Part 21 (1/2)
”Eliakim ... what are you doing home?”
She tried to smile as he walked slowly toward her, but he didn't return her smile. Sorrow filled his dark eyes, and she had to look away from him. She remembered Hephzibah's words: ”Don't ever go against your husband's wishes. Nothing is worth taking that risk,” and she began to tremble. She bent to unfasten her sandal, trying to conceal her guilt, but her fingers fumbled with the straps. Eliakim pulled her hands away and took them in his.
”Jerusha, I came home two hours ago. The servants didn't know where you went. I've been worried.”
Please, dear G.o.d! Jerusha silently prayed. I obeyed you-I did what you asked me to do. Please don't let him hate me. O G.o.d, I couldn't live like Hephzibah. I couldn't live without Eliakim!
He gently squeezed her hands, and his handsome face blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Why had she defied his wishes?
”Jerusha? Why aren't you answering me?”
”I ...”
Suddenly Eliakim let her hands slip from his. ”You went back to see Hephzibah, didn't you?” he said in a whisper.
”I had to.”
”Get out of my house!” He spoke so softly she barely heard him, but his words sent a s.h.i.+ver of terror through her.
”Eliakim, no! Listen to me-”
”It's too late for explanations.” He yanked her cloak off the hook and shoved it into her hands, hauling her to her feet. ”I said get out!”
”Eliakim ... no ... no!”
”Didn't I make it clear why you couldn't have anything to do with Hephzibah? Don't you understand that you're compromising my integrity? I'm having a hard enough time hanging on to my job without this!”
”What do you mean?”
”I've opposed King Hezekiah on every major issue for the past six months. Shebna told me that if I can't support the king's decisions, I'd better resign before I'm fired. I was so desperate I went to see Isaiah and begged him to back me up. Do you know what he did? He backed me up, all right. He condemned King Hezekiah in front of the entire city! I feel like a traitor!”
”Eliakim, I'm sorry. I didn't know... .”
”That's why I came home today. The king was so upset at being d.a.m.ned in public that he refused to hold court. I don't know if I even have a job to go back to. And now this! If anyone finds out you've struck up a friends.h.i.+p with Hephzibah ... I don't know what I'll do!
Everything's falling apart!”
”I'll explain to the king that you had nothing to do with it, that I disobeyed you... .”
”He's not in the mood for explanations, Jerusha.” Eliakim pa.s.sed his hand over his face and groaned. ”Why did you do this to me, Jerusha?”
Why had she done it? Why had she put Hephzibah's needs before her own husband's? She had to think, had to remember why-before she lost Eliakim forever.
”I didn't want to disobey you, but I had no choice. G.o.d compelled me to go, Eliakim. Who would speak for G.o.d if I didn't?”
His expression changed as if she'd slapped him. ”What did you say?”
”I said, Who would speak for G.o.d if I didn't?”
He groaned, then quickly turned and walked away from her, disappearing down the hall. A moment later she heard the door to their courtyard slam. Jerusha waited, unsure what to do. Her fear of losing Eliakim rose to terrifying proportions. At last she followed him outside to the garden. He was sitting on the bench with his elbows on his knees, his hands covering his face.
”Eliakim, talk to me! What's wrong?”
”That's what Isaiah said. He asked who would speak for G.o.d in the palace if I didn't.”
”Then you know how hard it is to obey G.o.d when there's so much at risk, so very much to lose. Going back to see Hephzibah against your wishes was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I had to tell her that G.o.d loved her, that He would forgive her- don't you see?”
Minutes pa.s.sed as Eliakim sat with his head in his hands, the longest minutes of Jerusha's life.
”Please don't send me away,” she whispered. ”Please, Eliakim. I love you so much.”
He reached for her and drew her to him, resting his face against her body as she stood over him. ”I've forced you into the same trap I'm in, Jerusha,” he said softly. ”But obeying G.o.d is always the right choice. Will you forgive me?”
She crouched beside him and answered him with a kiss.
17.
SHEBNA STEPPED OUT of the new chariot he had brought back from his trip as amba.s.sador to Egypt and stood with his hands on his hips, watching the workers hew out his tomb from the rocky cliff face. The monument disappointed him. The pyramid on top looked so much smaller than he'd envisioned.
”Careful! You are taking too much off!” he shouted to the mason chiseling it from the bedrock. ”I want to be able to see it from up there.” He pointed to Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley from where they stood.
Shebna wanted this monument to be visible from his palace window; he wanted to gaze down on it from the Temple Mount during the long, boring services. He'd chosen this prominent spot, the highest on the ridge, to build an imposing memorial to himself, knowing that future generations would pay homage at his grave. It must be a tomb fit for a king.
The project foreman walked forward to bow to Shebna, dusting his hands on his tunic. ”It will be the most magnificent tomb in Jerusalem, my lord. Except for the king's, of course.”
”But not as magnificent as the tombs of my ancestors. Have you heard of the great pyramids of Egypt?”
”Who hasn't, my lord?”
”The Egyptians know how to immortalize their great leaders.” He frowned at the rough pyramid taking shape on top of his tomb, wis.h.i.+ng it was larger. Even so, it would be the only tomb that had a pyramid. ”You will remember to prepare a large place above the door for the inscription?”
”Of course. It's on the plans you gave me.”
”Well, make certain you consult those plans once in a while. Take care you do not make a stupid mistake. You cannot put the stone back once you have chiseled it off.”
”I know that, my lord.”
”You are building a memorial that will be looked upon for centuries to come, like the tombs of David and Solomon. I helped bring about this age of prosperity and glory in Judah, and ...” Shebna stopped when he saw the foreman's attention wander to a point beyond his left shoulder. ”What are you looking at?”
”Excuse me, sir, but you have company.”
Shebna whirled around to find Isaiah standing beside the new chariot. The rabbi appraised it carefully, running his hands over the blue and gold deities painted on the sides; then he wiped his hands on his thighs as if they had been contaminated.
”Are you looking for me, Rabbi?” Shebna asked. He hoped not. He felt wary of this complex man, distrustful of his secret sources of information. Isaiah had an uncanny knack of guessing the future, and he had used it to manipulate King Hezekiah over the years. He seemed to want to control the king, yet he had refused the palace administrator's job when Hezekiah had offered it to him. Isaiah was a descendant of the house of David-did he want to be king? Shebna couldn't make sense of the man.
”Will you answer a question for me?” Isaiah asked politely.