Love Amid the Ashes (8 page)

“This looks like a good place to rest,” Job shouted ahead to the guide. “If there’s water, we’ll stop.”

Dinah sighed with relief and noted Job’s kind smile. Had he noticed her discomfort?

“But Master Job, Uz is around the bend at the next plateau. Why stop now?” The guide turned and met Dinah’s gaze. She tried to still her chattering teeth but couldn’t. The man made no pretense of hiding his frustration, but upon reaching the forest and bubbling spring, he reined his camel to a stop.

By the time Dinah halted her weary camel, Job had dismounted and was waiting with blankets in hand. “A little colder than you’d expect in the desert, isn’t it?”

Dinah’s cantankerous camel spit and squawked its protest all the way to its knees and belly. Talking to the beast gently, she patted its neck and stepped free from her four-legged throne.

Job laughed. “You seem to enjoy travel far more than my wife and daughters.” He placed a blanket on her shoulders and walked toward Nogahla’s donkey with another blanket. “Sitis hates the smell of camels,” he said over his shoulder, “and our daughters think ‘sleeping under the stars’ means a tent, three layers of fleece for a bed, and servants fanning them with ostrich plumes.”

Dinah was two steps behind Job when Nogahla nearly leapt off her donkey. “M-m-mistress, I’m c-c-c-cold!” Job’s laughter echoed between the mountain peaks. He wrapped the second blanket around the girl’s shoulders, and she cuddled in its warmth.

“Thank you,” Dinah said, awed at his thoughtfulness. Job nodded, waving away her gratitude as if unnecessary.

Pointing the way toward a cozy campfire, Job had taken only a few steps when Dinah saw two fingers claw at Job’s shoulder. “We cannot waste time here. If we are to reach Uz before sunset, we must be on our way within the hour.” The guide stalked away, leaving Job gawking. Dinah silently marveled that a hired man would speak to his master with such disrespect.

“He’s up to something, Master Job. He’s no good.” Nogahla spoke offhandedly, as if anyone could have seen the truth had they been watching. “He’s had sneaky eyes since we left Elath.”

Dinah was unsettled by Nogahla’s candor. “Nogahla, Master Job chose his guide with much care, and he trusts him implicitly.” Watching Job’s expression, she hoped for some sign of confidence. None came.

“Actually, the man came highly recommended by my house steward, Atif.” Job glanced at the impatient guide, who was shouting orders at the camel drivers. “Atif and I have a long history of differing opinions. I’ll never take his advice on such a matter again.” Job effectively closed the subject by smiling and extending his hand toward the crackling flames. “Why don’t we sit by the fire so you two can warm up?”

Dinah and Nogahla fell in step beside him.

“Would you mind telling me about the rest of our journey to Uz?” Dinah asked. She and Job had spoken little during their last three days of travel. They’d enjoyed shopping for gifts and herbs in Elath and the short camaraderie of evening prayers before retiring to their tents. But Dinah had hoped Job would volunteer information about Ennon during the long days of travel. He’d been strangely silent. She was battling worry and losing the war.

“We’ll travel the ridge road,” Job said, pointing to the narrow watershed, “skirting the eastern side of the cliffs, and we should arrive at sunset.” He poked at the flaming dung chips with a stick. “Would you like to ask me what’s really on your mind?”

Dinah’s cheeks suddenly warmed, and it wasn’t because of the fire. Did this man read everyone’s mind, or just hers? She would start with something simple. “How old is your son?” Her heart was pounding. She tried not to cringe, but she’d been dreading this answer for days.

“Ennon is thirty-nine.”

Oh! He’s a child!
Dinah consciously slowed her breathing. How could a man only four years older look at her with love? She was an old goat compared to the young brides he could have married.

But wait . . . A thought occurred to her for the first time.

Dinah turned, but Job continued to study the flames. “I heard you tell Zophar that you promised to marry only one woman.” She paused. “Have your sons made a similar promise, or is Ennon already married?”

Job remained silent, awkwardly so. His expression lost all signs of joy, and her heart sank at the words he didn’t speak.

