When Gharaf and I reached the well outside Shechem, ten days later, I saw
nothing like the hundred men waiting for us that Hudaba had promised.
I couldn't hide my dismay that he hadn't fulfilled his promise, so I cut off
Hudaba's welcome. "Didn't we make a covenant, Hudaba? I have brought my hundred,
as we agreed. My sons Khermesh and Sheal have come with them. Here come Gera and
his Benjaminites. What's this I see with you? Not half a hundred men!"
The way the brawny Hudaba seemed to shrink before me made me regret my hasty
tongue. "They'll come, Othniel--you'll see," he answered. "I have brought my two
sons, and Pelayat has brought three. I shall not let it be said that the men of
Israel are too fat, feeble, and fearful to fight when they have the right one to
lead them."
My anger ebbed and I kindly thanked Hudaba while our followers began to greet
each other and make friends. I sought out the sons of Pelayat and Hudaba and saw
that they were well on their way to growing as heavyset as their fathers. I
overheard them complaining to other young men about leaving their homes and
harvests near the height of summer because of troubles far away in another part
of Israel.
"Where is Dan anyway?" one grumbled.
"Up north, beyond Bashan, at the foot of Hermon, the white mountain," another
answered.
I saw Gharaf's face burn red when a third scoffed, "Danites don't even talk like
real Hebrews."
"Let them do their own fighting," the first said. "We take care of ourselves;
why shouldn't they do the same? It'll be good for them."
"If they don't have real men, we could at least take care of their women," the
third suggested. The others cackled.
Gharaf couldn't bear any more of their lewdness. "You're as bad as the Kushu!"
he burst out at them. "No, you're worse. At least they don't pretend to be
better than anyone else."
"Shut your mouth, boy!" the first shouted, ignoring me and grabbing Gharaf by
the shoulders. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
A new voice spoke up behind me.
"The Kushu are real fighters, Ebed; not children!"
Ebed pushed Gharaf away and turned to meet the newcomer. I saw a lean, wiry
young man, not half the size of Ebed, in Benjaminite gear and clothing. He had
an uncanny resemblance to someone I knew, but I couldn't think who.
The newcomer asked, "If that's how you welcome guests here in Manasseh, how will
you greet the Kushu?"
"Like this!" Ebed bellowed as he charged at the Benjaminite. The Benjaminite
stepped aside and tripped the bigger man so quickly that I couldn't follow how
he did it. Ebed fell heavily and scrambled up ready to tear his tormentor apart.
He found himself looking into the faces of Hudaba and Gera.
"You forget yourself, my son," Hudaba warned in a voice thick with anger. "You
have much to learn about being a host and still more about the ways of war. Your
guest is Ehud ben Gera of Benjamin. Begin by learning from him."
That's how we first met, Ehud, my son. It made me proud to see you standing up
for someone just as your father stood by me.
Hudaba and Pelayat called the rest of the young Israelites to sit with them in
the shade of a terebinth, where they introduced Gera and me and presented their
men. I saw how much it embarrassed Ebed to find that he had made a fool of
himself. I wondered if he would be able to get over his mistake, and when Hudaba
asked me to speak, I determined to do my best to win over Ebed and his friends.
"My brothers in Israel, I thank you and the Lord for coming here to Shechem.
Israel needs every man because your enemy draws closer each day.
"I've seen that all of you aren't of one mind with us. We cannot allow this.
Israel has a vicious enemy and we cannot overcome him by fighting one another.
"I'll tell you a story about the days long ago when giants, the sons of Anak,
dwelt in this land that the Lord has given to us."
I told them this story that I learned from Rifaz.
"One of the giants, Arrak, was so greedy that when he entered a house he would
puff himself up, crowd out everybody, and gobble up everything in the house.
"The Lord God heard the cries of his people and he sent forth a raven to find
out why. The raven flew over the earth and found the house where Arrak was
feeding. Seeing Arrack's giant foot sticking out of the door, the raven perched
on his big toe and pecked it. All the air rushed out in a cloud of evil smells,
and the giant shriveled up until he was just a greasy hide on the floor."
I paused and beckoned to Gharaf. "Tell me, my son, what does the story of Arrak
mean to you?"
