The Gate of Heaven Read Online Free PDF

Jacob persisted.
    Abraham shook his head. “I don’t think that’s for us to know right now. In due time God will reveal what they mean.” He leaned against the tree and slipped the medallion back under his garment, his eyes unfocused, staring off into the distance. “Someday God will send One who will make all things right.”
    A silence fell over the group as they waited for him to say more. Then Abraham slapped his thigh and stood up. “Well, that’s enough for today. Let’s go home and have some of that stew your mother’s been preparing!”

Chapter 3
    â€œI wonder how many times we’ve moved,” Jacob grunted, lowering the heavy basket he was carrying and setting it on the floor of the tent. Noticing how tired his mother looked, the young man went to her and put his arms around her. “Why don’t you sit down and let me move the rest of the things in, Mother?”
    Rebekah shook her head, but Jacob insisted until she relented, allowing him to help her sit down on a pile of sleeping mats. She smiled gratefully and shook her head. “I wish everyone were as thoughtful as you, son.”
    Jacob shrugged his shoulders, then began to unload the baskets he had brought in. He too was exhausted by the move, made more so because of his disappointment at having to leave Beersheba. He had loved it there and had many fond memories, having grown to manhood in the pleasant hills and valleys. But with the drought encroaching on their pasturelands, the family had had no choice but to travel deeper into Philistine territory, where the grass was greener and the water more abundant.
    Jacob removed items and set them in piles around the tent, then stopped and held something in his hands. “Why, this goes in my tent.”
    â€œWhat is it, son?”
    â€œOh, nothing.”
    Rebekah stretched up to see what Jacob was holding. “Why, it’s your old game of Hounds and Jackals. Here you are thirty years old and still hanging on to your toys!”
    Jacob ran his hand over the beautifully fashioned board. “I could never get rid of this. It reminds me of Grandfather. I remember we played a game the day before he died.”
    Rebekah’s eyes grew tender. She rose and put her arm around Jacob. “You still miss him a great deal, don’t you?”
    â€œYes, I do. I’ve never known anybody like him.”
    Jacob grew quiet, remembering his grandfather’s final days and the time they had spent together. Jacob had stayed by the dying man’s bedside, hanging on every precious word Abraham spoke to him.
    He smiled as he thought of the medallion his grandfather had given him the day before he died. He could feel its weight on his chest as it hung under his tunic. He fingered it under the coarse cloth but did not pull it out, for Abraham had made him promise that he would keep the gift a secret. It was to be between him and God. Jacob did not understand the meaning of the medallion—the carved lion with the jeweled eyes on one side and the lamb on the other—but he knew he would always cherish it. That his grandfather had chosen to give it to him, the younger brother, was a mystery. It was hard for him to understand, but it made him proud. In the distant future, God would reveal the person whom Jacob should pass the medallion on to.
    â€œWe all miss him.” Rebekah’s words brought Jacob back to the present, and he looked into her eyes, seeing the tenderness and love there that she had for him.
    Rebekah had been watching Jacob while he remained deep in thought, his hand over his heart, his eyes watering with the memories. She kept her arm around him, proudly noting her son’s attractive features. He was of medium height and build, still a head shorter than his brother but well-knit and strong. His brown hair had a hint of reddish gold in it that caught the sun at times, and his beard was neatly trimmed along a strong jawline. He