by Fiona Tarr
Destiny of Kings
By Fiona Tarr
Book 1
Covenant of Grace
Copyright material ©
All rights reserved
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Dedication
Thank you to my husband and family who patiently encouraged me to write. A special thank you to my friends for proof reading, editing and making suggestions, together with my editor Lyn, final editor Write-Ink and cover editor Simon. To everyone who encouraged me to make this book public, rather than remain hidden on my computer forever, thank you very much.
Prologue
The old man could not sleep. It was not that his body ached, he was used to the pain of his ageing human existence. He longed for the day when his eternal spirit would be free. It was his people keeping his mind occupied and awake. They had been coming to him for months, asking for a king. They wanted to be like all the other nations, ruled by a man, not by God.
He was angry and hurt. As the spiritual leader of the Israeli nation he felt the people were rejecting him. He had always done his best for them, passing on the message of faith and advising people according to God’s laws on matters of dispute.
The trouble had begun with his own flesh and blood, his sons. What he had done wrong, he could not understand. Now that he was ageing and knew his time in the flesh would not be long, he had appointed two sons to judge over matters of discord. Their role had been to implement the laws of their forefathers, handed down by God Himself to the prophet Ishmael. His sons had turned from the way and accepted bribes and adjudicated according to their own personal agendas in line with the influences of the rich and corrupt.
He understood why this would upset the people. It certainly made his blood boil. However his sons were men and men could never be trusted with power. Only the one true God could always be trusted to do right, as He knew no evil. If judges like his sons, brought up in the faith, could be corrupt, how much more corrupt could a king, who had total and absolute rule over all, be?
Now as he lay on his small cot, he prayed to his God for wisdom and guidance. Was he to appoint a king to rule over all? He had no desire to do so. However, the people were becoming insistent and would not let the issue rest. His vision swam as he prayed for peace and the presence of the Spirit of God. Lights whirled before his eyes and he felt the familiar pounding of his heart as he began to commune with his Lord.
'Samuel my loyal servant, it is not you the people have rejected it is I their God whom they have cast aside. They worship the gods of other nations, and they lust after a life filled with worldly riches. They have forsaken their fellow man in search of personal fulfilment. Give them the king they seek and I will anoint him, but warn them of the perilous choice they have made.'
Samuel’s mind swam again, now with visions of chariots, men with sword and shield, death, rape and butchery most foul.
'Do not despair my son, I know the ways of men and you do not need to fear their future.’
Samuel was left alone now, with his vision still haunting him with horrific images. Many sons and daughters of Israel would die or experience great pain at the hand of their new king and his human ambitions. Samuel was comforted by the understanding that the realm of the eternal was not for him to know or seek to control. He had done all he could for his people. The rest was in the hands of his God’s divine power. Many questions still remained unanswered, yet Samuel would seek God’s peace. It was peace which had sustained him for as long as he could remember, a very long time indeed. If people realised his age, they would understand the true power of his God.
Chapter 1
The sun was setting fast, but David was not yet safe. The soldiers were close behind. He needed to stay out of sight and get some distance between himself and the soldiers. He did not know why he was being chased but he had no doubt his life depended on making a clean escape. He ducked under an overhanging branch; he was on foot and beginning to tire. As he came up on the other side of the branch, he heard a faint sound to his left. He quickly swung to his right, narrowly avoiding a spear thrust. All in one smooth motion he grabbed the spear, held it to his side and thrust his dagger into the groin of his attacker. The look of surprise on the soldier’s face was immediate. The young man somehow looked familiar to David, yet he could not understand why. He had never seen this forest. The landscape was entirely foreign to him. The soldier now lay at his feet groaning softly with pain which would not last long. His lifeblood was quickly draining to the ground. David looked around frantically. The soldiers were closer now; he could hear their voices in the distance. However night was falling quickly and he made his way into the undergrowth moving with stealth to avoid detection. The remaining soldiers had gained considerable ground, almost right behind him now. His pursuers began hacking through the undergrowth; coming within a few paces of David’s hiding position. Panic began to rise again. He could feel his heart beating in his ears and sweat was seeping from every pore, running down his back, drenching his tunic. He would give away his position if he could not calm himself.
The sound of goats bleating came to him. His senses were reeling. There were no goats in the forest! Realisation struck as the bright sunlight shone into his face. He must have fallen asleep under the shade of a palm tree. He awoke bathed in sweat. The dream had seemed so real; the vague recognition of the soldier who had attacked him and the fear and panic. He felt as though he had really been there, in that unfamiliar forest. Yet he had never been in hand to hand combat with any man, much less a soldier. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire and the feelings of nausea in his stomach had not passed yet. So real, so vivid what did it mean? A dream such as this would have to have some interpretation. His sister Nina might be able to help. She had always been good with understanding dreams.
