A Captain in Israel

by Alex Chappell

  "I don’t think you understand," Tobiah said, stepping sideways to block Gideon’s path. And when the older man attempted to push past him, Tobiah grasped Gideon’s sleeve. "I love Mara. And she loves me. I don’t know who you plan to marry her to, but I know she isn’t happy about it. I want you to consider her feelings. I want you to seriously consider my request."

  Gideon yanked his sleeve out of Tobiah’s fingers, and an ugly snarl contorted his face. His eyes blazed and he brought his nose within a hair’s breadth from Tobiah’s.

  "Perhaps you think," he said, "your relationship to David should somehow impress me, but let me set you straight on that matter. I don’t care how important you or your cousin think you are. I’d sooner marry my daughter to a dog than let her be a part of your worthless shepherd family! If you don’t mind, I have important business to conduct for the king. I suggest you get back to your own lowly duties and forget you ever dared approach me with this laughable request. And for your own good, stay away from my daughter."

  Tobiah stared after Gideon as the man marched angrily away. He had failed to win Gideon’s approval. He had no idea what he should do next.

  —

  Mara moved deeper into a tree’s cool shade and rearranged the shawl covering her head. Her mouth was dry – as much from nervousness as from the afternoon’s parching heat. She wasn’t sure how long she watched the road with anxious eyes, but it seemed like she had already waited an eternity by the time Tobiah finally arrived.

  Her first instinct was to rush up the path to meet him – to fling herself into his arms. But if someone else were to happen upon them, word would reach her father. She didn’t want that to happen.

  "I’m sorry I kept you waiting." Tobiah greeted her with an empty smile. "I had important business. It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped."

  He kissed Mara, pulled back, and stared earnestly into her eyes.

  "Have you considered what you will do," he asked, "if your father refuses to let us marry? Are you ready to defy his wishes if I approach him and he refuses?"

  "I…I don’t know," Mara stammered. "I’ve been trying not to think about it. The Law of Moses requires me to honor my father and my mother. I don’t like to think about going against that."

  Tobiah nodded and his shoulders sagged. He stared at his feet for several long moments, and when he finally looked up again, he seemed drained of light.

  "I spoke with your father today. Maybe I should have waited."

  Mara felt her stomach tighten.

  "You were right. He threw me out of his house. He told me to stay away from you. My mother says I jump into things without thinking. She says I follow my passions with no thought for the consequences. Maybe she’s right."

  "You…you spoke with my father?"

  "Do you think if you were to tell him how you feel about this… Do you think if you talked to him he would reconsider?"

  Mara wiped hot tears from her eyes.

  "No," she whispered. "He won’t reconsider. He wouldn’t reconsider for Ayalah, and he won’t do it for me. Ayalah had to run away. My options are no different."

  "But do you have the courage to do it? To run away from Gibeah, I mean? Can you feel right about marrying me without your father’s permission? Can you look back with no regrets?"

  Mara looked away. She’d considered this question many times over the past few days, and she still didn’t know the answer.

  "I have to return to Beth-shemesh," Tobiah said. "You don’t have to give me an answer now, but I’ll look for you the next time I’m here. Will you wait for me? At the well? It’s the only place I can find you without others knowing we’ve met."

  Mara nodded. Too many emotions were too close to the surface. She wouldn’t be able to speak without bursting into tears.

  Tobiah slowly – reluctantly – pulled away from her. She wanted to follow. She wanted to take his hand and run far away with him. But, instead, she stood rooted to the spot like a lifeless stone teraphim. She let him go without so much as a weak farewell gesture.

  Mara. The name meant "bitterness." Her life seemed to be filled with it. But her name – with the change of one Hebrew character – had another meaning as well. Rebellious. Disobedient. That’s exactly how her father would view her if she reached out for the happiness she so desperately craved.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  כד

  But the salvation of the

  righteous is of the Lord: he is their

  strength in the time of trouble.

