Moshe nodded and sighed. “Your wisdom gives me strength, brother.”
Aaron grinned, relieved to have Moshe back. Together they made an undisputed leadership team, like two halves of a whole, neither complete nor as highly respected without the other.
“Now, to distract them away from their sinful games, we need something startling and dramatic. I will go down to the camp first and alert our allies.”
* * *
The sun sank low before Moshe heard Aaron’s signal. A blaring chorus of ram’s horns sent him climbing toward the crest of a low hill near the edge of the encampment. He could hear the people gathering below, babbling in curiosity. As he reached the crown of the hill, the lowering sun sent light rays radiating out behind him, through the dust the feet below had kicked up, until it formed a halo around him and cast his enormous shadow across the landscape. He paused there for a moment, a tablet cradled in each arm. The crowd hushed, unable to see anything more than a silhouette but awed by his larger-than-life appearance and the dramatic lightshow.
“I bring you the Word of God!” he announced in a deep, stern voice. The crowd waited in hushed silence. Moshe tossed the tablets down to land flat in the soft sand, the incised writing plain for all to see. “These are God’s commandments. Thou shalt have no other gods before me!” he shouted, pointing accusingly at the golden idol. “Thou shalt make no graven images of anything above or below you.” And again, he pointed accusingly at the idol. “You shall not bow yourself down before such images, for I am a jealous god, and I shall visit misfortune on any who deny me. Likewise, I shall show mercy to them who love me and keep these, my commandments.
“Thou shalt not curse others in the name of God, nor insult the sanctity of God with blasphemy. The name of God remains sacred and must not be spoken in vanity.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath, the Lord’s day. No work shall you do on this day, nor your wives, your chattels, nor your servants. For in six days the One God created Heaven and Earth and the sea and all in them, then on the seventh day he rested. Thus the seventh day He blessed and made holy, that you also might have a day to rest and worship Him.
“Thou shalt honor thy mother and thy father, for they have more days upon this earth than you and the wisdom of their experience can help to make your own days’ number greater and more productive.”
Then, in a thunderous voice Moshe cried out, “Thou shalt not kill!” and he jabbed a finger at the bloody altar with its grisly evidence of human sacrifice. He glared around at the young men he felt certain had committed this sacrilege and added, “Thou shalt not commit adultery!” His stern gaze included the young women, still scantily dressed after their long orgy.
“Thou shalt not steal!” He fixed with his stern gaze the young hotheads who had turned to raiding wherever they went, rousing the ire of the locals against the refugees.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Lying to bring harm to another is an abomination in the eyes of God.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his wealth, his livestock, his servants nor anything else that belongs to him.” He scanned all of them then, for he had heard much grumbling in the past over the uneven distribution of wealth.
The crowd stood in silence. The faces of the faithful shone with inspiration and relief to have their prophet back. Many of those who had transgressed looked ashamed, but resentment and rebellion seethed in the hearts of others.
* * *
Over the months of nomadic wandering that followed, most of the people settled down to follow God’s commandments, content to have well-defined boundaries and guidelines. They melted down the golden idol and made it into gold beads and coins, distributing them more or less evenly amongst the households, something that produced jubilance and increased loyalty amongst the poorer families, who also happened to be the most devout, those who had not murdered or looted, either in Egypt or since. It also caused great resentment amongst those who lost much of the wealth they felt they had earned by their rampage through Thebes.
As the war in the heavens drew closer day by day, war amongst the people simmered beneath the surface as well. The Staff of God did battle nightly with the smaller red planet. At times they appeared to dance, circling one another like lovers. At other times they fought like two warriors, light and dark. Some nights the staff looked like the horned head of a bull, the angry red planet like a serpent, as the larger ripped the atmosphere away from the lesser. Other nights they appeared to share one atmosphere, like two lovers under one blanket.
Moshe explained the spectacle by telling the people that God did battle with Satan, the deceiver, a favored angel who resented God’s love of mankind. This angel, in his pride, challenged God’s authority, so now they fought a battle between good and evil. As the pair grew larger in the sky, the people grew more and more fearful, wondering if they would suffer the scourge of plagues again, this time without solid walls to protect them. Moshe reassured them, saying the Staff of God would not so afflict them again unless they deserved God’s punishment.
But as ancient Ashtarth, the Staff of God, which would one day be called Venus, wrestled with the red planet which one day would be known as Mars, god of war, they approached close enough that Earth’s magnetic pull, slightly greater than that of Ashtarth, helped the smaller red planet break away from the comet’s hold. Both maintained enough momentum to escape Earth’s gravity well, but the red planet did a half orbit before breaking free and sailing off farther out into the solar system.
When the Hebrews saw the Staff of God defeat the serpent, Satan, and cast him down from the heavens to apparently plunge into the earth, they celebrated jubilantly. Moshe let them enjoy the moment, but on the next Sabbath, he gave them the bad news.
