The Chronicles of Gan: The Thorn Read Online Free PDF

asked.
    Jonathan looked closer and noticed that the
tip of the thorn was dark brown, whereas the thorn itself was gray.
“It looks like blood,” he said with some uncertainty.
    “That’s right. It is blood. Would you like
to hear the story about this thorn?”
    “Yes!”
    “Do you remember the name of the person who
lived about one thousand years ago, the person we call the Original
Man?” Samuel asked.
    “Sure—Father Noah!”
    “That’s right. When our world, which we call
Gan, was created, the first man to live upon it was Father Noah.
Noah’s wife was named Sarah. He loved her more than anything else.
Mother Sarah bore Noah three sons, whom he named Daniel, Uzzah, and
Gideon. The Writings of Daniel, Noah’s eldest son, tell of a day
when he was chopping trees and brush on the edge of a field with
his brothers to help his father clear it for planting.”
    Jonathan frowned with disgust. “I don’t like
chopping bushes.”
    Samuel chuckled. “I know you don’t. But
sometimes we have to do things we don’t like so we can provide food
for ourselves. Much like the good eggs and bread you had for
breakfast!” Samuel poked Jonathan, and he giggled.
    “Daniel said in his writings that on this
particular day as he chopped bushes, he happened to trip over a
root. When he got up from his fall, his head hurt, and blood
dripped into his eyes. His father rushed to him to be sure he had
not been severely injured. Noah pulled this thorn from Daniel’s
forehead.”
    “Did it hurt?”
    “Yes, I am sure it did. But Daniel felt much
better when the thorn was gone.” Samuel assured his son with a pat
on the shoulder.
    “But that is not where the story ends. With
Daniel’s brothers looking on, his father stood up and was very
quiet as he stared heavenward. Daniel, Uzzah, and Gideon all
watched Father Noah gazing into the sky. Daniel said, ‘his father’s
face shone like the sun, his eyes full of joy and gladness.’”
    Jonathan gaped at the excitement in Samuel’s
eyes as he retold the story of Daniel. Oh, how he loved his father
and wanted so much to be just like him.
    Samuel continued, “As the young men watched
their father, they realized Noah was listening to somebody they
could not see. The three brothers felt a very special spirit. Then
Father Noah gazed down at Daniel, and around to Uzzah and Gideon,
and said in a clear voice, with power and humility: ‘Just as this
thorn has pierced the head of my eldest son, thorns will pierce the
head of The One Who Would Suffer. He will be mocked and beaten, and
a crown of thorns will be made for Him to wear. Daniel, because of
your faith in God, you will wear the crown of a king, and you will
judge this people in righteousness to the end of your days. Through
you and your posterity will all the peoples of my seed be judged
until the True King comes and receives his kingdom here on
Gan!’”
    Samuel put his arm around Jonathan’s
shoulder and explained, “Father Noah blessed all his sons that day.
He prophesied of their posterity and told them of the great
blessings they would all receive if they remained faithful to their
Creator and God.
    “It has been said that Daniel was both awed
and humbled, and that his brother Uzzah was gracious and glad for
him. But Gideon was jealous of the birthright blessing Daniel had
received. The day eventually came, after the death of Noah, when
the three sons and their families became tribes, separate one from
another. Wars between the Gideonites and the other tribes became
common because of the great jealousy Gideon had for Daniel.
    “Remember! Remember to always pray for them
that someday their jealousy and anger will be turned to love for
their brethren.”
     
    * * *
     
    Jonathan’s mind returned to the present, and
he again felt the pain of the previous day. He frowned as he
regarded the scepter. Much of the suffering in the world had been
caused by the desires of wicked men to go against the will of the
Creator as spoken by