  Psalm 37:39

  The day was hot, and Tobiah moved, as much as possible, in the trees’ shade, loping across the flat yellow-brown rocks dotting the hills above Zorah and Eshtaol. Only two miles remained between him and his destination. It would have been an easy run under normal circumstances, but the past days had been anything but normal. His weary muscles had already taken a great deal of abuse; and he had to stop to rest.

  He allowed himself to collapse into a soft pile of needles beneath a low windswept pine. His departure from Gibeah had been delayed by several hours because of his failed business with Gideon, and he still had important things to say to David; but, if he didn’t rest now, his muscles would cramp, so he rested on his back for several minutes, chest heaving.

  Patches of soft blue sky showed through the spreading canopy above him, and Tobiah watched a wispy cloud drift westward toward the Dead Sea’s salt-encrusted shores. He once thought the annual trip to En-gedi to winter the family flocks on the Dead Sea’s slopes was a particularly unpleasant journey. But that seemed like a pleasant stroll through friendly hills after the arduous rigors of recent days. The old life of a shepherd might now be appealing to him if not for Mara.

  Tobiah pictured her face. He knew he should be thinking about his current task – about the information he needed to relay to David – but he couldn’t stop thinking about Mara…about Gideon’s intentions to marry her against her will to another man. He felt angry and depressed every time he considered it.

  Tobiah scowled and covered his eyes with one hand. Most young people didn’t get to choose their own spouse. Most were content to trust their parents’ judgment and marry whoever they selected. But Tobiah wasn’t ‘most young people.’ He wanted to choose for himself. Why should he be forced to follow tradition when his heart already knew who he was supposed to marry?

  Even as this defiant thought entered his mind, a familiar feeling of guilt surfaced. Was it right for him to ask Mara to defy her father? Had it been right for him to disregard his parents’ wishes? Where exactly did the Lord draw the lines?

  It was time to get up and start moving again. Time to put his stiff, sore body through more punishment. With a grunt, Tobiah forced himself to his feet. Maybe he deserved the pain.

  —

  The carved teeth of Michal’s new ivory comb snagged again and again in her long, dark hair. It was a struggle for Mara to remove the snarls that had formed there without making Michal yelp. Michal’s normally luxuriant hair had been neglected since the announcement about Merab marrying David, and now – now that things had suddenly changed – she was paying the penalty for that neglect. But at least she was happy again – giddy with joy, in fact. It made her much easier to live with.

  "Don’t forget to use some powdered galena on my eyebrows and lashes," Michal said. She was most definitely her old self again. "And, when you’re done combing out my hair, put some scented olive oil in it. I want to look my very best when I visit Merab."

  "All this is so you can see Merab?"

  "Of course. She’s just received news of a new and unexpected betrothal. I’d say she deserves our congratulations, wouldn’t you?"

  Mara said nothing. She had a fairly good idea what kind of "congratulations" Michal intended to give, but she could never take pleasure in Merab’s suffering the way Michal did.

  "Soon my wonderful sister will be Adriel’s happy wife," Michal said, mocking. "I could hardly believe it when my father made the announcement. W
ere you there? Did you see Merab’s new husband? He must be at least four times her age! And what is a Meholathite anyway? I hope it means he’s from some far away city in a distant kingdom and that he’ll take Merab there to live among his own people. It will be so much more peaceful around here when she’s out of the way."

  Still Mara said nothing, and Michal turned to stare at her, an irritated look on her face.

  "You don’t have much to say today. What’s wrong with you? Have you still not solved whatever little problem it is that was making you so moody the other day?"

  "Some problems have no easy solutions," Mara said.

  She opened the small vessel of scented oil and began to rub it into Michal’s hair, but Michal pulled away, suddenly defensive.

  "What are you trying to say, Mara? Are you implying my problems are small ones with easy solutions?"

  "No," Mara answered, bewildered. "I’m not trying to imply anything."

  "Then why did you say it?"

  "I’m just saying the situation I’ve been dealing with hasn’t been resolved. There was no hidden meaning in my words."

