Chapter F I V E
The sun finally rose as the refugees of Beth Horon reluctantly took a closer look at their homes. Gareb and Jonathan walked side by side as they observed the charred buildings. Gareb felt very awkward. This was where he had grown up. Here he had taken his first steps, spoke his first words, memorized the first books of the Torah, harvested his first bundle of wheat, fired his first sling. Now, only charred clay was all that remained of most of the buildings. The market square was unrecognizable as smoke still rose from the ashes of the food that had been stored for the night.
Then the two young soldiers came to Gareb’s home. Half of the small clay house still stood while the other half had collapsed some time during the night. The part that still stood appeared to be fragile and ready to give up at any time and bring the whole house down. It was definitely dangerous and uninhabitable in the state it was in. Jonathan felt sick. Yes, his friends and family had survived but a few moments difference and they could have been lost.
Jonathan spoke up, “I knew it. The Philistines will not show mercy this time. We’ve pushed it too far and they don’t want us to become independent. They aren’t done with us yet.”
Gareb solemnly asked, “Is this what is to become of all Israel? “
The question was left unanswered and Gareb understood that the future of Israel was very uncertain at this point. When would the Philistine revenge be satisfied? Would they stop at nothing until they get Jonathan’s father? Would Israel have to pay with the lives of the innocent? Who knew? Anything seemed possible for the moment.
…Anything…
The two young men sat down with their backs leaning against the house across the street from Gareb’s house. Gareb asked another solemn question that he was almost too afraid to ask, “Do you think God would really allow the Philistines to do this to His people?”
The question lingered in the air. There was a pause as Jonathan thought about it. But this question would not go unanswered. In reply, Jonathan said, “Israel is not the holy nation that God intended it to be. We often struggle to worship Him as the only true God. We commit adultery with the women of other nations. We complain about all of God’s law. And finally we have rejected God as king and crowned a human—my father. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is a giant call to wake up and see God’s glory.”
Gareb shook his head. “But Jonathan, why do innocent children have to pay for the sins of their fathers? How can God allow His children to suffer? If God is good and powerful, why doesn’t He put His good power to use?”
“Gareb, these are hard questions that even the priests of the temple don’t know the answer. But I can tell you one truth for sure. I am not an expert on the Scriptures like the priests are, but I do know that God is all-good and He is all-powerful. His perfect goodness and power overcomes this suffering that we humans have created and uses it for His cause.”
Gareb slightly nodded letting Jonathan know that they were on the same page.
Jonathan continued, “I understand that God allows evil acts such as this because it reveals your true self. God wants to see us react to this trial. And He wants us to react in righteousness.”
There was a long period of silence as both Hebrews processed Jonathan’s statement.
“With that knowledge,” Jonathan said, “we need to ask ourselves what we think God wants us to do next. What do you think, Gareb? What should we do now?”
Gareb looked at Jonathan with a confused look. “What do you mean? Do you really think there is anything that we can do?”
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “We could see if God wants to work through us and save Israel.”
“And how do you think we can do that.”
“I honestly have no idea, but we could go to the Philistine camp at Micmash and see what happens. Want to come with me?”
Gareb was stunned. Jonathan wanted to go to the enemy! Was he going crazy? Gareb asked, “Why do you want to do that, Jonathan?”
Jonathan casually shrugged his shoulders again and said, “What else are we going to do? It would be better than just sitting around here, waiting for the Philistines to return.”
~~~
The terrain was rough and steep cliffs slowed Jonathan and his armor bearer down. Gareb had twisted his ankle already but not bad enough to keep them from pressing onwards. Jonathan had grown up in this part of Israel and he knew it well. He knew that they needed to take this path because they wanted to make sure that if they did have to fight the Philistines, they would fight an outpost and not the whole entire army. And so they continued on the rough path without grumbling and with hearts and adrenalin strangely anxious for action. What was going to happen?
A week ago, Jonathan led an attack on the Philistine outpost at Geba with one thousand men including Gareb by his side. But he spent most of the time giving orders on how to take the fortress. The attack had been so swift and well planned that the Philistines didn’t have time to take cover in the fortress and the gates were never closed. A couple dozen Philistines were already in the fortress when they attacked and they set up a small ambush inside the fortress. It took a while to safely dispatch all of the defenders but it paid off. Twenty ordinary Philistines can’t stand a chance against one thousand talented Israelites. Only two Israelites were seriously injured and they killed close to thirty Philistines in that attack. Now Jonathan was preparing his mind to attempt to do the impossible. If twenty didn’t stand a chance against one thousand than much less two against an innumerable amount!
