Gehazi gently put his arm around Miriam’s shoulder. “Come, Miriam,” he said softly. “Nebat has more experience with these things than any of us. Let him see what he can do for Gideon. It would be better if you waited outside.”
Miriam looked at Gehazi through blank eyes. Without protest she let him guide her across the room to the door.
“Bildad,” he said as he ushered Miriam outside, “will you please help Miriam while I assist Nebat?”
Bildad looked at Gehazi and then Miriam, searching their expressions for a clue that would tell him if Gideon was alive or dead. As he wrapped his arm around Miriam’s shoulder, he wondered if he should speak words to console a grieving widow or encourage a struggling wife. Giving a weak smile to Gehazi, he nodded his head toward the water pot on the floor and said, “Take the water with you.”
Picking up the pot, Gehazi walked into the room and stood beside Nebat. “Can you do anything for him?” he asked as he placed the pot of water on the bed frame.
“I’ve never seen wounds this serious,” Nebat replied in complete honesty.
“But can you do anything?” Gehazi repeated somewhat more forcefully.
“Truthfully, no, I can’t.”
“What of Bildad? Does he have any skills?” Gehazi asked.
Nebat shook his head. “For all his strength and bravery, he knows nothing of treating injuries.”
Gehazi’s face mirrored his consternation as he considered Nebat’s words. “So we are to let this man bleed to death without doing anything?”
Nebat looked directly at Gehazi, shrugged his shoulders, and held out his hands in a sign of unwilling defeat. There was no need for him to say anything. They both knew the facts, and there was nothing either of them could do to alter them.
The door opened with such force that it startled both men. Spinning around they watched as Elisha entered the room with Gili trailing in his wake. Three steps from where Gideon lay, Elisha stopped suddenly, his mouth gaping open as he looked at the horrific wounds. Turning around, he dropped to one knee and stretched out his arms, his cloak shielding Gideon’s body from Gili’s innocent eyes. “Gili, it would be best if you waited outside with your mother,” he said firmly. Without waiting for a response, he called over his shoulder, “Gehazi, will you and Nebat please take Gili outside with you. I wish to be alone with Gideon.”
“I want to stay with you, Prophet,” Gili pleaded softly in protest.
Lowering his arms only enough to grasp Gili’s shoulders, Elisha replied kindly, “My little friend, I promise you in the name of Jehovah that your father will be well, but you must leave us for a few moments.”
Gili looked at him and seemed to be formulating a reply. Before she could say anything, Elisha added, “Do you trust me, Gili?”
“Yes!”
“Do you believe Jehovah can make your father whole and well?”
“If you say he can, then I believe it will be.”
Elisha smiled warmly and drew Gili close in a hug. “Your faith is strong, little lamb. But you must leave me now.”
Elisha rose to his feet, still using his body as a shield. Turning Gili toward the door, he beckoned to Gehazi. Placing Gili’s hand in Gehazi’s, Elisha gently herded the two men and the child out the door.
Miriam sat on the rock wall with her face in her hands. Tears dripped from her chin and landed on her robe, mingling freely with the blood that had already been absorbed by the robe’s deep brown fibers. Clinging tightly to her were Hanan, Caleb, and Gili. Only Gili was not crying.
“You don’t need to cry, Momma,” Gili said as she moved a dirty strand of black hair out of her mother’s face. “Prophet will heal Daddy.”
Miriam pulled her hands from her face and sat upright. Looking at Gili through watery eyes, she smiled weakly and clutched her daughter close. She said nothing as she softly stroked her daughter’s head, repeatedly running her fingers through the tangled hair in a vain attempt to straighten it. On the other side stood Hanan and Caleb. Despite constantly wiping his nose on his forearm, softhearted Hanan was unable to keep up with the continual flow of clear liquid dripping from his nose. Like his mother’s, his eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying. He wore no tunic—he never did—and his dirty bare chest was streaked where little rivers of tears had cascaded toward the belt around his waist.
Lines of fear and confusion were etched into Caleb’s face as he looked at his mother, brother, and sister. Leaning his head against Miriam’s arm, he closed his eyes and tried to stifle the sobs that shook his little body. After a moment, he opened his eyes, wiped tears from his cheek, and asked, “Where’s Uzzi?”
Miriam suddenly stopped stroking Gili’s hair and looked around. Panic gripped her, and she jumped to her feet, calling out as loudly as she could, “Uzzi!”
Turning in a circle, she scanned every direction, hoping to see the boy sitting on a rock or standing nearby.
“Has anyone seen Uzzi?” Miriam asked with clear panic in her voice.
Bildad, Nebat, and Gehazi all exchanged blank looks then quickly joined Miriam and the children at the well.
“I haven’t seen him since we were down at the enclosure with the cows,” said Nebat.
“Nor have I,” injected Gehazi.
“He can’t be far,” Bildad said. “Miriam, you and the children wait here while we search for him.” Turning to the other men, he said, “I’ll check below at the cattle enclosure; you men should check the fields and hills.” Without waiting for a response, Bildad turned and started jogging down the path toward the cattle enclosure.
The loose rocks on the sloping path made Bildad skid as he rounded the sharp corner. His sandaled foot slammed into a gnarled tree root with enough force that he lost his balance and tumbled down in a heap. Cursing, he dusted the grit from his scraped hands and knees and rose to his feet. An instant throb shot from two of his toes, and he crumpled back to the ground in pain. Reaching down he gently touched the two middle toes on his right foot and winced again in pain. “Broken or just sprained?” he muttered as he clenched his teeth.
Pushing himself to his feet, he hobbled the remaining distance down the path. For the second time that day, his jaw dropped open when he saw what awaited him inside the manure-covered enclosure.