“Go back through the wasteland to Damascus,” the Lord had told Elijah on Mount Horeb. “When you arrive, put holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram…”
“Hazael, the court official?” Elijah asked the Lord of Hosts. “You wish for me to anoint him over Ben-hadad? Hadad is a powerful man.”
…and on Jehu, son of Nimshi,” the Lord continued, “making him king over Israel…
“Yes, Lord,” Elijah said, though none of it made sense.
…and on Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Aval-mechola, to be prophet in your place.
Finally, a bit of encouraging news. It was easily 150 miles from where he stood to Aval-mechola but how wonderful it would be to make that trip, pass his mantle to another and then, if all went well, recline and die. The Lord went on…
And it will come about that the man who gets away safe from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death and whoever gets away safe from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death.
Elijah nodded sadly at the sorrow sure to come.
But I will keep safe seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not been bent to Baal, and whose mouths have given him no kisses.
“Hallelujah!” Elijah cried from his place on the mountain. Though not one in Israel was worthy, there was no end to God’s mercy.
*
Yashar had learned from Elijah the right things to eat; no rodents, blood, fish without scales or the flesh of pigs. Whenever food was available, Yashar prepared his meals accordingly, Juttah’s too, but once the rascal dog caught and ate his first rabbit, Yashar lost control of the animal’s diet.
In answer to Yashar’s many prayers, Juttah quickly grew stronger. He hunted every second as they made their way, catching and consuming all manner of things. His once prominent limp disappeared. He grew taller, broader and a thick, gray coat replaced his thin and ashen hair. He became lean at the hips and shoulders where once he’d been puffy and round. Best of all, Juttah began to bare his teeth at strangers who drew too close to them on the road. Better than a weapon, Juttah had become a protector and companion. Everything about the animal’s growth and new nature pointed to a miracle.
*
At Samaria, though Juttah often ran wide circles in the woods, he stayed close beside Yashar from the moment they entered Samaria’s gates. As on the road, when someone approached too closely, Juttah showed his teeth and growled. Even armed soldiers stepped back!
Yashar had never felt safer, not even when with Elijah.
They passed through a crowded market then walked up a wide, tree-lined lane to where Ahab’s palace stood upon Samaria’s highest hill. For shame, all around its tiled terraces and landscaped plateaus stood carved poles honoring the gods of spring.
The arms and faces of most of Samaria’s citizens were covered with black designs (just as Elijah had warned). Women walked about unaccompanied holding their chins high, bejeweled, feathered, tinkling with hoops about their ankles and bracelets twirling on their wrists. It seemed that every man in town wore one or more amulets set with precious stones about his neck.
Samaria had abandoned God.
An enormous structure coursed with high ashlar walls stood beside the palace. As Yashar gawked at its breezy porticos, archways and columns, Jezebel herself, Yashar had no doubt, stepped into sight at an open window. Though the queen stood at a distance, Yashar somehow saw her well. He had heard stories of that lady’s beauty and had doubted them—no one could be that striking—but Jezebel’s features, cast in fading sunlight, stunned him in their perfection. But even at a hundred paces, the queen’s lightless eyes betrayed a rotten soul. Juttah’s hair spiked neck-to-tail the instant she appeared. The dog sensed her evil too.
*
How wonderful to plow the earth again, Elisha thought, now that rain fell every day. Wildflowers spread in the valley. The Jordan had crested its banks. Elisha had yoked twelve oxen to his father’s plow, intending to till the land, when a hairy fellow appeared beside him, removed his mantle and laid it upon Elisha’s shoulders, then walked away.
“Sir,” Elisha called out, chasing after him, “Only let me give a kiss to my father and mother. Then I will come after you.”
Both Elisha and the hairy fellow seemed stunned; so too were Elisha’s helpers, who stopped their work to gaze at them cow-eyed, waiting to see what might happen next.
Neither man spoke for quite a while.
*
It was easy to overhear rumors in Samaria, all one had to do is listen. It seemed that everyone in town expected war with the king called Ben-hadad. Armed troops were everywhere. Occasionally a soldier would stop Yashar to question him but Yashar’s new practice of strictly telling the truth put a quick end to every interrogation.
Every soldier balked at hearing about the God of Israel.
Yashar also learned that his first sour impression of the city fell short of a much uglier truth. The people were lost, it seemed, beyond hope. Samarian diets were disgusting, their habits and language obscene. They were not merely tainted with pagan values but entirely immersed in them; marked flesh, incense, piercings, dishonesty, drunkenness, rowdiness, child sacrifice and no hint of repentance.
Had God’s chosen learned nothing at Carmel?
After several days in the city, Yashar had heard no voices and seen no signs or wonders.
“I had expected to hear from the Lord,” he told his dog.
They had become decent travelers by then if not experts. While coming up from the flatlands Yashar had made a bow with which to start fires and learned several traveling tricks to stay warm and dry. While Juttah ably fed himself, Yashar had learned to find berries in the woods and hustle an odd job here and there to earn a meal.
Best of all, when all his cleverness, effort and industry failed, the God of Israel provided everything they needed, often more. So why not leave Samaria? At Be’er Sheba, Elijah had instructed Yashar to go to Samaria and Jezreel, so he and Juttah left one city for the next with confidence. Maybe they would find Elijah there.