With great excitement, the men holding the green and white banners of Gideon, the purple and white of Daniel, and the blue and white of Uzzah, waved them back and forth in front of the Army of Brothers. At Amon’s command, they marched onward together, toward glory or defeat, according to the mercy of the Holy One in whom they trusted.
Chapter 30
"General Rezon!” the messenger shouted as he ran toward the observation hut.
Rezon and Jael both turned and watched as the messenger stumbled up the hill, clearly exhausted by his efforts in the hot afternoon suns. The messenger saluted in a sloppy manner before bending over to catch his breath. Impatient, Rezon ordered the man to speak. With some difficulty, he spat out the information he had just learned from scouts on the southern patrols.
“An army is approaching. It is as we were told… an army of Gideon, Daniel, and Uzzah! They are less than an hour away!”
Cursing angrily, Rezon looked at Jael.
“I will kill every one of them myself!” Jael spewed, his voice filled with venom.
Rezon turned back to study the outer wall of Ramathaim. The protective arches of the front entrance had just fallen, fully exposing the main gates. Most of the rubble had fallen to one side, leaving plenty of room to get a ram near the reinforced doors. Glaring out the hut window, he could see two covered battering rams that had been pushed up near the central catapult. Housed within A-frames on wheels, the capped rams were protected by steep, sloping roofs covered with wet furs, soaked overnight to make them more fire resistant. Teams of soldiers waited alongside rope handles intended for swinging the suspended ram.
“Are there only two rams?” Rezon asked Jael.
“Yes. More are being constructed, but these are the only two ready.”
“Well, we cannot wait for others to be built. Keep them rolling.”
Now twitching with anger as he thought of the approaching united army, Rezon turned back to the messenger who had not been dismissed. His ire boiled over.
“Get out of my sight or be flogged!”
Looking confused, the messenger ran off without saluting.
Rezon stepped out of the hut to kick a helmet lying on the ground near him, sending it into a nearby trench that stretched up to the front lines.
Gad approached the hut, and Jael passed on the orders.
“Get those rams ready to advance!” Gad shouted to the front line.
Puffs of white smoke rose from the Rock of Sacrifice as the remains of an offering finally surrendered to the flames below. Boaz and Uzziel both knelt before the altar, heads bowed in reverent prayer. They had been there for quite some time, but their knees were not uncomfortable as they rested upon white cushions. Other priests serving at the temple went about their duties, but none of them disturbed the two aged men praying before the altar.
As if they sensed the sacrifice was complete, Boaz and Uzziel opened their eyes at the same time.
“What do you feel?” asked the High Priest of Uzzah.
“Uzziel, I had the strangest thought,” Boaz answered “I had the distinct impression that Jeremy needs to assemble the Host of Uzzah in the streets of the city. They need to be ready right now. I think something is going to happen soon that will make the enemy more vulnerable to us. I don’t know how it will be done, but we need to be ready.”
Uzziel thought for a minute, recognizing that his own feelings were similar-to muster the army right away. “I will send the message to Captain Jeremy at once,” Uzziel said as he stood up from his prayer and brushed his white robe free of wrinkles.
“The temple priests will be armed, and then we’ll join you.” Boaz retrieved the cushions, handing them to another priest who came to assist.
“Meet me at the inner gates. I think we should be assembled within the hour.”
“I agree.”
With that, the High Priest of Uzzah trotted off toward the archway that led to the markets of Ramathaim.
“What do you see?” Amon whispered as he stood behind Captain Mehida and Jonathan, who were using their spyglasses to observe the enemy assembled on the hills of Ramathaim.
“There are about four thousand men with Rezon,” Jonathan replied.
“It may even be nearer to five thousand, and they have several siege weapons in position,” Captain Mehida added.
Amon shook his head with a sigh. His heart felt like a heavy stone in his chest. “We are outnumbered almost two to one.”
Arms crossed in a defiant manner, Eli loudly cleared his throat to get Amon’s attention. “No disrespect, General, but Uzzah is behind those walls. Our numbers are at least equal, and we have an advantage-our people defend their homes. Rezon will not stand.”
Amon didn’t take offense at the comment. “I apologize. You’re right, Eli-Uzzah will fight as no other warriors can. This is your home. My only worry… I’m not sure how to let your people know we’re here. We will need their help.”
Eli and Tavor both regarded each other, and then laughed.
“Oh, they’ll know,” Tavor said. “Eli’s father is the High Priest of Uzzah. He will be ready to help.”
Amon wasn’t sure how the priests of Uzzah would know, but he thanked the men for their confidence. Motioning the captains to gather closer, he bent on one knee and used a thin rock to draw in the dirt. He started with marks for the enemy.
“Rezon’s army is here. We need to give the appearance of numbers. Place your men along a line from here to here. This will also give us more room to fight. Ezra?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take a rear-guard position and keep the women with you. I would like the balance of your horsemen to act as messengers. If the front line falters, send groups of ten and fifty as required to strengthen it.”
“And if the battle goes poorly?”
Amon paused. “Take the women to safety, back to Hasor or Saron.”
“I will keep them safe.”
“Very well. We still need to get a little closer before we can plan our attack. I want to see if I can figure out how Rezon plans to protect the siege engines. Are each of you in agreement?”
All captains present supported the decision. They quickly dispersed to retrieve their horses and gather their men. Amon gave orders to advance. Vigorously waving the banners of the Three Brothers, the army lurched forward, dust and the rumble of thousands of feet floating skyward.
As they closed on Rezon’s position, Amon gave the order for the bowmen to be at the ready for a volley into the enemy’s ranks if they charged. Spotters at the perimeters of the advance signaled that the way remained clear before them. The march slowed, but they pressed on until they came to a halt just outside of bow range for Rezon’s army. Companies of fifties and hundreds stood in their ranks and waited for Amon’s command to rush the enemy. Jonathan and Mehida dismounted and again stood at the front to observe the enemy Gideonites. Amon took the time to retrieve his own spyglass. Pekah saw it and commented on the workmanship.
“My field-scope and Jasher’s were made at the same time, by the same craftsman,” Amon noted. “They were presented to us by the emp.. I mean, Manasseh, when we embarked on this…”
Amon could not find the word he wished to use. “Adventure,” came to mind, which had been used by Manasseh himself. But the idea that this unwarranted aggression was an adventure now seemed a poorly chosen description.
He did not finish his sentence. Instead, he peered earnestly through his field telescope, hoping to discover some apparent weakness in Rezon’s organized ranks. Seeing nothing obvious at first, his gaze finally settled on one area of the battlefield. Trenches had been dug all around the hills, but the siege weapons themselves were stationed in a wide, central pathway between the trenches.