Among the Gods (Chronicles of the Kings Book #5)

Lynn Austin

Description

Fleeing King Manasseh's tyranny, Joshua leads the faithful remnant to their new home in Egypt. But as years pass, Joshua's desire for vengeance becomes an obsession. Blinded by hatred, he makes rash decisions, placing his loved ones in jeopardy. Amid Joshua's turmoil comes an unexpected awakening of love--a love that burns so intensely it draws him from the dark inner seclusion where he often retreats. But what will it take for him to grasp the great love his Heavenly Father has for him...and for the chosen people of Judah? (Chronicles of the King Book 5)

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781585584246
• Langue: English

Extrait

A MONG THE GODS
Books by
Lynn Austin
FROM BETHANY HOUSE PUBLISHERS

All She Ever Wanted
Eve s Daughters
Hidden Places
A Proper Pursuit
Though Waters Roar
Until We Reach Home
While We re Far Apart
Wings of Refuge
A Woman s Place
R EFINER S F IRE
Candle in the Darkness
Fire by Night
A Light to My Path
C HRONICLES OF THE K INGS
Gods and Kings
Song of Redemption
The Strength of His Hand
Faith of My Fathers
Among the Gods
www.lynnaustin.org
CHRONICLES of the KINGS
A MONG THE GODS LYNN AUSTIN
Among the Gods
Copyright 2006
Lynn Austin
Cover design by The DesignWorks Group
Unidentified scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The scripture quotation identified NRSV is from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-0-7642-2993-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Austin, Lynn N.
Among the gods / Lynn Austin.
p. cm.-(Chronicles of the kings ; bk. 5)
ISBN 0-7642-2993-1 (pbk.)
1. Manasseh, King of Judah-Fiction. 2. Bible. O.T. Kings-History of Biblical events-Fiction. 3. Israel-Kings and rulers-Fiction. 4. Religious fiction. I. Title. II. Series; Austin, Lynn N. Chronicles of the kings ; bk.5.
PS3551.U839A84 2006
813 .54-dc22
2006008821
Dedicated to my Canadian friends:
Illa Barber, Alma Barkman, Sharon Bowering,
Dianne Darch, Lynda Kvist, Estella Muyinda,
Heidi Toews, and Jan Wiebe.
You were with me at the start of this race.
Thanks for cheering all the way to the finish line.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father s God, and I will exalt him .
Who among the gods is like you, O Lord?
Who is like you-majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory, working wonders?
E XODUS 15:2, 11
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part One
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part Two
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Part Three
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Author s Note
LYNN AUSTIN is a three-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, and Fire by Night . In addition to writing, Lynn is a popular speaker at conferences, retreats, and various church and school events. She and her husband have three children and make their home in Illinois.
Prologue
I HATE WAITING , Joshua mumbled under his breath. There s nothing worse than waiting. He would give anything to get this meeting over with and learn what his future was going to be, but as the morning slowly crawled toward afternoon, he feared he wasn t going to get his wish.
He glanced at the tall, dark-skinned sentries standing guard at the door to Pharaoh s throne room, then turned his attention back to the multicolored murals decorating the walls of the anteroom. They depicted scenes of the pharaohs many conquests and the glories of Egypt s ancient past. Memories of Joshua s own past and of the loved ones he had lost were too painful to dwell on for very long, and he stared at the forbidden Egyptian images to push those memories from his thoughts. Violence and bloodshed marred his present life as a fugitive, and he was eager to leave that life behind him. He bore the scars of it on his face, the pain and guilt of it in his heart. He was no longer certain what God wanted of him or what the future would bring; perhaps before the day ended he would find out.
Prince Amariah fidgeted beside him as they waited, looking worried. I wish they would hurry up and summon us, he said. I hate being surrounded by all these images and idols. How can you even look at them?
Joshua glanced at Amariah, then at the delegation of chief priests and Levites who had accompanied them to Pharaoh s palace. With no place to rest their eyes without sinning, they stared at the floor, silent and nervous. If Pharaoh allows us to stay in Egypt, we ll be living among these gods all the time, Joshua told the prince. You d better get used to them.
