Joshua Valiant (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (19 page)

Sihon had
aligned his forces outside the city of Jahaz on the field for battle. They were over two thousand soldiers, including those who came from Heshbon. When the Rephaim gibborim arrived, it would have the effect of doubling that force against the Habiru intruders.

But the pressing concern was the
religious sacrifice he was currently watching. It was common practice for cities, besieged by evil attackers, to offer human sacrifice to their gods.

The god of the Moabite lands was Chemosh,
a phony Yahweh imitator. But when Sihon had dispossessed the Ammonites, he also retained their god, Molech, king of the Underworld.

Molech had a preference for children. So the priests of Molech prepared
ten children, decided through lottery, to offer to his infernal eminence.

They lined the children up for sanctification before a massive bronze statue in the form of a seated Molech, but with the head of a bull. It was a hollow body that was heated below by raging flames.

Sihon and his soldiers were adorned in their battle dress of leather armor, painted bodies, wild headdresses and animal skins. It was all calculated to project savage chaos upon the enemy.

They lined up in devotion before the huge bronze altar
, called a “high place,” that was situated just outside the city. High places were elevated platforms and altars devoted to the worship of the gods. Molech worship included veneration of the dead, which would be invoked to protect their forces against the living.

The children were
marched up to the bronze image and placed inside the hollow structure. This place of burning was called the
tophet
, and the act of sacrificing the children was called, “passing through the fire.”

They shut the enclosure and stoked the fires to burn them alive.

As the victims were being immolated, heavy war drums beat a rhythm that drowned out their tortured cries of pain.

It was interesting that no matter how much idolaters sought to justify their
abominations, their actions revealed their bloodguilt: They sought to cover their ears from what should have been a beautiful sound had it truly been a righteous act.

T
hey knew it was reprehensible.

But Molech was satisfied that day.

• • • • •

A mile out from Jahaz, the army of Yahweh finished their approach toward the city.
They were four thousand in number. The rest of the forces, about two thousand, guarded the nation in Moab.

Moses was riding in a special
carriage with pillows to lessen the roughness of the ride on his aging bones.

He heard the drums
in the distance and he knew what it was for: Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites. He had learned of that heinous monstrosity when he had sojourned with the Midianites years ago. He could not wait to demolish their high places, and melt their graven images in the flames of their own judgment.

•
• • • •

King Sihon sat on his horse overlooking the battlefield
before him. He was outnumbered two to one. He did not stand a chance without the Rephaim from Og.

But the Rephaim had not yet arrived.

He was beginning to panic. Og had procrastinated for too long. He had waited until the last minute to send the reinforcements as promised. As a result, Sihon would experience heavy losses.

His hope was reinvigorated when he saw a messenger from Og move through his ranks to meet Sihon.

“My lord,” said the messenger. “Forgive the delay. The Rephaim are almost arrived from Ashtaroth.”

Sihon had lost all sense of
protocol. He shouted at the messenger. “By the gods, man, how far? We have not much time!”

“Og says to sally forth without them. They will bring up on the
left from the Highway and flank the Habiru forces. You can crush them in a pincer move.”

Sihon was only partially encouraged. “You had better be right, messenger, or all is lost, and Og will be next to fall.”

The messenger left him to lead his army into the battlefield.

When the horns of war bellowed and the two forces met on the field of fire, the Rephaim had still not arrived.

The Habiru forces were cutting through Sihon’s army like a knife through
pudding.

Sihon was in the rear watching the outer ridge to his left for a sign of the Rephaim’s arrival.

It could still work. The giants were massive fighting monsters, whose surprise would multiply their terror many fold. Sihon hoped he could rally the remainder of his men to draw extra strength from such a turnaround and turn their impending defeat into victory.

•
• • • •

Molech and Chemosh watched the battle below unfold decidedly against their favor.

Suddenly, Molech saw four figures on horseback approaching the city. They were not engaging in battle except to ward off attack. They appeared to be intent upon an independent mission.

