“Remember what God told Samuel when they demanded a king?” Devorah asked. “He said, they aren’t rejecting you, they’re rejecting God.”
Ezra rubbed his tired eyes. “Rejecting God is even worse.”
“Are you sure you don’t want more to eat?” Devorah asked, gesturing to his bowl.
“I’m sure,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Come to bed, then. And stop worrying. Trust God.”
Four days later, Ezra led his family and a long line of wagons and camels and donkeys through the towering blue and gold gates of Babylon. He didn’t look back. They traveled for only a few days before setting up camp near the Ahava Canal to wait for Jews from other cities to join them for the nine-hundred-mile journey.
Devorah looked exhausted as they ate dinner after the first leg of their journey. She went into their tent to put the children to sleep and didn’t come back. Ezra knew she had probably fallen asleep alongside them. He couldn’t relax enough to sleep, so he sat across the campfire from his brother Asher, who was keeping the coals alive on this cool spring night. Ezra opened his journal and began to write in the dim light:
Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. . . .
He paused to read over the lists of family heads as he recorded them in his journal, and he made a startling discovery. “Asher! There aren’t any Levites traveling with us! Not a single one on any of these lists!”
“What difference does that make?” Asher asked, poking the coals with a stick.
“I’ve been commissioned by the king of the Persian Empire to offer his sacrifices and to draw our nation back to God—and there aren’t any Levites to help do that. Levites are integral to our worship as assistants and musicians. We need them to be teachers and judges. What am I going to do?”
“You can’t really blame them, can you?” Asher asked. “Aren’t most of their tasks menial ones? Who would want to leave the comforts of Babylon to be a temple servant?”
“No task is menial in God’s sight. We all have a part to play. As the psalmist wrote, ‘I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.’ And that’s one of the Levites’ most important jobs—to serve as temple guards and doorkeepers.” He lowered his voice and added, “In fact, we could use them right now to help guard all this treasure we’re hauling. I wish I knew where to find some Levites so I could convince them to come.”
Asher continued poking the coals, then suddenly looked up. “Hey! What about that city where we bought the swords? Remember? Weren’t there several families of Levites who’d been exiled there?”
“You mean Casiphia?”
“Yes. That blacksmith . . . what was his name? He told us he was a Levite, remember? And he had a son.”
“We’re not far from Casiphia. I’ll send a delegation of elders there first thing tomorrow to try to convince them to come.”
“Why not go yourself, Ezra? You can be very convincing. I gave up Abba’s pottery business to come with you, didn’t I?”
“I can’t leave the caravan,” Ezra said, lowering his voice again. “I feel responsible for all this treasure we’re carrying. In fact, Devorah suggested I call for a day of fasting and prayer to ask for God’s protection. But you could go with the delegation in my place. You could recruit the blacksmith we met and his son.”
“Sure. I’ll go,” Asher said.
Ezra stayed up long after Asher went to bed, compiling a list of twelve trusted men to send to Casiphia, including nine elders and two of his fellow scholars. He hoped the scholars could convince the Levites of the importance of their calling.
As the smoldering fire gave away the last of its heat, Ezra recorded the names of the men he’d chosen in his journal and went to bed.
Chapter
38
CASIPHIA
Reuben’s life had fallen into a numbing routine of staying out late, drinking too much, sleeping until noon, and then waking up to do it all over again. He knew his mother was frustrated and worried about him, but as long as he supported them—using the stolen gold—he figured she had no right to criticize him. After all, he was an adult, twenty-seven years old. Tonight as Reuben ate dinner with his family, Mama skirted around the subjects they usually argued over and raised the subject of marriage.
“Don’t you ever think about settling down and finding a nice wife, Reuben? There are so many lovely girls to choose from in our community. And I could use a daughter-in-law’s help around here,” she added, “now that your sisters have married and moved to their own households.”
“I know you miss them, Mama. But no, I’m not interested in marriage. I like things the way they are.”
“But you don’t seem very happy to me.”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” He sopped up the last bite of stew with his bread, eager to leave and end this conversation.
“Your boss keeps asking me when you’re coming back to work.”
“Never,” he said calmly, setting down his bowl. “I already told you I’ll never work for him again. And I also told you not to worry—I have enough money for us to live on for a long, long time.”
She rested her hand on his knee. “It isn’t only the money. I hate to see you just . . . drifting . . . all day. You go out every night who knows where, and—”
“And I’m going out tonight, too.” He rose to his feet, stretching his back and arms as he stood. His friends were making plans for another big robbery, and he’d offered to help them. Reuben still had his cache of gold from the last robbery and didn’t need to steal, but his friends had spent nearly all of theirs in lavish living. They were good companions and the only friends Reuben had, but stealing no longer thrilled him. Now that his father’s shop was lost to him, he had no other goals. If Mama were to ask him what he wanted in life, he wouldn’t know what to say.
He was preparing to leave a few minutes later when a stranger arrived at his family’s gate. “Are you Reuben ben David?” the man asked.
