CHAPTER XVIII.
THE BATTLE OF BETH-ZUR.
Several months have passed since the scenes described in the last chapter.During the winter Judas has been increasing and consolidating his army,and he has now a force both more numerous and better equipped than anythat he had hitherto commanded. Again he has marched to encounter theGreeks, but he has no easy task before him. Lysias in person commands theSyrian army. Antiochus has sent him some veteran troops from the capital;he has raised fresh levies of his own, and he has enrolled in his ranksthe remnants of the armies of Seron and Nicanor. Altogether he hascollected an army of sixty thousand men, and must out-number hisantagonists at least five times. The struggle will be of a critical kind,and the victory, if won at all, can hardly be won without grievous loss.The Greeks are fighting for their last stake. If they lose this they aredisgraced.
The experience of a soldier's wife had not lessened the anxiety with whichRuth waited for news of the battle. This time all that were especiallynear and dear to her had gone with the army--her husband, her brother, andAzariah--all had run or were even then running deadly peril of their lives.When the news came it might find her utterly desolate, a widow indeed.
During the night these terrors had had almost undisputed sway. It seemedimpossible to her to recall the holy words which at other times broughtcomfort to her soul. Some dreadful picture of her dear ones lying cold andstark upon the battle-field would rise up before her eyes; and again andagain the hideous laughing of the hyenas, echoed among the hills, seemedto her like the mocking triumph of the heathen.
The light of morning brought, as it is wont to bring, if not cheerfulness,at least a more hopeful spirit. Anyhow she had not to lie in forcedinaction. The daily duties had to be done; and she could find in them notforgetfulness, indeed, but the wholesome invigorating influence of work.Her first task was to fetch the daily ration of food. Miriam and Judithaccompanied her, and her little boy was now old enough to toddle by herside. The girls had already begun to bear the burdens of a woman's cares,but the child was in happy unconsciousness of trouble, and there was acertain infection of cheerfulness in his laughter and prattle.
Ruth's way to the store where the rations were distributed led past thepoint from which the best view of the pass could be obtained. She scannedthe prospect eagerly as she went, but could see nothing. On her return sheespied the figure of a man who seemed--for he was still almost too distantto be distinguished--to be approaching.
"Look, girl," she cried, "surely some one comes yonder, and he must bebringing tidings of the battle. Oh! if they are safe----"
As she spoke she dropped the piece of flesh, which she was carrying, fromher hand; and immediately a vulture swooped down and carried it off.
The watchman had now descried the figure of the traveller, and made thesignal which was to indicate to the inmates of the encampment the factthat tidings from the army was at hand. In an instant all that were ableto move had poured out, and were hurrying to the top of the pass.
The messenger was Micah, whom, as one of the fleetest runners in the army,Judas had selected to carry the news of his victory. He had traversed thedistance, which could not have been less than thirty miles, at a pacewhich had sorely tried even his athletic frame. He flung himself on theground, panting convulsively for breath, and unable to speak. One of theelders poured a few drops of cordial into his mouth, and by degrees herecovered his powers. His first act was to kneel and with outspread handsto thank the Lord of Hosts. "We thank thee, God of our fathers, that thouhast delivered us out of the hand of the enemy, and brought us unto thehaven where we would be." Then, amidst the breathless attention of thelistening crowd, he told the story.
"Judas the Hammer," and as he said the name a murmur of blessing could beheard from the whole assembly--"Judas, the Hammer of God, has smitten theenemy to pieces. Two days since he met Lysias--for the Governor himself wasin command--at Beth-zur. There by that valley of Elah, where David slewGoliah of Gath, has the Lord God of Israel proved again that the battle isnot to the strong nor the race to the swift. Judas himself led the rightwing; the left he had given to Seraiah and Azariah, whom I myself had theprivilege of following. The lines of the two armies were about equal inlength; nor, indeed, was there room on either side for more; but they hadtheir ranks forty deep and more, and we but seven or eight at the most,for they were many times more numerous. But the Lord showed once againthat He can deliver as surely by few as many. Our captain, than whom noman has a more generous temper, though he would gladly have been the firstto advance against the enemy, granted that privilege to us. Then weshouted, as we did in the day of Emmaues, 'The Lord is our Help!' and ranforward. While we were yet half a furlong from them, we saw them trembleand waver; and before we could cross our swords with them their line hadbroken. That done, their numbers availed them no more, but rather hinderedthem, so crowded and crushed together were they. We slew till we wereweary of slaying."
"And what befell Lysias, the Governor?" asked one of the elders.
"He had posted himself over against Judas himself, judging that therewould be the most need of his presence. And indeed they say--for I myselfdid not see him, being, as I have said, on the other side of thefield--that he bore himself as a brave soldier and a good captain. AndJudas, when he saw him, pressed forward, seeking to meet him face to face.But Lysias was struck with terror and fled. He had not the heart to abidea stroke from the Hammer. He escaped with some hundred horsemen of hisbodyguard from the field. The prisoners say that he is gone to Antioch togather another army. Let him gather it. We will deal with it and him as wehave dealt hitherto with the enemies of the Lord."
"And what does Judas now?" asked the elder.
With a look of joy and triumph Micah lifted his head and said, "He is inJerusalem. The Lord has given back into our hands the Holy City, the Cityof David His servant."
