Home Intruders
“I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. – Josh 2:9 (NLT)
The solid rhythm of the marching army drew her eyes towards the window once more.
Today was different. The air had an electricity to it that was almost tangible. Her skin tingled with dread and anticipation.
It had been some time since the men had visited her in the black of night, right here in her home, her place of business. A career of shame and loneliness. At first she thought they were like all the other men who knocked on her door and employed her services for an allotted space of time. But the second she saw them, she knew they were different. That night, she gave those two men something she never thought she would be able to give anyone…
Trust.
She had told them secrets. Voiced to them the whispers of her cities fears and terror. She had hidden them in her attic when the Kings guards forced their way in, demanding to know whom she had with her and what she'd told them. She'd lied for them, protected them, and risked her life hoping that somehow things would change because of it.
The bellowing trumpets interrupted her thoughts, her breath lodged deep in her throat and for a second refused to break free from her body. Any moment now, it had to happen.
They had been waiting for seven days.
It had been seven days since the army first marched toward the city. Seven days since she’d gathered her entire family in her home – oh what a mission that was – to ensure their safety. Her father, frail with sickness and full of pride, at first refused to come. For many reasons. Reasons she had learned to live with, while she continued to pay for his care with the profits of her ‘business.’ Finally, the panic within the city, and the Kings orders to shut the gates melted her father's resolve, and he allowed her brothers and sisters to carry him into her home.
For seven days, no one spoke of her business. The knocks came and voices dripping with lust called to her through the door. But she turned them all away one by one. And her family did not say a single word.
After all, it was because of her frequent interactions with strangers and travellers, here in her home, during ‘business’ transactions that brought news of the mighty army beyond the river. An army guided by a strange and powerful God.
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