The General's Treason
William Charles Oakes
In Ancient Israel, a good King falters. As a result, his infant son dies in fulfillment of prophesy, his chief General plots treason with other powerful allies in the Kingdom. Together, they attempt the deception of the century. Will they succeed, or will God intervene?

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book excerpt

A PROPHET’S DREAM It was late when Nathan the Prophet finally lay down to sleep in his chamber under the Palace. His duties as High Commander of the Gibborim had kept him busy from very early that morning. The initiation ceremony and the early stages of Gibborim training were conducted deep in the secret caves of a mountain west of the capital city of Jerusalem. When darkness set in, Nathan left to make the two-day journey back to Jerusalem. Nathan entered the city in the quiet dark hours of the night, left his horse with a stableman, and quickly made his way to his chamber located in a cave below the Palace. Nathan’s bed was a simple, four-legged wooden cot set to one side of his chamber. It served as bed and chair. Nathan entered his room and closed the door. He immediately fell upon his bed, exhausted, and instantly fell asleep. His slumber was deep and dreamless for a time. Then he entered a dream so vivid and real that one part of his mind knew it was not a dream at all, but a communication from the Lord GOD. Nathan saw himself standing outside a small cave in the side of a hill, the nearest town visible far off in the distance. In this cave lived a poor man and his small family. The man’s clothing was old and worn. His wife and children were dressed no better. The man had covered the mouth of the cave as best he could with brush and fallen trees. Running around inside and outside the cave was a young female sheep, a small ewe. The poor man had cherished this sheep since it was a very little lamb, raising it in his home alongside his children. He and his family loved the little ewe like a member of the family. Nathan saw the man’s two small children hugging and kissing the ewe as it tried to squirm away and run around. The man joined his children. He knelt before the ewe and stroked her head with tenderness. “This is not a ewe for eating. She will one day be the mother of other baby lambs.” Both children giggled with glee and hugged the ewe all the more. “She might produce babies for many years,” he said as he turned his gaze to his two children. “She is the hope for the future that I have for you both. Her lambs will grow into sheep, and one day we will have a herd. Because of her, you will someday be able to accomplish your dreams, perhaps in the town or even Jerusalem. You will never have to suffer as your mother and I do.” Nathan’s heart was captured by the depth of love this man had for his children and for this one small ewe. Next, in an instant, Nathan was standing outside a large, new house. It sat inside the walls of the town Nathan had seen from the poor man’s cave. The owner of the house was a rich man. His many servants worked diligently to please the rich man and make his house exquisite. As Nathan watched, a servant entered the gates of the town and ran to report to the rich man. “Your flocks continue to increase, master,” the man said with a reverent bow. “You are indeed a blessed man.” The rich man chuckled but made no reply. Nathan was examining the rich man’s face and demeanor. He was finely dressed, clean, and perfumed. He stood outside his house on an intricately woven carpet, his sandaled feet completely clean. “Just how blessed am I?” The rich man asked his servant. “Your flocks have grown tenfold since last year, master.” “Only tenfold?” Sensing the rich man’s displeasure, the servant fell to his knees before him. “Yes, master.” “You should have done better.” Nathan squirmed in his sleep. “Heed me,” the rich man said. His servant looked up at his master with both fear and hope on his dirt-smudged face. “I am having a feast for a visitor the day after tomorrow.” “Yes, master! I will go and fetch the best of your flocks for you . . .” “No!” “Master?” “I have seen a fine ewe over on that hill. She belongs to a man who lives in a cave on the side of that hill. That is the lamb I want for my feast.” “But master . . . I know that man. That ewe is all he has.” “What is that to me?” “But master . . . you have many, many sheep already . . .” “Yes, I do. And now I want that one.” Nathan could not see the rich man’s face clearly. It seemed to disappear, covered by a dense fog like mist. Then the fog cleared, and Nathan could see clearly. It was the face of the King of Israel—King David. “Is this true, Lord?” Nathan prayed, still half asleep. “What does it mean?” And the Lord GOD replied, “Yes, it is true. The rich man is King David.” “Then who is the poor man, Lord?” “He is Uriah, the one David ordered to be placed on the front lines of battle until he was killed.” The words hit Nathan like a violent blow to the stomach and took his breath away. “Uriah?” Nathan gasped. “David was involved in Uriah’s death?” “Yes. Uriah died by David’s hand as surely as if David had shot the deadly arrow himself.” Nathan struggled to wake up completely but lay there in silence, still somewhat in his dream. “And the ewe, Lord?” Nathan whispered, needing to know but not wanting to ask. “Bathsheba is the ewe, Nathan. She was Uriah’s wife, the hope of the future for his family, his clan, his people. David destroyed all of that. So I have cursed his lineage and the boy child Bathsheba now carries. He will be mine even before he is named.”