* * * *
* * *
“A royal Chariot,” said Athaliah in excitement, “but… without horses. And no driver. What does that mean?… It vanished! The vision has vapoured.”
“Jehu would be soon galooping back to the north. He will leave our borders. Aram is threatening him again, certainly. I have heard that news from my agent.”
“No more an overwhelming enemy against me?!” cried Athaliah, “ I can’t believe it yet…Oh, powerful Baal. Oh, amazing Ashera!”
Athaliah fell to Mathan’s arms and they were kissing.
“I’ll check this news with Abner,” she said, “If this prophecy of yours has become real, I will hand you the Temple of Ashera, which is now in my ownership. It had been built by king Solomon for his wife from Tyre in Lebanon. Use my hundred gold currency - to rebuild it…”
“A plenty of gold has remianed now,” said Mathan, “There will not be a further need to fasten our wall, or take new soldiers. The enemy dived into Chaos! Blesssed be our Idols.”
Athaliah said, as to herself: “I can bless also the God of Israel. Perhaps he has changed his mind about me.” They laughed together at that idea.
Next morning Athaliah told Mathan, who had slept with her- to order her guards to harness two donkeys.
“I must see if Jehu’s withdrawal is real. I will go with you to glimpse at Beth El Temple from far. I was informed that his army had been there before. ”
“Very good,” said Mathan, “ I know a hill there, from which you can have a nice observation of the northern front. But…you should notify Army Commander Abner about that.”
“I’ve done that already, when we have travelled together again along the ramparts. He only demanded, that I will be disguised, when I travel around . Well…”
The two riders, Atahliah and Mathan, were disguised as shepherds, dressed in cotton worn grey gowns, their heads wrapped by kerchiefs, like ‘Kafias’ nowadays. It was a warm day of automn, and a slight shower dropped from the sky. The riders arrived to a medium height hill, where they met two shepherds, who had come with a small herd to the place. They were Athaliah’s guards, having spears in their scabbards. Their bows and arrows were put in a sack, that Mathan had hanged on his donkey’s-back.
Athaliah and Mathan had left their animals to the guards’ watch, and walked toward a high cliff. Up there they found a concave, and were trying to hide in it. The guards were staying down, some fifty steps from their place, sneaking looks over and above them. One of them had a small flute, by which he was playing oriental melodies to his sheep.
From the concave the queen and her Baal Priest took a sight of the whole area. It was like a colored rug, woven by patches of green small valleys and brown grey hills. On one of them the travellers soon discerned a stone temple, surrounded by three small wooden huts.
They saw the statue of the Calf (or the Bull- as the idols worshippers called it) its head made of stone coated by gold. It was erected as usual on top of the Temple’s flat roof. Three priests were seen walking in its court. Also on its right side there were seen small cloth-made tents, seemingly used by regular soldiers.
“Look at the Calf statue!” said Athaliah , “I’ve thought that Jehu- a God believer- would break it to pieces. It’s an idol. Maybe he has my belief in two gods. So, why has he killed my family? I swear again that I shall revenge.”
“Jehu knows,” said Mathan, “that people must look at something, in order to believe that it exists at all. The problem with the God of Israel is its invisibility – having no shape… Hard for people to believe in such a pure spiritual entity!”
“Yes, we always need to see and touch something physical. Isn’t it so, my strong ox?” She pinched Mathan by his ass, and he knew she had been satisfied, seeing at present no large troops staying at Jehu’s sacred place.
She kissed him, and he was bearing her in his arms to a hidden crevice in the depth of the concave. They wanted to be left alone, to make more love - without being seen by their curious guards. But soon they were interrupted. One of their disguised shepherds climbed nearby, and called loudly:
“Her majesty! Take a look, Jehu’s army is marching in a distance, fully equipped.” Mathan and the queen got out of their hiding place and were looking far:
About thirty armed warriors were seen at the right side of the temple, emerging from their tents. A squad of ten men was training arrow shooting to targets, set up at a plain field not far. Others soldiers were just staying ahead of the temple’s entry- and waiting.
