by J. L. Belk
CHAPTER TWO
As Ezechial walked into the wilderness he wondered how GOD could allow something like this to happen to him. He was a good man, made his sacrifices, helped in the community, taught his children the law, and took good care of his family. He started wondering if he was being punished for some unconfessed sins. He looked through his memories back to his childhood, then his young adult years. He remembered all the things he did as a young man and could find no unconfessed sin. Then he thought of that one thing. The one thing he wanted no one to ever find out about, his life's shame. He thought “Oh GOD I sacrificed for that and begged for forgiveness. I lived my life trying to make up for that. I’ve worked hard to wash that off my record.” Then He screamed out loud, “GOD is there no mercy from you? What do I have to do for forgiveness? Do you even exist? Have I waisted my life worshiping you? Were Abraham and Moses liars?” He fell to the ground and wept bitterly. His sobs came out as screams of pain, he was so weakened by his crying that he was too weak to get up off the ground. The heaviness of his burden had taken its toll, he had given up. He gave up on the law, he gave up on his faith, he gave up on GOD. He laid face down on the ground until the sun went behind the hills. As he sat up he looked toward the sky and saw the red sky against the clouds. He watched the birds flying toward the sun as if they were chasing the light. Then he thought “OK, GOD, I get it. I must chase toward the light and find out what you want from me”. He made his way toward the west and finally after all day he took some food to eat. This made him even sadder as he thought of his wife and children. The heaviness of his heart made it hard to even take the next step. As he forced himself to go on, he thought of Sarah crying as they left saying “I’ll always love you Daddy.”
As night fell he was totally lost, he found some sticks and made a fire as his father had taught him as a young boy. As he gathered wood he could hear the roars of the wild beast in the distance. He Thought to himself how nice it would be if GOD let one of them come by and kill him. But GOD doesn’t care enough for me to let me die. He built a large fire & laid down to sleep when he heard a noise of sticks breaking. He sat up and looked toward the noise hoping for a lion or something as he saw a man walk into the light. He had both hands in the air showing he was unarmed and he could see he also was a leper. He said, “please let me sleep by your fire, I’ve been wandering for days.” Ezechial allowed him to come in and asked if he had eaten today. The man told him it had been at least three days since he last ate. As Ezechial gave him some of his food he asked him his name. He said, “it is Enoch”. He smiled and told him that was his youngest sons name, and the two started a conversation that carried into the night.
As the sun rose the next morning Ezechial woke to find Enoch sitting by the fire, with his back toward him. Ezechial rose to his feet, and found Enoch with his hands over the fire and asked what were his plans. Enoch turned and said, “walk until I die,” as he could see Ezechial despair matched his own. Ezechial sat down by the fire beside him, pulled out the last bit of food he had, and handed some to Enoch. He said, “Then we shall walk and die together.” Enoch smiled with a tear in the corner of his eyes, trying not to cry, for it had been so long since anyone would even speak to him. The shame and loneliness of being a leper is overwhelming. They were treated worse than prostitutes and even murders. At least a murder was fed before he died. They were left to starve, if they had no family to feed them, which Enoch didn't.
Walking through life with no true friends, no respect and utter loneness is the life of such. He spoke of his brother, how he walked to his house. Then he told him to stay away from his family or he would have him stoned & burn his body. The priest had told him he needed to live in the colony, but that was too horrible, as the stench was intolerable. As they realized they were similar, they each vowed to bury the other. If one had the strength.
It was a long day as they decided to move closer to the river. They could at least eat, if fortunate enough to catch fish. They made baskets out of branches & vines, ripped pieces of cloth from the bottom of their robes, and made a make-shift rope to toss into the river. They dug next to the river and found worms & grubs to use as bait - tying them into a piece of cloth so the smell would be in the water but not get washed away. As the end of the day closed they heard a splash in the water, pulling in the basket their hearts jumped as they saw a fish big enough for both to eat. As they placed it on a stick over the fire and watched it cook they told each other stories of their past. It was nice to have a friend. Someone to talk to. Someone who understood.
As Ezechial talked to Enoch he realized he knew the law, and was educated in the writing of the fathers. They discussed the law, the reason they were put out of the community and how they treated other lepers. They discussed the coming messiah and how he would defeat the Romans and put up his throne on earth. They were in agreement. but neither could understand why they were in this situation, for both were devout men, according to the law. They discussed the stoning of unfaithful spouses, and children who committed horrible sins. They also discussed how GOD demanded they stay separated from the gentiles and never intermarry. They were in total agreement even down to this heretic named Jesus.
