Martha Read Free Page A

the night. Martha lay quietly for a long time, her mind turning with thoughts of the coming day. If she were betrothed, she would have a year to prepare for the wedding. She was curious as to what went on between a bridegroom and his bride on the wedding night. At moments like these, she wished desperately for her mother. Martha missed her singing and gentle hands. She had so many questions, but now there was no one to answer them.
    Closing her eyes, she sighed happily. The wheat harvest would begin tomorrow. And Gera had promised to speak to her father.

 2 
    Martha sat up and stretched. After a brief morning prayer, she looked over at Lazarus, who lay rubbing his eyes. Dawn was just breaking, pushing away the shadows of the night.
    Ephraim entered the main room and glanced at Lazarus. “Rise, my children, we have work to do.”
    Martha sprang up quickly and shook her younger sister awake. There was food to prepare and pack for the midday break.
    Lazarus yawned and rose also. When her father and brother started for the fields, Martha went to the gate with Mary as her sister prepared to walk to the house of Adah. She would be helping Adah take care of the smallest children while their parents worked in the fields.
    â€œYou must mind Adah, Mary, and be a help to her. We’ll see you at the end of the day.”
    Mary loved children and Martha knew she was looking forward to helping Adah. Mary’s face was alight at the day’s prospects and she started to skip, humming a little song to herself. Then she glanced back at Martha’s pursed lips and, with a sigh, began to walk more sedately.
    Martha hurried to the fields to help her brother bundle the grain after the reapers. She would not see Phineas, as he would be helping his father in their own fields.
    Neighbors shouted greetings to one another as they began the work of the day. The men were already perspiring as the brief coolness of the morning receded and the sun rose higher in the sky. Some cut the wheat, some gathered it for the threshing floor. Other young boys and girls helped as Martha and Lazarus did, tying the sheaves into bundles to be picked up. As she worked, Martha heard the women murmuring among themselves. Her eyes widened as she listened.
    â€œThere is news, Zillah. Did you know that Simon, the husband of Judith, returned from working on the last caravan and discovered a large white spot on his arm?”
    â€œOh, Huldah, could it be?” Zillah, the potter’s wife, murmured.
    The first woman lowered her voice, but Martha caught the words.
    â€œIt might be, oh, can I even say the word?”
    â€œYou mean leprosy?” Zillah whispered in horror.
    There was a shocked silence, then the two women murmured among themselves.
    Suddenly Huldah turned and saw Martha and Lazarus listening. She tilted her head toward them and with a meaningful nod moved on along the row of wheat.
    Lazarus stood still, his eyes wide. “Sister, did they say leprosy?”
    She looked after the women, her mouth suddenly dry. “I think so. I pray it is not true. That would be terrible for his family.” Heaviness settled on her heart. Simon’s daughter, Esther, was her best friend.
    Lazarus hung his head. “I cannot think how I would feel if it were Abba.”
    At the midday break, the workers gathered together to eat a brief meal and rest. Anna, the local midwife, who also cared for the sick with her bag of herbs, brought a large jug of water on her shoulder and the workers passed the cup, drinking deeply after the long hours working in the heat.
    Martha told Ephraim what she had heard, and Lazarus, sitting next to his father, stared solemnly out over the fields. He looked up finally. “Is there a cure for leprosy, Abba?”
    â€œIt will depend on the form it has taken. The God of all the earth knows all things, my son. He is able to cleanse Simon and we must trust him to do so if he wills it.” Ephraim looked down