Baara's Dreams

Chapter 12

That night when Naaman and Maacah retired for the evening, Naaman couldn't sleep. His mind replayed the testimony of Zipporah over and over again. Hearing Maacah turn on her sleeping mat, Naaman queried, "Are you awake, Maacah?"

"Yes," she replied. "Even though it is night, the heat hasn't dissipated. The air is oppressive."

"I suppose, Naaman," replied. "My spirit is so burdened by the decision I must render that I hadn't noticed the fierce humidity. You're right, though, the air is heavy. I fear a storm approaches. For the air to be humid at this time of year is unusual. It does not portend well. A storm may be moving in from the Great Sea. As it crosses Mt. Hermon it could intensify. As you know, the sudden winds that sweep down from the mountains can be fierce."

"Similar to the winds that buffet your soul as you labor over justice?" Maacah asked quietly.

"Yes," Naaman answered with a sigh. "If Zipporah had remained the defiant, proud woman who committed the crimes, I would have no problem rendering judgment, but now I struggle. How can such a haughty slave become so submissive? Has she really changed or is this yet another devious ploy?"

"There's no pretence here," Maacah noted. "I've watched for the last three weeks. No one is so good an actress that she can keep up the facade day and night. I too was cautious about Zipporah's new demeanor. I kept a cynical eye on her at all times, just waiting for her to slip up. Not once have I seen the old haughtiness. Oh, she sometimes gets frustrated. I have seen her reduced to tears as she tried to accomplish what used to be a simple task. But she doesn't take her frustrations out on others. She no longer demands that others cater to her. She no longer tries to intimidate. The slaves who once despised Zipporah have worked to help her regain her strength. At first the men helped out of fear. As she told her story and showed a new attitude, the fear vanished. Now they genuinely want to help her." Shaking her head, Maacah concluded, "I can't begin to understand this Yahweh Baara worships. But I do know that Zipporah's encounter with Him seems to have changed her completely. What she told you today was no deception."

"How do you render judgment on someone for whom there is no punishment she fears?" Naaman questioned aloud. "If I sentence her to die, she believes she will go to a place of peace, love, and light. If I let her live and sentence her to prison, she no longer cares because she has a new zeal to share her knowledge of Yahweh with other prisoners. If I keep her as a slave and give her the most menial of tasks, she says she will perform her duties cheerfully, telling others of Yahweh's mercy and mine. It seems this foreign god of Baara has already judged her, and he has granted her mercy, a mercy I cannot remove no matter what my action. That is my quandary, Maacah. There is no simple answer. I am not wise enough to know what course of action to pursue."

Falling silent, Naaman turned over and drifted into a fitful sleep. As he entered a deeper sleep, Naaman found himself dreaming, but the dream was familiar. He recognized it as the night Baara was captured.

He was astride his horse leading a group of raiders against Israelite upstarts. He had divided his men into three forces, sending each against an isolated settlement. He was with the group raiding the herds of the middle settlement. As his men stealthily released the animals, he watched from his horse. Suddenly a feeling of foreboding and urgency came over him. As though directed by an unforeseen hand, he turned on his horse to look eastward in the direction he had sent another raiding party. In the distance he saw an eerie, flickering light. Without thought, he spurred his horse into action, speeding toward the light, the sense of urgency growing stronger as he rode. He didn't know why he was propelled toward what was obviously a burning dwelling in the area of his raiding men. He knew only that he was filled with foreboding and urgency. He took out a whip he rarely ever used and urged his mount to its limit.