Harvest of Gold (22 page)

“
This
is the City of David?” Pari asked, her voice high with shock.

“What remains of it.”

“Lord Nehemiah will need a miracle to restore this place, my lady,” Pari whispered so that no one could overhear them.

There were few on the convoy from Persia who were privy to Nehemiah’s plans to restore Jerusalem. Those who knew had been instructed by Nehemiah to keep his intentions secret, particularly in Judah, until such time as he was ready to unveil his purpose. The only thing that the city officials knew was that the king had appointed Nehemiah as the new governor of the region.

“I fear you’re right, my friend. Even Nehemiah cannot manage to turn this rubble into a city. Not without God’s intervention.”

“Why don’t the people who live here clean up the debris? It’s such a mess.”

“It’s as if the inhabitants have descended so far into despair that they no longer care about the state of their home.”

Until such time as Nehemiah could build his own house, he and his retinue took residence in an old building belonging to one of Jerusalem’s noble families. The house had remained uninhabited for a decade, and the city’s desolation had not helped its state. Sarah and Pari were given a small room with peeling clay walls. Flies competed with spiders for residency. Sarah would have preferred to remain in their cart and sleep outdoors. But Nehemiah and Lysander both deemed it unsafe and packed her into her unpleasant room.

For Sarah, the first three days in Judah passed in a haze. Whenever possible she followed Nehemiah, writing letters, taking down information, and gathering old records while her cousin met with the leaders of Jerusalem. He hid his intentions during those meetings, choosing instead to listen to each official’s report. Mostly, the men griped about how difficult their situation was. None of them took responsibility for the state of the city. They blamed everyone but themselves. Sarah noticed with amusement that her cousin would turn bright red during such discourses. He did manage to control his tongue however—an impressive feat considering the provocation.

Late on the evening of the third day, Sarah heard hushed voices outside her door. Startled by an intrusion so late at night, she cracked her door open and caught the tail of Nehemiah’s robes swishing down the stairs, accompanied by his brother.

“What is it, my lady?” Pari said, her tones too soft to be overheard.

“The new governor is up to something. He’s sneaking about in the night. Shall we discover his intentions?”

Pari shook her head. “It’s precisely this attitude that gets you into trouble, you do realize?”

“Does it? I had not noticed,” Sarah said, as she covered her head in a modest linen scarf.

In the courtyard, her cousin was surrounded by a handful of men, his brother Hanani and Lysander among them. One small torch lit their way. There were no pack animals; obviously, Nehemiah was more interested in secrecy than in comfort, and the noise of the animals would have alerted half the city to their late-night activities. Nehemiah rode a biddable donkey; the rest were on foot.

Sarah cleared her throat. Seven heads swiveled in her direction.

“Good grief, girl! What are you about, sneaking around this time of night?” her cousin said.

“Funny you should mention, sir. I wanted to ask you the same thing.”

“A few of us are going to inspect the city secretly, if you must know. And before you ask—no! You cannot come. It is too dangerous for a pregnant woman. Go back to bed, where you belong.”

“I have no intention of coming. However, I would appreciate a report after your return. For the records, of course.”

“Of course.”

Once they left the densely populated area of the city, Nehemiah directed several torches to be lit. They proceeded through the Valley Gate, located southwest of the city where there were few settlements, past the Jackal’s Well. Then they trudged over to the Dung Gate at the southern end of the eastern wall.

Just beyond the gate lay the Hinnom Valley, where the people of Jerusalem discarded their garbage. The smell of rotting rubbish was so overwhelming that it almost made Nehemiah gag. He wrapped his face in a kerchief and noticed that even Lysander was doing the same.

From the back of his donkey Nehemiah could observe the devastation of the walls with grim clarity. No part of the once impenetrable structure stood whole. The foundation remained solid in parts; in other places, the wall was halfway up. Most sections, however, had suffered utter destruction. In the white light of the moon, brightened by the fire of their torches, the desolation of Jerusalem cried out like the howling of mourning women. Defeat sat at their door like a living presence.

The men of his party had to walk with care, for their path was strewn with broken masonry and rubble. While this became an inconvenience, it also proved promising. Some of the stones scattered about on the ground were whole enough to be used again. Many large pieces had survived the devastation. Already cut, and having sustained minimum damage, they were ready for building again.

Without uttering a word, the group walked all the way to the Fountain Gate and from there to the King’s Pool. The debris became so bad at one point that Nehemiah’s donkey could no longer get through. He changed their course, heading for the Kidron Valley instead to inspect the state of the wall there.

No improvement could be found in this section of the wall; it seemed as ruined as everything else they had seen thus far. They ended their expedition here and backtracked, returning to Jerusalem through the Valley Gate. Their inspection had only covered the southern part of the city. Nehemiah reckoned it was more than enough to give him the information he needed.

