Josiah, The Boy King Chapter 7 Part 2

Josiah, The Boy King  Chapter 7  Part 2

“The scoundrel,” King Josiah shouted as Benjamin and Shaphan told him about the merchant.  “Historical artifacts, indeed.  He’s a liar and a heathen to boot.”

“But what are we going to do?”  asked Shaphan.  “The meeting below the temple is tonight.”

“We’re going,” said Josiah.  “We are going to that meeting to see first-hand what is going on among the Baal worshippers in our nation.”

“But Josiah,” protested Shaphan.  “You can’t go there.  They’ll recognize you and may even try to kill you.”

“I’ll go in disguise.  We’ll hide our swords under our robes.  I just have to know what is going on so I can decide what to do about it.  Will you go with me?  Or do I have to go alone?”
            “Of course, we’ll go,” answered Benjamin.

“Shaphan, how about you?”

“I’ll go.  But I still think you should stay here and just let the two of us attend the meeting.”

“Oh no.  I wouldn’t do that for the world.”

The sun went down early that night and the evening turned quite cold.  Josiah had smeared black chalk into his hair and beard and had used betel nut juice to turn his face a dark brown.  With a faded and threadbare robe covered from head to foot he looked anything but a king.  No once could see the sword which hung from his belt inside the outer robe.

Just as it grew dark the boys slipped out the back door of the palace, headed down the valley to the gate of the city and darted through just before the gate closed at the beginning of the Sabbath.  For the next twenty-four hours no one would be allowed in or out of any of the gates of the city.

Once inside Jerusalem they mingled with the crowds which were rapidly thinning out as people made their way home for the  Sabbath holy day.  Not wanting to appear anxious, they gradually worked their way up the Tyropean Way toward the western wall of the temple.  There they stood in the shadow of al large olive tree and watched as small groups of two and three people walked past he house of Aasrah and disappeared under the wall.

Finally Josiah motioned to the others to join him and they crossed the street and approached the wall.  They couldn’t see the hole until they were right on top of it.  But was they came closer they could see that part of the wall jutted out into the street and just behind it was an entrance completely hidden from view to the casual observer.

They stepped quickly through the entrance into a cave-like hall and began to follow it to where a light shone at the end of the corridor.  The room at the end of the tunnel was large and brilliantly lit.  Its walls were all covered with paintings of strange animals and birds to whom oddly garbed priests offered sacrifices.  In the middle of the room was a large platform with steps approaching it from every direction.  On the platform sat an altar and a large image of Baal.  One by one people would walk up the steps from all four directions, bow low before the idol and hand whatever they were carrying to one of the men standing by the top of each staircase.  Watching over the entire scene was a tall, brightly clad figure who the boys recognized immediately.

“Bar-Abel,” Josiah muttered under his breath.  But Shaphan quickly jabbed him in the ribs to keep him from saying anything aloud and giving them away.

As the boys watched, the line they were in kept moving closer to the stairs.  None of them had brought anything to sacrifice and Benjamin and Shaphan thought they had probably seen enough.  They wanted to get out of there while the getting was good.  But Josiah had other ideas.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs and were next in line, the procession suddenly stopped.  Bar-Abel stepped forward and raised his hands high over his head.

“All you who are faithful to the great god Baal, hearken,” he cried in his deep, full voice.  “We have with us tonight a special guest.”

When he said that Benjamin and Shaphan reached under their robes to grasp the hilt of their swords.  He must have recognized Josiah in spite of the elaborate disguise.

Bar-Abel continued.  “This special guest is very pleased to be in our midst.  And I take this visit to be another sign from the great god Baal that he is bestowing his blessing on our efforts to perpetuate his worship.”

The boys crowded close to Josiah on either side, prepared to defend him with their lives.

“Our guest tonight is a member of the royal family.”

At that, Benjamin and Shaphan began to draw their swords, but Josiah laid a hand on each of theirs and nodded toward Bar-Abel.  The boys realized that he was not looking at Josiah at all. Instead his eyes focused on a door in the room which led up to the stairs on the opposite side of the altar.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the faithful.  Welcome to our time of consecration tonight the noble, the wise, the honorable—Queen Hamutal.”

Everyone in the room bowed very low then, but Benjamin had to practically tackle Josiah to even get him to dip his head enough so they wouldn’t be obvious.  Hamutal slowly walked through the crowd and up the stairs to where Bar-Abel stood in front of the altar to Baal.  There she paused and whispered something in his ear and then bowed low before the image of Baal.

