Jacob's Trouble

Chapter Eleven Witnesses Assassinated

Eleazar was scheduled to be executed in the next few days. Joseph and all the chosen ones in the area prayed daily for his miraculous release. So far to no avail.

Even though he was stuck in confinement, Eleazar continued to minister in prison to anyone he could.

He also continued to not be concerned whether he was freed or not. He kept saying, 'To live is life but to die is gain.'

Joseph visited his friend as often as he could without drawing suspicion to himself. The days he came into the city he took the time to go down to the wailing wall and see the two witnesses. He knew it wouldn't be long before the authorities would eliminate them. They were considered a nuisance.

On this particular day, the armed soldiers were harassing the witnesses and pushing them around. However, they continued to proclaim the Scriptures in ancient Hebrew, and many were listening as they spoke.

A soldier walked closer to Moses and pointed his gun in his direction. Without any notice, a ball of fire came out of Moses' mouth, and it consumed the soldier. Another soldier tried the same thing with Elijah. The officer fired his gun and missed Elijah and hit an innocent bystander as they watched what went on.

The crowd that was watching all disappeared as fast as they appeared. Elijah sent a ball of fire to consume the other officer. Joseph walked slowly away from the two witnesses. He watched as a whole truck full of soldiers using automatic weapons fired on the witnesses and blood spattered everywhere. Elijah and Moses both fell to the ground.

Joseph got back to the prison as fast as he could. He wanted to let Eleazar know what just happened and get back to Petra as soon as he could. When he got to the jail, he couldn't get in to see his friend. The jail was locked down tightly. Quickly he got in his vehicle and headed back to Petra.

While he was driving, Joseph saw three small children walking through the desert. He stopped and rolled down the window. One boy was around eight years old, another seven, and the youngest girl was probably four. They all stared at Joseph with scared eyes. He noticed that all three had bandages on their heads. Joseph asked, "What happened to you?"

All three started crying. Joseph felt sorry for them. He said, "Do you have a home?"

They nodded and sobbed some more. Joseph asked again, "Do you have any parents?"

Again, they nodded and cried. He thought to himself, "These poor children. No wonder they're so scared. No one ever asks them questions."

Then he asked, "Can I give you something to eat?"

The older boy was shaking his head, "No sir. We don't eat strangers food."

The little girl added, "Our mommy and daddy told us not to talk to strangers."

The little girl put her arms around Joseph and said, "Please help us. Our home is gone."

Joseph smiled, "Let me take you somewhere safe. You are going to get food and drink. Do you trust me?"

They nodded and climbed into the car. The older boy sat behind Joseph and the little girl sat between the boy's legs. She clung to his leg as if she didn't want to let go. The little girl had beautiful blue eyes and short blond hair.

Joseph said, "I'm glad you decided to come with me."

She looked up at him and said, "You're different than everyone else."

Joseph was perplexed, "Different than everyone else? How so?"

She replied, "Everyone else tells us not to speak to strangers."