In the City of David

The weeks passed quickly, and as the days grew shorter and the weather grew cooler the moment Samuel and Ruth anticipated (and sometimes feared) drew near.  As the time of her confinement was coming to an end she found it harder to perform her daily tasks, and Samuel took on more of the household duties.  One brisk morning, after leaving the inn he stopped at the market to pick up some items Ruth had requested.  As he was on his way home, absorbed in his thoughts, he turned a corner and suddenly found himself face to face with a large, angry Roman soldier.

            “Out of the way, Jewish pig,” he shouted as he threw Samuel aside.  The sudden push caught Samuel off guard, and he went tumbling to the ground, dropping the bread and other items he was carrying.  For a moment he sat there, stunned, and watched as the Roman marched off.  Then a sudden anger gripped him, and he jumped to his feet.  He grabbed a large rock and prepared to hurl it at the unsuspecting soldier.  His arm was cocked and about to move forward when a hand grabbed his wrist, thus preventing the throw.  Samuel turned to see Eli, who was the local rabbi and a friend from his boyhood days, looking him straight in the eye. 

            “Are you insane?” Eli whispered forcefully, so as not to attract the attention of the departing soldier. 

            “Let go of me,” Samuel replied, breaking Eli’s hold on his wrist.

            “Samuel, you have a wife who will be bearing a child soon.  You know the punishment for attacking a Roman is death.  What are you thinking?”

            “No one throws me down, and no one calls me a pig,” Samuel replied.  “These damned Romans must be taught a lesson.”

            “And how will you do that, Samuel?” Eli asked.  “By yourself, with a stone?”

            “Yes!” Samuel shouted.  “By myself if necessary, with whatever weapons I can find.  Someone must stand up to them.  Someone must deliver us from this tyranny.”

            “I too pray for the day when we are delivered, Samuel,” Eli said.  “But it will not be with an innkeeper hurling a stone.”

            “How then will it happen?” Samuel demanded.

            “God will send us a leader, the Messiah,” Eli explained.  “He will defeat the Romans and return Israel to greatness.  That is God’s promise.”

            “You dreamers make me sick,” Samuel replied in disgust.  “God!  The Messiah!  I see no God and I see no Messiah,” he continued.  “You sit around and do nothing while the Romans occupy our land and make us their slaves.  I for one will not wait for a Messiah or anyone else,” he declared.  “If God even exists He seems to care very little for Israel, so we should not expect any help from Him.  We must be prepared to act on our own, for truly no one else will help us.”  Eli shook his head and turned away.