Though his eyesight was not good, he
recognized who they were. They had the presence.

They were archangels.

Four of them.

And there was only one reason why four archangels would be
needed for such a task. They were here to bind the gods.

He turned, only to discover that Chemosh was already gone. The coward had run. Just like he had millennia ago in the War on Eden.

He should have figured as much.

T
here was no way Molech could face four archangels alone. It would probably be best to withdraw up to Ashtaroth and alert Ashtart to prepare. His chances for victory would be increased by the side of the goddess of war.

It was
not cowardice to avoid this confrontation. It was cunning.

•
• • • •

Sihon’s men were fighting savages. But these Habiru seemed to have the favor of the gods with them. They overwhelmed his forces and drove them back.

And still the Rephaim had not arrived.

So Sihon blew his special trumpet to signal his giant platoons
.

A strange
high-pitched buzzing sound came out of the rear of the Amorite forces. The Amorites suddenly pulled back in retreat, and the Israelites followed the chase.

But the Amorites also split down the middle of their forces, leaving a gauntlet for the arrival of one hundred giants, to come running through like a
battering ram against the Israelites.

These were the Zamzummim and Emim remnant that Sihon had
saved for just such a surprise. If the Rephaim came soon, it would be a one-two punch that could slaughter the Habiru.

The Zamzummim made the strange buzzing sound that pierced ears and
confused communications amidst the ranks of the enemy.

The Israelite archers released a volley of arrows at the giants, but they were like toothpicks poking the titans. Annoying, but not stopping the relentless monsters.

The giants pummeled their way into the Israelite forces, tearing them asunder. They towered over the soldiers in both size and strength and fought with a fearsomeness the Israelites had not seen before.

They caused a momentary lapse in the Israelite advance.
This was their first encounter with the giants that they had heard of a generation ago. Othniel was in the thick of this giant incursion leading his men to defend. He felt a shiver down his spine when he saw these huge warriors and his men rolled over like a pack of hares beneath a boulder.

But
the giant’s mistake was that they were too speedy and efficient. They had burrowed their way into the middle of the Israelites, expecting to be followed on the side by flanking Amorites. But their comrades had not been able to follow them because they had been too crippled.

S
o Othniel saw his opportunity and led a sea of Habiru to surround the Emim and Zamzummim.

One hundred giants hit t
he Israelites hard that day with heavy losses. They gave Moses and Joshua a portent of the power of the Seed of the Serpent. If only one hundred of these monsters could accomplish this much damage, imagine what a thousand could do?

But this was only one hundred giants
enveloped in a morass of thousands of battle-hardened Israelites.

The titans
were cut down—with great difficulty—but they
were
cut down.

But Othniel was not done.

He led a force of Israelites to press forward and finish off the Amorites. Sihon himself was now engaged in battle. He was a gibbor and would not be taken easily. He hacked and held off Habiru with a strong arm.

And he knew that
his opponents were still shaken by the giant attack, and for a short time, they would be vulnerable to a Rephaim blitz of more giants.

That was when Sihon’s hope
flared as he saw on the distant ridge, the arrival of a party of figures on horseback.

He thought,
Praise Molech, the gods have answered my prayers. The Rephaim have arrived.

But the gods had not answered his prayers. The figures were not a multitude of giant warriors, but
a mere party of five on horseback. They were not arriving, they were watching.

Just then,
a spear pierced him through because of his distracted attention.

It was Othniel’s spear. He had zeroed in on Sihon and attacked the leader with zeal.

As the iron barb entered the king’s gut, it dawned on Sihon.

He had been the biggest fool of all.
The riding party must have been spies for Og, who never intended to send the Rephaim. He gave Sihon the false hope to lure him into confidence to fight the Habiru. He knew Sihon would lose. So instead of wasting his own forces on a losing battle, he would withdraw and allow Sihon to do some damage to the Habiru, which would increase Og’s advantage when he faced them afterward.

