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

place then a stable! Anyway, he tells the couple they can use the stable and he charges them for it; 2 shekels can you believe? Well last night at about midnight the woman is delivered of her first born a wonderful bonny boy. Well some Shepherds out in the hills come to the inn claiming an angel has told them to come and worship the new born King at the stable. So what does Samuel do? He charges them for coming to the inn to see the baby! Have you ever heard of such wickedness mother? I mean if the JHWH wants to speak to Shepherds I have no problem, but then Samuel looks to make a profit from it! This morning he breaks my best clay pot, the one that I use for making stew because he says he is cursed for letting the people stay in the stable.”

“Oh dear I wonder if he is not a little sick in the head?” said Miriam. It was not the first time her son in law had said done some thing strange. Ruth put the bread in to the oven and straightened up “I don't know what to think. He says the woman at the stable cursed him because he would not give up our bed for her to deliver the baby. Cursed to wander the earth until judgment day have you ever heard of such nonsense?” she said.

Just then Samuel Ben Ezra walked into the kitchen. A well set man of about thirty five, not very noticeable, he was your average Jew of medium build; fairly dark in complexion. Walking over to the stove he lifted the lid of a pot and looked inside. “Stop that” snapped Ruth. Sighing, he put the lid back and sat down on a low stool. Have you heard of such a thing cursed indeed” said Ruth “You should be attending to your guests and instead you moan around talking nonsense about curses! How long have you been at the stable talking to those people?” she asked. “You don't seem to understand,” he said “I did some thing wrong; something bad and against God” he said.
“Nonsense” said Ruth. “Now go and serve some wine to the guests who have just walked in. I can hear them calling for wine”. Rising from the stool Samuel made his way to the front room of the inn where voices could be heard calling for the innkeeper.

Miriam had left the kitchen and was gone for a while. When she returned, she was quieter then usual, singing softly to herself a psalm. “Where have you been?” asked Ruth “to the stables” replied Miriam with a with a tired but content smile on her lips. “So what does the boy child look like?” asked Ruth. “Oh daughter he is the most pleasant baby to behold!” said Miriam “He has bright eyes, health, well formed; what a man he will be one day.” said the old woman. “But what a life lies before him. Those people are dirt poor. What a life of suffering for the child and when he is grown, a life of toil. Life in Israel is not easy in these days” said Ruth.

“Do you mind if I take them some food?” asked Miriam “Who is going to pay for it?” asked Ruth do you think we are so wealthy we can give away food mother in law?” “Don't be like that daughter” said the older woman. “Once we were also poor and others fed us. Don't be hard of heart child, it doesn’t become you”.

“What is going on with your family today?” said Ruth crossly “You both seem to have spent too much time in the sun. You and your son here take this pot of stew to them and I hope that when we are poor, others will remember this act of unwarranted charity” she said.

“Oh Ruth you should go and see the baby. He is so beautiful! I am sure that once you see him the hard heart in your bosom will melt” said the old woman. “Away with you before I change my mind” said Ruth.

Bethlehem 26 AD
Ruth was dying. She coughed and lay back on the bed. Samuel moved to wipe her brow. Her face was as grey as her hair. Samuel thought back to the days when they were young children playing in the hills of Judea. How long ago that was. She had changed over the last few years. She had begun following with growing interest the ministry of a teacher from Nazareth who had taught both in the Galilee and Judea named Jesus. At first she had gone along to hear what this young man had to say with much skepticism but that had changed. The more she heard of the young prophet the more she changed. Her shrewish nature had softened. She had even become quite pleasant to be around. Over the last few months she had developed a persistent cough, which would not go away, it had withstood all remedies, now she was dying an old woman. Samuel still looked and felt young. He reasoned the curse was already having an effect.

He had loved Ruth from childhood. She had not been a pretty child, rather a tom boy, but she had always worshiped Samuel. He was older than she was and at first he had not taken much notice of her. She was the young sister of his friend Benjamin. Later as they had grown up he began to notice the changes in her and was drawn to her.