Gareb still couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Was Jonathan really going to put himself between thousands and thousands of soldiers and Israel? Gareb still hadn’t made up his own mind what he would do if Jonathan was indeed going to dive head first into the mess of Philistine swords.
After hiking all day, they finally came to a clearing where they found themselves in a small canyon with a tall cliff on each side of the valley. The path between the cliffs quickly rose up to the level of the cliffs. At the top of the hill there were tents and fires and soldiers sitting, standing, eating, fencing.
“We made it,” said Jonathan. “A Philistine outpost. It’s not exactly where I was hoping it would be. But that’s an outpost.”
Jonathan studied the position of the soldiers for a moment. The only way to reach the camp was to go between the two cliffs and up the steep hill. The sun was beginning to set but it was still shining a lot of light and revealing everything in the small canyon. Jonathan explained, “They’ll be able to see us as soon as we step out from under these trees. We could wait until night but we’ll never know if they’ll have more people in the outpost at night or if they decide to move.” He looked at Gareb. “We need to attack now.”
“Wait a second. Have you really decided to attack the Philistines?” asked Gareb. “Those are trained fighters with weapons. All I have is this.” Gareb pulled out his plowshare and sling.
Jonathan could sense the fear in Gareb’s voice. “Listen, this is not about what we are up against. This is about who’s side we are on. Tell me Gareb, who do the Philistines serve?”
“Baal .”
“Right. And who do we serve?”
“Yahweh.”
“Who created the ground on which we stand? Baal or Yahweh?”
“Yahweh.”
“Who gave you life? Who gives you your strength? Gareb, how big is your God? Who can stand in His way?”
Gareb slightly hesitated. Then with a miraculously renewed courage he said, “Nothing is bigger than my God.” It was almost as if he had just received a new revelation, even though he had been taught this truth since before he could remember. But for some reason, now that they needed a God, He suddenly felt more real and more powerful than ever. Nothing is bigger than the God of Israel!
There was a short pause before Jonathan replied, “Then let’s act as if we both believe that.” Jonathan clapped Gareb’s shoulder. “I will go alone if I must, but it would be a great comfort if you came with me. Perhaps Yahweh will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Gareb nodded. His mind was now made up. He couldn’t leave Jonathan. He would never forgive himself if Jonathan was killed fighting by himself. Who knows? Maybe even the Almighty would have compassion on them and allow them to live. “Do all that you have in mind.” Then Gareb placed his slightly trembling hand on Jonathans shoulder so that both of them had each other‘s shoulder. “Let’s go. I am with you in heart and soul.”
They made some quick preparations. The charge up the steep hill was going to take a lot of energy and strength and they were already feeling a little worn out from the long hike and the rest stressful week. Jonathan removed his water bottle and his bow and arrow. They decided that Jonathan would only carry his sword; it was heavy enough. He took off some pieces of armor that he thought weren’t as necessary and Gareb did the same. The plan was that Gareb would use his sling a couple times to give them time to run up the slope and then Gareb would pull out his plowshare and they would both put everything that they had been taught at Saul’s palace in Gilgal into practice. This would be the first true test of whether they learned their hand to hand combat skills.
“We will reveal ourselves to the men,” Jonathan explained as Gareb chose the smoothest stones out of his stone pouch. “If they say to us, ‘Wait there and we will come to you,’ then we won’t attack. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ that will be our sign from God and we will climb up knowing that He has given them into our hands.”
Jonathan noticed that Gareb’s hands had stopped shaking. They were as ready as humanly possible. Jonathan prayed that God would send them the sign. Gareb tied his sling around his small figure on his right hand and slid the plowshare under his belt. He then took the four stones that he had chosen in his left hand and dropped his pouch of stones. Jonathan drew his sword. The air was deathly still. They took a few deep breaths and then walked out into the open.
Then the two young soldiers came to Gareb’s home. Half of the small clay house still stood while the other half had collapsed some time during the night. The part that still stood appeared to be fragile and ready to give up at any time and bring the whole house down. It was definitely dangerous and uninhabitable in the state it was in. Jonathan felt sick. Yes, his friends and family had survived but a few moments difference and they could have been lost.