The last
revelation that came to him as he lay dying was that Og had always wanted to control the region. With Sihon’s kingdom decimated, Og could vanquish the battle-weary Habiru and have the entire Transjordan to himself.

Sihon had been the biggest fool not to see it.

And then he breathed his last on earth, to face his maker in judgment.

•
• • • •

The four archangels arrived at the city and found their way to the temples.
Molech was long gone. Chemosh, they found cowering in his sanctuary, trying to hide.

They
dragged out the trembling deity onto the floor. He had even wet his tunic.

Mikael pummeled his face like a punching bag until he was bleeding from a broken nose and fractured cheekbones.

Chemosh yelped, “Please do not bind me. Please do not bind me! I beg you, have mercy on me!”

Mikael said with resounding authority, “Where is Ashtart?”

Chemosh looked confused at the angels.

“In
Ashtaroth!”

“Boy, was that pathetically easy,” said Uriel. “I
would hate to be your colleague in crime.”

And
then they did something strange. They turned and walked away. They left Chemosh alone!

Did they offer him mercy after all
?

And then it hit
Chemosh. He remembered that Yahweh had commanded the Israelites not to dispossess the Moabites or the Ammonites because they were the descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. So the angels were not authorized to bind Chemosh and Molech, the gods of the Moabites and Ammonites while in their protected territories.

They
were after Ashtart and the others.

Uriel was right.
Chemosh was pathetic.

But he
remained unbound.

•
• • • •

With the city in flames, Moses, Joshua
, and Caleb gathered by the high place of Molech to personally direct the tearing down of its foundations and the destruction of the tophet.

The
still smoldering flesh of children inside the tophet made Caleb wretch. He had seen the horrors of war, he had crushed skulls, and impaled evil with swords and pikes. But this sight was too much for him.

He forced out, “What kind of monsters do such things?”

“Humans do such things,” replied Moses. “Evil is more mundane than we give it credit.”

Joshua wrapped it up. “
We must maintain our momentum as an element of surprise and terror. We will subdue the surrounding villages and towns within days and move swiftly up to Edrei in Bashan.”

Edrei was
the first city in the kingdom of Og.

Rahab’s family did not take long to settle in to the large
inn she had acquired in the wall of the city that was above her tavern in Jericho. Though she was involved in shameful employment, they could not condemn her too easily because she had been stolen from them at a young age and forced into a life of debauchery. It was all she knew. And at least she was not a sacred cult prostitute. As a profane harlot, she would have the chance to advance somewhat in life, as she had in fact done. Sacred harlots had no choice in their duties and were chewed up like meat, and spit out when they were used up.

It was heinous what some people did in the name of their
gods and religion.

Rahab had done very well for herself. And it did
not surprise her mother or father. They always knew her independent spirit would either get her killed or help make her own way in the world. She had clearly done the latter. She had purchased an inn with tavern and found herself in the know of everything that was happening in the region because of the travelers who frequented her establishment.

And today, she was servin
g some of those very travelers some of her special ale for which she had become known. There was a table of Amorite traders and nomads discussing the latest hostilities in the Transjordan. As Rahab served them their drinks, she eavesdropped on their discussion.

One of the traders, a
n obese one with pimples, was saying, “I would stay on this side of the Jordan for a while until they get it all settled out over there.”

Another one with an eye patch said, “They completely decimated Sihon’s forces
at Jahaz, then took Heshbon and the surrounding region within days. It is no longer Sihon’s kingdom.”

Rahab had arrived a bit into the conversation and wondered
whom they were talking about. Who had the kind of power to subdue Sihon? She knew he was an ally of Og of Bashan, which made it even more reckless and foolhardy a venture.

One-eye looked up at Rahab. “What are you standing there for, wench? Pour my beer!”

He grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her over to him, pulling her onto his lap.

She dropped the ale pitcher. It fell to the floor and shattered, drawing all their attention to the floor
—while her hand reached in her cloak to pull a dagger and place it at One-eye’s cheek below the eye.

She whispered into his face
, “If you fancy that good eye of yours, I recommend you release me. I run a respectful house, and I do not appreciate rabble-rousers.”