They had been married when he was twenty and she was fifteen. He remembered that summer. The fields had been harvested, the crops that year had been bountiful. She coughed again, the spasm using almost all of her meager supply of strength “Samuel, promise me that you will bury me in nice spot” she said. “You know how I have always loved the sun”. Samuel squeezed her hand “Dear Ruth wife of my youth I promise you that I will find a field that gets lots of sun all year round for your resting place“ he replied.

He wondered at the unfairness of life she was fifty-six and he sixty-one yet he remained young while she was now and old woman breathing her last. Their life together had been good. Yes there had been hard years, but one looked forward to better years when times were lean. He wondered what he would do once she was gone. He could not continue to live in Bethlehem. People were already starting to suspect that something was not quite right at the inn. He remained a man of thirty-five while his wife had aged. Maybe he would go up to Jerusalem and speak to a learned man there who might help him to unravel the mystery of the curse that kept him young. For a moment he was drawn back into his youth when he and Benjamin had been fishing in the stream near Bethlehem. They had sneaked off from the town to fish early in the morning knowing if they hung around town they would have to attend school in the synagogue. There had been a sound in the bushes near them. Alarmed, they had scrambled up from the stream bank to see what wild animal was in the bush. Finding nothing, they had returned to the stream and decided to take a swim. They had removed their clothes and plunged into the cold water, enjoying the feeling of the cool water against their flesh. They swam for a while. When they had grown tired of swimming they had gone back to the stream bank only to find that their clothes had disappeared.

Worriedly they had begun searching the bush looking for any sign of their clothes without success. They had returned to the bank of the stream to find Ruth standing there with their clothes in her hands. Laughing at their embarrassment, she said she would only give back the clothes for a price. Benjamin would have to do her chores for a week and Samuel; well from Samuel she wanted a kiss. They had made a grab at her attempting to get their clothes back but she had been far too quick for them and had easily evaded capture. Embarrassed, Samuel had kissed her gently on the lips before surrendering his clothes.

Now she lay dying; an old grey woman. Her breathing was growing shallow now. She was close to the end. The words of the young prophet had a profound effect on her she had become content with life she had changed she had once more become a young carefree girl. It seemed that the toils of life had dropped from her shoulders. For years she had been the driving force at making the inn successful working hard. She counted every penny, keeping everything under her control. Since she started following the young Rabbi she had become a lovable person. Together they had once more discovered the joys of their youth, laughing at old jokes and stories retold a thousand times over a life time.

Samuel moved closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. She looked up at him and smiled “God be with you Samuel Ben Ezra” she said closing her eyes her breath growing shallow and labored. Samuel had tears in his eyes when he heard the death rattle in her throat.


CHAPTER TWO
Jerusalem 27 AD A day in the temple

No one could describe the feelings that Samuel felt on a fine morning in the early part of the year 27 AD as he reached the summit of the hill at which travelers first saw Jerusalem. It was especially moving for Jews who saw it for the first time. Jerusalem, it was the capital the city which King David had taken a thousand years before. It was Holy city; the city of Kings. The sunlight glinted off the white marble of the newer Roman and Greek buildings from the temple mount the fires of morning sacrifices were seen from afar.

Leaving the push cart at the side of the well worn track that leads to the city, Samuel stood for a moment looking down on the city. The mixed feelings which filled his heart were of joy, sorrow, and fear. Joy, which fills a man’s heart when he has reached his final destination after a long journey, made more special, as this was the first time that he was seeing the city of David. He also felt sorrow, knowing that he was leaving his old life behind. Once he had buried Ruth there was really nothing to keep him in Bethlehem. People were already saying he was bewitched looking so young when his wife of many years had gone to her rest; an old woman bent with age old and grey, while he retained the appearance of a young man. Fear at what the wise man would say when he laid before him his unusual predicament.

Taking in the view, Samuel wondered how many others had stood on this spot over the city's long history and been humbled to stand in the presence of God’s holy city and to know that in the temple rested the Ark of the Covenant; the visible presence of God’s law. Samuel thought of the prophets of the Lord who had raged against the rebellious hearts of the people when they had turned and worshiped the idols of Baal and Aster.

Now Samuel stood on the hill, about to take the first steps in a new life. He began pushing the cart once more. The cart was loaded with the few meager possessions