Jonathan spoke up, “I knew it. The Philistines will not show mercy this time. We’ve pushed it too far and they don’t want us to become independent. They aren’t done with us yet.”
Gareb solemnly asked, “Is this what is to become of all Israel? “
The question was left unanswered and Gareb understood that the future of Israel was very uncertain at this point. When would the Philistine revenge be satisfied? Would they stop at nothing until they get Jonathan’s father? Would Israel have to pay with the lives of the innocent? Who knew? Anything seemed possible for the moment.
…Anything…
The two young men sat down with their backs leaning against the house across the street from Gareb’s house. Gareb asked another solemn question that he was almost too afraid to ask, “Do you think God would really allow the Philistines to do this to His people?”
The question lingered in the air. There was a pause as Jonathan thought about it. But this question would not go unanswered. In reply, Jonathan said, “Israel is not the holy nation that God intended it to be. We often struggle to worship Him as the only true God. We commit adultery with the women of other nations. We complain about all of God’s law. And finally we have rejected God as king and crowned a human—my father. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is a giant call to wake up and see God’s glory.”
Gareb shook his head. “But Jonathan, why do innocent children have to pay for the sins of their fathers? How can God allow His children to suffer? If God is good and powerful, why doesn’t He put His good power to use?”
“Gareb, these are hard questions that even the priests of the temple don’t know the answer. But I can tell you one truth for sure. I am not an expert on the Scriptures like the priests are, but I do know that God is all-good and He is all-powerful. His perfect goodness and power overcomes this suffering that we humans have created and uses it for His cause.”
Gareb slightly nodded letting Jonathan know that they were on the same page.
Jonathan continued, “I understand that God allows evil acts such as this because it reveals your true self. God wants to see us react to this trial. And He wants us to react in righteousness.”
There was a long period of silence as both Hebrews processed Jonathan’s statement.
“With that knowledge,” Jonathan said, “we need to ask ourselves what we think God wants us to do next. What do you think, Gareb? What should we do now?”
Gareb looked at Jonathan with a confused look. “What do you mean? Do you really think there is anything that we can do?”
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “We could see if God wants to work through us and save Israel.”
“And how do you think we can do that.”
“I honestly have no idea, but we could go to the Philistine camp at Micmash and see what happens. Want to come with me?”
Gareb was stunned. Jonathan wanted to go to the enemy! Was he going crazy? Gareb asked, “Why do you want to do that, Jonathan?”
Jonathan casually shrugged his shoulders again and said, “What else are we going to do? It would be better than just sitting around here, waiting for the Philistines to return.”
~~~
The terrain was rough and steep cliffs slowed Jonathan and his armor bearer down. Gareb had twisted his ankle already but not bad enough to keep them from pressing onwards. Jonathan had grown up in this part of Israel and he knew it well. He knew that they needed to take this path because they wanted to make sure that if they did have to fight the Philistines, they would fight an outpost and not the whole entire army. And so they continued on the rough path without grumbling and with hearts and adrenalin strangely anxious for action. What was going to happen?
A week ago, Jonathan led an attack on the Philistine outpost at Geba with one thousand men including Gareb by his side. But he spent most of the time giving orders on how to take the fortress. The attack had been so swift and well planned that the Philistines didn’t have time to take cover in the fortress and the gates were never closed. A couple dozen Philistines were already in the fortress when they attacked and they set up a small ambush inside the fortress. It took a while to safely dispatch all of the defenders but it paid off. Twenty ordinary Philistines can’t stand a chance against one thousand talented Israelites. Only two Israelites were seriously injured and they killed close to thirty Philistines in that attack. Now Jonathan was preparing his mind to attempt to do the impossible. If twenty didn’t stand a chance against one thousand than much less two against an innumerable amount!
Gareb still couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Was Jonathan really going to put himself between thousands and thousands of soldiers and Israel? Gareb still hadn’t made up his own mind what he would do if Jonathan was indeed going to dive head first into the mess of Philistine swords.
After hiking all day, they finally came to a clearing where they found themselves in a small canyon with a tall cliff on each side of the valley. The path between the cliffs quickly rose up to the level of the cliffs. At the top of the hill there were tents and fires and soldiers sitting, standing, eating, fencing.
