question.
“Sometimes I get ideas, especially when I pray. The Great King teaches me what to say and do. He loves you, Pekah. I have no explanation other than that.”
Tears filled the Gideonite’s eyes. He turned away to wipe them.
Jonathan stepped back to stand by Eli, who seemed pleased. He waited for Pekah to compose himself.
“Thank you,” Pekah said as he faced them.
Jonathan wondered if he wanted to talk more, but Pekah began walking again. Jonathan patted Eli on the shoulder, and the two of them followed.
The morning passed with very little conversation, each man lost in his own thoughts as they went along. Jonathan tried not to dwell on memories of his family, but couldn’t help it. Even the simplest of things-the sound of a bee, a green sapling leaning next to a fallen log, a round rock displaced from the stream-reconnected him to nearly forgotten experiences of long ago. Some of the memories brought back the loneliness he had felt at the passing of his mother. Others, like the memory of felling trees with his father for their winter store, strengthened him.
When they finally left the trail for a rest, it was mid-day. Jonathan was starting to get hungry. He attempted to suggest that they eat, but stopped short when he noticed the strange look on Pekah’s face. Before Jonathan could ask him what he was thinking, he spoke.
“I feel as if my eyes have been shut all of my life, and have just opened… it’s as though I’m seeing the light of day for the very first time. I think my mother tried to explain all of this to me, but just didn’t know how.” He looked at Jonathan, then at Eli, and then back again, his grin widening. “What must I do?”
“I believe you have been well taught by your mother. She sounds like a very special woman. Have you thought about what we discussed?”
Pekah nodded. “I have. When I remember the things I learned as a child, everything you have told me makes perfect sense. I want to make things right. But I need help. I need His mercy.”
Jonathan searched Pekah and found his expression earnest, sincere. “You may make this covenant. It’s your choice.”
Eli leaned to peer around Pekah, his red beard stretched into a grin. “There’s some water!”
Pekah acknowledged the unspoken suggestion with an eager nod. “May I?” he said.
“If you desire,” Jonathan confirmed.
“I do. Can Eli do this for me, as a priest of the temple? I assume these things must be done properly.”
“I can, Pekah.” Eli answered. “But so can Jonathan. He too is a priest, and on the day he is made king, he will become the High Priest of Daniel.”
Pekah did not hesitate to voice his wish.
At first uncomfortable with the request because of his lingering grief, Jonathan inwardly acknowledged that he was beginning to feel a bond with the Gideonite. “I would be honored,” he said.
The three of them again left the trail and went to the river in search of a suitable pool of water. Finding no part of the river to be deep enough, they decided to follow it downstream, in the direction of their journey toward Ain. They hiked along the riverbank for a while, and it became apparent that unless they could find a large boulder in the current, or another joining stream, there would just not be enough water. They continued. The river followed the general course of the trail, and although their progress slowed somewhat on account of brush, rocks, and the occasional fallen tree, they still enjoyed the journey and felt no reason to rush.
Their patience soon paid off, and they found another stream joining the river, coming from the north hills and dumping into the river at a ninety-degree angle. Here, the water deepened considerably, and as luck would have it, there were also some sizable boulders to be found near the juncture. Near one particular rock, the water swirled, creating a pool which appeared at least mid-thigh deep. They decided to give it a try. They removed their weapons, sacks, and other items they did not wish to get wet, then gingerly stepped into the cold water, shivering as they did. The water soon became bearable as they adjusted, and just as suspected, the pool was a perfect depth.
As they stood in the rolling river, Jonathan asked if he could pray. He then implored the Great Creator to accept the covenant Pekah was about to make, and asked that the Holy Spirit would be present.
He finished the prayer, took a deep breath, and placed his left arm on his new friend’s shoulder.
“Pekah,” Jonathan said with authority, after raising his right arm. “Do you covenant to serve the Great King of Heaven the remainder of your days upon Gan, and to keep His commandments, that He might bless you with the Holy Spirit?”
“Yes, I will, and I do,” Pekah answered.
“Then, having authority from the Almighty God of all the Heavens, and in accordance with the covenant which you have made, I baptize you by water so that your sins may be forgiven, and so you may eventually be granted eternal life, through the redemptive power of the Great Sacrifice of the Great King who will come, who was prepared for that purpose before the foundation of this world.”
Jonathan took Pekah by the hand, then lowered him into the clear, cold pool of the river, bringing him up again, wet from head to toe. Pekah sputtered from the shock of the water, but glowed with joy. Tears joined the water streaming from the black hair on his forehead. Eli grabbed him up, squeezing him nearly to death and causing him to gasp. They laughed together.
The three of them stumbled back to the bank of the river amid the rocks and currents, Eli providing much of the strength to keep the others from slipping. Pekah shivered almost uncontrollably, yet grinned all the time with excitement. “You have made me very happy,” he said. “I cannot recall the last time I felt this wonderful!” His teeth chattered as he spoke.
All three men removed their wet shirts and pants and wrung out as much excess water as they could. Using large rocks found along the bank, they laid the clothing out to dry in the suns-light. Rays from Aqua and Azure chased away the cold prickles on their skin and helped to dry their undergarments while they took time to eat their mid-day meal.
“I hope we’ll arrive in Ain before our food supply runs out,” Jonathan mentioned as they ate. “It would be best to be there by tomorrow evening.”
“I don’t mind walking a little faster,” Eli said.
“And we have to find Rachel,” Jonathan said. “Perhaps along the way we’ll find some game to replenish our provisions. There are also farms all around the city. Surely we’ll find someone who can share a meal.”
Pekah’s blank expression made Jonathan realize they had never mentioned Rachel in his presence. Choosing now to share their true purpose for going to Ain, Jonathan explained that Rachel was his betrothed wife and Eli’s sister, and that they intended to find her.
“How do you think we can locate her, without being captured?” Pekah asked, concerned.
“We have to try,” Jonathan replied. He glanced over to see Eli looking off into the sky. Eli’s gaze lowered when he noticed Jonathan staring.
“Just thinking about Uzzah,” he replied to Jonathan’s questioning look. “Father and Mother will both be crushed if anything happens to Rachel.”
Jonathan nodded sympathetically. Pekah appeared to be confused once again, and asked who Uzzah was. Eli cleared his throat, his eyes moist.
“Uzzah is my little brother. When I was thirteen, he was almost twelve. We were in the Hara Mountains with my father looking for some sheep that had strayed from the flock. We split up. I never saw my brother again.” Eli could say no more.
“Hundreds from the city helped the family search for him,” Jonathan added. “They never found his body. To this day, the family doesn’t know what happened to him. They assume he fell into a ravine, or was taken by wolves.”
“I am very sorry to hear it,” Pekah said.
Eli wiped his eyes, but offered no further comment. With nothing more to say, Jonathan broke off another chunk of bread. They ate in silence.
After they had eaten, they found their clothing to be mostly dry. They each dressed, and then retrieved supplies and weapons. The only one with armor, Pekah also strapped on his leather breastplate. Before they left, Jonathan walked toward a dead oak tree where he had spied a sturdy branch sagging within easy reach, just thick enough for him to get his large hands comfortably around it. He pushed with all his weight. The trunk shivered as the branch split away, making a deep, booming crack that echoed through the trees. Although Eli was skilled
