This Scarlet Cord (31 page)

It took the combined powers of his family to calm him down and convince him that now that the men had had their chance to see Rahab, they would have no more reason to continue their vigil.

While everyone was gathered around Mepu, Shemu said softly to Sala, “Go back up to the roof. I will meet you there.”

Sala slipped up the stairs. Rahab watched him go and looked at Shemu. He shook his head.

Rahab had to repeat her story for her family at least a dozen times. Finally she asked if she could go up to her room to rest and Kata agreed, telling everyone to give her some time alone because she had had such a terrible experience.

Rahab went immediately to the roof and found Sala there by himself. He whirled around at the sound of the door opening and when he saw her, his face lighted up as if the sun had just shone on it.

“You were magnificent!” he said.

She lifted a hand, as if to stop him from touching her. “My whole family is in danger as long as these men remain here. We must be rid of them, Sala.”

The radiance faded from Sala’s face. “I know. I know. And you have made it much easier for us to do that. Once the guards are out of the city and in pursuit, it will be simple for our men to get out through the gates. No one will be looking for them.”

“I wouldn’t count on that.” It was Shemu, opening the door and coming out onto the roof himself. “They will be stopping and questioning every person who goes out through that gate. They may even keep the gate shut until the pursuers return. Your men won’t be able to get out that way, Sala.”

Sala looked at Shemu and said, “What do you want me to do?”

“First, I want to know exactly what information you have given these men. What are the results of your own spying?” The last word was pronounced with the utmost contempt.

“Why do you want to know that?”

“I want to know if it is safe for me to turn these men loose or if I will have to kill them.”

Rahab gasped in horror.

Sala had gone pale. “I will be honest with you, Shemu. The information my father and I have gathered is slight. The walls of this city are a formidable barrier. My father and I saw that as soon as we arrived. Joshua will lose most of his army if he tries to come against them.”

Shemu’s lip curled cynically. “If you think I will believe that your message to your leader is that he should turn away from here, you are mistaken. I am not such a fool as that. So let me repeat what I said before: I want to know the message you are sending to this Joshua.”

Sala looked at Rahab and then back to Shemu. He nodded. “Very well, I will tell you. The report we are sending is that Joshua should concentrate his attack on the weakest side of the city, which is the north wall. You must know that yourself—you live right next to it. The stone revetment is formidable, but the mud-brick wall on top of it is only one brick thick.”

Shemu’s lips pressed together so his mouth was one grim line. “And what other information have you gathered?”

Sala laughed ironically. “What else is there to report, Shemu? Jericho is a fortress unequalled anywhere in the land. I do not think it can be taken by an ordinary army.”

“But you don’t think the Israelites are an ordinary army, do you?”

“No, I don’t. We are men guided by the will of Yahweh, the One True God. He has been with my people since the beginning of time, Shemu. He was with our father Abraham, to whom He gave the land of Canaan. Now we have come to take it back. And we will. Jericho, no matter how great its walls, cannot stand against the will of Yahweh.”

In spite of himself, Shemu was stirred by Sala’s words and by his belief. He tried to shake off the feeling and said, “We have done well enough in Canaan under Baal. We do not need this Yahweh of yours.”

Silence fell as the two men measured each other. Then Sala said, “The Israelites will come against Jericho whether or not the spies return. They will come and one of two things will happen. You will be right and Joshua will either give up or wreck his army by throwing it against these walls. Or I will be right and these walls will fall before the will of Yahweh. If that happens, and I believe it will, nothing will be left alive in this city, Shemu. Nothing.”

Silence. Then Rahab said, “Shemu, if you are right, it won’t matter if we let these men go. And if Sala is right it won’t matter either. What will happen will happen whether the spies get to Joshua or not. But to kill them? That makes no sense at all. What would we do with the bodies?”

Shemu let out a long, audible breath. “Ever the practical one. All right, my sister, do you also have a plan for how we can get them away from here?”

“Yes,” Rahab said. “I do.”

Lord Nahshon had been taken to the military commander’s headquarters and the commander had interviewed Nahshon himself. Akiz was a grizzled veteran who had been a supporter of Makamaron, but with the death of the old king his allegiance had switched wholeheartedly to Tamur. He wanted to keep his job and it didn’t hurt that his son, Farut, was Tamur’s closest friend.

Lord Nahshon steadfastly maintained that his name was Debir and that he was a merchant from Gaza. He knew nothing of Israelite spies. He had only escorted the shepherds out of the Sign of the Olive because they were offensive to the customers. The two men must have followed him to his inn and tried to hide there.

The only thing he said that made the commander think he might be telling the truth was his naming Lord Arazu as a reference.

Lord Arazu was sent for and Nahshon was left to sit and worry in the small, windowless, airless room where he had been confined.