Ezechial told Enoch of the time he saw him, how his eyes burned into his soul and swore he was demonic. Enoch agreed saying how else could he have run demons out of two men. He told Ezechial how his group was traveling and met the two. They made one confess he was wrong for spreading such lies, and the other told them he would die first. This second man has caused a major issue with the gentiles, as an entire city is now telling everyone the man who healed him is the Messiah. “GENTILES, worshiping the Messiah”, he said. How he hoped the Romans would destroy that city to stop the spread of this lie. Enoch also said, “I heard he was supposed to have healed a man from leprosy.” All he could do is stand there and stare. Then he thought, is this possibly true as he replied, “I don't know, but what if it is true.”
This news bothered Ezechial, as he wanted to be healed, but also, should he approach such a heretic as he? He wrestled with this all day. All he could hear was the muffled talking as he wrestled with this news. Then he asked Enoch, “Do you think this man could be the messiah?” Enoch said, “Well I have considered this, either he is, or he is of Lucifer.” The thought of approaching such a man scared him. He wrestled and pondered on the thought all day as they prepared a thatch shelter for the night. As the sun fell behind the hills he was still terrified of the thought of a true demon of Lucifer walking around performing miracles of evil.
As night fell and darkness surrounded them the conversations slowed to quiet. He just set and stared at the provisions Deborah had brought him. He saw the mat she had tied for him to sleep on. As he opened it he had to smile as he saw a small wooden figurine he had carved for Sarah. As he looked at it for a while thinking of her smile and laugh, he couldn't hold back the tear from rolling down his cheek. Enoch saw this and just remained silent for a while. Then he said, “I never had children, always wanted them but my life is too complicated for children. Feel privileged for the memories you have. I would give my right arm to know that when I die someone would remember me with love.” This broke loose the tears he was holding back as he silently wept. Enoch remained silent just putting his hand on his shoulder for support. Lying on his mat he slowly fell asleep as the tears dried on his cheek.
With the morning came the perfect sunrise, as if GOD was telling him everything was OK. Ezechial stared at the sun against the clouds and just admired the orange and yellow clouds. As he went to put a stick on the fire he looked up one more time at the beautiful sky, then he heard Enoch scream, “Ezechial, no, drop it now!” He looked down to realize that he was holding the charred end of a stick that had rolled out of the fire. He felt no pain as he threw it down smelling the burned flesh. Enoch ripped a piece of cloth and said, “q
uickly wash it off”. As he wrapped his hand he told him, “this is how this disease kills you. You lose feeling in your hands and feet. Not knowing your hurt your body begins to rot. We have to be very careful.” He just sat there starring at his hand while it was being wrapped and could see raw flesh and blood - but no pain.
Enoch said, “I’ll go pick some herbs to attempt to heal it before infection sets in.” As he watched him hurriedly walk into the field on the edge of the river he just looked up at the sky and said, “GOD, why!” He looked down and sat silently just trying to understand why a supposedly loving GOD would allow such suffering in mankind. As the burn reached active nerves his hand began to ache. He went to the river and put it into the water for relief. Enoch came back with fresh wild herbs he found in the fields and woods. Unwrapping his hand flesh peeled off with the bandage and he winched at the sight. He tore another piece of Ezechial’s garment, put in the herbs and aloe then re-wrapped his hand. Enoch told him, “if it gets infected it will be bad.”
The pain eased a little, but he was still sore, Enoch caught fish, prepared a meal, and gave him a plate telling him to eat for he needed to remain strong. As he ate his fish off a leaf, with his other hand, he thanked Enoch for being such a good friend. Enoch turned to him and replied, “it was you who accepted me and fed me when I was starving.”
The next morning, he could still smell his hand, as the smell of burning flesh lingered in his head – and does for a long time. “Burned flesh can smell for days,” Enoch told him. As the scabs began to form and infection oozed out of the rags he started to unwrap it, but Enoch stopped him and said, “give it more time before we change that. The herbs need more time to work, besides if we keep on tearing off pieces of our clothes we’ll soon be naked." Both men burst into laughter as they sat by the river just looking at the water rush by.
