Rising Darkness Read online

  “So Achan caused Israel to be defeated?” he asked.

  Eli nodded.

  “I’m sure that the Romans will be happy to hear that,” chimed in Daniel, who could no longer hold back.

  “The sin of Achan brought disgrace to the nation,” Eli said, looking at Daniel. “The sin of one man can bring down a people.”

  “And who sinned that we are now in the hands of Rome?” asked Daniel. “As long as you are telling the boys about our glorious past, you might mention all the other nations who have conquered us—Alexander, the Ptolemies, Persia. And that’s just a few of them!”

  “Israel strayed from the covenant they made with God,” responded Eli. “They forsook the words of the prophets. And the Lord judged us.”

  “And when does He stop judging us and bring us into our inheritance once more?” Daniel demanded. All of the men were looking at him now, ready to take action should he provoke any of them. He looked at all the angry eyes upon him. “When does your Messiah arrive and remove this Roman curse?” he continued, a bit more subdued in tone.

  “Only the Lord knows when Messiah will come,” Eli finally said. “You know this, Daniel. But come He shall!”

  Daniel grumbled and buried his head back in the warmth of his knees. Eli continued talking to the boys, who didn’t really understand the rough exchange with Daniel, but welcomed Eli’s recaptured attention.

  “And so, boys,” Eli continued, “Achan’s sin at Jericho turned what should have been a very easy victory at Ai into a defeat.”

  “But what did Joshua do?” asked Jarod eagerly.

  Eli winked at one of the men and motioned his head toward Daniel, whose head was still buried in his knees in disgust.

  “Well, poor Joshua was sort of like our friend Daniel here…”

  Daniel looked up for just a second at Eli’s pause.

  “He was beside himself trying to figure out what was wrong.”

  Some of the men chuckled as Daniel grunted and dropped his head once more.

  Jericho, 1225 B.C.

  “You may not touch Joshua, Kara,” said Michael. “Neither you, nor Berenius, nor even Lucifer himself can touch this man.”

  Outside the tent, where Joshua had thrown himself in front of the Ark of the Testimony, was a gathering of fallen angels led by Kara, Rugio, Khasis, and Berenius, plus a dozen or so lesser wicked spirits who were under their authority. They had come to discourage Joshua in his defeat and hopefully turn the tide of the war in their favor.

  Also outside the tent were Michael, Serus, Sangius, and Crispin, along with several hundred holy angels who had been assigned to Joshua. They remained silent as Michael spoke with their enemy over Joshua’s disposition.

  “We are not here to touch Joshua,” said Kara, looking at the commander of Israel scraping the earth before him with his hands. “We are here to help him after he makes his decision.”

  “What decision might that be?” asked Crispin, who had stepped up with Michael. “Joshua’s mind is closed to you. He is a man filled with the Spirit of God.”

  “Just so,” agreed Kara, looking down at the tent that they dared not enter for fear of the Ark. “I recall that Moses was also a man of faith. And yet he so failed the Lord that he was not even allowed to enter into the land for which he had given his life. Even the elders of Israel are in there with Joshua in this disgraceful display.”

  He pointed to Joshua.

  “The same faithlessness will befall Joshua,” he continued matter-of-factly. “Humans are destined to fail—even men of faith like Joshua! Dribbling over the Ark like some pitiful beast who has been cornered!”

  “It is only the presence of the Ark that keeps me from tearing the man into pieces,” boasted Rugio, glaring at Michael. “He would be dead already if I had my way.”

  “Yes,” remarked Crispin casually. “The Presence of the Most High does rather foul up your plans, hmm?”

  “And I will settle my score with you after this war is finished, dear teacher,” growled Rugio. He pointed at the angel standing with Michael. “All of you will return to Heaven one day, humbled by the disobedience of the very humans you seek to protect!”

  “If we ever return to Heaven it shall be on the Lord’s terms,” said Michael, “not on any humans’. And certainly not as a result of being humbled by rebel angels!”

