On This Foundation

by Lynn Austin

  Nehemiah remembered being filled with faith in the beginning, trusting that he’d heard from God and that His hand was upon him to accomplish His work. Now his enemies were doing their best to undermine his faith and keep him from his God-given task. Nehemiah made up his mind to persevere. To not allow his two workers’ deaths to be in vain. He rested his hand on his brother’s shoulder for a moment in silent thanks. “The wall is only half built, Hanani. Let’s go finish it.”

  Chapter

  35

  JERUSALEM

  Relief washed over Nava when she finally spotted Dan climbing the stairs to the temple. He wore a sword strapped to his belt wherever he went, even when he came here to worship. He looked weary plodding up the steps, as if they were coated with honey and his sandals stuck to each one. The workmen now took turns building the wall and standing guard, and she could see that the heavy labor coupled with little sleep had drained Dan’s strength. Nava ignored the flow of morning worshipers and hurried down the stairs in the opposite direction to meet him. “Dan! I’ve been so afraid for you. You look exhausted.”

  “I am, more than in our busiest harvest season. But it feels good to finally fight back against our enemies.”

  “Fight? You didn’t tell me you had to fight.”

  “Well, I haven’t fought yet, but . . .” He lowered his voice. “I may one of these nights.” They reached the top of the steps, and he drew her aside. “I’m telling you this in confidence, Nava. The governor doesn’t want the whole city to know about it. But he asked for volunteers to be part of a special force. We’re going outside the walls every night to surprise the enemy before they have a chance to attack us.”

  “Don’t volunteer, Dan. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I have to fight. I need to protect you.”

  Nava wanted to plead with him not to go, to stay inside the walls where it was safe. But she’d seen how Dan’s anger toward Malkijah grew and festered more and more each day. He needed an outlet for it before it destroyed him.

  “I’m so tired of waiting,” he had told her a few days ago. “Tired of being patient. I could kill Malkijah with my bare hands for keeping you his bondservant and refusing to cancel our debts.”

  Nava had tried to convince him that if Malkijah died, his son Aaron would inherit everything. “And believe me, everything would be much worse if that happened,” she’d said.

  Now they hurried across the courtyard to watch the sacrifice, which had already begun. Nava tried to pay attention, but her thoughts kept drifting back to what Dan had just told her and the danger he would be in. When it was time for prayer, Governor Nehemiah reminded the people of the need to ask the Almighty One for His help against their enemies. The people bowed their heads as the priest entered the sanctuary to light the incense, but Nava still couldn’t pray. She didn’t understand the Almighty One. Her family had prayed for rain for two long years, and it had never come. God could have set her free when the other wealthy landowners had shown mercy, but He hadn’t softened her master’s heart. She was still a bondservant. Was the Holy One angry with her? If so, she didn’t understand why. Her faith had become as dry and lifeless as her father’s drought-stricken land, her heart an empty well, where there was no more hope to draw from. The only comfort she found was in having Dan beside her every day, lanky and sun-browned and strong. At least they could be together for a few minutes each morning in the temple courtyard.

  They said good-bye in their usual parting place, and that afternoon Nava helped prepare dinner for Malkijah and a guest. Her master had been on guard duty at the Dung Gate for two full days and hadn’t returned home to eat or sleep during that time. She noticed dark hollows beneath his eyes as she carried platters of food and serving dishes in and out of the dining area and set them on the table in front of him. But she felt no pity for him, her anger seething like a brew of bitter herbs.

  “Let’s not waste time on small talk,” Malkijah told his guest. “I need to return to my duties at the gate. Tell me why you asked to see me.” His abrupt manner surprised Nava. Her master was usually a smiling, gracious host. The stranger seated across from him didn’t seem perturbed by his rudeness.

  “Very well. It has come to my attention that you didn’t take the vow along with the other leaders to cancel your debtors’ mortgages or free your bondservants.”

  Nava went still, a flush of anger rising to her face at his words. She was supposed to return to the kitchen after setting bowls of olives and figs on the table, but she lingered outside the doorway to listen.

  “If you’ve come to accuse me of greed and coldheartedness, I’ve heard it all before,” Malkijah said angrily. “From people I care about, no less. My current financial obligations make it impossible for me to give everything back.”

  “You’ve misjudged me, Malkijah,” the man said calmly. “I didn’t take Nehemiah’s absurd oath, either.”

  Silence. Then Malkijah said, “My mistake. Please forgive me.”

  “You’re not alone, you know. There are more of us than you think who refuse to be swayed by our governor’s political maneuverings. And we’ve taken a different kind of oath.”

  “Go on . . .”

  The man chuckled. “I need to know where your loyalties are, first. I understand you not only serve on Nehemiah’s council but you’re part of his inner circle. One of his military commanders.”

  “That’s true, I am. Which is why I need to cut this dinner short tonight and return to my post.”

  “Does the governor know you didn’t take his oath to free your servants or cancel their debts?”

  Nava strained to hear his reply. Maybe the governor would intervene if he learned the truth about Malkijah.