As the young queen fell to her knees before the idol, Bar-Abel once again raised his hands over his head and turned to face the crowded room.

“Praise be to Baal,” he intoned and the crowd responded, “Praise be to Baal.”

“Know ye the faithful that Queen Hamutal brings no sacrifice to the great god Baal this day.  She wants me to tell you why.  The queen is even now with child.  She has promised that her first son will himself be her offering to Baal.  As soon as her son is born she will bring him here to be given in person to Baal, creator of the heavens and ruler of all…”

“No,” roared Josiah.  “Never!”  Before Benjamin and Shaphan could do anything to stop him, Josiah drew his sword from beneath his robe and charged up the stairs in the direction of the false priest.  “There is a God in Judah,” he yelled as he ran.  “Jehovah is God.”

Before  Bar-Abel could do anything Josiah was upon him and had plunged the sword deep into the false prophet’s heart.  In absolute silence the vast crowd watched as the high priest of Baal crumpled in a heap on the altar before them.  Then the silence was pierced with a heart-rending shriek of terror as Josiah pulled out the sword and turned toward the young queen Hamutal.

At that instant the other priests on the platform recovered their senses and grabbing up swords and knives which were there for the sacrifices advanced on the king.  With a scream of defiance Benjamin and Shaphan charged up the stairs to protect their beloved king.  With Josiah’s attention deflected by the priests who were attacking him, Hamutal gathered up her robes and fled in terror through the door out of which she had come.

The people watched in amazement as the three young noblemen battled the four priests.  Sword clashed upon sword and the stacks of sacrificial gifts were scattered throughout the crowd as the fighting swept over the platform, destroying everything that was in the way.

One of the priests went down quickly and each of the young men battled with another.  Josiah fought like a man possessed.  His opponent retreated all over the platform until Josiah finally backed him up against the statue of Baal with no place to go.  Just as Josiah prepared to deliver the final blow he heard Benjamin scream, “Josiah, behind you.”

Quicker than you could say “Mephibosheth,” Josiah ducked.  A dagger, thrown by the priest who went down early but still wasn’t dead whizzed over his head and planted itself in the throat of the priest with his back to Baal.  With a gurgle he fell forward on the altar and died.

The battle was over almost before it started.  When the people crowded into the room realized that the king was there they stampeded for the doors only to find that Josiah’s bodyguards were waiting to arrest them and lead them off to prison.

But Josiah still wasn’t done.

“Come on fellows,” he called to Benjamin and Shaphan.  “Let’s get rid of this fellow once and for all.  He doesn’t even have the power to protect himself.”

Going around behind the big statue of Baal they began to push.  Slowly the statue started to tip and then faster than a flying arrow it toppled down, hitting first the altar and then the platform.  It skidded down the stairs and smashed into a thousand pieces on the rock floor of the cave.

The next day Josiah issued a proclamation and sent messengers to every corner of the land.

“By order of Josiah, king of Judah and servant of the Most High God Jehovah.  Be it known to all the people in Judah and Benjamin and in all of Israel.  Worship of any god except Jehovah is a crime punishable by death.  In every city where this proclamation is heard, let it be known that the third week of next month will be a week of cleansing.  Every image of Baal is to be destroyed, every high place and altar is to be cut down and every grove where false gods are worshipped is to be burned.  Those who refuse to heed this proclamation will be punished with death and their graves will be strewn with the dust from the stone idols which are broken in pieces.  Let everyone know that there is a God in Judah.”

In Jerusalem Josiah caused a great fire to be lit.  There the bodies of Bar-Abel and his four priests of Baal were burned right down to their bones.  They were buried outside the city and just like the king had said, their graves were covered with dust from the images of Baal from all over the city which had been captured and destroyed.

Jekameamshobab never did collect his thousand shekels because by the next week he didn’t have any images left at all.  They had all been confiscated by Josiah’s soldiers.

And Hamutal?  Well, she ran back to the palace, collected a few of her things and fled back to her mother’s place in Libnah.  She wasn’t about to stay around when Josiah was bent on destroying all the followers of Baal.  When her son was born she named him Jehoahaz.

Hilkiah the priest and Jedidah arranged another marriage for Josiah, this time to Zebudah,  the daughter of Pediah of Ramah, and Josiah agreed.  But in his heart he knew he would never forget Hamutal.