Daughter of Deliverance Read Free

dropped the coins into his hand.
    Turning toward Makon, Romar pleaded, “Father, please don’t gamble this away. It’s hard enough to live without your losing money at the games.”
    â€œYou’re telling me, your father, how to live?” Makon barked. “You think you can boss me around?” He began devouring his food even more noisily, trying to take everything within his reach.
    Very seldom did Kadir have anything to say to his father-in-law. He himself wasn’t able to bring home very much money, but now he said quietly, “We all need to be very careful. Times are hard.”
    Romar, sitting close to her father’s side, quickly agreed. “Yes, it’s—”
    Without warning Makon extended his arm and struck his oldest daughter. He was not a powerful man, so the blow was more insulting than harmful.
    In a soothing voice, Rahab said, “Let’s not argue. I’ve brought some fresh figs.”
    Makon glared at his son-in-law and Romar, but he accepted a lion’s share of the fresh figs. Between bites he began speaking roughly. “Everybody’s talking about those Israelites. They’re terrible people! Terrible!”
    â€œWhat have you heard?” Kadir asked.
    â€œWhy, they’re invincible,” Makon snorted. He paused just a moment to plump a juicy fig into his mouth and savor the juices. Then he waved his hand. “They’re like locusts, and they’re terrible warriors. They’re killing everything in their path.” He continued, but in a few moments he pulled a small flask out of his tunic and drank from it. As the fermented liquid hit his stomach, he began to weep, growing maudlin and whining that the Israelites would kill them all.
    Finally he got up and lurched toward the sleeping room. “You mind what I say. Those murdering Israelites will kill us all.”
    Everyone sighed with relief as the old man disappeared. Rahab went to get a few figs she had set aside. “Here, one for you and one for you.” She smiled as she gave the figs to Oman and Zayna.
    When they had finished, Romar said, “You must all be tired. Time to go to bed.”
    â€œI think I’ll go up on the roof and enjoy the cool air for a while first,” Rahab answered.
    She ascended the ladder to the flat roof, the place where they all went to relax. Rahab sat down and gazed out over the teaming city of Jericho, thinking of the thousands of people who lived there. Then she turned her eyes outward toward the west and thought of the terrible Israelites that everyone was talking about. She leaned back as the thoughts played in her mind. She had heard that the Israelites had only one god, not many. In Jericho there were hundreds of different gods. Each city and town in Canaan had its own god or goddess, and some, like Jericho, had many.
    Her eyes grew thoughtful, and she murmured, “How could there be only one god, as the Israelites say? How could one god alone protect the whole world?” Not able to wrap her mind around the idea of such a big god, and truly tired at last, she went downstairs to bed.

Chapter 2
    Rahab was awoken out of a restless sleep by the sound of coughing. She sat up, rubbing her eyes in the faint daylight that came down from a small, high window. Oman’s shoulders were shaking. Alarmed, she got up quickly and went over to put her hand on his forehead. He’s got a fever, and the last time it took him two weeks to get over it . A spasm of coughing shook the young boy very hard, as if it were going to rip him apart. Rahab held him to her breast, wishing desperately she could do something to help him.
    â€œI’ll get you a drink of water, Oman.”
    Getting up, she went into the other room, walking quietly to avoid waking the others, and picked up a large earthen jug. She filled a cup with water, tepid in the hot weather, went back into the sleeping room, and pulled the boy up to a sitting position.