Joshua understood the shock the Judean exiles were experiencing. In the month since he and more than three hundred priests and Levites and their families had made their daring escape from Jerusalem at Passover, their euphoria had slowly ebbed away as they began to comprehend all that they had lost. For many of the priests, the physical separation from the Promised Land had been as painful and traumatic as severing a limb. Abandoning Solomon s Temple on God s holy mountain left them stunned with grief. For centuries, God s deliverance from Egyptian slavery at Passover had defined who they were as a people, yet now God had apparently reversed His redemption plan and returned them all to Egypt. Joshua couldn t promise them that the sojourn would be temporary.
At last the massive door swung open and a chamberlain beckoned to them. Pharaoh will see you now. Joshua touched the leather eye patch he wore, making certain it was still in place over his sightless right eye; then he and the delegation followed Prince Amariah into the throne room.
Dust motes danced in thin beams of sunlight as Pharaoh s slaves fanned the air with palm branches. The palace wore a faded look of aging glory-the paint dingy gray, the plaster flaking in spots, the air musty with the scent of damp stone. Joshua stifled a cough as he bowed low before Pharaoh Taharqo, the third Nubian king to reign as Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt. Taharqo had the flawless ebony skin, broad nose, and full lips of his Cushite ancestors, but his impassive features revealed nothing of his response to the Judeans request for sanctuary in Egypt. When Joshua first presented their petition a week ago, he had told Pharaoh that he and Amariah were former officials in King Manasseh s government; he hadn t disclosed the fact that Amariah was a royal prince of the House of David.
Pharaoh has considered your request for political asylum, Taharqo s spokesman began. The sheet of papyrus crackled like dry twigs as he carefully unrolled it. Clean-shaven, bare-chested, and dressed in a white linen kilt, he and the other Egyptians standing on the dais beside Pharaoh gazed down at the Judeans bearded faces and long robes with obvious distaste. His Majesty offers you the following terms of refuge. You will have two days to either accept them or to leave Egyptian territory permanently.
Prince Amariah nodded slightly. We understand, my lord.
There was little doubt in Joshua s mind that the terms would be acceptable. The priests had consulted God s will before their escape using the Urim and Thummim, and God had made it clear that it was His will for this remnant of believers to find sanctuary in Egypt. Isaiah s prophecy confirmed it.
Pharaoh Taharqo has generously granted you a portion of land on which to establish your exiled Jewish community. You may erect an altar there to worship your god. One of the chief priests standing behind Joshua expelled a sigh of relief. We have three seasons in Egypt, the official continued. You have arrived during shemu, our harvest time. Therefore, Pharaoh has graciously agreed to provide your followers with grain, oil, and enough food supplies to last through akhet, when the Nile River will flood once more. We use that season for building, since no farm work can be done. That will give you four months to settle into your new homes before peret, the season of plowing and sowing.
We are very grateful, Prince Amariah said, bowing again.
Joshua knew this offer had nothing to do with generosity. Pharaoh would surely demand something from them in return. How may we repay Pharaoh for his benevolence? he asked.
The land deeded to you is on an island in the Nile River known as Elephantine, the spokesman said. It is an important military outpost, and Pharaoh expects it to remain so. The terms of the treaty are these: First, Pharaoh requires all the young men of your community to enter into military training in order to staff Pharaoh s fortress on Elephantine.
The demand stunned Joshua. He couldn t believe that Pharaoh would require military duty. The priests and Levites would never agree to it.
Second, this Jewish garrison will come to Pharaoh s defense if Egypt is attacked by a foreign nation. Third, you will join with Pharaoh s other armed forces if our great god Amon-Ra should decree that the Egyptian empire must expand even if this means going to war against your former countrymen in Judah.
We aren t soldiers- one of the chief priests began before Pharaoh s spokesman cut him off.
Pharaoh knows who you are: experts on Jewish Law and displaced priests without a temple.
Then why would he want us to command a military garrison?
The hall fell silent, as if the Judean priest had committed a grave sin by questioning Pharaoh s decision. Pharaoh himself finally broke the silence.
Because I am a student of history, he said. It was the first time he had spoken to