another made Abram nervous. He reached out a hand to take back the seal but Abimelech continued to finger the object and turn it over in his hands, ignoring Abramâs outstretched hand.
âWhat is this, my boy?â he asked.
âNothing,â said Abram without emotion.
âIt doesnât look like nothing. It seems to be very old.â
Abimelech read the inscription on the seal but his expression remained impassive and he looked up at Abram. âWhere did you get this?â
âI found it,â Abram lied.
âIt is from the old time and belongs to the old ways . . .â He held it up between his fingers. âJesus has shown us we can move beyond the priests and the temple and the trinkets of ancient rituals. We are no longer in the days of Moses who gave the ancient laws, but in the kingdom of tomorrow and we obey Jesusâ new laws. Our Lord said that it is not stones and bricks but He that is the Kingdom of Heaven. Adornment or veneration of such things will not let you enter our kingdom, Abram, which is the only kingdom.â
With the same dextrously quick movement by which Abimelech had snatched the seal from the floor, he now snatched out a hand to grab Abram by the arm. The grip was so hard that the boy let out a small yelp.
âFor those Jews who do not believe in Jesus, death is an end with little but dust and decay. But for us, the followers of Jesus, we look forward to the joys of heaven for all of eternity. For us, and soon for you, life begins after we die.â
Abimelech stared at Abram for a long and uncomfortable moment. The words âsoon for youâ resonated in Abramâs mind and, for reasons he couldnât quite grasp, he was afraid. But in the moment of the stare, Abram took his chance and seized the seal back from Abimelechâs fingers and clutched it in his fist, moving his arm behind his back and out of reach.
Abimelech smiled at the boy, a broad but considered smile, patted him on the shoulder, and turned his attention back to his meal.
Abram made his way over to his corner of the one-room house with the seal still clutched tight in his fist. He settled down onto the straw as Elisheva cleared the plates and began to blow out the lamps for the night. He lay down his head but kept his eyes on Abimelech as the man lifted up a heavy wooden plank at an angle to the door of the house to prevent anybodyentering at night. He slammed it home into place with a blow from his fist. But it was odd. In the time heâd been in the village, heâd seen it to be an open and welcoming community, and heâd never known Abimelech to bar the door before. The manâs action made him nervous.
Abimelech then turned to Abram. âIt is time. Tomorrow, Abram, you shall become one of us. You will be baptised . . .â
Then Abimelech blew out the last oil lamp and the home fell into darkness.
The night passed slowly for Abram as he lay awake, apprehensive of what the dawn would bring.
Abimelech and his wife said very little to him when they woke and prepared to leave the house, only that they would take him to the river and the whole community would be there to see him reborn. The followers of Jesus had told him of the ceremony by the river, which they called baptism. It sounded exactly the same as that which his mother did by the river in his village of Pekiâin when sheâd finished her monthly bleed; and what his father did after he had enjoyed sex with Abramâs mother. So the youngster wasnât particularly concerned about the ceremony the Jews who called themselves after Jesus were about to perform on him. After all, they were Jews, if strange ones who drank milk after eating meat, and believed that God had a son, and that a man could die and then live again.
He was even looking forward to his immersion in the river. Since his illness, he hadnât been able to wash properly, though in Pekiâin, heâd been
âWhat is this, my boy?â he asked.
âNothing,â said Abram without emotion.
âIt doesnât look like nothing. It seems to be very old.â
Abimelech read the inscription on the seal but his expression remained impassive and he looked up at Abram. âWhere did you get this?â
âI found it,â Abram lied.
âIt is from the old time and belongs to the old ways . . .â He held it up between his fingers. âJesus has shown us we can move beyond the priests and the temple and the trinkets of ancient rituals. We are no longer in the days of Moses who gave the ancient laws, but in the kingdom of tomorrow and we obey Jesusâ new laws. Our Lord said that it is not stones and bricks but He that is the Kingdom of Heaven. Adornment or veneration of such things will not let you enter our kingdom, Abram, which is the only kingdom.â
With the same dextrously quick movement by which Abimelech had snatched the seal from the floor, he now snatched out a hand to grab Abram by the arm. The grip was so hard that the boy let out a small yelp.
âFor those Jews who do not believe in Jesus, death is an end with little but dust and decay. But for us, the followers of Jesus, we look forward to the joys of heaven for all of eternity. For us, and soon for you, life begins after we die.â
Abimelech stared at Abram for a long and uncomfortable moment. The words âsoon for youâ resonated in Abramâs mind and, for reasons he couldnât quite grasp, he was afraid. But in the moment of the stare, Abram took his chance and seized the seal back from Abimelechâs fingers and clutched it in his fist, moving his arm behind his back and out of reach.
Abimelech smiled at the boy, a broad but considered smile, patted him on the shoulder, and turned his attention back to his meal.
Abram made his way over to his corner of the one-room house with the seal still clutched tight in his fist. He settled down onto the straw as Elisheva cleared the plates and began to blow out the lamps for the night. He lay down his head but kept his eyes on Abimelech as the man lifted up a heavy wooden plank at an angle to the door of the house to prevent anybodyentering at night. He slammed it home into place with a blow from his fist. But it was odd. In the time heâd been in the village, heâd seen it to be an open and welcoming community, and heâd never known Abimelech to bar the door before. The manâs action made him nervous.
Abimelech then turned to Abram. âIt is time. Tomorrow, Abram, you shall become one of us. You will be baptised . . .â
Then Abimelech blew out the last oil lamp and the home fell into darkness.
The night passed slowly for Abram as he lay awake, apprehensive of what the dawn would bring.
Abimelech and his wife said very little to him when they woke and prepared to leave the house, only that they would take him to the river and the whole community would be there to see him reborn. The followers of Jesus had told him of the ceremony by the river, which they called baptism. It sounded exactly the same as that which his mother did by the river in his village of Pekiâin when sheâd finished her monthly bleed; and what his father did after he had enjoyed sex with Abramâs mother. So the youngster wasnât particularly concerned about the ceremony the Jews who called themselves after Jesus were about to perform on him. After all, they were Jews, if strange ones who drank milk after eating meat, and believed that God had a son, and that a man could die and then live again.
He was even looking forward to his immersion in the river. Since his illness, he hadnât been able to wash properly, though in Pekiâin, heâd been
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