“We made it,” said Jonathan. “A Philistine outpost. It’s not exactly where I was hoping it would be. But that’s an outpost.”
Jonathan studied the position of the soldiers for a moment. The only way to reach the camp was to go between the two cliffs and up the steep hill. The sun was beginning to set but it was still shining a lot of light and revealing everything in the small canyon. Jonathan explained, “They’ll be able to see us as soon as we step out from under these trees. We could wait until night but we’ll never know if they’ll have more people in the outpost at night or if they decide to move.” He looked at Gareb. “We need to attack now.”
“Wait a second. Have you really decided to attack the Philistines?” asked Gareb. “Those are trained fighters with weapons. All I have is this.” Gareb pulled out his plowshare and sling.
Jonathan could sense the fear in Gareb’s voice. “Listen, this is not about what we are up against. This is about who’s side we are on. Tell me Gareb, who do the Philistines serve?”
“Baal .”
“Right. And who do we serve?”
“Yahweh.”
“Who created the ground on which we stand? Baal or Yahweh?”
“Yahweh.”
“Who gave you life? Who gives you your strength? Gareb, how big is your God? Who can stand in His way?”
Gareb slightly hesitated. Then with a miraculously renewed courage he said, “Nothing is bigger than my God.” It was almost as if he had just received a new revelation, even though he had been taught this truth since before he could remember. But for some reason, now that they needed a God, He suddenly felt more real and more powerful than ever. Nothing is bigger than the God of Israel!
There was a short pause before Jonathan replied, “Then let’s act as if we both believe that.” Jonathan clapped Gareb’s shoulder. “I will go alone if I must, but it would be a great comfort if you came with me. Perhaps Yahweh will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Gareb nodded. His mind was now made up. He couldn’t leave Jonathan. He would never forgive himself if Jonathan was killed fighting by himself. Who knows? Maybe even the Almighty would have compassion on them and allow them to live. “Do all that you have in mind.” Then Gareb placed his slightly trembling hand on Jonathans shoulder so that both of them had each other‘s shoulder. “Let’s go. I am with you in heart and soul.”
They made some quick preparations. The charge up the steep hill was going to take a lot of energy and strength and they were already feeling a little worn out from the long hike and the rest stressful week. Jonathan removed his water bottle and his bow and arrow. They decided that Jonathan would only carry his sword; it was heavy enough. He took off some pieces of armor that he thought weren’t as necessary and Gareb did the same. The plan was that Gareb would use his sling a couple times to give them time to run up the slope and then Gareb would pull out his plowshare and they would both put everything that they had been taught at Saul’s palace in Gilgal into practice. This would be the first true test of whether they learned their hand to hand combat skills.
“We will reveal ourselves to the men,” Jonathan explained as Gareb chose the smoothest stones out of his stone pouch. “If they say to us, ‘Wait there and we will come to you,’ then we won’t attack. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ that will be our sign from God and we will climb up knowing that He has given them into our hands.”
Jonathan noticed that Gareb’s hands had stopped shaking. They were as ready as humanly possible. Jonathan prayed that God would send them the sign. Gareb tied his sling around his small figure on his right hand and slid the plowshare under his belt. He then took the four stones that he had chosen in his left hand and dropped his pouch of stones. Jonathan drew his sword. The air was deathly still. They took a few deep breaths and then walked out into the open.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Don’t miss the explosive season finally!
posted by Nata at 10:50 a.m.
5 Comments:
sorry it took me so long to post Chapter F i v e. it's kind of hard to be a full time college student and a profesional story telling blogger at the same time!
8/12/06 11:02 a.m.
Good chapter. I won't miss the season finale (that's how it's really spelled, by the way).
See you soon. Hope you didn't forget your guitar.
10/12/06 4:44 p.m.
Wow!
Amazing!
Fabulous job.
:)
11/12/06 12:23 p.m.
As Schwarzenegger once said, "I'll be back..."
11/12/06 3:49 p.m.
Hi Nate
What great story that you are wirteing here. My deepest respect.I really don´t understand how you mange it to be able to write storys like this and still be a fulltime student.
If you could give me a hind about it, it would be really appreciated.
So I hope that you have a blessed time and I will hopefully be able to talk to you again some time soon.
Yours becasue I´m His Love
13/12/06 6:45 a.m.
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