“Who’s asking?” He tensed, ready to run, always fearing the day when the authorities would come to arrest him. Should he answer the man or turn around and bolt through the rear door? His younger brother stood a few feet away, watching and listening. The stranger smiled.
“I don’t know if you remember me or not, but my name is Asher ben Seraiah. My brother Ezra and I visited your blacksmith shop about fifteen years ago to purchase weapons for the Jewish community in Babylon.”
Reuben shrugged, vaguely remembering the night the two men had come. “I guess so. Why?”
“You were just a boy, I suppose. But your father said your family descended from the tribe of Levi. I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but King Artaxerxes is allowing us to return to our homeland in Judah.” The man wore a stupid grin on his face as if Reuben should be thrilled to hear the news.
His younger brother pushed forward. “Yes! They told us about the decree in the house of assembly.” And Reuben’s brother, who prayed with the other men every day, had told Reuben about it. But the news had nothing to do with him.
“I’ve come to Casiphia looking for Levites who want to join us and return to the Promised Land,” the man continued. “I’d like to invite you and your father to come with us and serve in the Holy One’s temple in Jerusalem.”
“My father is dead,” Reuben said. “He died in battle on the Thirteenth of Adar.”
The stranger stopped grinning. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Who is it, Reuben?” his mother asked, coming up behind him.
“Someone from Babylon. They’re looking for Levites to go to Jerusalem with them.”
“Oh! Please, come in,” Mama said. “Let me fix you something to eat.” She opened the gate and led the man inside, gesturing to where they had just finished eating. “Please, h
ave a seat. We heard that some of our people were returning to the Promised Land. Are you traveling with them? Are you part of that caravan that’s camped by the Ahava Canal?”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. My name is Asher ben Seraiah. Please, don’t fuss,” he added, but Mama was already laying out bowls of stew and olives and dates, and a basket of bread.
“Run and fetch Uncle Hashabiah,” she told Reuben’s brother. “Tell him about our guest. Reuben, sit down and be hospitable for a few minutes while I get our guest something to drink.” She hurried off to the storage room before Reuben could protest.
“So, you must be a Levite, too, Reuben. Are you interested in joining us?” Asher asked.
“What do you need Levites for?” He edged toward the gate, unwilling to sit, needing to leave before his uncle arrived. Reuben would find it hard not to spit in Hashabiah’s face.
“Well, Levites serve in the Almighty One’s temple in many capacities—as guards, as singers and musicians, as assistants to the priests when they offer the holy sacrifices. It’s a very important and sacred calling. And for now, any Levites who join us will be entrusted with guarding the wealth of gold and silver our caravan is transporting.”
At the mention of gold, Reuben suddenly became interested. “You’re carrying gold? What’s it for?”
“The donations are to help us get settled in Judah and to purchase sacrifices for the Holy One’s temple. It’s the Levites’ job to guard the temple’s treasures. And you certainly look like a strong, capable young man, just right for the job.”
“Who’s guarding the gold now? Don’t you have Persian soldiers traveling with you?”
“No, we decided to take care of it ourselves. Your tribe has a long, important history of security work like this. Solomon’s temple had a wealth of gold, too, and the Levites were always the custodians of it. They also served as singers and musicians. Can you sing, by any chance?”
“No. I’m a blacksmith. At least I was.”
“We certainly could use a fine young man like you. Do you know how to use a sword?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Great! Would you consider coming with us? Believe me, you’ll be a valuable member of the Holy’s One’s temple staff.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not, Reuben?” Mama asked. She had returned with a skin of wine and stood off to the side, listening. “Why not consider it since you don’t want to work in the shop anymore? You seem so unhappy here, and this would give you a fresh start.”
“There’s nothing in Jerusalem that’s any different from here,” he replied. The last thing he wanted to do was travel nine hundred miles with a group of people he despised, to worship a God he no longer believed in. But he didn’t speak those thoughts out loud, unwilling to hurt his mother. “I’m not interested. I’m going out.”
“Nice seeing you again, Reuben. Let me know if you change your mind. We need you!”
He hurried away without bothering to reply, determined to meet up with his gang in their usual hideout. But as he walked through Casiphia’s streets he couldn’t stop thinking about the caravan to Jerusalem. What would it be like to travel far away and visit new places? There was nothing keeping him here in Casiphia anymore. Unlike his uncle, who considered him a wayward son, Asher ben Seraiah had called him a fine young man and said he could make an important contribution. The only people who had ever told him he was valuable were his father and the Babylonian friends who’d recruited him for their gang. The idea of serving as a Levite guard would have been tantalizing except for the fact that it involved his fellow Jews and their religion.
“You’re late tonight, Reuben,” Bear said in greeting. “What kept you?”
Reuben ducked his head as he entered the cavelike room. In spite of all the money his gang had stolen over the years, they’d never fixed up their hideout near the river. It was still the same cold, dreary room they’d brought Reuben to on the night they’d asked him to join them. His friends slouched around on the same damp, tattered cushions, passing a skin of wine.
“I had a visitor—all the way from Babylon,” Reuben replied. “He’s with a caravan of Jews on their way to Jerusalem.”