One-eye’s one eye was wide open with shock. The other men
laughed. One of them shouted, “Zakura, meet the proprietor of this good establishment, Rahab the innkeeper! And, may I add, she keeps her promises.”

The men all laughed.
Zakura released her with embarrassment.

An oxen—
looking nomad raised his mug of beer and said, “She is our most valued asset in this entire city.” They clinked their mugs with him. He added, “And the aristocracy would say, ‘in more ways than one.’”

They laughed again. Rahab playfully slapped the back of the oxen’s head.

He said, “Aw, I am just teasing you, Rahab.”

One of the barmaids was already cleaning up the broken pitcher on the floor.

Rahab said to them, “Who are these invaders, you speak of?”

The obese one offered, “Habiru of some kind. But
I have not seen their likes before. Word is they were desert wanderers from Egypt. But they worship a single god.”

“Easier to focus on one,” said someone.

“No,” said the obese one. “I mean that they worship one god as the only god, and seek to dethrone all others.”

“Ba’al?” said Rahab. He seemed the reasonable choice, since he was the most high god, chief of the pantheon in Canaan.
No one was mightier than the storm god.

“No,” said the obese one. “I
do not remember his name. It was weird and hard to pronounce. But I have never heard of him before. They claim he is the Creator of all things, and the god of all gods. That he is invisible and has no outward form.”

“How do they worship him?” said one. “Where do they look
if he is invisible?”

“He has a tent in their midst.”

“Well, there you have it. All gods need to reside somewhere. But a silly little tent? What is he, a dog?”

“Dog” was the derogative word they used for homosexual cult prostitutes.

“I could care less about their god or their dogs,” said the obese one. “What I am concerned about is their effect on my trading business. They have strange dietary habits and do not interact with foreigners well.”

Rahab was engrossed with these Habiru. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for one, they have a whole scroll of foods they cannot eat. Like pork, shellfish, most birds.”

“
Dammit. There goes my business in the east,” said One-eye. “I make most of my money selling swine.”

“It gets more confusing. As I understand it, they cannot eat anything with cloven hooves. But if it has cloven hooves
and
chews its cud, then it is okay to eat.”

“Who are these
ignorant people and their crazy rules?” said the oxen. “They should go back where they came from.”

“
That is not the half of it,” said the obese one. “They refrain from sexual delights of all kinds other than marriage of a man and a woman: No incest, no adultery, no homosexuality, no cult prostitution, no bestiality.”

“No fun,” interrupted One-eye.

The oxen said, “Their god is a prude.”

One-eye added, “And if he claims to be the Creator of all things, then why did he create us with such desires?”

And another, “One man and one woman only, with children? Disgusting.”

“Boring,” said One-eye
.

Rahab was becoming more interested in these Habiru with each
passing description.

The obese one was not done. “And they execute necromancers,
diviners, sorcerers, mediums, and astrologers.”

“Well, that just about takes care of everything we do in Canaan.”

“Barbaric,” said the oxen. “Next thing you will tell us is they have no human sacrifice either!” Everyone laughed as if it was absurd.

The obese one just raised his eyebrows and nodded as if to say, “No human sacrifice either.”

“That is outrageous!” proclaimed One-eye.

“I am deeply offended,” said another.
“How dare they come into our land and condemn all our practices!”

The obese one said, “One thing is for sure, Og of Bashan will not tolerate such intolerance.
He will bring justice. He will bring a hammer down upon their heads.”

One-eye said, “I hope he carves them up and eats them
.” Then he thought of something, and gave the obese one a dirty look. “How do you know so much about these uncivil savages?”

“
They are not all so high and holy as their god wants them to be.”

“
Ahhhh,” said One-eye. “Hypocrites.”

The obese one continued, “
They allowed me to pass through with my wares, and I was able to make some trades with their locals. They have no qualms with strangers and aliens, just so long as you are not hostile toward their god.”