David was brought fully awake as he looked up to see the leader of his herd, whom he affectionately called Bump; because he always seemed to be bumping his head into something. He was now stomping the ground and snorting aggressively, which David always took seriously. It invariably meant there was something to be concerned about, something Bump considered to be threatening. He waited a few moments, searching the surrounding area carefully, until he saw a dust cloud form on the horizon. It was just above the pass that marked the entrance to the valley his family had used for generations to grow their stock. It was uncommon in these lands to see a raiding party from another tribe, but not unheard of. David was unsure whether to leave the herd to inform his father, or stay and watch them in case something happened. The latter would no doubt result in ridicule from his brothers. After a few moments of careful consideration, David decided not to panic and to wait the situation out.
The dust cloud was moving towards his family and although fear was beginning to rise, David knew he would not get home in time to do anything as he was on foot. Instead he started moving the herd closer to the community of tents his family called home. It was nearly time to bri
ng them in for the night, thereby giving him the opportunity to be close at hand if needed, but still fulfil his obligations to the herd and keep his brothers pleased enough to hold their tongues.
The trip back was fairly easy work with open terrain and low vegetation. He would often kick the small bushes on his travels. It was great entertainment when the little fat sand rats would scurry from their hiding places, darting left and right searching for shelter. The going was slow, leaving David and his young imagination time to consider far too many possibilities. Was he going to return to see bloodshed or simply an unexpected group of traders visiting in search of somewhere to sell their wares of fabric or spice? The latter made no sense at all. Traders did not travel at speed, raising dust clouds in their wake. No, whatever the situation, it was going to be of some urgency. He began to move more quickly, his anxiety growing. He did not want to worry, he believed strongly in destiny and knew worrying was futile, however it did nothing to calm his mind as he made his way home.
He decided to replace the worry with some preparation and planning. He thought himself an astute young man and in his sixteen years he had seen enough to know how important planning was. Plan for the worst and expect the best was his father’s favourite saying, and it had always served as good advice. He might have been the youngest of his family, yet he possessed an almost unnatural ability to predict the future. The gift had come upon him after the spring feast when the old man had anointed him with oil. He had thought the ceremony very strange, having seen nothing like it in all his life. The old man had called on his father Jesse to present all his sons. David had been unsure, and his father had encouraged him to go forward. The old man had been excited as he dropped oil into David’s hair and prayed a blessing over him.
Now as he walked he remembered the time his brother Jerim had fallen from the water’s edge and was being washed downstream. He had watched it happen in his head moments before it did. Why Jerim could not see that trying to balance precariously on the rocks was going to lead to a mishap he really did not understand. David was already moving downstream looking for a narrowing in the stream and something to use to reach his brother who was fully clothed and finding it difficult to keep his head above water. He reached a bend in the stream, where the water raged past forming a deep and fast moving channel. There was also an area of sand that had been left on the inside of the bend, making it possible to wade out safely to the centre of the stream. He had collected his shepherds crook along the way and now prepared himself as Jerim sped towards him. He anchored himself between two large rocks so he would have enough purchase to brace himself against, so he would not be swept away with his brother. As Jerim approached he called for him to reach out for the crook. Jerim was panicking and took a moment to realize what David was doing. His head had once again disappeared below the water, re-appearing at the last moment as he surged to the surface, gasped for air and reaching for the crook. Quickly wrapping his elbow around the end, he dragged his body up the shaft, hand over hand against the current towards David.
He had not exactly planned to save his brother, yet foreseeing and overcoming situations seemed to be his gift. He had often thought the stream posed a threat when it was in peak flow, should anyone fall into it. He had thought about what he might do if someone ever fell in and he was also able to see Jerim was putting himself in a difficult situation and was very likely to fall into the stream. There was no point warning his oldest brother, the result would have been profanity and the risk of a beating.
Now as he approached the encampment, he decided once again to be cautious. He left the herd in a naturally formed yard, caused by a flat area, surrounded by rocky outcrops. The herd would stay there safely yarded waiting for him to return to watch over them. This was where they spent most nights as it was close to the camp. At night he would light fires around the perimeter to scare off natural predators. For now, they would be content to graze. David slowly walked up the outcrop of rocks, remaining unseen until he wanted to make his presence known.