  “I haven’t told him,” Malkijah replied. “If he heard it from someone else, he hasn’t spoken to me about it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s none of his business—and I would tell him that to his face. He has no idea what it takes to run an estate like mine.”

  “I’m not sure Nehemiah knows much at all about life here in our province.”

  “I follow the Torah to the letter of the law,” Malkijah said heatedly. “I don’t charge interest on my loans, and I give food and loans to all the farmers in my district who are in need. Nehemiah has no authority to compel me to cancel all the debts that are owed to me or to free my bondservants. It’s impossible for me to do any of those things without putting my own interests at risk.”

  Nava’s anger was building along with her master’s. She risked a peek around the doorway and saw him leaning forward to face his guest, his face flushed. She quickly turned back and flattened herself against the wall where he couldn’t see her. If he or the housekeeper caught her eavesdropping she would be in trouble, but Nava didn’t care. She wanted to hear his stingy, coldhearted excuses for herself.

  “Oh, I understand what you’re saying, Malkijah,” his guest replied. “I understand completely. I didn’t take the governor’s vow for the very same reasons. And I know several other men, members of the nobility, who are in the same situation we are. You aren’t alone.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  Nava heard the soft clinking of tableware as she waited. She was about to return to the kitchen when Malkijah’s guest said, “There is a group of noblemen who have decided to band together to stop the governor and oppose his ridiculous demands. We thought you might be interested in joining us. And if there are other men you know of who feel the same as we do—perhaps such as your future father-in-law—we’re hoping you’ll use your influence to sway them to our side. Shallum is a powerful man here in Jerusalem and could be a great help to our cause.”

  “Who else is part of this group?”

  “Ah,” the man said. “That’s where the oath I mentioned comes in. We need assurances that if we take you into our confidence we won’t be betrayed.”

  “And I need to know who and what I’m swearing to before I’ll give you my word.”

  The room was silent. Nava risked anot
her peek. Both men sat forward in their seats, staring at each other. “I see,” Malkijah’s guest finally said. Nava watched as he leaned back and lifted his cup to take a drink of wine, then she turned away again. She shouldn’t stay here and listen a moment longer. But the governor was a hero to her and to all the other poor people, and she was furious that these two men were conspiring against him.

  “The quality of your wine is legendary, my friend,” Malkijah’s guest said. “It lives up to everything I’ve heard about it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It would be a tragedy if it could no longer be produced. We’ve both seen how Governor Nehemiah craves the adulation of the masses. He has become a tyrant, willing to do anything to win their support. So let me ask you this: What would happen to you and to your vineyard if the governor turned his request into law? If he demanded that you free all your servants? Wouldn’t you want a powerful group of nobles and fellow landowners on your side to fight his tyranny? Men who could successfully oppose him?”

  “Do you think it will come to that? Could Nehemiah compel us to obey him?”

  “Of course he could. He’s the governor. He has the backing of a godless Persian king. He could compel us to do anything he wants.” There was another long silence before the guest spoke again. “The men I represent have transferred our allegiance to a proven leader, a man who knows this province and our people and our financial obligations very well. We’ve been in constant communication with him ever since Nehemiah arrived. With backing from you and other influential men, we’ll be in a position to get rid of the governor and replace him with a leader of our own choosing.”

  Again, there was a long silence. “I can’t give you an answer tonight,” Malkijah said. “I need time to decide. This isn’t something to take lightly.”

  “I understand.”

  “You’ve trusted me this far—can you trust me with the name of at least one other member of this group besides you?”

  There was another long pause. “Shecaniah ben Arah.”

  “I see. Powerful indeed. My estate is nothing compared to his.”

  Nava repeated the name over and over in her mind to memorize it as she hurried back to the kitchen. She had been gone much too long as it was. She still didn’t know the guest’s name, but she’d heard enough of the conversation to understand that Governor Nehemiah needed to be warned about what the men had discussed. She greatly admired the governor for helping the poor and she resented selfish, rich men like her master and his guest more than ever.

  She waited for Dan at the temple the next morning, eager to tell him everything she’d heard, but he wasn’t standing in their usual meeting place at the top of the stairs when she arrived. Nava stayed there instead of moving into the courtyard with the other worshipers, and her fear for his safety began to flare and spread like a grassfire. If something happened to him, how would she ever know? They might tell his family in Beth Hakkerem, but how would they get word to her? When the sacrifice ended and the flow of worshipers began streaming toward her, Nava was still waiting, staring down toward the Mishneh where Dan stood guard, heartsick with fear.

  “Nava . . . do you have a moment to talk?”

  She turned at the sound of her name. Her master’s fiancée—her new mistress—stood beside her. “Yes, miss. Of course.”

  “I’ll catch up with you,” Chana told the other women who were with her. She and Nava stepped to one side. “I wanted to tell you that I spoke with Malkijah about not setting you and his other servants free. He explained to me that it was impossible to do right now—”

  “And you believed him?” Anger and fear made Nava bold. She had nothing more to lose.

