Rising Darkness (2 page)

“We are watching these men because the Lord has ordered it so,” said Serus.

Bakka stood silent for a moment more and then spoke again.

“But what are we to be doing in particular?” He finally managed to ask. “I thought I was sent to earth to engage the enemy—not to shepherd shepherds.”

Serus smiled at Bakka’s eagerness. He recalled all too well his first assignment with Michael. He too had been very zealous and had driven Michael to exasperation because of his desire to get in the war firsthand. Bakka was a good angel, recently released from the Academy of the Host where he had been trained in the art of warfare for the Most High. He was ready now to take the things he had learned and apply them in glorious battle for the Most High God.

“Every assignment is important, Bakka,” said Serus. “The war is fought on many fronts and in many ways.”

“Yes I know, good teacher,” said Bakka. “But I wish to do something significant. Something that will make a difference in the war…”

Serus indicated the shepherds before them.

“Every decision that humans make, every action they take, every thought they think makes a difference in the war. Our duty is to uphold the Lord’s authority in Heaven and on earth by serving these men made in God’s image.”

They walked over to the campfire where the men were enjoying a bit of meat cooked over the fire. Serus turned to Bakka.

“Look at these men, Bakka. They are poor and simple shepherds in the eyes of men. They have no real importance to anyone outside their families. And yet the Most High loves each of these as much as He loved the great kings of the past—even David himself. Our duty is to serve the Lord by serving them; to help them in their times of trial when they call upon the name of God in prayer; to protect them when we can from the enemy who seeks to devour them because he is jealous of the Lord’s great love for them. The war is being fought here and now in the minds and hearts of men—even these simple shepherds who love God and look to Him for their deliverance. And you have been assigned to one of these men in particular—a man who has become discouraged of heart and mind.”

“Which man?” asked Bakka. He eagerly surveyed the group, hoping that it was perhaps the brawny fellow who seemed to be more a soldier than a shepherd.

Serus coyly gave him a “you’ll have to wait a bit more” sort of look, holding up his hand to stop their conversation. The words of a little boy of about eight, a son of one of the shepherds, had caught Serus’s attention.

“Listen and hear how the minds of humans work,” he said, smiling.

“But how old was King David when he killed Goliath?” the boy whose name was Joshua asked, continuing the line of questioning about his favorite hero, which had dominated the conversation thus far. The men smiled at the boy’s curiosity about men and women of their past.

Joshua’s father, a gentle man whose sunburned skin belied his age, smiled down at his little boy. He looked around at the other men, some of whom also had their sons with them. He then answered as if in deep thought.

“Well, Joshua, as I was saying, that was a long time ago. But I think he wasn’t too much older than you when he killed the giant and saved Israel.”

“But before that he had killed lions and all sorts of other animals, right?” said the boy, who made sure he could feel his little sling nearby. He kept a wary eye out for any intruding animals.

“Yes, that’s true,” said the father, Elron. “King David killed many wild animals before he met Goliath.”

The men settled in around the fire. They enjoyed drinking in the stories they themselves had grown up with—there was comfort in reliving the glory days of Israel in the face of the present bitter occupation.

“But Joshua, you must realize that David didn’t kill the giant,” Elron said, taking the sling from the boy’s fidgety hands. “The Lord Almighty killed Goliath. Just as He promises to destroy all our enemies.”

As he finished speaking, the raucous sounds of drunken Roman officers roaring through the streets in chariots drifted up the hillside from the edge of town. The father turned toward the noise and then back to his son, who was still looking toward the sound of the disturbance.

“Yes, even the Romans will be defeated one day,” he said resignedly. “The Lord will avenge us…someday.”

“Not the Messiah, again,” said Daniel, another of the shepherds.

“Yes, Daniel, the Messiah,” said Elron. He gave them all a look of confidence. “He will come one day and save His people.”

Daniel shook his head in disgust. He pointed toward the town and said, “The only thing the Romans will ever understand is violence. They killed my brother for some stupid senseless reason. They only understand blood. You know that!”

After a few moments of tense silence, the boy Joshua suddenly spoke up, sincerely puzzled by Daniel’s statement.

“But don’t you believe the Messiah will come some day?” he asked quietly.

Elron looked hard at Daniel as the man framed his answer. Daniel in turn looked at all the other men—particularly the fathers who held their sons close to them.

“I hope your father is right, Joshua,” he said finally. “I hope that there is a Messiah, an Anointed One, who will come and save us.” He then looked at the rest of the men. “But until that happens, we must be prepared to meet force with force!”

“We learned long ago that the might of men gains nothing,” came the voice of Eli, an ancient shepherd whose wisdom was respected by all. “That is how we came to lose our freedom to so many…the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greek kingdoms and now the Romans. We lost our way—and then we lost our kingdom.”

