Shammah - The story of the great water raid

KSW 2005
A hand grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth and chin, forcing me backwards and away from the lip of the well. My cupped hands of icy cold fresh water jerking and spilling its rich contents over my feet.
“Your slurping will wake up the whole camp” Adi whispered hurriedly. “We’ve got to go”.
I looked around at the shapes of the tents stretched along the northern limits of the small town, illuminated by the weakening beams of the waning moonlight. Philistines. I was ready to kill them all right now, but ‘right now’ was not the right time. God had his own times and reasons. They were all asleep. How easy it would be. A thrust here, a thrust there and there would be much weeping in the Philistine towns that day.
“Come on Adi. We can slaughter them now” I gestured with my hands thrusting my sword into the soft ground
“No. Let the King decide. He doesn’t even know we’re here. What if it went wrong. His blood would be on our hands.”
I sighed. By the time the King found out, they could all be dead and we would be victorious. He would understand. The man was under the same pressure. He had already tried more than three times to get rid of them, but this new group was not the main front and would only stir up ten times more trouble. This was but a small garrison. Perhaps fifteen hundred men. Placed only as a back up.
Eleazar was guarding the pitcher, crouching down on the gravelly slope waiting for me to join him in carrying it.
The pitcher was better than we had hoped for. It was large and strong and well balanced. Found alongside one of the tents near the well it would serve us better than the pot we had brought along, so we swapped it. It looked new. Mainly brown with swirling decorations of differing colours, ochre, turquoise, mauve and scarlet. The colours set the pattern interlinking them in a fascinating method where by the design resembled that of running deer through a mountainous landscape, but were all blurred as if looking through the eye of the deer itself.
The pitcher was heavy but with two of us carrying it, we found it would be easier.
“Try not to spill a drop” Eleazar warned me. “This is for the King”
Adi remarked on the weight. “Each is to carry the pitcher for two hours.”
Setting off from the Adullam’s cave, it had taken us just over two and a half hours to reach the well, having covered the distance at a fair pace, over the low hills which ran above the vale of Elah and the main road. The ground was rough with patches of gorse, outcrops of broken rocks and a few trees. We planned to return the same way, however, with the pitcher and its precious cargo, the two and half hours will stretch perhaps until dawn, increasing our chances of being spotted by advance lookouts.
“I am aware of your concerns Shammah,” Adi argued in return “I propose we cut back half way along the sides of the valley, rather than over the tops of the hills. That way, we won’t be on the road neither exposed on the hilltops. There’s more gorse and loose rocks, but we can do it.”
I’m glad Adi had it all planned out. Now all we had to do was sneak across the valley, out of Bethlehem and up into the gorse. The guards stationed on lookout on the edge of camp were visible in the moonlight. Then one turned and looked east. We slinked silently alongside the tents of the sleeping soldiers, their snores and grunts rising over the town as a crescendo of voices baying in another language, intermingling and revealing secrets no other could understand. One man slept with his head right against the side of the tent, its outline perfectly formed in the tent wall. I drew my sword, itching to pierce the man’s brain through his eyes.
“Put that away” whispered Eleazar “someone will see the glint of metal”
I looked at him in disgust, as he did me, but then I smiled and returned the sword to the scabbard.
Suddenly there was movement in the corner of the camp. A guard was seen. He seemed to suddenly jump up and down. He turned away and began to relieve himself. Now was our chance. We raced as quietly as we could, carrying the pitcher past the edge of the camp and across the rocks and reeds, skipping across the shallow brook which ran along the centre of the valley.
The half moon was sinking down towards the horizon, it’s light penetrating very little of the dark gloom surrounding the valleys. It was a good night to be not seen. Quickly we made our way through gorse about waist high and over disjointed and broken rocks, the leather sandals slapping lightly on the flat faces of the rocks. The gradient and slope of the hills to the south of the valley of Rephraim made it hard work to carry the pitcher without tilting it too much, as one of us, in this instance, me, had to walk lower than the other and therefore I had to hold the pitcher higher up with my left arm.
After an hour of traveling Adi called for a short break and we gladly set the pitcher down and lay flat. My left arm and shoulder ached with the effort of carrying the pitcher.
“Where are we?” asked Eleazar
“We’re not as far as I had hoped” replied Adi. “It’s going to take us much longer to get back to the cave than what it took to get to Bethlehem.”
“There is still some hours of darkness left” I remarked.
“That’s true. By daybreak we should be not that far from the cave”
“Why don’t we try further down in the valley? Perhaps the terrain is more marked out. We can hide, if someone comes along”
“There are always soldiers about. This garrison in Bethlehem is in need of constant supply and news from Gath. Although not the main route through to Bethlehem, I reckon this valley gives a better and quicker chance for soldiers to get by unnoticed.
“We will certainly take longer to return to the cave if we walk directly in the valley below. I remember there being an elbow further along. We can look at skipping over the top of the hill there, cutting out the elbow and helping us be quicker!”
“Come on, let’s go. Shammah. You can be on guard this hour” Adi directed. I nodded, simply pleased not to be carrying the pitcher.
Scouting out in front of the other two, I was cautious to peer ahead for any sign of danger. Suddenly I heard footsteps. Lots of footsteps. And the clinking of armour as they walked, chatting loudly, laughing and joking as though they were on an afternoon stroll without there being a regard to danger around them. I ran back and told the other two to stop and hide. We cowered in the gorse bushes and looked down upon six soldiers who were walking along the bottom of the valley, kicking up stones and dust and chatting as if on a leisurely walk and not taking much notice of their surroundings. Behind them was a carriage, pulled by a donkey, loaded up and covered. Three more soldiers walked behind the carriage, cursing the slow stumblings of the donkey who was finding the going difficult in the dark.