As he made his way in sight of the camp, he could hear a strong powerful voice booming out. He could not make out exactly what was being said, but the leader was speaking with great authority. He appeared to be dressed in military clothing and carried a sword on his belt and a spear and shield on his horse. David’s vision was keen and even in the fading light he could see his father was accepting these visitors without fear. However he did not seem to be happy. His brothers were all gathered around, only Jerim was not present. He would still be at their uncle’s encampment, vying for the affections of one special cousin, hoping to work his favour with her father in order to obtain permission to marry her. Their uncle was a difficult man and had been making Jerim perform like an acrobat and run errands and do chores. It was like sport for him. Such a huge effort in order to get the permission to marry one of his daughters! There was a substantial dowry to the successful suitor, making Uncle’s expectations understandable, however Jerim was not a patient man and complained constantly about the tasks set him.
His brothers were now all deep in conversation and David’s father had called the women out to offer refreshments to the visiting party. David’s mother joined her husband’s side, placing a hand gently on his arm and bowing slightly to the visiting official. David decided all was safe and he would go back about his business of getting the herd ready, as nightfall was fairly well upon them.
He lit fires in the fire circles set out with rocks and cleared of grass so as not to start a grass fire. He used dry grass to get the fire started and create enough heat to light the dried camel dung which would keep the fire burning through the night. These would not be raging blazes but small fires in order to warm the shepherds by night. Should the need arise they could be banked up. Too much light would make it difficult to see any danger beyond the fires. Not enough would cause predators to seek to creep in and snatch a goat. The fields were roamed by lions and the horrid little laughing dogs which hunted in packs. David had fought off both on many occasions and carried a spear strapped to his back which he was able to use at distance and with great accuracy to dispatch any threat.
Lighting the fires had alerted his family to his presence and his brother Nate now called from the top of the ridge. Knowing supper would be ready, David quickly finished the last fire, ensuring the ground around it was well cleared and the ring of rocks were all in place as he had done with each fire before. They would now burn down while he ate his supper and leave embers ready for the evening watch, which thankfully he did not have this night.
His curiosity was now peaking and he was looking forward to discovering who the visitors were and what they were here for. Visitors were not rare, and David always enjoyed the company. As he approached the tent in which his father entertained the party of men, he noticed his brothers busily packing bags. Jerim had returned from their uncle's encampment and he too was packing. As David drew closer to the tent, the leader of the visiting party saw him and began aggressively questioning David’s father. David overheard pieces of the conversation, mention of him being young, that he had been working in the fields and lastly, that he was needed to tend the herds while his brothers were away at war. David had only caught the last few moments of the conversation and was now standing in the tent, shocked and frozen in place at the mention of war.
Realisation struck him as he recognized who the warrior before him must be. He would have to be the personal envoy of King Saul. His robes bore the emblem of his house and only a King’s man would be discussing enlisting men for war. David quickly returned to reality and went about washing for his supper. These conversations were better left to men of rank and standing and no one was going to listen to the words of a shepherd boy. His father continued to apologise.
‘I beg of you Sir, David is still a boy. War is no place for a boy.’
‘He is sixteen you say, a man now. Every man is needed to serve.' The soldier was growing tired.
‘If he stays, my Lord,' David’s
father was pleading now. ‘He can serve the King far more effectively tending the herds. This will ensure food is available for the King’s army’
David was once again struck by the wisdom of his father and thankfully it appeared so too was the envoy.
The soldier stood and excused himself. 'Very well, I will bed down with my men for the evening and we will leave before light tomorrow. Ensure that your sons, excluding this youngster, are ready to ride.'
David’s father began to protest. 'We have no animals to spare for riding. We have few camels and no horses.'
The envoy was now at the end of his patience. He approached the old man, towering over him.
'Then spare half of your camels and your sons will have to share the ride or walk. It will do them good to build up some stamina before they go to war. They look like they have had too much of the good life here. Times of war mean everyone must learn to endure hardship, it would seem.'
There was no doubt that this was the end of the conversation and that the King’s envoy believed he had been more than reasonable. The loss of four camels would be very difficult to manage, however without his brothers home to use them the need for camels would be lessened. He explained this to his father as he ate. His father smiled at David’s uncanny ability to always find the good in a bad situation.
He slapped him on the back; 'I knew there was a reason I wanted to keep you close to hand David, your eternal optimism.'
'You sure it has nothing to do with me tending the goats instead of you while my brothers are away?’ David asked with the raise of an eyebrow. His father proceeded to turn his smile into laugher.
'You are a joy to me David. You always manage to cheer me up.' David only smiled. He had been quite serious. He would have enjoyed the adventure of going to war. That always happened when he tried to be wise or serious, people thought he was joking. He still did not understand the reason for this phenomenon.