  “Nevertheless, Archangel, the man cries out to the Lord like a man who is losing his faith,” said Berenius, whose hatred for Serus emboldened him. “A bit like Serus when he left Lucifer’s service and went yelping to Michael.”

  The unholy angels laughed aloud.

  “As I remember, it was an act of faith that brought Serus to Michael,” chimed in Sangius, who also was once in Lucifer’s circle. “He, like I, realized the shameful pride that was ensnaring Lucifer’s mind and heart.”

  “Traitors come easily in Heaven,” said Kara.

  “You are quite the proof of that, Kara,” said Crispin offhandedly.

  Michael and Sangius laughed aloud.

  “Just listen to Joshua,” said Kara, ignoring Crispin’s jibe. Imitating Joshua in contemptible tones, wringing his hands, Kara pleaded aloud, “ ‘O Lord, why have You deserted us? If only we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan!’ How pitiful!” He looked at Michael with venom and added, “Such faith will never win a war that is determined by faith.”

  Before Michael could respond to Kara, the Tent of Meeting was suddenly visited by a rushing noise that roared through the land. Every angel recognized the approach of the Presence of God. Kara and his angels fell back, shielding their eyes from the brilliant light that began filling the area around the tent. Although unseen by any humans, the Presence of the Most High completely lit up the camp as He prepared to speak to Joshua from the Ark.

  Kara quickly ordered his angels back, many of whom not only fell back but scattered like frightened animals. Rugio managed a low growl at Michael before he also pulled back with Kara and the others. The holy angels ignored their adversaries and bowed their heads to the Lord, all of them wondering what was going to happen.

  “Joshua.”

  Joshua stopped in mid-sentence and became silent. The elders who were with him also were silent. Joshua looked back at them, and they immediately understood that the Lord had spoken to him, although they had heard nothing. They fell to their faces in great fear. Joshua looked back at the Ark.

  “Joshua. Rise up! Why have you fallen on your face?”

  Joshua realized that the Lord indeed was speaking to him and at first could not even move, much less speak. He slowly rose up, although the elders remained on the ground, prostrate.

  “Israel has sinned. They have broken faith with Me by taking some things that were devoted to destruction. They have even hidden the things in their tent.”

  Joshua could sense a great shame rising up inside of his heart. He dared not look at the Ark. He thought back to the many times Moses had encountered the faithlessness of the people he was leading.

  “Therefore, this is what you are to do…”

  Chronicles of the Host

  Judgment at Ai

  Just as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, one man had committed a grievous sin against the Lord and against His own people. The Most High would show Joshua through the lot the man who had defiled the nation and the covenant. All the eyes of Israel anxiously awaited the outcome as tent by tent, tribe by tribe, family by family, the verdict was rendered.

  We angels wondered if, when confronted with his sin, the man Achan would try to hide as did A’dam, and as humans seem to want to do, or if he would admit his sin and confess before the camp. As it turned out, Achan, when confronted by Joshua, did in fact confess his greed. The evidence of his sin was brought before the assembly. We watched as the judgment of the Lord fell upon Achan and his family, and they were stoned to death outside the camp.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Even deliverers are corruptible.”

  Bethlehem, 4 B.C.

  “Why
is he so bitter?” asked Bakka, who stood near the group of shepherds outside Bethlehem. “Why won’t he simply enter into fellowship with his brother shepherds?”

  Gabriel, who was watching the growing number of holy angels gather on the hillside overlooking Bethlehem, shook his head.

  “That is part of your mission,” he said. “I told you that something momentous will happen here tonight. Your assignment with the man Daniel is a small part of that event.”

  “Yes, I have seen many angels arriving,” admitted Bakka. “But what have they, or whatever is to happen here tonight, to do with Daniel?”

  Gabriel looked at Bakka with compassion.

  “Study the man,” said Gabriel, ignoring Bakka’s question. “Discover why he feels the way he does. Many destinies hang in the balance this evening, and as with all human destiny, it is a matter of his choosing.”

  The two walked to the crest of a hill overlooking the sleepy little town, leaving the shepherds at their fire. The area was beginning to light up from the many angels who were gathering. Bakka was puzzled.

