The First Book of Samuel - SAREJESS (chrysanthemum read aloud TXT) 📗

PROLOGUE
There is an old legend that says that the inn keeper who refused to give up his bed for a pregnant woman and told her husband that they could use the stable for all he cared was forever cursed to be an inn keeper until judgment day. Never being able to redeem himself but forever chasing after the shekel in the hopes of doing good and following the precincts of the Jewish faith.
This story is about a wandering Jewish innkeeper at the turn of the 21st century this innkeeper found himself in Africa running an inn as usual
He starts his day by doing his religious duty by attending Shul and then returning to the inn to be a good host to his guests. In his time he had seen peoples of many nations serving them and hoping to find a way of redeeming himself in the eyes of mankind.

Later in the day he would take stock of what he had in the inn kitchen and then go to the local market to replenish his stock for the evening meal and once more return to the inn to play the part of the good host to his guests. His wife, a shrewd woman would keep the kitchen under her control making sure that the staff they employed at minimum wages did not steal a morsel of bread. She considered it a great sin she considered for a person to steal from their employers and this policy of economics she rigidly enforced.

At night the inn keeper would retire to the inner sanctum and count out the coins which he had made through the day making sure always that the inn showed a healthy profit. He had become very good at what he did; after all he had been doing it for more then to millennium. He had once owned an inn on the main square in Damascus and had served the likes of the Moslem's Mohamed. He had seen at first hand the evil that his followers had committed in Mohamed’s name. At another time he had run an inn in the Christian city of Constantinople. Here he had seen the riches of the east going west and the evil of the Holy Roman Empire. Still another time he had owned an inn in the old city of Jerusalem here he had seen the ignorant Christian knights of western Europe butcher and massacre their fellow believers in the belief that they were infidels because of their dress.

The first inn he had owned in the old city of Jerusalem had been built shortly before the crucifixion of the Lord and he had given up an upper room the night before to the Lord and his disciples. He provided the where with all for them to hold Passover; however this had not redeemed him from the eternal curse under which he lived. The day of the crucifixion of Jesus he had watched from the street as Jesus carried the cross tree up the well-worn path to Golgotha, the place of the skull. The innkeeper had watched as others reviled and spat on Jesus but he kept aloof, watching the man to whom he had refused his parents a bed. At one stage the innkeeper had started forward with a cloth to wipe the blood from Jesus’ face but a Roman solder shoved him roughly back into the crowd with a curse.

Later during the rebellion of the years 67 AD to 70 AD he had given room to the leaders of the rebellion only to watch as the mighty Roman army marched into the city and slaughtered and carried off many thousands of his fellow Jews to captivity. He had lived through many tribulations of the Jewish people


CHAPTER ONE


6 BC The beginning of the Samuel story
The nation of Israel had been on the move now for weeks from every corner of the world the children of Israel came to be numbered by order of Caesar Augustus. The winding trail which led to the city of Bethlehem was crowded with people traveling. The wealthy rode horses or carts the poorer folk rode donkeys or walked. Thus Joseph of the house of David walked leading the donkey upon which his very pregnant wife rode. He was a big man with a kind face. The dark beard did much to hide his friendly countenance and many thought him fearsome but the fact was he was quite the opposite.

The hot afternoon sun bore down on them the dust clouds rising as the multitudes made their way to their ancestral homes to be numbered. This afternoon Mary had begun to sense that the birth for which the people of Israel had been waiting for since the fall from the garden could not be long off. She had urged her husband of a few months to make haste to try and reach the city of David before nightfall so that she could at least give birth to the promised one in a comfortable bed. She really did not want to give birth to the hope of Israel on the side of a dusty road in full view of the multitudes; that would not be right she thought.

They had traveled on reaching the hills, which over looked the city. Shortly before nightfall they found themselves looking down on the town. Joseph had his first inclination that there might be a problem finding a place to stay. The crowds which awaited entry at the city gates where restless and tired from their long journey and every one wanted to find a place to stay.

