{"id":7102,"date":"2022-11-09T09:15:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T14:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/?p=7102"},"modified":"2022-11-09T09:15:43","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T14:15:43","slug":"the-singer-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/the-singer-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"The Singer of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Henry O. Arnold<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A singer\u2019s voice inspires a troubled nation\u2026
<\/em>A shepherd\u2019s courage vanquishes a giant<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family<\/a> of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul\u2019s troubled mind. But when the singer\/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as \u201cthe giant-slayer.\u201d Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul\u2019s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Singer of Israel<\/em> is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice\u2026and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Prologue<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Nathan drove the open carriage into the center of the compound as the sun set over the western hills. It had been a long day: up before dawn\u2014his master, Samuel, insisting they be on the road at first light\u2014drive over the hills between Ramah and Kiriath Jearim to the home of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant was in residence, sit before Yahweh, and then return to Ramah by nightfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His master had pressed upon Nathan the urgency of this trip as he climbed into the carriage. \u201cDrive with haste.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe mindful the horse is doing all the work,\u201d the master\u2019s wife countered, tucking a thick fleece blanket around her husband\u2019s lumpy body to keep his thinning blood warm against the early morning chill of the open-air ride. \u201cHe must bring you home in the heat of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will buy a fresh horse,\u201d his master had said, giving the front guardrail an annoyed smack with his fist. \u201cI want to be off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan waited for the master\u2019s wife to drop the basket of food in the back of the carriage before snapping the reins. He knew the master\u2019s moods\u2014this current disposition was one of fuming impatience. The prophet did not want to waste a moment, not even for his wife\u2019s good-bye kiss. Once Nathan snapped the leather reins upon its hide, the horse bolted out of the courtyard onto the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They made one stop on their journey to the village of Kiriath Jearim to rest and water the horse and for the two men to eat the dried beef strips, olives, figs, and honey cakes Shira had prepared for them. Even Samuel had to admit that taking this brief moment was a nice break from the constant jostling over a rough highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By late morning, Nathan pulled the carriage in front of the home of Abinadab. This humble Levite had housed the Ark since its return from Philistine captivity, and Samuel had consecrated Eleazar, the son of Abinadab, to be the guardian of the Ark. Eleazar had sent the urgent message to the prophet\u2019s home in Ramah that King Saul had requested the Ark be brought to the battlefront at the Valley of Elah, and Eleazar needed Samuel\u2019s counsel on how to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet gave a cracked-lip kiss on the bearded cheeks of father and son after he climbed out of the carriage, but he said nothing to them before charging straight inside the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe master\u2019s mind is on the Presence awaiting him between the winged cherubim upon the Ark,\u201d Nathan said to Abinadab and Eleazar as he climbed down from the carriage. Part of Nathan\u2019s job was to explain to others his master\u2019s baffling behavior. He had become quite the diplomat over the years. \u201cHave the guards prepare a barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once word spread that the prophet of Yahweh was alone with the Ark in the common room of the guardian\u2019s dwelling, the yard became overcrowded with people pressing against the human barriers of armed Levites Eleazar had stationed around the perimeter of the house to protect the Ark. The crowd spoke in hushed tones, ears straining for any audible communication between the prophet and the Almighty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan spent the time swapping their exhausted horse for a fresh one and harnessing it to the carriage. He wanted to be ready to depart the moment Samuel came into view. The master would be as anxious to return to Ramah as he had been to get to Kiriath Jearim that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Samuel emerged from the house by early afternoon, grim-faced and no more eager to converse than when he arrived, Nathan led his master through the people forcing them to part as they marched toward the carriage with Eleazar and Abinadab close to their heels. Nathan hopped into the driver\u2019s seat and took up the leather reins of the horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before helping him into the carriage, Samuel laid his hands upon the shoulders of the guardian of the Ark and whispered into his ear. When he was finished, Samuel settled into the carriage and gave the front rail another aggravated whack. The master had not addressed the crowd gathered for a fleeting look at a rare sight of the prophet. He did not acknowledge them as they scattered like chickens when Nathan turned the carriage around and pulled out of the yard. He did not seem to care that Eleazar and Abinadab were left stunned and speechless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan glanced over his shoulder as he drove the carriage down the hill away from the house of Abinadab. Nathan had often witnessed a sullen expression on the prophet\u2019s face in times when Samuel might be quietly listening for the voice of Yahweh, a voice he had never heard, or studying the words of Moses, or copying the stories of the chosen people. This was different. This was an expression of consternation and alarm. What had the prophet witnessed in his time before the Ark that had left him so dismayed? Nathan knew not to speak, and he knew from the pinched expression and squinted eyes that his master would be silent the entire trip home.<\/p>\n\n\n