  “Gabriel?” asked Bakka. “What is to be decided tonight at Bethlehem?”

  Gabriel looked at Bakka and then at the great star.

  “Everything,” he answered quietly. “Everything.”

  “And so, boys,” Eli continued, “as to the remainder of the conquests…Refreshed with a new sense of holiness and mission, Joshua led his people through Canaan in victory after victory over the wicked nations that had made their stronghold in the land of promise.” He cocked his head back and sighed aloud. “Those were glorious days for our fathers,” he added, imagining the great clashes of armies.

  He leaned in and said dramatically, “And many a devil lost his seat of worship, I can tell you! Places of detestable worship and religious wickedness were destroyed by Joshua’s advancing armies. As for Joshua—he was to become one of the greatest generals we ever had!”

  The shepherds all turned in the direction of some footsteps out in the darkness. It was Bezael, returning with a bit more wood for the little fire. He placed it on the embers and in a few moments, the fire crackled back to life.

  “I like Joshua,” said Jarod. “I wish we were in a war right now!”

  “Oh we are, boy, we are,” said Daniel, who was eating a bit of bread. “The enemy is right down there.” He pointed toward Bethlehem. “Remember all the people we saw earlier today streaming into the town? They are proof of our enemy’s control over us. The emperor ordered that all of Israel be taken up in the census so we can pay for the privilege of their occupation.” He spat on the fire. “Roman census!”

  “It’s true our nation has fallen on hard times,” agreed Eli. “Augustus’ decree goes throughout the empire, though, and not simply our little part.”

  “Well it’s our little part that concerns me,” snapped Daniel. “The rest of the empire be hanged!”

  “I’ll bet Joshua could drive them out if he was here,” chimed in little Joshua.

  “You keep dreaming those things, boy,” said Daniel sarcastically, staring vacantly at the new star that hung over Bethlehem. “Maybe someday a Joshua will return.”

  As he said this he looked at the boy, who wasn’t sure of what to make of Daniel. All little Joshua knew was that the wonderful stories of old Israel and the rekindled fire had made it a very cozy night. And he desperately wanted to stay awake as Eli continued speaking. A few of the other shepherds had themselves fallen asleep, having switched off the night’s watch.

  Jarod, the older of the boys, also determined to stay awake the whole night with the other men, something he had never yet successfully done. This seemed the best night to do it—what with the great conversation, the talk of war with the Romans that was always bandied about, and the strange star that had been haunting the Bethlehem nights for a few weeks now.

  Eli, refreshed with some food, was now ready to continue his storytelling. The other men implored him to continue, for they enjoyed his ability to cast the old days in such refreshing and lively terms. Only Daniel had objected to his speaking, but he was now asleep.

  “So what happened after Joshua took Canaan?” asked Jarod, excited to get the conversation going once more.

  “Well, Jarod,” said Eli, “Joshua was never able to convince the people to conquer everything that God had promised them. So they took possession of most of the land, but left some of it unconquered. Such a shame.”

  But what did they do with it?” asked Jarod. “Is that when they got a king?”

  “Jarod, you need to do a better job with your lessons,” said Eli. “You should know this! It was not until much later that Israel begged for a king. No, this was the time of the judges over Israel.”

  “Judges?” asked Jarod.

  “Yes,” said Eli. “Holy men and women appointed by God to lead the land in times of trouble. And in the times of the judges there was much trouble, I’m afraid.” Eli shook his head in shame. “Why we thought we needed a king—when we had as our ruler the King of the universe—will always baffle me!”

  “What sort of trouble?” asked Jarod.

  “The trouble brought on by sinful man,” Eli answered. He looked at the boys and continued. “It seems that during this time our fathers were in a place of constant sin and defeat. Some judge or other would then lead them out of their difficulty until they sinned again. Deborah, Jepthah—these were some of the great judges of the time.”

  “But why were the people getting in trouble?” asked Joshua. “Weren’t they happy to be in their new land?”

