Barzillai by Heidi Dru Kortman

 Barzillai

2 Sam 17:27-29, 2 Sam 19:34-39

 

 

“We must reach Mahanaim by the second watch.” I heave my aching bones into the donkey’s saddle. The king and his household have arrived in that city after evacuating the palace in Jerusalem—the fifty-five mile trek made necessary by the rebellion Absalom has staged. “Put the donkeys with bedding at the head of the train,” I tell my steward Kimham, and we kick our mounts into motion.

It is shameful that we need to slip away under cover of darkness, and muffle the pottery in our loads with sackcloth, but Absalom’s forces camp somewhere in the foothills of Gilead, and I want no noise to give us away. The king’s household also needs food, and other donkeys bear grains and flour, beans and lentils, honey and cheeses. Nothing should fall into Absalom’s hands so all the servants with me on this mission carry weapons, ready to fight.

When we meet the baggage trains that my friends Shobi and Makir have organized, the boys who lead the donkeys will hold the animals’ muzzles closed, to prevent them from braying. I’ve lived to be eighty years old, eighty, and I remember the stories my father told me about life during the time of the judges, when everyone did what was right in his own eyes. I wondered whether our country would stabilize under the reign of Saul, but when the prophet Samuel said the kingdom would be handed over to David, I rejoiced—for David is a man after God’s own heart. If that trait passed reliably to a man’s sons, it would mean a lifetime of blessings. Now, we who love King David are reduced to scuttling around the countryside in the dark, to aid him.

It would be easier for our king if he were moving about with only a company of soldiers, because we’ve never had a better tactician, but King David has fled his palace with his wives and children, who certainly are not prepared for this. We hope the goods and food we bring will ease the complaints they’re undoubtedly making, for the people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert.

The thin moon glows through a thin patch of clouds overhead, just enough to make the packed path evident. The donkeys plod on, heads low. My servant boys’ feet raise puffs of dust. In the distance, a lion ends his roar over a kill with several grunts. If David heard that, he’d have a weapon in his hand. The cat probably smells our pack train on the breeze, but he’s too far away to cause any trouble. I wish I knew as much about Absalom’s whereabouts.

When we arrive at the place where the refugees shelter, sensible Abigail takes charge of the provisions, distributing them to David’s wives, concubines, and children. My friends and I re-supply the king’s household twice after that night, until word comes to us that Absalom’s uprising has been quelled, and the impetuous prince killed. When I hear that David and his family are migrating back to Jerusalem, I rush to the ford of the Jordan, to accompany them across.

King David greets each well-wisher, and to me, he says: “Cross over with me, Barzillai, and stay with me in Jerusalem, and I will provide for you.”

I answer him, “How many more years will I live, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between what is good and what is not? Can I taste what I eat and drink? Can I still hear the voices of men and women singers?” I shake my head. “Why should I be an added burden to my lord the king? I will cross over the Jordan with the king for a short distance, but why should the king reward me in this way? Let me return, that I may die in my own town near the tomb of my father and mother.”

I gesture to my steward. “Here, oh king, is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever pleases you.”

The king kisses me, and blesses me. Kimham crosses over into Gilgal with the king, and I have come home. 

 

 

Heidi Dru Kortman DTM

God's gifts and call are irrevocable.

heididrukortman.com.

 

Heidi Dru Kortman, a CWG Apprentice graduate, ACFW member since 2004, and Word Weaver member has published devotionals in various newsletters, and a collected volume of devotionals. Her poetry, flash fiction, and short stories have appeared in small magazines, and a website. She is applying herself to the task of writing smoothly polished fiction.