"That the Lord punishes greed and selfishness, sir."
"Othniel is the raven!" Gera laughed. "Who's the giant?"
"Isn't he the Kushu who kill and enslave our brothers in Dan?" Gharaf answered.
"Yes, he is," I added. "May the Lord save us all from being like them."
Murmurs of agreement rippled around the gathering and encouraged me to continue.
"Let's remember that holding back from helping our brothers in Dan is also
selfish. The Lord blesses those who are swift to help."
The sounds of agreement weren't as loud this time. Instead, Ebed rose, walked
over to Gharaf and Ehud, took their hands, and told them, "I have sinned. Now
help me do what is right."
Everyone shouted and clapped and joined in pounding one another on the back, to
my great relief. When the excitement died down, Hudaba and Pelayat called us all
to join them in Shechem for an evening feast.
We gathered on a stone platform that had been built up to a level above the
city. I judged that its broad space could hold far more than two hundred people.
Mount Gerizim rose in steps behind a tower at the south end of the platform. At
the north end, I saw a great standing stone in the shade of an oak tree, just as
it was the last time I saw Joshua. It had bare surfaces in contrast to the
carvings all over two other stones in front of the tower.
"The Canaanites called this place the shrine of Baal-berith," I told Gharaf,
pointing to the ruins. "Joshua had this great stone raised under the mighty oak
tree. He called all the tribes here to renew our covenant with the Lord, and
that was the last time I saw him. The time has come to renew the covenant once
more. I hope we can do that once we have finished with the Kushu."
The people of Shechem and the men of Ephraim and Manasseh quickly made friends
with Gharaf and the others. While we feasted, the young women of Shechem danced
for us, and the gathering was in a good mood and ready for a story. Night had
come when we gathered in front of Joshua's stone, and everyone hushed when
Hudaba stood to speak.
"Men of Israel, your fathers have told you about this stone. They set it up as a
witness after Joshua came here to renew our covenant with the Lord.
"The time has come to call Israel here again, but a monster has fallen upon
Israel. It's devouring our brothers in Dan, and that's why we have brought you
here.
"Who's this monster? You know! Cushan-rishathaim, doubly-cursed and king of the
Kushu. He and his hosts have swarmed upon us like locusts, and Israel will have
no peace until we slay them all."
The crowd cheered and shouted until someone in front yelled, "Tell us about the
locusts!"
Hudaba told them as soon as the gathering hushed.
After the Lord had created the heavens and the earth,
the sun and the wind created the dust in the deserts.
The dust created locusts,
but the locusts had no wings,
and they had nothing to eat but dust.
They cried out to the Lord,
and cried and wept before the God of justice;
they poured out their tears.
"What will you give us to eat?"
"What will you give us to drink?"
"I have given you all the fruits of earth,"
said the Lord, the God of justice,
"What more can you want?"
"What good are the fruits of earth
to us who dwell here in the dust of the desert
where nothing grows and bears fruit?"
"Lift yourselves from the dust,"
said the Lord, the God of justice,
and he gave them wings.
The wings of the locusts swept the desert;
with a whir they swept up the dust
as their wings bore them into the sky,
in a black cloud that darkened the sun.
Like a whirlwind, like a storm cloud,
they poured out of the desert
into the four corners of earth.
The locusts ate everything green;
for two days they laid waste the earth
until the children of men cursed them.
They shook their fists and laid a curse.
They unbound their hair and dressed in rags;
they heaped ashes on their heads,
and called on the Lord, the God of justice.
The Lord came at once to their aid.
"Arise," he said, "Comb and bind your locks,
anoint your heads with oil,
and put on clean raiment."
The Lord sent an east wind,
a howling wind from the desert
that blew the locusts into the sea.
"Very well," the Lord told the locusts,
"you have made your choice.
You may dwell in the desert in peace,
henceforth and for evermore,
but when you darken the earth
and devour the growing green,
the hands of men and the hand of God
shall be against you, to crush you!
"So it is," Hudaba concluded, "and so it shall be that when the locusts come
they shall not prevail. They shall not inherit the earth.
"This is not all. Whenever you see a cloud of locusts coming, tell this story
three times and they will be triply cursed."