  "My problems are very complicated," Michal said, not seeming to believe the explanation. "Sometimes I think God singles me out for more personal suffering than anyone else. It’s about time heaven smiled down on me. I deserve to have something go right in my life. If it means Merab has to suffer a little so I can be happy, it’s too bad for her."

  Mara didn’t know whether to be annoyed with Michal or to pity her instead.

  "Perhaps you should go to Merab and offer your sympathy rather than gloat," she finally said.

  Michal turned and stared at Mara.

  "Surely you’re joking!"

  "No. I’m being quite serious, Michal. She’s your sister, and now would be a good time to set your differences aside. I’m not saying you have to become her best friend – that might be impossible – but you should at least try to be civil to her while she’s suffering the same kind of disappointment you’ve already lived through."

  From the look on Michal’s face, Mara couldn’t tell if Michal was going to laugh at her or lash out with an angry verbal assault. When Michal finally spoke, her voice was icy.

  "It’s my own business how I deal with my sister. I’m glad for you if you’ve never had to deal with a spiteful, vicious sibling like Merab, but it’s not so easy for me to forget all the mean-spirited things she’s done to me throughout the years. The Law of Moses allows an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. As far as I’m concerned, God is finally giving Merab what she’s always deserved."

  Mara had no response for this. Maybe Michal was right. Maybe Merab’s unkindness to Michal was being rewarded. But what about Michal’s unkindness to Merab? Wasn’t Michal worried about her reward? Mara knew what the Law of Moses allowed, but what if every man exacted an eye for an eye and every woman required a tooth for a tooth? She couldn’t help but feel this was displeasing to God, and that He would have His children live by a higher standard.

  "I’ve decided I won’t visit Merab," Michal said, her voice clipped and testy. "But it’s not because of anything you’ve said. I’ve decided I’m not in the mood to see her unpleasant face. And, besides, the last thing I want to do is distract her from the misery she so richly deserves."

  "Your father took Merab from David and gave her to another man. Do you realize he could have done the same thing to you?"

  She didn’t know why she said this. She had no idea where the words even came from. But the icy stare she received shouldn’t have been unexpected.

  "Find the galena," Michal snapped, "and put it on my eyelashes. After that, I have other work for you. My chambers need to be cleaned – thoroughly cleaned – and the washwoman still hasn’t returned my best green robe. I think I’ll have you find her, and you can wash the robe yourself."

  Mara nodded. Even if Michal needed to hear the things she’d said, Mara had overstepped her bounds. She silently retrieved a faience jar from Michal’s collection of beauty supplies and dabbed with a small brush at the blue-gray powder inside it.

  If she married Tobiah, he would take her away from this. She wouldn’t have to deal with Michal, and she could escape an unwanted betrothal to Ish-bosheth.

  If Tobiah were to show up now and ask her to run away with him, she might almost have the courage to say yes.

  —

  Tobiah stood a few paces behind David and stared with distaste at the king’s advisors. They’d arrived at David’s Beth-shemesh headquarters only an hour after he did – a surprise to Tobiah as much as it was to David. It gratified Tobiah, however, to see the king’s cronies were even wearier from their journey than he was from his. It was their consequence for living an easy, sedentary life in the service of Israel’s poor excuse for a king. Weariness, however, didn’t stop Gideon ben Yeshua, the group’s main spokesman, from casting a hostile glare at Tobiah. He allowed his gaze to linger for several moments before pasting a false smile on his face and turning toward David.

  "Shalom, young captain," Gideon said. "Peace be upon you."

  "And upon you," David replied, bowing back. "To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of this visit?"

  David was smiling, but Tobiah saw the suspicious look in his eyes. David knew as well as Tobiah these men couldn’t be trusted.

  "We bring you the king’s congratulations for your commendable victory over the Philistines," Gideon replied. Then, wasting no time, he moved immediately to the real purpose of the official visit. "We also bring a message from the king. He has commanded us to tell you he’s pleased with your service and desires you to be his son-in-law by one of his two daughters."

