2415 AM (1345 BCE) – OTHNIEL AND EHUD: Guardians of the Seed
“Uncle Othniel!” Ehud shouted, “Uncle Othniel!”
Young Ehud ran up to Othniel, who was old and full of years. Othniel saw the young Ehud, who was almost of age and almost ready to carry the yoke of Torah.
“Peace to you, young Ehud!”
Othniel was old, but he did not feel old. Of course, Othniel was not actually Ehud’s uncle. It was just a term of endearment Ehud called him. Othniel looked up from his preparation, as Ehud quickly closed the distance to him.
“I came as quickly as I could,” Ehud started. “What is it that you need so urgently?”
Othniel chuckled to himself, “Ehud, doesn’t your father have a donkey or a camel? Did you have to run the whole way here?”
“I don’t mind, sir. Quicker than saddling either,” Ehud said in jest.
“Fair enough,” Othniel said. His mood suddenly seemed to darken, and in his reply, the pleasantries were definitely dampened.
“Hey, so, do you know Adonai?” Othniel finally asked.
“Of course,” Ehud replied, “the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
“Well,” Othniel continued, “I had a dream last night from Adonai. He said that you would be the next protector of the seed.”
“The seed?” Ehud replied once again, but this time dumbfounded. “What seed?”
“You have to understand, the seed is—well, I don’t know entirely—but it is the Mashiach to come, our salvation from the tyranny of this world. Of course, Adonai will build our great nation, and then I don’t know. But you have been selected to preserve the seed. I mean, since we have been in the Promised Land, people have already started to stray away from the teachings of Adonai.”
“We were selected to be Judges by Adonai to protect the anointed lineage from being extinguished by the Dragon. The Dragon tried to drown the seed in the Nile when we were in Egypt, and then he tried to cause it to die in rebellion when we were wandering in the desert. Sometimes we know who the anointed is, other times not.”
“Ok,” Ehud started hesitantly, “The Dragon? I mean, if you say so. What about this dream of yours?”
“Well,” Othniel started, “you see, it began a while ago. It has happened off and on for weeks. And I never knew who it was about. I saw this strong leader, a man’s man, like me or Caleb, someone who could literally take on the Nephilim.”
“Ok,” Ehud interrupted, as only a capricious youth might with family, “but how do you know it was me?”
“I don’t,” Othniel continued, “I mean, I didn’t. Not for the longest time. But recently the dream changed. I saw you on a mountain—looked like Jericho, I guess. It doesn’t really matter. It was early in the dawn, and I could only see silhouettes. But then, you did something…” Othniel checked himself.
Ehud interjected, “Me?”
“Well, ok, the person in the dream did something. They held their massive blade in the air. I could not see much, but I could see two things for sure. One was that I saw it was dripping with a thick liquid.”
“Blood, you mean,” the youth said, a bit squeamish. While Ehud was in the youth training, he had never been deployed and had never seen battle.
“Well,” Othniel quipped, “I am pretty sure it wasn’t dripping with milk or honey. I am old, Ehud, and Adonai has chosen you to replace me. I have no question about it.”
Ehud thought about it. “But surely, it could be anyone you know. How do you know it is me, specifically?”
“Oh, well that is the interesting part,” Othniel said. “The person held their blade in their left hand, and you, my dear Ehud, are the only left-handed person I know.”
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