Suddnly there arrived a horse rider, wearing a feathers’ helmet. His shouts were heard from far, and the training troop had stopped. The soldiers re-organised to three rows, standing erect. Then all were running to theit tents, and the Temple’s courtyard became again empty. They got out very soon, each carrying a bag or cloths package, wrapped with some grey sheet, or sheep’s leather blanket. The soldiers were re-arranged in rows, then began moving out of the area, toward the north.
“Hopefully,” said Mathan, “my agents will know exactly what all this would mean.”
“It seems like we see in our eyes the real withdrawal; it’s not a camouflage,” said Athaliah.
“We have prayed for it,” said Mathan..
The queen waved her hands to the guards standing not far, at the hillside. They brought back the donkeys, and soon all crossed the gate at Jerusalem’s wall.
In the afternoon the tired queen returned to her palace. She went to her room, to take a slumber. Her guards, who saw like her – the withdrawal of Jehu’s troop, soon spread the rumor about that in town..
Later that day young Prophet Joseph was surrounded by a group of youths at the gate of the queen’s palace. He was holding his shepherd’s staff in hand, and waving it while declaiming in his soprano- but unrelenting voice:
“Oh, people of Judea! God will punish you. God mocks at your mildness, obeying the pagan Queen. ...And you, Queen Athaliah, don’t rejoice about Jehu’s retreat. God will hurt you in another way - for your heavy sins. Beware of Him! People of Judea, repent to God!”
The High Priest and Yehosheva were passing by an alley, leading from the Temple toward the palace. They had just sneaked to visit the baby in the cave, for a few minutes. While they approached the palace gate, Yehoyada nodded to prophet Joseph. The Prophet bowed to both riders, but suddenly jumped toward the Priest’s donkey, and held its rein to stop its drive.
“Sir,” he said to Yehoyada, “may I know where my fiance is? I haven’t seen Nefertita more than a week. Please, I am worried about her.”
“Don’t worry. Nefertita is safe,” said the High Priest very shortly.
The prophet wanted to say something else, but the High Priest pulled the rein from his hand, and his sandaled feet hit his animal’s belly to make it run forward. Yehoyada and Yehosheva with their donkeys disappeared from Joseph’s sight very quickly.
Athaliah announced a Feast for the people, to celebrate Jehu’s withdrawal from Judea’s borders. His troops were seen walking to the north, not only from Beth-El, but also from the east and west borders of Judea. Abner’s spies, some being in service of Jehu’s army in the other fronts, reported that their retreat was final. Northern Israel’s frontiers had been threatened now by Hazael, king of Aram. He was a usurper of the crown in Aram, being before an Officer in king Ben-Haddad of Aram’s army, who had been a permanent enemy also of Joram and Jezebel. So, kingdoms’ rulers had changed all over the mid-east map, but their hatred to their neighbors was inherent in their policy. Disagreement about who will rule and where in the ‘wild Mid-east’ had not been changed since then. (In the middle ages that area was ‘more lazy and quite sleepy’, except in the time of the Crusaders… Nowadays, however, the Bibles’ political–social struggle, inside and outside, has returned vigorously. People still believe that God had caused it, and would interfere for their favor in the deadly struggles. Is human being’
s real peace everywhere still an illusion?)
The celebration for Judea’s ‘Relief from Jehu’ had taken place in God Temple’s courtyard. God Priests, as well as Levitins (singers and gatekeepers, priests’ assistans ) and common people – were all invited. Also Baal worshippers got the right to enter, and enjoy the festivity, that included entertainment of singing, foods and drinks.
Chief priest Yehoyada was the one who had suggested to Athaliah that the holy Temple would be used for that event. She wished at first to organize the celebration in her courtyard. However, she could not promise that all the served food there will be purely Kosher. Yehoyada told her:
“You certainly know, queen, that Baal worshippers won’t object to eat our Kosher food. So, let me organize everything. I can keep the food under my control, and both religions’ followers will be satisfied. Only the payment should be on your account.”
The queen was eager to to show the people’s unity under her flag - in that first special event for the rescue of Judea from a difficult war. She had agreed even to Yehoyada’s decision to set Baal believers separated from God’s believers. That would prevent quarrels and hits between the two religious groups...
About five hundred citizens came to the celebration. Many of them were destitutes, who arrived just to taste good baked sheep’s meat, eat sweet grapes and juicy granates and baked apples.