As they passed, I gestured to Adi and Eleazar to get going. I stayed routed to the spot to see if there were any others I had missed. Satisfied that the company had just ten soldiers, I set off to catch the others up. They were good, because I couldn’t hear them until I was really close. Unfortunately for them, and also good for me though, was that they couldn’t hear me. I crept behind them smiling for they did not realise it. It would be fun to scare them. Mind you, trained soldiers who kill with ease will perhaps not scare and before I know it, I would be thrust through without them realising who I may be. Then they would have to carry the water pitcher by themselves for the rest of the way.
Suddenly, my thoughts were broken. There was a rush of movement in the gorse, in front of me, but behind Adi and Eleazar. I dived down to the undergrowth and Adi hearing something picked up speed to an area ahead where they could place the pitcher without it toppling and turned to confront their attacker. Although the gorse and brush moved, there did not appear to be anyone there. Then there was a quick glint of steal from Eleazar who had jumped further down the hill. He returned triumphantly, having speared a coney.
“Shammah, are you afraid of a little critter?” laughed Eleazar, holding up his prize.
I shook my head and blushed, glad that the darkness hid my face.
“We must have disturbed its sleep” Adi said smiling. “Come on let’s go. We’ve still got half a nights journey ahead of us”
“That’s an unclean animal. You can’t eat that” I cried, alarmed at Eleazar for tucking it into his cloak.
“You can if you’re starving. Besides this isn’t as unclean as those Philistine filth and we’ve all been through their camp tonight, so whether or not we touch unclean things does not make any difference now, for we all are not allowed anywhere near the Tabernacle for at least seven days.” Argued Eleazar
“Or in your case, seven months” joked Adi.
“Do you think the King will mind?” I asked
“Nah. Living in a cave with all them critters makes him about as unclean as anyone else”
The moon was hidden behind the hills. The valley was in darkness. We arrived at the elbow and decided to cut across along the top of the hills into the next valley which led to the cave. Along the way we disturbed more coneys. The hillside must have been full of them. Small, dark animals with little bushy tails, able to skip along at least twice as fast as a man could run, their eyes shining brightly even in the dim moonlight. Perhaps they could see better than us.
The gorse eased away until we were walking across the bare hilltop. I was carrying the pitcher again and Eleazar was ‘resting’, keeping lookout and ensuring we were going in the right direction and there were no holes to fall down. I remembered walking along this ridge on the way to Bethlehem at the beginning of the night. It seemed days ago. The softer ground and sight undulations made for pleasant walking and in the daytime, the hilltop afforded good views of the Valley of Elah stretching away into Philistine and to the great western sea beyond.
The sky was now showing an indigo hue. Daybreak would not be long. Once dawn appeared, the Philistines would notice the missing pitcher and begin a search. Hopefully, they will blame each other and not be aware of any outside influence. The guards on watch would be questioned. As far as I am aware, we were not spotted either entering the camp or leaving it. The guards, clever and accustomed as they are, can not see all areas at once.
The guards at the cave of Adullam had it easier for there were limited entrances to the valley and there was even a couple stationed on the other side of the valley where some parties may not notice them. They signaled using reflected light from their swords or sometimes using smoke.
The King had been at the cave for nearly half a year and the Philistines were becoming a menace, looking for him in all the major townships in the region. They had, as far as I am aware, no knowledge of the cave system at Adullam.
As they marched across the land, he was almost on top of them. A swift slingshot would certainly cause a Philistine some damage and concern as they marched along the valley nearby. Just as their champion had found out a few years ago, the story now a legend in the whole of Judah, I am sure he had not seen the stone that hit him until just a few centimetres from his head where there was no time to turn to avoid it. Even my victories against the Philistines paled in comparison, for once protecting a field of lentils from two hundred of the filth, does not compare to killing a Philistine champion with one sure shot and causing their entire army of tough soldiers to flee.
Two further hours passed and I was back on watch duty. The sun was now beginning to rise over the eastern mountains behind us.
“Not far now” Adi said as matter of fact.
“No. Perhaps only another hour.” I replied. “I can see the advance guard over on the other side of the valley”.
Adi stopped. “We need to send a signal to them, otherwise they’ll prepare an ambush for us”
He lifted his sword high and shaking it performed an intricate pattern of light. We waited watching the other side of the valley. A reflected signal returned. The King will be made aware.
The cave loomed above us. Adi and I were carrying the pitcher and Eleazar reached up to the first mount. People looked out and were curious as to what we were carrying. Eleazar helped us lift the large pitcher up into the safety of the cave system. Looking into the pitcher we had not lost a lot of water on the way. Perhaps just one or two cupfuls.
We were tired but ecstatic for having achieved such an undertaking.
The King stood before us expectantly.
Adi bowed. “Sire, your water.”
“Water? What water?” he asked, confused.
“From Bethlehem” I replied.
“We broke through the Philistine camp and brought you some water from the well which is by the gate. We carried it here for you in this pitcher. A ‘gift’ from the Philistines” Adi said smiling and emphasising the word ‘gift’
Then King David looked at us in despair and sighed, the colour rising in his face. He grabbed the pitcher and tipped it over on the floor allowing the water to spill out. I watched it in horror as it run in small rivulets along the floor of the cave and reached the edge disappearing over the lip, running down over the steps, surprising the people who were sitting below the cave and it flowed down along the path to be swallowed up in the grass and reeds in the valley.
“Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” The King said.
We bowed to his greater superiority and looked at the water sinking into the dust of the cave, remembering every detail of our journey to Bethlehem and back to please the King in what he had craved for, but alas, it was not what he had really wanted. He wanted to actually go back and sit at the well and laugh in its vicinity and enjoy the land around it. ‘Let’s rid this land of the Philistines once and for all’.