“But,” insisted Judith, “I like not that long-haired Order of wayside preachers who shout and denounce and talk mysteries.”
Caleb felt it his duty to impart information. “Alas, the sacred Order is not what it was before King Ahab took unto himself the foreign Queen, Jezebel. A fine soldier and statesman was Ahab, and I doubt not he believed he benefited Israel by his alliance with our more cultured and enterprising neighbors, the Phœnicians. He thought much about the advantages of trade, as shown by his treaty with Ben-hadad, the Syrian king, whereby the merchants of Israel now have their own street in Damascus, the great capital city of Syria.
“Many good qualities had King Ahab, but a sorry day it was for Israel’s religion when he allowed Queen Jezebel a free hand to spread Baal-worship, even to the persecution of the prophets of the Lord. Hundreds were put to death; many fled to more peaceful homes, such as Egypt, and others still bowed the knee, not so much to the hated Baal as to the strong authority of the court. Fear threatened to destroy all that was purest and best in the land, but the Lord of Hosts hearkened to the distress of his people and granted deliverance by his prophet Elijah.
“Since then, and especially in these later years under Elijah’s successor, Elisha, the prophetic Guilds have been revived in the hope of spreading piety and some degree of learning among the people at large; they who have been exposed for so long to the pernicious teachings of the priests of Baal, as encouraged by that wicked woman, Jezebel.”
“But truly the service of Baal is much more joyous than thy worship of Jehovah with all thy strict observances and commandments,” said Judith, earnestly, “and why call Queen Jezebel ‘wicked’? It was but courteous to a foreigner to allow her to bring her own religion into her new home, and naturally she was anxious to spread the teachings in which she believed.”
In tones whose sternness was softened by pity, Caleb bade her hush. “Thou knowest not what thou sayest. The ‘wicked,’ through the pride of his heart, will not seek after the one true God. They care not to know the Law by which we, his chosen, are warned and in keeping of which there is great reward. It is well that thou shouldst understand clearly—”
A hubbub outside claimed attention. Faintly at first, and then nearer and nearer until it halted outside the very door, came the yelping and barking of dogs mingled with the sound of running footsteps, and voices.
Miriam crept to Sarah’s outstretched arms. “O mother,” in a frightened whisper, “thinkest thou the Syrians be upon us?”
The mother held her close. Caleb snatched up the goad ordinarily used for driving oxen, the sharply pointed end of which made a formidable weapon. From the darkness came a sound of labored breathing and a woman’s sobbing cry.
“Open, Caleb. It is only I, Hannah, and my children, Eli and Nathan, and the dogs rend us.”