After waiting a while Joseph and Mary were allowed entry into the city Joseph asked one of the youths near the gate if he knew where the inn was. The boy of about ten pointed vaguely off in the direction of the center of the town and Joseph took up the reigns once more and began leading the stubborn animal upon which his wife sat.

Samuel Ben Ezra was in a foul mood once again. He had been put out of the kitchen by his wife and mother in law who had promised to beat him with the broom if he dared to return. The problem was not the fact that he was an interfering busy body it was just that he liked to please his guests. To this end he inspected every thing the women did. His behavior had at times so infuriated the women that they had contemplated murder but this had so far not happened.

This evening Samuel was worse than usual. The inn was full to bursting yet people still kept coming to the door demanding a place to spend the night. It happened that when Joseph’s knock came to the door Samuel had just had another vicious argument with his wife Ruth. So he was not in a particularly good mood when he answered the door. Flinging open the door, he was confronted by the dark face of Joseph. "What do you want?" Samuel said in an off-handed manner taking in at the same time the woman on the donkey. She looked ready to drop he thought "A room for the night" asked Joseph "None here friend" said Samuel "the inn is full" "Oh now what are we to do?" said the woman almost in tears.

"I don’t know. The whole city is full. The only place that you might be able to rest for the night is my stable" said Samuel half heartily. "A stable?” said Joseph incredulously “Yes a good clean stable; what’s wrong with that?" he asked of Joseph taking in an offended tone of voice. “Nothing I suppose” said Joseph “But my wife is pregnant. Is there no other place you might be able to give us?” asked Joseph “None” replied Samuel “And it will only cost you a few pennies. Let’s call it a census special” he laughed.

“Oh well we will have to take it” said Joseph. Samuel led the way to the stable, kicking open the door, which already hung loosely from its hinges. The stable was filthy. Seeing there was no where else to go, and Mary was on the verge of giving birth, Joseph said “all right we will take it." "Not so fast friend” said Samuel. “The price is 2 shekels. If you don’t pay, I can all ways rent to some one else who is in need of it”. Joseph reached for the money purse which hung around his neck and handed over the money. Samuel bit the money to make sure it was genuine. “Could you help me to clean the place a bit?” asked Joseph of the innkeeper "What, me clean up after filthy animals? You must be mad!" he said to the astonished Joseph, who was growing angrier and angrier every time the innkeeper opened his mouth to utter some thing offensive.

Suddenly a strange look came over the face of Mary at the latest insult. "Innkeeper harken unto the words of a mother” she said. “You are accursed and you will wander the earth serving humanity until the end of time, seeking your salvation in many places but never finding it until the day you repent of your offensive ways and until you ask forgiveness of Him whom you have treated so harshly. You will seek until you are weary. You will seek in places that have not become nations. Yet but there is one hope that you repent and find your salvation for the act you have committed this night". The light faded from her face and she slumped forward as if asleep, on the donkey. Samuel reeled back as if he had been struck. He had seen those whom the spirit of JHWH possessed. He had stood in the temple when the old prophet Micah had been lifted up and had, under divine influence, spoken of a great time for the nation. Now he recognized the truth of the words and because he would not give one inch, he had lost his soul. Samuel recognized the seriousness of the words. He stumbled from the stable, physically ill at the shock he had just received. In the stable he heard the woman say in a soft voice "Joseph I think my water has broken."

The morning after
Ruth was angry Samuel had broken her best clay pot now she was busy in the kitchen baking bread. Banging a bowl of flour down on the table “Oh that man” she said to no one in particular Miriam looked up from her work “Did you say some thing dear?” she asked

“It is nothing mother, just Samuel doing his thing again” replied Ruth. “What has he done?” now asked Miriam with a sigh. She was used to her son in law getting up to strange things, always getting involved in some thing which had nothing to do with him or causing a problem with one of the guests. “Firstly we have no room at the moment because of the census but he still tries to get more people into the inn. Last night a man and his wife arrived from Nazareth. She was about to deliver her first born. So what does he do instead of sending them some where else? What does our Samuel do? He tells them they can stay the night in the stable! I mean have you ever heard of such wickedness? He could have sent them down the road to Cousin Simon. I am sure he would have made a better