  David’s eyes widened in surprise. He placed a thumb and index finger to his chin as he asked, "And which of his two daughters would this be? Would it be the one who was first promised to me and then given to Adriel? Or would it be the daughter who hasn’t yet been promised to anyone?"

  The trio of advisors exchanged nervous glances. Obviously they hadn’t expected David to receive the news about Adriel so quickly. Gideon gave Tobiah another hostile glare.

  "Could we speak with you in private?" Gideon asked, looking meaningfully at Tobiah. "It’s obvious news of happenings in Gibeah travels on swift feet to Beth-shemesh. But there is other information you possibly don’t already know. Perhaps we could enlighten you with some important facts."

  David shrugged and motioned toward the door of the small house Beth-shemesh’s elders had given him for his temporary military headquarters. Gideon and his companions entered, and David followed and shut the door behind him. David’s attending soldiers moved away, but Tobiah walked to the house and slouched against the doorpost. He knew David would tell him everything that had been said, but he was too curious to wait.

  "…has great delight in you…all the king’s servants love you…should be the king’s son-in-law…"

  Tobiah scowled, strained his ears, and tried to make sense of the bits and pieces of conversation he could catch. But it was more frustrating than informing. Whatever Saul’s henchmen wanted to say to David, they were saying it quietly so only David would hear.

  The conversation – whatever it was about – didn’t last long. Feet shuffled toward the door, and Tobiah stepped quickly away from the house.

  "Joram is the city’s chief elder," David said as he and the three men stepped out, "and I’m sure if you speak to him, he’ll be more than happy to find you lodgings so you can rest in Beth-shemesh until tomorrow. You must be weary from your journey. You’ll be traveling after dark if you attempt to return today."

  "We wish we could stay and rest," Gideon said and, for the first time, his words actually sounded sincere. "But Saul will require an immediate report from us. Are you sure you won’t reconsider?"

  "Does it seem to you a light thing," David said, "to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?"

  "Saul will be disappointed to hear this," Gideon replied. "But I’m certain he will be p
leased by your humility."

  Did Tobiah detect a hint of sarcasm in Gideon’s voice? Or was it just that his smug look made everything he said sound disingenuous?

  Tobiah listened as farewells were made. He waited until Saul’s advisors departed before questioning David.

  "What was that all about? What’s the big secret nobody else is allowed to know?"

  "You didn’t hear? Even though you were standing outside with your ear against the door?"

  Tobiah tried not to look sheepish. Sometimes it worked to his disadvantage that David knew him so well.

  "I might have caught a few words here and there," he admitted. "But not enough to figure out why they wanted to speak to you alone. It almost sounded like they were trying to convince you to marry Michal. Something I wouldn’t think would be so hard for you to accept."

  David nodded. "That’s exactly what they were trying to do. But something didn’t feel right. I don’t know… I didn’t trust them. Everything they said seemed artificial and rehearsed. I don’t know what Saul is playing at, but I find it difficult to believe he really intends to give me Michal. I can’t have him take her back like he took Merab away. I can’t have that happen with Michal."

  "And that’s why you rejected his offer?"

  "Yes."

  "The king is unstable. Aren’t you afraid he’ll be angry when he hears you rejected his offer?"

  David blanched. "I didn’t consider that."

  They were silent a moment, then David said, "You seem to have made an impression on Gideon ben Yeshua. His stare could have frozen the leaves off a fig tree in summer. Is there something you’ve done I ought to know about?"

  "I had a conversation with Saul’s esteemed advisor the other day. Things didn’t go as well as I hoped for."

  "What do you mean? What kind of conversation?"

  "I asked for his permission to marry his daughter."

  David’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. It took several moments for him to regain his composure.

  "You asked him…if you could marry Mara?"

  "I’ve been meeting her in secret," Tobiah said. "We’ve fallen in love."