“Yes, God cast Satan out of Heaven, but He cast him down here, to Earth. With us. You must guard against him at all times, for he can lead you off the righteous path. The Trickster, the opposer of God, now dwells within your own hearts. The battle between good and evil continues, but now it takes place inside each one of us. We are God’s Chosen People, and on that we can depend. But Lucifer, before he became Satan, was God’s favorite angel and too high above us to comprehend. If pride could bring him down, so could it bring us down. We must circumcise from our lives any trace of the softness of our woman-hood that blinds us to the danger of his temptations. Even love for those closest to you who would refuse to follow the righteous path. You must cut them from your life, lest they play the part of Satan and lead you astray with greed, desire for power, inappropriate lust, and the self-righteous pride that caused Satan’s fall.”
Aaron regarded Moshe with uneasy dismay. In the literal minds of the people, such an edict could lead to a bloodbath. In a voice meant for his brother’s ears alone he murmured, “Have you prayed on this, Moshe? Does this come from the Voice of God?”
Moshe replied without hesitation, “Yes!”
He saw a way to force people to adhere to a righteous path through fear and guilt and the lie just slipped out without him even recognizing his sin. As God’s Prophet, he spoke for God. Not for a second did he doubt that he knew God’s will. But Aaron saw that unwitting arrogance in him and wondered if Satan’s trickery had already found its first victim.
7.
Suspended between heaven and earth, branch and root, the mature fruit embodies the final realization of the potential within the seed. It grows fat and flushed with self-importance. Looking back along the branches of time to the dark beginnings of the roots, it sees itself as the apex and purpose of that life cycle, oblivious to the lifeforce it has drained from the plant that nurtured it, unaware that the sole purpose for its own existence is to carry the new seed safely to the ground. The corruption and decomposition of the fruit manures the soil, enriching it for the next germination.
* * *
With her momentum exhausted, Ashtarth, n
ow called Venus, takes up the inner orbit that originally belonged to Mars, the small red planet that once loved and battled her and was sacrificed to the cold edge of the dreaming. At first Ashtarth’s new orbit remains eccentric and elliptical. On her closest passes to Earth she shines so huge and bright in the sky, she earns new names — the Star of David and the Star of Bethlehem. But the pull of the sun gradually stabilizes her path until she becomes known simply as the morning star and the evening star, no longer a portent of disaster or of destiny, but simply, at last, of peace.
BETROTHAL
Seventh Ritual: Betrothal
THE PENITENT KNELT in the antechamber of the temple, denied entrance. With bowed head he gave confession before the high priest, the Voice of God.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
The high priest paced the room in agitation, angered by this news. His mouth twisted with contempt. “Did the Virgin seduce you?” he demanded.
“No, Father. The Mary remains innocent and without fault. My own body betrayed me, and I took her without her consent.”
“You realize of course that any child of this union will be considered illegitimate, even though you are betrothed. You should put this woman away and choose another Mary to carry on your bloodline. So close to the millennium, the David cannot afford to appear corrupted by the influence of a woman. What if this child turns out to be the Messiah, the new Moshe to lead us out of subjugation to Rome? What if none will follow because he was born outside the marriage vows? How then could we restore the House of David?”
“Perhaps I will produce other sons whose legitimacy bears no question. But I cannot and will not make this innocent Mary pay the price for my own sin.”
“No woman is innocent. The very nature of woman is to tempt man away from devotion to God, to lure him away from the paths of righteousness. She is the Trickster incarnate, inherently of the earth and therefore unclean.”
“Nevertheless, I will complete the marriage vows at the appointed time and keep her to wife. If she bears a girl, it shall become another Mary. If she bears a boy, his fate will remain in the hands of God.”
The high priest sighed, returning to a center of forced inner calm. He understood the temptations all too well, though he himself had never experienced the warmth of tangled limbs, the pounding rise of blood or the intense rush of ultimate release except in dreams he felt sure were temptations of Satan, the Trickster, the opposer of God. The penitent kneeling before him came of the line of David, heir to the throne despite the Roman occupation of Holy Jerusalem. His determination to carry out the marriage despite the disaster it could bring suggested the Mary had somehow already ensnared his heart with her womanly wiles. Yet as heir to the throne, he retained the right and the authority to choose for himself, even against advice.
“We will speak of this again at another time. If necessary, we can point out that, as the future David, you are the earthly incarnation of God. The conception of any child is therefore immaculate. The Virgin remains a virgin and her child is the son of God.”
He held his hand over the young man’s head but did not touch him, for the touch of woman had defiled him.
“Go, Joseph, and sanctify yourself. You remain barred from the temple for three days while you do penance and wash yourself clean. You may have no further contact with this or any other woman until after the marriage vows, and even then you may visit the Mary only on the approved days in order to produce a legitimate heir, after which you must perform penance and purification rites before you re-enter the temple grounds.”
* * *
Boys from the village surrounded Yeshua, shouting contemptuous taunts. In a community as small as Bethsaida few secrets could survive, and everyone knew why Yeshua had no father. Or at least none who lived permanently with him and his mother. They also knew who sired him, Joseph the David, heir to the throne in exile. Royal blood made Yeshua even more tempting as a target for their insults.