“Is he at least an honorable man, like his abba?” she asked quietly.

“You will be Ennon’s second wife, Dinah, but I believe you will win his heart,” Job said. “My first son is not unkind.”

“But he is not honorable,” she said, defeat and resignation lacing her tone.

“Ennon is still finding his place in the world.” Job was almost apologetic. Then, as if grasping at some hope, he said, “He is respected among his peers.” More silence. They continued staring into the fire. “But I fear his peers set the standard too low.”

Dinah slowly turned to Job in disbelief. “Why would you tell me this? I am merely a woman. He is your son and soon to be my husband. I am supposed to honor and obey him without question.”

A small smile worked at one corner of Job’s mouth. “I tell you this because I saw your love and compassion for Grandfather Isaac. Your tenacity with Zophar. You are not
merely
a woman, Dinah, and I doubt that you could ever obey without question.” He chuckled then and turned to meet her gaze. “Ennon has no children. Perhaps a child—a seed of promise—will strengthen his faith. Perhaps the love of a woman like you can teach him that a worthy woman is worthy of an honorable man.”

Dinah felt herself blush to the roots of her blonde hair, but if Job was willing to speak plainly, she would find no better time to ask her questions than now. “What about your other children? Do your other sons have wives? Do you have grandchildren?”

“I have seven sons and three daughters,” he said. “Six of my sons are married, but El Shaddai has not yet blessed my household with grandchildren.”

Job started to explain further, but Dinah interrupted. “Why is it that you don’t offer me to your unmarried son?”

Job’s answer came quickly, and he was seemingly unperturbed by her boldness. “My youngest is barely thirty and not yet ready for marriage. Though the men of Esau’s clan are expected to marry at age twenty—so the Edomite tribes grow quickly—I ask
my
sons to wait until they are thirty so I can teach them the ways of the Most High. I believe they should rule their hearts before they rule their households.” He looked at her, lingering as if he wanted to say more, but then shook his head. “I ask my daughters to wait beyond marriageable age as well—until they are twenty—before I find a suitable husband for them, in order that they too can learn Yahweh’s teachings.”

“Your daughters learn the ways of the Most High? I didn’t know women were allowed to see the sacred writings.” Dinah almost shouted her amazement.

Job lifted an eyebrow, measuring her before he answered. “I don’t actually possess the covenant writings. Those belong to your abba—the bearer of the covenant blessing—but I have the knowledge of El Elyon’s teachings from my days in the House of Shem. I teach young men from many tribes. In fact, one of my pupils from the tribe of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, will soon marry our youngest daughter.”

A shadow of sadness swept over Job’s face. Smoke rose from the fire, and he waved it away. “Great-Abba Esau doesn’t really care who learns El Shaddai’s ways. He is angry, however, that my family’s delayed marriages slow down the growth of his Edomite clan.” A little mischief dawned on Job’s expression. “But he doesn’t complain about my children’s education as long as the other Edomites marry young and produce offspring like desert rabbits.” Job chuckled.

Dinah nearly bit off her tongue to keep from cursing hateful Uncle Esau, but one bright spot suddenly glimmered in her dreary thoughts. “Could I learn the ways of the Most High with your daughters?” As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, she wondered if she’d gone too far. Job’s eyes sparked, and his expression was a puzzle.

“Yes!” Job shouted, raising a victorious fist in the air. “I was hoping you would. Oh, Dinah, when you know El Shaddai’s ways, you always have hope, always have answers to your questions.”

Had such a wonderful opportunity ever been laid before her? Dinah could most certainly live as the second wife of a husband who was “not unkind” in order to learn more of El Shaddai.

“Thank you, Job.” Her heart was as full as the baskets of herbs he’d purchased for her in Elath. “And thank you for the generous gift of medicines and spices. You have been too kind to me already.”

Oop-oop-oop.
Dinah glanced in every direction to find the source of the now familiar hoopoe bird’s song.
Oop-oop-oop.
Fluttering near a fissure on the cliff face, a pink-and-black-crested hoopoe tucked in pieces of scrub to soften its rocky nesting place.