While Nahshon was waiting, the guards who had searched Rahab’s house arrived to speak to the commander. Once Akiz heard what they had to say, all thoughts of Nahshon vanished from his head. The commander immediately ordered squads of chariots to set off in pursuit of the escaped spies. They were directed to drive as fast as they could to the only viable ford on the Jordan, where Akiz knew the Israelites had to be heading.

The charioteers didn’t even wait to make sure their horses had been properly groomed. The chariots were brought round, the horses were harnessed, and the chariot squadron of Jericho’s army was galloping down the main street of the city in record time. The gate opened wide for them and they swept out onto the plain, heading east toward the river and the Israelite spies they were certain they would be able to overtake.

Thirty

I
T WAS QUIET ON THE ROOF AS
S
ALA AND
S
HEMU STARED
at Rahab in amazement.

“You have a plan? What is it?” Sala asked.

Rahab didn’t reply at once. Her experience as hierodule had changed her in some profound and irreversible way. Life no longer looked like a delightful treasure box, open and waiting for her to choose her own happy future. She knew now that terrible things could happen to her. Terrible things could happen to the people she loved. The world wasn’t safe and she could no longer depend upon her father to protect her or her family. She must act, and she knew she had a potent bargaining tool to use against these Israelite spies.

She gathered herself and said to Sala, “Tell your friends I will help them to escape, but first they must promise me something.”

A flicker of surprise passed over his face, but he answered promptly, “Of course. What is the promise?”

“They must promise me that nothing will happen to my family when the Israelite army takes Jericho. If they want my help, they must promise to keep all of us safe.”

Sala looked at her with pain in his warm brown eyes. “Rahab, you know I would never let anything happen to you!”

She believed he meant it, but she was not at all sure he would be able to follow through on his intention. She said somberly, “You are not the Israelite army, Sala. I must hear it from the lips of these men who have come here on the orders of Joshua. They must tell me themselves that nothing bad will happen to my family.”

Sala’s eyes held hers for a long moment, then he nodded. “Do you want me to tell them to come out?”

“Yes. Call them out so I may look at them when they answer.”

Sala turned toward the large square of spread-out flax, raised his voice slightly, and said in Hebrew, “Gideon, Isaac, come out.”

Nothing happened at first, then there was the sound of wood being bumped and the flax trembled. The two spies, wrinkled and dirty, came crawling out from their hiding place. They scrambled to their feet, looking from Sala to Shemu to Rahab then back to Sala.

Sala began to speak to them in Hebrew and Rahab kept her eyes level on the Israelites’ faces as she waited for their reply. This was probably the most important moment in her life, this moment now, here on this roof, as she waited for these strange men to pronounce life or death for all the people she held most dear. Rahab understood what was going to happen when the Israelites attacked. Jericho would be destroyed. Decimated. Massacred. That was what Yahweh wanted them to do. They were His chosen ones and they would triumph. Not even the famous walls of Jericho would stand against them.

All these people, Rahab thought with aching sorrow as she waited for Sala to finish his conversation; all these men and women and children. All of them doomed to die. Then, fiercely,
But not my family! Not my father and mother. Not my brothers and sisters-in-law and cousins. Not the people whom I love
.

Before Sala had a chance to deliver Rahab’s ultimatum, he had to answer a few urgent questions from Isaac and Gideon. They knew who Rahab was, but they wanted to know about Shemu.

“He is Rahab’s brother,” Sala assured them. “His wife has become an Israelite along with Rahab.”

Gideon met Rahab’s level eyes for a moment, then looked away. “How can we be sure this woman isn’t merely tricking us? You say she is a follower of Yahweh, but how can this be? She is a Canaanite woman. Her family worships false gods. How can we trust her not to give us away?”

“She has turned her back upon the gods of Canaan,” Sala said. “I know this is true.”

Gideon’s look was skeptical. “Are you sure she has not seduced you, Sala? Many Israelite men have fallen to the wiles of the Canaanite harlots, and this one is beautiful. Can you tell us honestly that you have not succumbed to her charms?”

The blood flushed into Sala’s face. “Just because she’s beautiful doesn’t mean she’s a harlot!”

Gideon’s lip curled with contempt. “All Canaanite women are harlots. At their festivals they will lie with any man who asks them. Why would a woman who looks like that wish to become an Israelite? Are the rest of her family Israelites also, or is it just her and this sister-in-law you mentioned?”

“The others have not converted. That’s why we’re keeping you up here in secret. And I do not wish to discuss Rahab with you any longer. She’s willing to get you safely away from Jericho if, in return, you promise to save her family from death when Joshua takes the city.”

At this point Shemu interrupted. “What are you talking about, Sala? Why are they asking so many questions?”

Sala lifted a hand in a gesture that asked for patience and turned back to the Israelites. “You must decide now. Rahab has promised she will help you get away, but you must first promise her that her family will be safe. She knows we are destined to win this battle. She knows that Yahweh parted the seas for His people to escape from Egypt. She is a believer in Yahweh and His power. So in return for your lives you must promise her the lives of her family. That is the covenant she is offering. What is your answer?”