The Shepherd Chapter 1

Chapter 1

          “Wow! It sure is cold tonight!” thought Sammie. The wind whistled in the treetops as he pulled his blanket a little closer. He looked up at the black sky that twinkled with stars everywhere. He thought, “Without clouds it’s going to be a cold night.”

          Sammie was a shepherd. And although it was harsh tonight, he was still exactly where he wanted to be. Cooped up in a market stall selling wares was no place for him. “Give me the open sky and a warm campfire and I’ll take the outdoors anytime.”

          The sheep were bedded down; the shepherds were fed; things were beginning to quiet down. Baruk had cooked the evening meal that night. Sammie liked when Baruk cooked. He always put on a good feed. Well pretty good - never quite as good as Sammie’s mother - but almost as good. But Sammie’s mother was miles away in Bethany, so Baruk’s cooking had come in a good second.

          Sammie picked up a twig and peeled back the bark revealing a slender point. He began to pick slivers of meat from between his teeth. The other shepherds were in various stages of relaxation. Each had picked out a spot for the evening. Hameed was stoking the fire as always. The campfire was never big enough for Hameed. Sammie recalled Hameed’s story of the time when the bear had lumbered into camp and tore everything up looking for something to eat. Fortunately, the bear had found their food basket ignoring the panicked shepherds. While he tore into the basket, everyone made a hasty retreat. Hameed swore that he would never be caught off guard like that again. “Always keep a good fire burning,” was Hameed’s motto. Hameed had a willing convert in Nathan, the other young boy in the group. Nathan was about a year younger than Sammie and had joined the shepherds not long after Sammie had. Nathan’s father had been killed in a skirmish with the Romans. Without his dad, Nathan’s family was on the verge of starvation. Mr. Isaac had made room for Nathan in the little shepherd’s band and had even given his mother a small advancement. Nathan was a tireless worker and fiercely loyal to Mr. Isaac. Nathan often put Sammie to shame working circles around him. Nathan eagerly helped Hameed gather wood for the campfire.

          Sammie heard old Benjamin humming to himself over by the water jars. He was terribly off-key, but old Benjamin didn’t care. He wasn’t humming for anyone’s ears but himself. And he sounded just fine, thank you very much. Old Benjamin usually kept to himself, which was just as well. He was rude and coarse and a loner. Everyone gave Old Benjamin extra space, and he liked it that way. Only the dogs liked old Benjamin. And he had a way with the dogs. Old Benjamin seemed to get along with the dogs better than the humans.

          Baruk was discussing the day’s events with Mr. Isaac. At supper, they usually made plans for the next day. When everyone awoke in the morning, the day was already planned. Mr. Isaac was the last one asleep and the first one to awake in the morning. Sammie was an early riser, but he seldom beat Mr. Isaac. Mr. Isaac was a good man. He was stern and kept everyone working hard, but he was fair and understanding. Whenever Sammie was having a bad day, Mr. Isaac seemed to know it and assigned him an easy task. But Mr. Isaac expected everyone to pull their weight. Usually, once a month or so, he got into it with Old Benjamin. Benjamin wasn’t too clever and not very diplomatic. He didn’t seem to know how to ask for favors. He just seemed to expect them. Old Benjamin would get crankier and crankier until Mr. Isaac had had his fill. And, talk about a fight?! They never came to blows, but were just short of it! When Isaac and Benjamin tangled, everyone else got out of the way and found something else to do. Mr. Isaac and Old Benjamin would go toe to toe and could be heard all the way up and down the valley. After they had had their say, they stomped away, both in a foul mood. But the next day everything was just as if nothing had happened. They were the best of friends - at least for another month.

          Mr. Isaac had a good relationship with the priests in Jerusalem. It was his job to provide lambs for the sacrifices at the Temple. Mr. Isaac would have liked to have been closer to Jerusalem, but the hills of Judea near Bethlehem were as close as he could be and still find pasture for his sheep. And the sheep had to be kept in tip-top shape in order to produce perfect lambs. Think of it! Perfect lambs. That was required by the Old Testament law, and that was required by the priests in Jerusalem. If a lamb had any blemish whatsoever, it could not be used as a sacrifice. It was used for supper by Baruk. Sammie and Nathan didn’t like to dress a lamb for supper, but that was just the way things were. And it didn’t help that the little lambs were so trusting. The lamb would follow Sammie out of camp to the rocky area nearby and just stand there as Sammie slit its throat. It never fought back, and it never struggled. It just laid down and died. And that’s exactly what happened at the Temple. Lamb after lamb was slain day after day. Sammie’s father had told him that because there was never an end to man’s sin, there would never be an end to the sacrifices in Jerusalem. That had always puzzled Sammie, but he knew that his father was right. For Sammi knew his own heart. Sammie knew of the evil thoughts that lurked in his heart. Sammi knew that he needed a sacrifice.

          As the wind whistled through the trees and the trees waved in the cold night breeze, Sammi was uneasy. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. And the sheep seemed restless too. It was as if they knew that something was going on. But what? What was it?