Rahab had been completely mesmerized during the entire discussion. Now she finally jumped in eagerly. “What was your trade?”

He was hesitant. “Well, just some foodstuffs and other minor cultural artifacts.”

“Like what?” she exclaimed. He was not getting away with that one.

He sheepishly reached into his cloak and pulled out two small pieces of strange material folded up.

“This is some of their writing. But I
cannot read it.”

Rahab
was already jutting out with greedy hands. “Let me see.”

He handed
them to her.

“What is it?”

“It is Egyptian. They call it papyrus. A new medium for writing.”

“A lot lighter than clay and stone tablets,” she said.

“They say it is the future for communications.”

She opened
one of them and looked at the text.

“I recognize this script.
It is similar to my own people’s writing. But different.”

Rahab’s people were the Seirim. They had come from the Edomites whose lineage traced to Esau
—the brother of Jacob—the forefather of Israel.

The obese one got anxious. “Can you read it?”

She was reading it already to herself.

She said, “
It is a poem. A song for the congregation, I think. It is labeled at the top ‘elleh haddebarim.’ I think that means, ‘these are the words.’”

“Well, what
are the words?” said One-eye. “Read it!”

She had to translate a little, so she read with some stops and starts.

“It says, ‘remember the days of old. When Elyon, the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But Yahweh’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”

The oxen butted in, “What in Sheol does that mean? Who is Yahweh? Who is Jacob? I
cannot understand poetry.”

Rahab settled him, “Yahweh is the name of their god that
Kabu-Amurru here could not remember.”

The obese one shrunk a bit in his chair.

“And I believe that Jacob is the ancestor of their people.”

They were all transfixed now. One
-eye said, “Keep going, keep going.”

Rahab read on. “
’He found him,’ I think that means Jacob, ‘in
tohu wabohu
.”

“What is that?” said one.

“It means a ‘waste of wilderness.’” She continued. “‘Yahweh alone guided him. No foreign god was with him.’ Then it says he forsook Elohim who made him and scoffed at the rock of his salvation.”

One-eye put it together. “Just like Kabu said,
they are hypocrites! They are unfaithful to their god.”

Rahab continued, “
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to—sheddim—that were no gods.”

“What are sheddim, Rahab?” said Kabu.

She made sure she was translating correctly, and said, “Demons. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods.” She continued, “‘To gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.”

One-eye was on top of it, “Those are our gods!
He is talking about our gods as demonic. That elitist pig.”

The oxen butted in, “They
do not eat pork.”

One-eye just gave him a dirty look.

Rahab continued, “He says he is a jealous god. He will punish them.” She skipped to the end. “‘Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land.’”

An ominous silence washed over them. It sounded like a portent of disaster.

The ox was a bit slow. He said, “His people’s land. What land is he talking about?”

But none of them would speak up. They all had a strong sense of exactly
what land he was talking about: The land of Canaan.

Rahab said, “Can I borrow this for a while, Kabu?”

“Oh, I do not know, Rahab.”

“
Free beer until I give it back.”

“
Well, in that case, keep it as long as you want,” he responded without even thinking. He did not have to think. She was clearly giving him the better deal. The silly harlot.

She folded the parchment back up and stuck it into her dress. She looked at the door to the tavern and saw one of the nobles from the palace standing at the threshold. It was
Jebir, the Right Hand of the Chief Commander of the fort. He would not defile himself by entering the establishment. He expected Rahab to greet him at the door. And there was only one reason why Jebir bothered to show his face in such an otherwise seedy locale.

•
• • • •

Rahab stepped into the water of the large stone bath to cleanse her body. The two things she app
reciated about military commanders was that they paid well and they had wonderful, comfortable bedrooms and baths. After pleasuring a patron, the most helpful thing was to enter the bath to try to wash off her sins by soaking in the clean hot water.

The truth was
, it only helped a little to shield her pain.

Alyun-Yarikh, the
Commander of Jericho, got in the water beside her. He tried to snuggle up next to her, but she pulled away. She needed her space.