Daniel stood up, agitated now.

“We don’t need a lesson in how many times we have been occupied, dear Eli,” he said, throwing up his hands. “Surely you don’t propose that we wait out the Romans.”

“In the Lord’s timing the Messiah will come,” said Eli. “And when He does, He will set things right.”

“When He comes…when He comes,” said Daniel. He walked off, disgusted by the way the conversation had gone, as well as by the way he had handled it. As he walked he brushed up against Bakka, never knowing that he had touched an angel, and stood in the darkness, staring down at Bethlehem. The angel was amused at the man’s reaction to such profound wisdom spoken by the old shepherd. He turned again to the conversation.

“But didn’t we have to fight to gain the land in the first place?” asked another boy, Jarod, who was about 13 years old. “We had great armies then!”

“True, true,” said Eli, shutting his eyes, and folding his hands in front of him. “Israel had a great army then.”

The other shepherds began huddling close, bringing in more wood for the fire, settling in for the evening. They knew Eli was about to tell a story that would not only fill their hearts and minds, but also help to pass the long night.

“It was a glorious victory that brought us into this land,” Eli began, as if seeing it all in his mind. “A great series of victories begun by Joshua.” He looked at the little boy and winked at him. “Your namesake,” he added.

The boy grinned proudly. So did his father.

“But Joshua himself realized that without the Lord there would be no victory at all. He depended on the Lord. After the great victory at Jericho, where the sound of trumpets brought down the proud walls, Joshua found himself defeated by Ai, a very little town that should have fallen very easily.”

Eli sat up and shook his finger at the men. “And that was the beginning of a great lesson for our fathers of that day. They had begun to lose their way even as they were in the midst of great victories…”

As Eli recounted the great days of Israel, the two angels walked away from the shepherds. A voice came from behind them. It was Gabriel.

“Greetings my brothers,” he said. “A glorious night for a glorious event!”

“Gabriel!” said Serus, who had been assigned to watch over the shepherds until the rest of the Host arrived. “Welcome, my brother.”

Bakka also greeted Gabriel. “We were listening to this man Eli,” he said. “He is speaking of the days of Joshua.”

“You would do well to listen to this man and learn how the faith and minds of humans work,” said Gabriel, looking at the very bright star that hung in the heavens over Bethlehem. He indicated Daniel, who remained standoffish. “He also would do well to listen to Eli.”

“He seems to listen to nobody,” scoffed Bakka. “He’ll hear none of it. He’s a very difficult man.”

“Yes, Bakka, he is extremely troubled, ” said Gabriel calmly. “Tonight is a very important night for him. That is why I am giving you charge over him.”

“What?” responded Bakka, obviously exasperated. “You are assigning me to Daniel? But I thought perhaps I could be with one of the Levites. Or perhaps that cantankerous Lippius—you know, the one who is spoiling to fight the Romans?”

“Daniel is a troubled man who needs a compassionate guardian,” said Gabriel. “He also needs direction. You have been assigned to see to both of those things. Tonight.”

“Yes, my lord,” said Bakka, still puzzled by his new assignment.

Gabriel led Bakka over toward the place where Daniel stood. The man was quietly weeping, staring at the sky in the direction of the bright star that had recently appeared over the land.

“Why is tonight so critical?” asked Bakka sheepishly. “I mean, why must there be a resolution tonight?”

“This man matters,” said Gabriel pointedly. “As all men do. And tonight, all that Eli speaks about will speak to what shall happen in Bethlehem very soon. This will be a night that is very important to both Daniel…and you.”

Bakka started to respond, but Gabriel forbade him, motioning for him rather to listen to the words of the old man. Bakka walked over next to Daniel. He did indeed have compassion for the man. Since Daniel was now his charge, Bakka was determined to do all that was allowed within his power to see this man back to God.

Bakka sidled up next to Daniel and spoke gently into his mind: “Why don’t you listen to the old man?” He looked at Gabriel and then Eli and muttered to himself, “Sounds as if we both need to hear him out.”

At first Daniel didn’t respond. But after a few more urgings, he glanced over at the other shepherds. He sat down, still staring into the little city of Bethlehem, but he cocked his head in such a way as to hear what was being discussed. Bakka grinned at Gabriel and Serus, who nodded in affirmation. Bakka then sat next to Daniel and listened to Eli.

The old man was quite a storyteller, eloquent and compelling. Even Gabriel caught himself listening with great interest as the story unfolded…from those days after the crossing of Jordan into Canaan…to the days when Israel was a new nation with a great vision…to the days when Joshua was leader over the people...days of a very different time with a very determined enemy…days that were all a part of the Most High’s glorious plan to bring the Seed of the woman, the Messiah, to save the earth.

Chronicles of the Host