Rising Darkness (17 page)

“Keep playing, boy,” Saul said, his eyes still closed.

The servant gave David a scornful look and motioned for him to start playing again. David played for almost two hours, until the king was finally and definitely asleep.

“Remain close by in case we need you,” whispered the servant. “The king may have need of you.”

“I need to return to my father,” David responded. “But I shall always be available to serve my king. All you need do is send for me and I will come quickly.”

The servants watched as David departed. It was amazing to them that the music of this insignificant shepherd boy could calm the fears of their king. David would be one to watch….

Shawa came into the room and strolled over to Aziel, who had returned upon David’s departure. The strange arrangement with the Lord was working out splendidly, he thought. So long as the king of Israel was undermined, what matter if the Most High was involved.

“I would never have thought that the Lord would be so agreeable as to invite our torment of His anointed,” said Aziel, when he saw Shawa.

Shawa nodded in agreement, looking at the now sleeping Saul.

“You certainly look the part of a horrid wretch,” said Shawa. “Quite convincing.”

“Saul is king,” said Aziel. “If he were an ordinary human I would be less hideous. But since he is king of our greatest enemies, I wanted to be extraordinarily frightening—at least to a human mind. I must respect the Lord’s tolerance of my torment, but I do not have to respect His anointing of this man!”

“You mean former anointing,” said Shawa. “There is a new anointed. The Most High is finished with this one.”

“A new anointed?” said Aziel, still alarmed by Shawa’s revelation. “A new king over Israel? You mean David! Shall I begin tormenting him?”

“You forget that you are operating under the authority of the Most High God,” said Shawa. “And you are assigned to Saul personally by Lucifer until you are relieved. I suspect the Lord wants to use you until He makes a point.”

“King David,” mused Aziel. “Incredible.”

“But true. That foolish old judge Samuel has anointed David, the son of Jesse, to be Israel’s new king,” Shawa continued. “A mere boy of thirteen or fourteen.”

“Again I ask you—is he to be destroyed?” asked Aziel.

“Not easily,” admitted Shawa. “This one is a man who is after the Lord’s very own heart. His is a very special anointing.”

He smiled at Aziel and continued. “However, Lucifer and the Council of Liberation have been doing some anointing of their own.”

“Really?” said Aziel. “A counter anointing of sorts?”

“Something like that,” said Shawa. “We have had our eye on someone very special. Handpicked from the entire nation of the Philistines. Raised in a hostile family environment that was constantly under assault by Kara’s angels. A brooding, angry child who grew into a brooding, angry man. A killer of brutal quality and a freak of nature who will strike terror into the heart of Israel. A murderous beast whose only thought is to bring down the Lord’s anointed. And perhaps most importantly, a man personally groomed by Rugio for such a time as this.”

“Who is this man?” asked Aziel.

“Goliath,” said Shawa. “And he is even now on his way to challenge Israel!”

Chronicles of the Host

Rugio and Lucifer stood next to Goliath, who was putting his armor on once more. His dresser was by now used to the routine, and handed each piece of the heavy equipment to the man whom he was careful not to cross. Goliath took his helmet and strapped it on. Grabbing his javelin, he slung it onto his back. He pointed to the shield, an enormous disc, and his nervous shield bearer took it and went out ahead of him.

“This man is an absolute work of inspiration, Rugio,” said Lucifer. “I have heard precious little else but how Goliath has stymied the whole nation of Israel.”

“He is a fearful man—to humans,” agreed Rugio.

“Fear is a great weapon, Rugio,” said Lucifer, as they followed Goliath out of his tent and into the sunny day. “It is one of our greatest weapons. Fear can stop a man—or an army. It can put the plans of God in jeopardy and prevent the destiny of nations from being fulfilled. Fear can even stop a prophecy, Rugio.”

Rugio looked at Lucifer, finally understanding the importance of his mission.

“Yes, my warrior,” Lucifer purred. “If we can keep Israel in fear; if we can keep her armies confused; if we can keep her kings harassed, we can prevent the Seed of the woman from coming to fruit.”

“I have so poisoned his mind and heart that his hatred for Israel will always drive him,” said Rugio. “He shall not rest until he has destroyed Saul and all his sons. He will keep them in fear, my lord.”

Lucifer pointed to the army of Saul. The glimmering numbers of angels shined in the distance over the whole side of the valley. Above them. Their own ranks of demons were seething and ready for battle, haranguing the other side as usual.

“All of those angels—a sea of them painting the sky white—cannot stop one man from being afraid, which prevents the will of God from happening. I tell you, Rugio, the Seed cannot be born in soil that is bloody with fear. It must have faith to root in. And where there is fear, there is no faith!”

Great cheers went up from among the Philistine soldiers as Goliath came out. He ignored the others and headed out of the camp. Standing at the crest of the gently sloping valley, he scanned the other side. In plain sight were the banners and tents of the army of Saul. He looked into the middle of the valley. Nobody. It would be another day without a challenge. Goliath was getting weary of the cowardice of Israel.

Today he would taunt them with a viciousness that he had not yet unleashed. He looked to his shield bearer and ordered him into the valley. The men cheered Goliath on as he headed down into Elah. Rugio bade Lucifer farewell and accompanied his monstrous charge for the day’s challenge.

The angels on Saul’s side of the valley were becoming more and more restless. When would the king make a move? How long would they have to endure this intrusion upon their honor and the honor of the Most High? They watched as Goliath and his shield bearer approached the center of the valley—again.

Michael ignored the complaints of the angels and focused instead upon the battle at hand. He ordered the Host to remain in their formations and be prepared for anything. He had warned that at some point the battle would begin and that they were to remain watchful until the actual conflict broke out.

The men of Saul were alerted to Goliath’s approach and quickly took to their positions. Apart from a few officers barking orders the men remained disconcertingly quiet—none wanted to admit that the reason this had gone on for 40 days was that they were afraid. It remained the untold shame that hung over them all. Some thought it was Saul’s duty to fight the monster. Others felt that they should simply yield this ground and go on. And so the men watched as Goliath stopped at his usual place in the valley to issue his usual challenge.