“Why was he visiting you?” Digger asked as he passed Reuben the wineskin.
Reuben gave a short laugh. “He was trying to recruit me to come with them and guard a shipment of gold they’re transporting.”
“Hey, I heard about the caravan,” Nib said. “They’re camping near the Ahava Canal, aren’t they? I heard they had thousands of people with them.”
“Yeah, I guess so. The man told me they’re transporting a load of gold and silver to Jerusalem. A ‘wealth’ of it, he said. They don’t have enough men to guard it, so he asked me to come along and help.”
“If he only knew,” Bear said, laughing. Reuben thought it was amusing, as well.
But Digger didn’t seem to think it was funny at all as he leaned toward Reuben, his expression serious. “Hey, no joking, Reuben. If they’re really carrying a poorly guarded shipment of gold, we could strike it rich!”
Bear’s smile faded, too. “He’s right. And if they’re asking you to help guard it, why not do it, Reuben? You could be our inside man. Find out exactly where the gold is kept and come up with a plan for how to steal it. Then tip us off.”
“I don’t know . . . I still have a bag of gold from our last robbery. I don’t have anything to spend it on.”
“Well, maybe you’re not interested in a wealth of unguarded treasure,” Ram said, “but we are!”
Bear punched Reuben’s arm playfully, making him spill his wine. “Come on, Reuben, think about it. Help us pull this off.”
“Or at least play along for a while and check it out,” Nib said. “See if this is a job the five of us could do.”
“I already told the man I wasn’t interested,” Reuben said.
“Well, tell him you changed your mind. Come on. Please? When are we ever going to get another chance at a wealth of gold?”
“Do it for our sakes, Reuben.”
“A least go back and find out some more details.”
With all his friends pleading with him, Reuben’s resolve weakened. “I’ll think about it,” he said. And he did, for the rest of the evening as his friends discussed the other robbery they were planning. After a long night of drinking and nursing his hatred for his uncle, Reuben made up his mind to seek revenge. “Okay. I’ll do it,” he told his friends. “I’ll tell the man that I’ll join his caravan, and I’ll figure out a way to rob it.”
“Excellent!”
“You’re our man!” they all cheered him, slapping him on the back.
Reuben didn’t care much about the gold, but he longed for the satisfaction of robbing the people who had robbed him, especially if his uncle decided to go along. Besides, the treasure was going to God’s temple—the God who had let Abba die.
Reuben rose early the next morning and asked where he could find the man named Asher ben Seraiah who had come to Casiphia. When he learned he’d spent the night with Uncle Hashabiah, Reuben nearly changed his mind. He would have to face his uncle and convince him as well as the stranger that his desire to go to Jerusalem was sincere. His steps dragged as he walked to Hashabiah’s house, wondering if his enthusiasm last night had been influenced by too much wine. But he decided to see it through. His friends were counting on him.
“Let me talk to Asher ben Seraiah,” he told Hashabiah when he met Reuben at the door.
“Why?”
“That’s none of your business.” Reuben stared angrily at his uncle until he finally led Reuben inside. Asher sat in a patch of sunshine in the courtyard, talking with a group of men Reuben didn’t recognize. “I’ve changed my mind about joining the caravan,” Reuben said when Asher rose to greet him. “I’ve decided to come with you.”
“That’s wonderful! I’m glad to hear it. We—”
“Just a minute,” Hashabiah interrupted. “Why would you want to mo
ve to Jerusalem and work in the temple after you’ve rejected God all these years? Why have you suddenly decided to join us again?”
“I’m a Levite. Asher said they needed Levites.”
“Will you take your whole family, then? Your mother and younger brother?” Hashabiah asked.
Reuben felt a jolt of alarm. He couldn’t take them. He planned to steal the gold and run. After that, he could live anywhere he pleased—anywhere but home, that is. He could never go home. It would be obvious that he’d been involved in the robbery. “My family won’t want to come,” Reuben said quickly.
“I’ll ask them,” Hashabiah said.
Reuben didn’t want to arouse his uncle’s suspicion any further. “She can do whatever she wants,” he said with a shrug. “But I’m going. How do I sign up?”
“It’s simple,” Asher said, moving past Hashabiah. “Pack your things as quickly as you can and come with us. Just make sure all your debts are paid and you have no unfinished obligations. We can’t have people running off and neglecting their responsibilities.”
“There’s nothing keeping me here.” He would give his mother the bag of gold he had saved. It would provide plenty for her and his brother to live on. He and his friends would soon have much more.
“Wonderful!” Asher said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re joining us.” Reuben felt a momentary twinge of guilt for planning to rob such a jovial, naïve man. But when he glanced at his uncle and recalled how no one in his community felt guilty for robbing him of his inheritance, his misgivings vanished.
“I’ll go pack,” Reuben said, turning to leave.
His uncle stopped him. “Forgive me for being suspicious, Reuben, but you haven’t been part of us for a long time, and now you’re—”
“Listen, I’m not asking for your permission,” Reuben said. “I’m telling you to put my name on the list.”