"Will that drive away the locusts?" I heard someone shouting through the laughs
of the crowd.
"If it's the will of the Lord," Hudaba answered.
"You'll at least feel better," Gera added.
"My friends," I said. "Your curses may not drive away the locusts, but they do
strike fear into the hearts of the Kushu. Fierce and violent as they are, they
are slaves to their fears of evil spirits, the shadows of the dead, monsters of
the night, and all sorts of empty curses and magic. Like the Canaanites and the
Highborn, these people who don't serve the Lord are like babes. We know that
they serve false gods and spirits, but their fears are real to them and we can
use their fears against them like weapons."
"We want another story about the monsters!" someone shouted.
"Oh, my friends, it's just too silly for words," I protested. "I don't know how
grown men as fierce and terrible as the Kushu can believe such things. It only
shows what a terrible grip their sorcerers have on them."
"Now, Othniel, I thought you wanted to use the fears of the Kushu against them,"
Gera reminded me. "Why not make them think their monsters have turned upon them?
"We've learned a lot about the Yevusites over the years. Did you know that they
believe that one creature of the night takes their sheep and goats during the
dark of the moon and sucks out all their blood?"
"May it take their dogs and pigs too," Hudaba quipped. "What does it look like?"
"The stories are all different," Gera answered. "Some say that it stalks on two
legs like a man and wears the horns of a ram. Others say that it slithers on the
ground like a serpent, and still others say that it runs on four legs like a
black dog with the head of a man and horns of a goat. They all wear an iron
amulet on a strand of blue wool and eat herbs to keep it away."
"The Kushu I saw had tattoos all over their bodies and patterns of scars under
their war paint," Gharaf told us.
"They might be tribal marks," I answered.
"I don't think so," Gera argued. "The Yevusites have magic signs they use to
keep away evil spirits, but they say that their spirits will take all their body
marks to the underworld."
"Maybe the Kushu think that their tattoos will protect them in the underworld,"
I laughed.
"They truly dread the underworld, sir," Gharaf added. "I've seen that when one
of their own falls, they seal his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears with clay so that
his spirit can’t take anyone else with him."
"They don't seem to fear the spirits of those whom they kill and torture to
death, do they?" Hudaba remarked.
"Well, sir, after a fight they do cleanse themselves and their weapons. They
purge themselves with a drink brewed from the bark and berries of the laurel
tree, and they rub themselves all over with its leaves. They drink goat milk
mixed with blood, paint their faces again, and they are ready for another
fight."
"There now; we can work on their fears," I said. "We'll show them they're
fighting against a force greater than anything they know about: the power of
God. That will give them something to worry about. Does everyone agree?"
A chorus of shouts and laughter rose from the crowd.
"With the Lord's help, we will begin tomorrow. Hudaba, each troop of ten that
has come with Gera and me will take one or two of your men. We'll teach them all
the skills of fighting together that we learned from Joshua and Caleb."
"My sons aren't children," Pelayat objected. "They should command their own
troops right now."
"Have they become mighty men of war so soon, even before we have met the Kushu?"
Hudaba reminded Pelayat. "Please go on."
"When more of your men come to join us, the foremost among these men will be
ready to lead them," I told Pelayet. "May the Lord allow your sons to prove
themselves by then. Next, we must scout out the land of Dan and find out what
the Kushu have taken, where they are, and how many."
"You'll soon see where the Kushu are," Khaddar of Naphtali told us. "More and
more people flee from them every day, and they tell us that the Kushu burn all
the fields and houses wherever they go."
"We still need to know their numbers before we rush in," I answered. "One
soldier who knows his enemy is worth twenty who don't."
"All the same, Othniel, we beg you not to tarry until you count every last
Kushu," Pelayat urged.
Gera spoke up for me. "You know we won't wait that long, but we must take the
measure of our task. The Kushu may have men to waste but we don't. Every man who
fights for Israel is precious in the eyes of the Lord."
"Nevertheless," I told Pelayet, "We shall strike the Kushu soon. A few quick
blows will help to bring more men to our side as soon as they know that we can
win a fight with the Kushu. I want to begin by setting ambushes. We shall hit
the Kushu wherever we can, and then we shall melt away like mists of the night."