Mathan, who had been already nominated as chief Baal’ priest, agreed not to hold a prayer of his own in that event. He let his previous boss, Yehoyada- to lead the whole ceremony, with tables loaded by plenty of food and drinks, including old wines.
“Dear citizens,” said Yehoyada to the celebrating people, “we bring our thankgiving to God for a great miracle. He rescued us from the hands of the brutal ‘Ox Statue‘ worshipper Jehu. This criminal claims to believe in the God of Israel, but opposes this Holy Temple. He still continues to sacrifice in Beth-El, which is contrary to our belief in one God and One Temple to worship Him...”
However, before any food had been brought by the stewards to the tables, suddenly Athaliah rose from her seat at the ‘Respectables’ table’. She insisted to walk with her four headguards to the kitchen: It had been set up in the courtyard’s corner, inside a large tent. Yehoyada tried to avoid Athaliah’s intermission in the cooks’ work, but in vain.
“Dear husband of my daughter,” she said very stoutly, “My duty as a queen –is to to inspect this place personally. I want to see the priests, who are working here - boiling, cooking, and fraying the foods. I live now in a great danger, Since the terrible poisoning of my late brother in Samaria, I know that I should beware especially the prophets and ‘sons of prophets’, but lately, as you know- I had acquired a lot of God’s priests hatred. I know that many want to kill me, the remnant of Ahab’s dynasty. I have quarreled with you - about the legitimacy of my rulling Judea, you remember…”
“Yes, but I’ve thought that all is over now,” said Yehoyada. She shook her head: No.
“The devils tiny delgates,” she mocked, “might be in any food, sir. I must see somebody tasting the food before it gets to my table. I do like that at my home in the royal palace, why not here? I can’t rely on anyone. ..”
“All right,” surrendered the High Priest, and came with her to stand at the smoky kitchen, among the boiling pots and the stoned furnace.
“What is the first food, that you’d like to taste or inspect?” he asked Athaliah. She came to stand near a foaming-boiling pot, and removed its tin cover. She turned to a cook who was standing thereby and told him:
“You take a big spoon – and taste these green beans. Now, before my eyes.”
“I can’t… I have an acute…pain in stomach.” said the man. Athaliah indicated her guards to arrest him. She turned to the chief cook, and ordered him to taste the beans. He did that, and she stayed next to him while his mouth was quickly swallowing a bowel of beans. She ordered another one to taste the meat, boiled in a copper pot, and he showed her how he was chewing and swallowing it. Then he sipped some soup produced from that meat.
Athaliah indicated the chief cook, that now he could begin serving food to the tables. The tall man’s hands suddenly held his belly. His face became grimaced and he murmured some vague words. Then his mouth gargled and he collapsed on the floor. Athaliah’s headguards’ Officer called additional soldiers to come in. She ordered them to arrest all the cooks and stewards, and ban the entries and exits to the broad kitchen’s tent.
The Chief Priest of God could not hide his confusion and frustration. “Oh, God,” he said, “My purpose was good in gathering the people here. But maybe you, my Lord- became angry, that I’ve agreed to collaborate with Idols worshippers…”
Then he told the queen: “Maybe it had been only by… a spell of an eye…or by chance, that our cook had collapsed? Please, be patient. Investigate this case very thoroughly.”
“I’ll do that,” she said, cynically, “you can return to your seat at the table. Don’t talk in public about this kitchen’s terrible event. Better hold a speech about this world - and about the world aftermath. Really, the two worlds seem to me very similar to each other. Don’t you agree? Here are evil doers prospering, and there they are burning in the furnace of hell…So, what’s the difference? Ha Ha !”
Athaliah decided to remove only the suspected beans, and pour them to the garbage. Soon the stewards distributed all the rest to the people, whose hunger was growing while waiting so long. The cook’s funeral had taken place in the late evening. But the simple cooks celebrated, rejoicing that their souls were rescued from Athaliah’s grip. Some told that they had really suspected their chief’s wish to cause a disaster. Some said he had been really crazy, and that simply- his heart could not bear the pressure, caused by being suspected personally by the queen.
PART THREE
CHAPTER 16