Sarah awoke early the next morning and found Judah’s governor already busy.

“Ah, good. I can use your help,” he said when he saw her. “I’ve sent for the Jewish leaders. They are about to find that their lives are going to change.” He pointed to a diminutive alcove set behind the farthest edge of the hall. “Sit in that corner, behind the half wall. Don’t say a word, mind. Not one chirp. I doubt the men of Judah will take kindly to a female scribe. A
pregnant
female scribe.”

Sarah patted the growing bulge of her belly and grinned.

“I’ve kept my own notes and memoirs concerning this journey since we were in Susa. But having your records will add details that I might not have time to include. Have you brought your writing implements? Good.”

Soon, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and other important administrative staff of Judah began to trickle in.

Judah’s new governor began the meeting with a description of his findings the night before. Sarah wrote down his words as fast as she was able.

“But I tell you nothing that you don’t already know,” he said when he finished recounting what he had seen. “You see the trouble we are in. People of Judah, the city of our fathers lies in ruins. There is not one gate that remains standing.”

Nehemiah pulled an elegant hand through his dark red hair. The rustling of his silk garments sounded stark in the heavy silence. “The state of our nation disgraces us. Our enemies gloat over our diminished circumstances. The Lord’s people suffer because of it. A vibrant life cannot be established in this city unless it enjoys the protection of well-made walls. As it stands, the city of Jerusalem is not large enough to sustain farming; it’s not busy enough for commerce; and it is not safe enough for crowds. We cannot build our homes in Jerusalem unless it can be defended against raiders.

“Let us end this shame, brothers. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The Lord has opened a way for us. The king himself, who stopped this project when he believed our enemies’ lies, has given me leave to commence it once more.”

A quiet murmur rose in the room. Men’s voices gathered strength as they questioned the new governor’s news. Nehemiah held up his arms, silencing the chatter.

“Don’t think I have accomplished this because I am a friend of the king’s or because I am a good politician. The gracious hand of my God was upon me when I was in Artaxerxes’ presence. That’s the reason I gained his favor. Because of it, the king has given me authority to inaugurate this mission.

“We’ve even been given timber from the royal forests. But the tallest trees of Persia and all the gold from its treasury cannot fulfill this task unless you give the Lord your wholehearted cooperation. I cannot manage this work alone. It requires every leader, every man and woman of Jerusalem, to band together. Come then: Let us commit to the task; let us face the battle; let us put our backs to the toil—each to our part, each to our position; there is not a week, nor a day, nor a moment to lose.”

Sarah’s heart rose like thunder, motivated to do anything that her cousin demanded. Nehemiah could persuade the dead. She was not the only one affected by his speech. He spurred such a passion in the leadership of Judah that they forgot their fears and complaints and began to shout their agreement. They would begin the good work. They would rebuild the walls. And nothing would stop them.

Nehemiah gave a modest smile and held up his hands. “We need to organize our people if we are to progress. I have made some plans.”

When the leaders left, Sarah rose from her cramped hiding place. Her body was changing rapidly so that what might have been comfortable one day before, grew challenging hours later. She stretched and bit her lip as pain shot through her hip. A small movement in the core of her belly brought her up short. Her baby was quickening.

“What’s wrong, dear girl?” Nehemiah’s worried voice interrupted the incredible moment of discovery.

“I felt the babe move in my womb for the first time.”

“Ah. He must have liked my speech.”

Sarah laughed. For an old bachelor, her cousin handled her pregnancy with great aplomb. “My child has auspicious timing.” She patted the rise of her stomach. “That went well. I had expected resistance from them. Instead, you had them agreeing to your every suggestion.”

Nehemiah returned to his table, which boasted a pile of parchments he had been studying earlier. “Don’t be fooled. There will be trouble. From within and from without. We shall have many hard battles ahead of us.”

“Cousin Nehemiah? What makes you so determined? If you know the work is going to be hard and mired in discouragement, why do you persist?”

Nehemiah rolled up a parchment and tapped its end against his palm. “Because I believe I was called to this. What do you think destiny is? A smooth path that never jostles you? No. When you walk in your destiny, you will crash and fall more times than you can count. But the secret is to hold on to God’s vision for your life—and for the lives of those He puts under your charge. No matter how many times you fall, crash, and fail, you get up. You get up and face your obstacles.”

As he began to coordinate the enormous project before him, Nehemiah directed Sarah to keep an exact record of the individuals constructing the wall. He wanted her to archive their names as well as the location of their work.

“Don’t go chasing after each one around Jerusalem. Stay away from the walls, Sarah. I will charge Lysander’s men to bring you reports twice a day.”