Unashamed by Francine Rivers Page B

wait.”

    “Why?”

    “I can’t answer, Brother. I’m in the darkness as much as you.”

    “Maybe they’ve changed their minds now that they’ve seen the height and breadth of the city walls,” Mizraim said from across the room, where he had been dozing against some cushions.

    “They will do to Jericho what they’ve done to the other Amorite cities,” Rahab said, “but the men who came here will rescue us.”

    “I’m hungry,” Bosem whined.

    Smiling, Rahab stepped down from the block. “I’ll make bread.” She added small pieces of wood to the hot coals in the brazier and put the sheet of metal over the top. She and her sisters had ground flour that morning. She poured some into a bowl, added water and seasoning, and worked the dough.

    “I hope it will be as you say, Rahab,” Mizraim said. “I hope we will be saved.”

    “God will hold them to their oath.” She flattened a piece of dough and turned it round and round until it was thin. She laid it carefully on the hot metal. The dough bubbled and steamed. Using a pronged stick, she watched it briefly and then turned it over carefully. Her house filled with the aroma of roasting grain.

    Awbeeb squatted beside her, watching her cook.

    “The bread will be ready shortly, little one. Why don’t you ask your father to pour wine?”

    By the time the first loaf of flat bread was made, she had prepared another to cook. She placed the first on a reed mat to cool and began a third. Her father broke off a piece and passed it to his eldest son. The men ate first, then the children. Rahab broke a round of flat bread into quarters for her sisters. There was enough dough left in the clay bowl to make one small portion of unleavened bread for herself.

    Mizraim replenished his father’s cup of wine. “Maybe they’ll simply wait until we run out of food and water.”

    “That will take months!” Jobab said. “They’re probably looking for a way to break through the gate or set fire to it.”

    “They won’t be able to get close. The king has archers on the wall.”

    “You still don’t understand,” Rahab said. “Do you think God will waste the lives of those who honor Him? The God of Israel isn’t like the gods of Canaan. He protects His people. He doesn’t demand their blood. You waste your time worrying.”

    Mizraim ignored her. “When the battle begins, there will be confusion.”

    “Confusion within the city, Brother,” she said hotly. “There’s no confusion out there. They are calm. God is making them ready for battle.”

    “Why must you go on and on about their god?” her mother cried out.

    “There must be something we can do,” Jobab said. “Perhaps we should try to get out of the city now, before the battle begins.”

    “We will wait, as we were told to do,” Rahab said, frustrated. “If we try to protect ourselves by our own means, we’re doomed right along with everyone else in this city. No. We will trust in the men of God. They will see the red cord and remember their oath. Inside this house, we are safe.” She broke off a piece of her bread. Dipping it into the wine, she ate it.

    Still, her brothers grumbled and whined and worried. Why did men have such difficulty with inaction? She tried to be patient. She tried to be compassionate. Her father and brothers had been cooped up in this house for days. They were beginning to wear on one another. The women were no better. All this talk of war disturbed them. As much as Rahab loved her relatives, they were a trial to her. No matter how many times she reminded them of the promise and encouraged them, they kept worrying over the future. They were like dogs chewing a bone.

    “Why don’t we eat our bread and go to sleep?” she suggested. “Let tomorrow take care of itself.” She needed some peace and quiet.

    When everyone was settled for the night, Rahab went back to the window. With a sigh of contentment, she propped her chin in her palms and watched the