  Eli looked down at the little boy whose innocent question held so significant an answer. “Because the people of God tend to stray, Joshua. Sort of like these sheep. That is why we must watch over them, keep them, take care of them—just as the Lord is our great Shepherd.”

  “But why should we stray if the Lord takes care of us?”

  Several men averted their eyes from Eli, letting him know that he was entirely on his own in answering the boy’s question.

  “Because we humans are bent on idolatry,” Eli said resignedly. “Truly it was a dreadful shame to see the people of God move into their land only to lose it to new enemies because of their choice to fail. And fail they did.”

  He said this with a pause and a bit of melancholy. “Turning from the true and living God, the people corrupted themselves, preferring the sensual, earthy, bewitching gods of Canaan—the Baals.”

  He spat with contempt after saying the name of Baal.

  “And so, enemies like great storms would sweep in and defeat Israel—Moabites, Midianites, Amalekites and Philistines—and Israel would fall into dissolution and occupation.”

  “Like the Romans,” mused Jarod quietly.

  The eyes of the shepherds turned toward the boy and thoughts toward the Roman sentries in their town. Enemy occupation, it seemed, had become the rule rather than the exception. Many wondered if this boy might grow up in a free land, or if he too would spend his life under the heels of Rome.

  “Yes, Jarod,” said Eli. “Like the Romans. But in the days of the judges the Lord Most High, ever tender toward His people, would respond to the cries of Israel and send anointed men and women to disperse the enemy and establish the Lord’s authority once more. And He shall do so again one day!”

  “Who was the greatest judge of all?” asked Jarod.

  Eli thought about it for a moment.

  “I believe that the greatest judge of all was Samuel,” he said. “He was devoted to the Lord and a great example of how the Lord uses an ordinary man who is faithful to Him. Of course all the judges were ordinary men and women who were willing to be used by the Lord.”

  Eli leaned back on his blanket.

  “One of my favorite judges was a man who was quite afraid at first,” the old man said. “Did you know that the Lord is especially good at using men who feel they cannot do what He is calling them to do?”

  “Who was he?” asked the boys in unison.

  “Gid
eon. He didn’t want to lead the people and even tested the Lord’s decision. But the Angel of the Lord would not take no for an answer and used him mightily!”

  Jarod wrinkled his nose as Eli spoke to them about Gideon. Eli chuckled at the boy’s obvious consternation.

  “What’s the matter, Jarod?” Eli asked. “Gideon not hero enough for you?”

  “Well yes, sir,” said Jarod somberly, as if caught in his thoughts. “But I thought the greatest judge was…well…Samson!”

  Upon hearing the name Samson, Joshua, who had nearly nodded off, sprang to life. Eli smiled at the boys, as did the men sitting with them. Eli stroked his beard a bit.

  “Ah yes,” said Eli. “Samson is every child of Israel’s hero.”

  He sat back to get his mind ready for the story he was about to relate.

  “Now Samson was a judge who began with great hope for Israel…whose ministry was assigned him even before he was born…whose strength became renowned throughout the land…”

  He glanced at Daniel and added, “And whose petulance and passions eventually destroyed him…”

  Dan, 1126 B.C.

  “Why should the Lord be interested in this woman?” asked Dheer, who was with another angel accompanying Michael through the streets of the little town of Zorah in the western foothills of Canaan. All that the archangel had told them was that they were to be witnesses to a very special grace of the Lord. They had stopped outside a modest little house that seemed identical to all the little homes on the street.

  Through the window the angels could see a woman on bended knees, praying aloud to the Lord. It was always moving to an angel to see a human pray to the Most High in complete humility. Dheer looked quizzically at Michael, wondering who she was and what their interest in her would be.

  “This is yours, Dheer,” said Michael. “This woman—and her family.”

  Dheer took a closer look at the woman to whom he had been assigned. She was an older woman, her hair tinged with gray and her hands leathery from years of hard work. She alternately cried aloud and spoke pleadingly, entreating the Lord on her behalf. She also had a deep compassion that was evident in her teary eyes.