyzed with fear, but as he saw Ardon tear into the leader, he forced himself forward. He was yelling as loudly as he could and found himself engaged in a hard-fought battle with one of the guards.
The battle did not last long. Othniel managed to kill one of the men while Ardon swiftly killed the leader with one blow and easily dealt with the other two, and then there was silence.
The Israelite men stood breathing hard. Othniel looked down at the dead man at his feet. Crimson blood spattered across his throat, for Othniel had nearly decapitated him. He felt sick but he had no time for that.
“We’ve got to get out of here. We can’t hide them.”
“What should we do?”
“It’s almost dark. We’ll follow the creek and get through the wall that way.”
Othniel saw that Ardon’s arm was covered with blood. “You’re wounded!” he cried out.
“Yes, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“At least let me bind it up before you bleed to death.”
“All right, but be quick. We can’t wait here.”
Hurriedly Othniel bound up the wounded arm. “That’s a bad wound,” he said. “It needs to be sewn up.”
“Never mind that. We’ve got to find a good hiding place before they find us.”
As they began to walk away, Othniel looked again at the man he had killed and wondered if he had a family. It was the first man he had ever killed, and Othniel felt sick as he followed Ardon into the stream.
****
“…and so, Your Majesty, the patrol were all killed, all four of them.”
“Who killed them?” The king of Jericho glared at the officer who stood before him trembling.
“We’re searching for them, but we haven’t found them yet.”
“Well, I know who they were!” the king screamed. “They were Israelites, mighty warriors and giants.”
“No, we saw their footprints. They were not—”
“I tell you the Israelites are here. They are going to kill me like they did Og, king of Bashan. Call out every man. Find them. Kill them or you’ll all die!”
****
The man—whose name Rahab did not even know—came over, put his arm around her, and gave her a kiss with his thick lips. He was dirty and smelled terrible, but she forced herself to smile.
“Here you are, sweetheart. You’re an armful for a man.” He fished into his purse, handed her a coin, and winked wickedly. “I’ll be back again. You can count on that.”
Rahab smiled and said
something. She had learned the stock phrases that women in her trade had to say to men. She had learned to smile and to pretend feelings that she never had. So, now as the man turned, she had a sudden impulse to fling the coin after him. But instead she held it in her hand, and when he turned and made another crude remark, she simply smiled. As soon as he closed the door, she walked over to the wall, put her arm against it, placed her forehead on her arm, and began to weep. Not wanting the other women to hear her crying, she kept her sobs muted. Women in her position had no right to tears. Most of the other women, perhaps all of them, had chosen the life that had been forced on her. But as the days and weeks and months had gone by, she had found herself considering doing away with herself. Suicide sometimes seemed preferable to enduring this horrible life and the awful men who came to her, but thoughts of her family kept her from actually doing it.
Shalmanezer, of course, took the money from the men, but many of them gave her gifts—some coins, some perfume, some scarves. She turned it all into cash and gave it to her family. She was not able to see them often, but she always found a way to get the money to them.
Wearily she straightened up, went over to a wash basin, and washed as well as she could. After each customer, she always wanted to bathe in warm, clean water, as though the cleansing of her body would purge the terrible stain that rested in her spirit.
When she was clean, she changed her clothes and stepped out into the hall. She was going to the well to get fresh water when she passed by the door of Shalmanezer’s room. He had a visitor, a man whose voice she did not know, and she heard the man say, “And so the whole army of Israel is camped out there, just waiting to swallow us up.”
Shalmanezer’s voice came clearly. “They’ll never do that.”
“I don’t know why you should think so. They haven’t been defeated yet.”
“They never had to take a walled city before. They have fought all their battles in the open. They’re no more than a bunch of wild men, shepherds. What do they know about warfare?” Shalmanezer’s voice was filled with contempt. “This wall was built for such a time as this. You know how hard it was to build. It took so many slaves that nothing else in the nation counted, and now it can’t be knocked down—at least not by the riffraff out there.”
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