  Chana blinked in surprise. “I . . . I have no choice but to believe him. I don’t know how to run an estate as large as his. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be more help to you—”

  “He isn’t the man you think he is.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Last night I served dinner to him and a guest. This guest said there is a group of rich men and nobles who haven’t taken the governor’s oath, and he asked Master Malkijah to join their conspiracy to oppose the governor. They called Nehemiah a tyrant and said they’ve chosen someone else to replace him as governor.”

  Chana looked taken aback. “Are you certain you heard correctly?”

  “Yes. I’m waiting here for Dan so we can warn Governor Nehemiah and—” She stopped, realizing what she’d just done. In spewing out her bitterness toward Malkjah, she’d confessed to his fiancée that she’d been eavesdropping. Worse, if Chana was on Malkijah’s side, she would probably warn him and the other men that their plot was no longer a secret. They would do everything they could to stop Nava from betraying them. As panic swelled, she wanted to run and disappear, but the stairs were jammed with people.

  “Do you know who Malkijah’s guest was?” Chana asked.

  Nava shook her head. She wished she had never opened her mouth. “I need to go.”

  “No, wait.” Chana stood in Nava’s way, preventing her from leaving. “You must be wondering whether or not you can trust me. I understand. To be honest, I’m also having trouble deciding who I can trust. But I want to assure you that I won’t take what you just told me lightly. And I won’t betray your confidence while I search for the truth.”

  “Thank you, miss.” Nava wasn’t sure she believed her. She slipped away from Chana and melted into the crowd, crouching low, weaving between people. Why had she opened her mouth? If Malkijah fired her, Abba would lose his land. Her family would starve. Reporting what she’d heard to the governor was one thing, but why had she foolishly confided in Chana? Nava raced down the stairs and through the streets. As she neared Malkijah’s house, there was Dan, standing in the place where they usually parted every morning. Relief flooded through her, bringing tears to her eyes. She ran the rest of the way and into his arms. “I was so worried about you!”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t make it in time for the sacrifice, so I decided to wait here for you.”

  “When you weren’t at the temple, I was afraid that you’d had to fight and that something had happened to you.”

  “We kept watch outside the city all night last night, waiting for an attack, but it never came.”

  She was relieved that Dan was unharmed but still panic-stricken about what she had just told Chana. Her words poured out in a jumbled rush. “I have something to tell you, Dan. I overheard something shocking, but I think I just made a terrible mistake by telling Chana when I should have told the governor instead, and—”

  “Whoa. Slow down. I can’t make sense of a word you’re saying.”

  She drew a breath, forcing herself to speak calmly. “Last night I overheard my master talking at dinner—”

  “Nava! . . . Nava!” Someone behind her was shouting her name. She freed herself from Dan’s arms and turned, terrified that it was Chana. Instead, Malkijah’s housekeeper marched up the street with a broom in her hand and a look of fury on her face. “So! This is what you’ve been up to, is it? Someone told me that you weren’t really going to the temple every morning. They said you’ve been meeting a boyfriend, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

  “But I do go to the temple—”

  “So I decided to see with my own eyes—and here you are! Cozying up to him!” The housekeeper had seen Nava nestled in Dan’s arms for comfort.

  “You don’t understand. Dan and I are going to be married—”

  “Oh, I understand. You aren’t religious at all . . . you’re a loose woman!”

  “Now, wait just a minute—” Dan said, but the housekeeper cut him off.

  “No, you listen to me, young man! Nava belongs to our master. He could have you severely punished for interfering with one of his workers.”

  “Interfering . . . ?”

  “You know what I mean! And if Nava has your child while she’s still a bondservant, that child will belong to her master, not you!”

  “What?” Dan l
ooked stunned, as if the housekeeper had struck him in the head with her broom.

  “There is no child,” Nava protested. “We haven’t—”

  “Enough of your lies!” She gripped Nava’s arm and dragged her toward the house.

  “Let go of her,” Dan shouted.

  The housekeeper shook her broom at him like a weapon. “You stay away from her!” By the time they reached Malkijah’s door, Nava’s arm felt bruised from being yanked against her will. “It’s my job to protect your virtue, Nava. That’s why I’m sending you back to Beth Hakkerem.”

  “No! Please! I promise I won’t see Dan anymore. I won’t even leave the house. But please, please don’t send me back there!”

  “My mind’s made up, so you can stop your blubbering. You betrayed my trust when you told me you were going to the sacrifices. You won’t get a second chance from me.”

  Nava caught a final glimpse of Dan, still standing in the street, before the housekeeper pulled her through the door and slammed it behind them.

  Chapter

  36

  OUTSIDE JERUSALEM

  For a second night, Nehemiah and his men slipped through the Valley Gate and into the darkness to keep watch for an enemy attack. Last night the only thing his small band of volunteers had spotted were jackals hunting rodents and grasshoppers among the weed-filled ruins. He and his men had returned to the city as the sun began to lighten the eastern sky, exhausted from their long, worthless vigil. “Get some sleep,” Nehemiah had told them. “We’ll have to do this all over again tonight.” But Nehemiah had dozed for only a short time, compelled by worry and nervous energy. He made the rounds of the city wall, making sure his workers were well guarded and that construction was progressing.