“C’mon, momma’s boy, you got what it takes to be a man?”
“Hey, little girl, you gonna go cryin’ to your momma?”
“This royal bastard’s just as soft and weak as a baby, ain’t he?”
With no father or older brothers to teach him how to defend himself, Yeshua had learned to bear their jeers in silence. With his shoulders hunched and his head down, Yeshua turned away, only to find his path blocked by the sons of Jonas and Zebadee, older boys on their way to fish with their fathers on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Simon Peter, the oldest at fourteen, scowled at Yeshua’s tormentors and said sternly, “Perhaps it would interest the village priest to learn how you waste your time. You should work at your father’s side, learning a trade as we do. Go now. Get out of here, leprous little maggots.”
The boys scattered, most heading home to where two parents awaited them. Peter studied Yeshua, who looked shamed and sullen.
“You have no father in the village to teach you a trade. Would you like to come with us and learn ours?”
The invitation came as a welcome surprise. Yeshua sighed and nodded, feeling grateful for Peter’s kindness. The four boys closed around him: John and James, the sons of Zebadee, Andrew and Simon Peter, the sons of Jonas. Each of the boys carried a weighted fishing net slung over his shoulder. Yeshua had no net and wondered how he could participate without one. As he walked in silence, listening to the other boys chatter, their brotherly acceptance felt as warm and comforting as the early morning sun on his shoulders.
When they reached the shore, he could see the two fathers, already thigh deep in the water, spinning their nets out and drawing them in. Whenever the nets came back filled with squirming fish, the men waded ashore and emptied them into two woven baskets. Yeshua remembered seeing those same baskets in the market, often with Peter and John collecting payments for the fish. The boys waded out, spacing themselves so they would not interfere with one another’s casting. Peter turned to Yeshua and smiled. He shook out his net and showed the younger boy how to throw it, then let him try it a few times on the beach until he could do it without getting the stone weights tangled.
“Do you want to try catching some fish now?” Peter asked. “We can take turns with the net. Then if you like it and want to come back tomorrow, I’ll show you how to make your own net.”
Yeshua nodded solemnly. As they removed their robes and he followed Peter into the chilly water, the older boy said, “Don’t talk much, do you?”
For the first time Yeshua spoke. “Mother says you learn more by listening and paying attention to your elders.”
Peter grinned. “Your mother is right. That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to speak, especially with friends, even if they are your elders.”
The child eyed him warily. “Are we friends?”
“Well, I do hope so. I suspect you need a few friends.”
By early afternoon, Yeshua returned home carrying two fish and a handful of coins, his share of the proceeds from the catch. He felt like a man. He beamed as he turned the money over to his mother.
“Did you not do your lessons with the priest?” she asked disapprovingly.
“I can do them this afternoon, Mother. I need to learn to be a man too, and I have no one to teach me.”
“You are of royal blood, the son of the David. Those fishermen are just commoners.”
“They treated me kindly. I enjoyed fishing and I want to go again tomorrow. I’ll do the lessons, Mother, I promise.”
She looked at the much-needed coins in her hand and nodded. “As long as you keep up with your lessons. In another two years, your father will take you to the temple for testing. You don’t want to disappoint him by failing.”
* * *
Outside the home of Jonas the fisherman, Yeshua sat with Peter, mending nets while they waited for supper. Yeshua’s mother had given permission for him to spend the night with his friends, since Joseph had arrived for his annual sanctioned visit and the couple craved a lit
tle privacy. Over the past year, Peter and his father, Jonas, taught Yeshua how to weave his own nets, where and when to catch the different species of fish, how to safely cast from a boat and which species the villagers most prized. Jonas’s wife, Shoshanna, even taught him ways of cooking the less popular fish species into tasty dishes that became favorites in his own home.
Peter’s home and family dynamic seemed far different from Yeshua’s. Wedded Maries generally lived and raised their children communally in a women’s house, but because of her unsanctioned pregnancy and Yeshua’s out-of-season birth, the Maries considered his mother dishonored, despite the fact she and Joseph had completed the final wedding ceremony. So, instead, she and her children, Yeshua and James, four years younger, lived a quiet, lonely life in a small cottage near the edge of the village with only one elderly woman named Hannah as a nanny and chaperone. Any contact with the village, such as shopping, Hannah took care of, while Yeshua’s mother kept herself isolated, preserving her purity as much as possible for her husband. While Joseph lived at the temple, she was considered a widow and received a small pension from the church tithes.
Peter’s home, by contrast, was blessed with two parents and five children running in and out. It always hummed with activity and reverberated with laughter. They welcomed Yeshua into their fold like a lost lamb and treated him as one of their own. And he loved them for it.
John, son of Zebadee, brought his own nets and joined them to socialize while they worked. Peter’s older sister leaned in the doorway watching the boys. Named Shoshanna after her mother, everyone just called her Shanna, to distinguish between the two.
“You’re getting pretty good at that,” she commented to Yeshua. “We’ll turn you into a true fisherman yet. Then, when you become the David, people will call you the Fisher King.”
From the Shores of Eden Page 23