Day of War by Cliff Graham Page B

thrashing about his palace, screaming and shouting at his heir, accusing him of aiding their enemy and denying himself his own throne. Jonathan did his best to calm him but was frequently rewarded with a hurled jar.
    Now, sitting near Jonathan himself, Eliam hoped to learn more about what troubled the king. Instead, he found that he was listening to old war stories. The man with Jonathan was Gareb. He had arrived just before they set out from Saul’s court, saying that he’dheard Prince Jonathan was going to battle and that he’d be a lesion on a leper if he would stay behind pushing a plow when he did.
    Eliam had been watching them laugh together for hours, like brothers. He continued mending the tunic and tried not to show that he was listening.
    “That was Michmash, not Jabesh-gilead,” said Jonathan.
    “No, it was Jabesh-gilead. I remember the fool who thought he could make the shot with the arrow at four hundred paces.”
    “I forgot about that. Then which one was Michmash?”
    “As you killed that man with the rock and he screamed for his mother.” Both men erupted in laughter once more. Eliam was wondering what was so funny about that when Jamaliel walked up. He was the chief cook and oversaw the foreign laborers in the camp.
    “What are they talking about?” Jamaliel whispered.
    “Battles. Michmash. What really happened there?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I know we won, but I always thought Jonathan was behind the front, overseeing the equipment and cleaning up.”
    Jamaliel put down the bowl of stew he had been carrying and peered at the men around the campfire. “Did you hear that from the king?”
    Eliam nodded. “Jonathan has never spoken of it. I know about most of his other campaigns, but that one seems to be forbidden.”
    Jamaliel sat down next to Eliam, rubbing his legs as if they were tired or sore. “The first time Jonathan fought was against the Ammonites in Jabesh-gilead, in the lands of Gad. He was very brave. Saul knew that he needed a standing army, so he rewarded Jonathan with the leadership of a division.”
    “How many men were in the army?” asked Eliam.
    “About three thousand. Jonathan led a division of a thousand in a campaign against Geba and Gibeah, held by the Philistines. This didn’t sit well with the Philistine rulers, so they ordered chariotsand men to establish a garrison at Michmash after traveling up the Beth-horon pass.”
    “Why there? There’s nothing out there.”
    “It’s where our people have always mustered for battle. The Philistines knew if they could establish a stronghold there, it would demoralize our troops. It’s also right near the center of the lands of Benjamin—”
    “—where Saul is from,” finished Eliam.
    Jamaliel nodded. “It was embarrassing for Saul to have his hated enemy camped out in his homeland, openly challenging his authority. He began to lose many of his conscripts to desertion. No man wanted to die in a hopeless cause. I think he only had about six hundred men left in that force when he took his position opposite the Philistine fortress at Michmash.
    “Jonathan had secured Gibea with the regulars, so that was where Saul decided to encamp. The Philistines have good spies. One of them must have reported the fighting between Saul and Samuel.”
    Eliam nodded. He had seen the old prophet and the king bickering many times. Samuel had even told Saul that he would lose his throne one day because he had angered Yahweh. Saul had in fact angered the Lord on many occasions, but the one most frequently mentioned was when he failed to destroy the Amalekites after being commanded to do so.
    Jamaliel dropped some herbs into the bowl, then continued. “Knowing there was trouble in our leadership, the Philistines decided to press the advantage and sent several invasion forces into the land. This left Michmash with only a handful of defenders, but Saul was afraid to attack it even then. He could only move his army a little closer, to a