Job must have followed her gaze. “Ah, we’ve been blessed with good fortune for the last leg of our journey.”

Dinah’s furrowed brow voiced her question.

“My mother said the hoopoe is carved into Egyptian tombs as a symbol of joy and affection.” Nogahla nodded her head as if she’d offered the definitive word on the subject.

Job and Dinah exchanged amused grins before Job offered another bit of lore. “And Zophar says the traders of the Far East think the little bird brings good luck.”

Dinah turned to study the little creature, whose flight resembled a moth more than a bird. “But Job, I heard you and Grandfather Isaac say El Shaddai considers the hoopoe unclean.” She looked into the strong features of the man who would become her father-in-law. An honest man who knew Yahweh’s teachings. “How can something unclean bring joy or luck?” Looking into the dying embers, she swallowed back emotions, regained control. “How can something unclean gain anyone’s affection?”

Job spoke quietly but without hesitation. “El Elyon judges acts and animals unclean in order to protect His people. We were created in the image of our Creator and are never irrevocably unclean or unredeemable.” He paused. In the lingering silence, she looked up and found him awaiting her gaze. “Yahweh loves you more than He loves the hoopoe, Dinah.”

A mighty gust of wind swirled dust and rocks around them, and she covered her face with the blanket.

“Master Job!” the guide shouted. “We must leave now! A storm is coming in!”

Job felt strangely unsettled. Dinah’s fears, the sudden storm . . . but most of all he wondered why his guide seemed in such a hurry to reach Uz tonight.

The strange storm raged. Wind and lightning, but no rain. “Let’s get going,” he said to Dinah. “This storm is coming in fast.” Job wiped his hand over his face. Feeling a fine layer of grit, he covered his face with his red and white shmagh, leaving only a small slit for his eyes.

Both women ran toward the animals, and Job kicked dust onto the embers of dung chips. His heart was pounding like the hooves of Zophar’s Sabean horses. Had the storm quickened his pulse, or was it his concern about the guide? Job hurried toward the camels and helped Dinah step into her saddle.

“I’ve invited Nogahla to ride with me,” she said, offering the servant girl a firm support as she climbed onto the spitting beast. “The view from atop my camel is much better.” Dinah quickly shouted instructions at one of the servants to tie Nogahla’s donkey to her camel’s hind harness.

Job grinned beneath his shmagh and marveled at the woman soon to be his daughter-in-law. What other mistress would be so considerate of her maid? He’d seen the fear on Nogahla’s face when the storm began, but he would never have dreamed a mistress would share her saddle with a maid. “Will you both fit in the same saddle?” he shouted, moving toward his own camel.

Dinah feigned offense, raising her voice above the storm. “Well, Master Job, are you saying that Nogahla and I have been eating too many candied dates?” Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled, the only part of her visible beneath Jacob’s uniquely woven head cloth.

“Yes, Mistress Dinah. You and your girl are as fat as oxen,” Job said as he climbed aboard his own mount, dodging a corded bracelet Dinah flung at him. It was carried away on the violent wind.

“Oh!” Dinah growled, and the little serving maid let out her own huff. Dinah leaned down to whisper something to the girl, whose white smile escaped between the folds of her head scarf.

The guide was waving wildly to get under way, and this time Job agreed—they must hurry home. But even as the thought crossed his mind, the weight of it pierced his heart. Would Sitis welcome him, or would they resume their argument about Sayyid where they’d left off? And how would Ennon receive Dinah? Would he see beyond her reputation and appreciate the beautiful woman beneath the rumors?

The darkening sky split with jagged bolts of lightning. Servants feverishly tried to light torches, but the wind licked away the flames before the fire could ignite.

“We can’t wait!” the guide shouted.

Job nodded and waved the caravan forward. Their final approach was under blackening skies along the mountain ridge road. Relying solely on the camel’s sure-footed instincts, riders wrapped their faces against blowing debris.
El Shaddai, help us.
On a road that could normally be traveled three camels abreast, single file was necessary as the sky grew darker, the sun completely hidden behind the steep sandstone cliffs and slate gray clouds.