Keepers of the Covenant Read Online Free PDF

gone swimming in the flood-swollen Tigris River, misjudging the danger. Reuben had barely made it back to shore after the current swept him downstream, inhaling so much water he’d nearly drowned. But once he’d reached the riverbank and the shock and terror faded, he’d felt a thrill that had been addictive, fueling his passion for more death-defying exploits.
    But this was different. His enemies planned to execute him in less than ten months, along with his family, his friends, and everyone else who was a descendant of Abraham. Maybe he deserved it. He didn’t always obey his parents or follow God’s laws. He often recited his prayers in the house of assembly without thinking about the words or the God he was talking to. And he had no interest in studying the Torah. So yes, he probably deserved to die—but his mother and father didn’t. His two younger sisters didn’t. Neither did the new baby his mother was expecting in a few months. Would his enemies kill an innocent newborn, too?
    Why had life become so crazy? The God of Abraham had turned out to be as careless and unpredictable as the gods of Babylon. And the adults Reuben had trusted to have everything under control were helpless to stop this edict and completely without hope.
    He finally bent to gather an armload of wood and carried it back to the fire pit. Abba stirred the coals, making a place to add the logs. “I wish we weren’t God’s chosen people,” Reuben said as he let the wood drop to the ground. “Why can’t we be likeeveryone else? Maybe if we blended in with the Babylonians and started going to their temples and festivals they’d let us live.”
    Abba shook his head. “If we deny God, our lives aren’t worth living.”
    Reuben heard his father’s words but didn’t understand them. He crouched to rebuild the fire, fighting tears again. “Is it true that the king’s law is final? That no one can change it?”
    “Yes, it’s true.” Abba ran his fingers through his beard as if considering something. “Come with me, Reuben,” he said when the fire was laid. “I want to show you something.” He led him to the rear of the shop, separated from the work area by a partition. He pulled a crate from one of the shelves and opened the lid to show Reuben what was inside.
    Swords. Four of them.
    Reuben pulled one out to examine it, recognizing his father’s craftsmanship. “I plan to forge as many of these as I can in my spare time,” Abba said, “before the month of Adar. Would you like to help me?”
    Reuben could only nod, unable to speak. Maybe they weren’t without hope after all. If he had given up the day he’d fought the river’s current, he would’ve drowned. But he hadn’t given up then, and he wouldn’t now. He and Abba would fight until the end. And maybe, just maybe, they would survive the slaughter after all.

Chapter
4
    B ETHLEHEM
    W ait!” Amina shouted. “Wait for me!” She limped along as fast as she could, dragging her weak leg through the dirt, but her sister and the other children ignored her pleas. They ran ahead of her through the marketplace, weaving through displays of pomegranates and melons, running between stalls of reed baskets and wool rugs, laughing as they chased each other. Amina was the youngest at age eight, and she couldn’t run as fast as her older sister, Sayfah. Tears blurred her vision, and Amina tripped and fell, her crippled leg collapsing beneath her. She lay in the dust, angry and bleeding, crying harder.
    A gentle hand touched her shoulder. “Are you all right, dear?”
    Amina sat up. Crouching beside her was the white-haired woman who owned a stall filled with beautiful woolen cloth. Her wrinkled face was kind, the skin around her dark eyes creased as if she smiled a lot. She lived in Bethlehem, not Amina’s village. And she was a Jew. Amina’s father hated Jews. His people, the Edomites, always had.
    “You’ve skinned your knees,” the woman said as she helpedAmina to her feet.