“The pain and smell of burned flesh is something that pushes a human being to their limits. GOD has instilled in us a survival aptitude to give us a reason to carry on. It is in times like this that either brings a man closer to him or drives the heathens away from him” Enoch proclaimed. “So GOD wants to show you what kind of man you are, are you his child or not?” He just looked at him and looked back down at his hand never saying a word.
The next morning, he unwrapped his hand to see the end of a bone sticking out of his little finger. He looked at Enoch as he re-wrapped it with fresh herbs and asked if it was worth trying. Enoch told him he had no choice in the matter. “It’s either try or die.” He told Enoch it didn't matter, for he was going to die anyway. Enoch replied, “so what letter do you have for me to send to Sarah?” At this remark Ezechial felt the urge to carry on. He just looked at him and replied, “just finish it.” Trying to be tough, but Enoch saw through this, and just stuck his tongue out causing Ezechial to laugh so hard he shouts, “your making me hurt!”
As the days went on they decided to move on, drying fish for the journey ahead, and taking care of his hand. The flesh started to heal but the end of his finger had fallen off. They say time heals all wounds, that does not apply here, time only progressed and made all wounds worse. As the journey continued they had decided to move closer to Jerusalem going down toward the Jordan and staying along its banks until they reached a place to rest. Several days had passed and the men were weary. Casting their trap into the river they started making a shelter. Walking was now getting harder, and the trip had taken its toll on both men. Now Enoch was having trouble with his feet and legs, as they come down the hills several scratches and small cuts had started getting infected. Ezechial’s hand was severely scared and his arm was starting to show signs of worsening to an advanced stage of leprosy.
They had found some old clothes on the path and cut them up into wraps to cover their skin, making them look like beggars. As people passed by some would mock them, some threw stones and told them to get away. If anyone had compassion and started walking their way they had to call out, “Unclean! Unclean!”, so people would not get too close. Some people would drop food and water, some would ridicule them saying such things as, “You must be a wicked man to suffer such.” This made Ezechial think of the way he had treated people as a Pharisee. One man shouted out, “Jesus can heal you, just find him!” This made him think hard about this. While camped three more men joined them, and all worked together to make the best life they could have as lepers. Two of the men consistently spoke of this Jesus person, and Ezechial and Enoch had gotten to the point where they would listen to their stories.
Ezechial asked if this man was for real or was he just a demon possessed person. They would have hard, sometimes heated, discussions on this topic, sometimes making Ezechial angry, but other times grateful for the chance to show his knowledge. Although the thought of such a man was intriguing to both men, as the thought of being healed was too much to hope. Since all the men were in various stages of the disease they had different tasks as to the person’s ability. While the worst case would pick up sticks to make a fire, the least advanced would gather food and cook. Other than fish, making traps for wild animals and snaring birds was the main source of food. Ezechial had a problem with this at first but as starvation closed in, he gave way to survival. It was funny to him how he left his family and the camp to die, and now he was eating a rabbit.
Josepha, one of the men, was beginning to get to Ezechial, as he would listen intently to the stories of Jesus. It was a fascinating idea to ponder. If this is truly the Son of GOD, then the Romans were surely about to meet their downfall. The stories of the healing of a of woman’s seven-year sickness, and the centurion's servant made him hopeful. He began to hope that this was true when they told him that he was supposed to be near them. As people passed by they would call out “have you any word of this man called Jesus.” One day someone called out, “He was last seen heading toward Jerusalem.”
Hearing the news, they left their camp and hurried off in the direction of Jerusalem, leaving all their possessions behind. As they were getting close to Gibeah they came upon five men in a hurry. They asked why they were in such a hurry? The men replied, “Jesus is passing by.” Ezechial and his group joined these men. Outside the small village, they saw him afar off. One of them yelled out, “Master, have mercy on us.” Then they all began yelling, “Master have mercy on us!” Jesus said, “I will”.
Ezechial looked down at his hand. It was healed. Not only healed but his finger was whole. He looked at Enoch, and his legs and feet were perfect. Then Jesus told them to show themselves to the Priest. All the men turned and ran, except Enoch, who went and laid down before Jesus’ feet. Ezechial saw this and started to follow, but seeing the others running in the other direction, shouting with joy, he followed them.