It is impossible to describe the delight with which this announcement wasreceived. The women, even the men, wept for joy. This was indeed aglorious gain of victory. Last year they could only see the Holy City fromafar, and weep over its desolation. Now they could pour out their love andtheir sorrow within its sacred precincts.
"Yes," he repeated, "Judas is in Jerusalem, and is making ready to purifythe Temple. And you are to return as speedily as you can. The days of yourexile are over. Our God has recalled His banished unto Him."
His public mission finished, Micah could give time to private affection.He went with Ruth and the children to their cave, and then, after sharingtheir morning meal, told them all they wanted to hear. Seraiah and Azariahwere both safe, though both had had narrow escapes, Azariah's helmethaving been broken in by a sword-stroke from a gigantic Gaul, and Seraiahbeing saved by a little roll of the Prophecy of Daniel, which he alwayscarried about with him--it was a gift from his wife--and which had stoppedthe point of a javelin that would otherwise have pierced his heart. Ruthand the children were never satisfied with asking questions and listeningto his answers. Even the little Daniel seemed to understand something ofwhat was being said, as he listened, with his baby-eyes wide open, to thetalk of his elders.
"And Cleon," asked Ruth, "the Greek with whom you used to be so friendlyin time past--did you see him? You met him, you told us, in Modin, andparted in anger; did you meet him again?"
A cloud seemed to pass over Micah's face at this question, and for a fewmoments he was silent.
"Ah! Ruth," he said, "the Lord be merciful to him, as He has been mercifulto me! And did I not sin against Him tenfold more grievously than anyheathen could have sinned? For was I not a child of the Covenant, and hadI not light and knowledge, whereas he was born in ignorance and knew notof the mercies and deliverances which I knew, and knowing despised."
"Is he a prisoner, then?" asked Miriam, "and will Judas spare him?"
"He needs no mercy from man, my child," said Micah, solemnly. "In thebattle I did not meet him. That was well. I should have been loath tocr
oss swords with him; and yet I could hardly have failed to do so. But inthe evening, when Lysias had fled eastward with the remnants of his host,and the victory was won, I saw him on the field of battle. The captainhimself was with me, as we went among the wounded and the dead, lookingfor any to whom we could give such help as they needed. He had beenpierced with a ghastly wound through the breast. And when Judas saw him,he said to me, 'Ah! that is a brave soldier, and as good a swordsman asever I met. I had a hard bout with him this morning, and had he notslipped in making a blow, it might have gone ill with me. Do you knowhim?' 'Yes;' I said, 'in the old time, when I mingled with the heathen andwalked in their ways.' 'See, then, whether you can help him in any way; Ilove a brave man, be he heathen or no.' I was willing enough to doanything that I could for him, you may be sure; one glance at that paleface was enough to chase away all the anger with which we had parted.'Cleon!' I said. And he knew me and smiled--a very wan and feeble smile,but still a smile. Then I tried to stanch the blood that was flowing fromhis wound. 'Nay,' said he, ''tis idle; I am past all help; let it flow,and I shall be sooner out of my pain. But, dear Menander--nay, pardon me, Ishould call you Micah--give me some water to drink, for I have a ragingthirst.' I had a leathern bottle of water, and gave him a draught. Then Irested his head upon my shoulder, and bathed his forehead with the water.Judas meanwhile had gone further, and I saw a party of the Chasidimranging the field, and I thought that they could scarcely pass us bywithout seeing us, so I said to Cleon, 'Let me lay you down till these arepast; for if they know you as a friend of Jason they will not spare yourlife. 'Tis better to feign death than to meet it at their hands.' Then hesmiled and said, 'No need, Micah, to feign death. Your Hammer has smittenme down, and I shall not need another stroke.' And almost as he spoke thewords, he died. And just then the captain came back, and we buried himwhere he had fallen. The Lord have mercy on him!"
"But will He have mercy on the heathen?" said Miriam, who had begun tothink.
"Nay, child--who knows?" answered Micah. "Surely some of us need His pardonmore than they, who have not known Him, nor have been called by His name."
_Farewell to the Mountains._]
The next day Micah returned, in obedience to orders, and two or three daysafterwards all the party that had been left in the mountains followed himto Jerusalem. It was a happy day, but saddened, for the children at least,by one loss. The jackal, Jael, followed the party awhile, but when theyreached the plain, stood still and watched them disappear, making mournfulcries the while. Even the prospect of seeing their old home could notquite reconcile the children to the loss of this strange playmate, who hadyet grown so dear to them.
And so the rugged mountains which had afforded a refuge to the faithfulremnant were left again to silence and solitude. But the memory of whatthe confessors and martyrs had endured in the evil days was never toperish. Generation after generation remembered with sympathy and reverencewhat men, aye, and weak women and children had borne for conscience'sake--cold and hunger and nakedness, and that anguish of soul which isharder to be endured than all bodily pain. Two centuries later, aninspired Hebrew, writing to Hebrews, commemorated the noble endurance ofthis faithful band in his famous roll of the triumphs of faith: "Theywandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,tormented, of whom the world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts andmountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."(15)
The Hammer: A Story of the Maccabean Times Page 20