Songs for Tamar

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

Jesse and Absalom returned to training under Benaiah two days later.  Tamar no longer followed them to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead she remained in her house and trained her new servant Rizpah on her new household duties.  Although Rizpah was still devastated over the loss of her own husband in war, she told Tamar that she was proud to be living in the household of Absalom. She had seen Absalom and Jesse in battle. As Tamar stood explaining to Rizpah her duties in Absalom's house,  she was startled and warmed to hear what her new servant had to say.

"Tamar, I understand that you are the daughter of King David?"  She bowed low and then commenced to tell her of the battle at Rabbah.  "My dear princess, so many times I saw Jesse and Absalom fighting off swarms of our soldiers.  Although my husband had battled the two,  he lost his life to a sling stone in his temple.  Whenever I saw Jesse and Absalom advancing toward our wall, I prayed that they would be killed.  After all, the Hebrews were killing my people."  She could see Tamar light up the more she talked about her brother and Jesse.

"But time after time, I watched our soldiers rushing Absalom and Jesse.  They nearly overwhelmed them again and again.  But it was as if an angel kept them safe from our sling stones and swords.  All through the battle, I stood passing arrows to archers, who took careful aim to cut them down.  So many times I saw arrows penetrate their clothes, but by a miracle never touched their bodies."  Rizpah spoke with respect.

"Jesse and Absalom could have left the battlefield one day when most of their army withdrew from the fight.  But when they saw our soldiers surrounding a big Hebrew soldier, they looked at each other but said nothing.  Meanwhile perhaps twenty of our soldiers gathered between them and the big Hebrew soldier in order to cut off any attempt by Absalom and Jesse to save him. They were unaware that Hebrew archers were taking aim at the soldiers when they charged.  I will never know how they missed killing both men as they charged.  But half of our soldiers fell to the arrows, and those two men ran through them as if they were not there.  The big man managed to continue his desperate struggle as Jesse and Absalom fought their way closer.  That was when one of my people told me the big man was called Uriah the Hittite.  As Absalom and Jesse fought their way closer to Uriah, I began to hope in my heart that these two brave young men would save him.  But Uriah lay dead with our fallen soldiers around him by the time they reached him."

"Then they both stood back-to-back next to Uriah's body. For now swarms of our soldiers surrounded them just as they had done Uriah. With Jesse still fighting, Absalom reached down and picked up Uriah.  By that time, other Hebrew soldiers summoned the courage to come to their aid. Then our captain of one hundred ordered his soldiers not to fall on them. Instead our own soldiers began to cheer their unusual bravery as they returned with Uriah's body to the Hebrew camp."

   "After I was taken captive, I learned that their names were Jesse or Absalom.  I was close enough to hear them talking about Tamar and how one feared he would never see her again. Someone called him by the name of Jesse. Oh, how I could see his love for Tamar in his eyes and voice. He then sat down and took out his harp and sang a love song about her."  Rizpah smiled and turned toward Tamar. "I was not made to lie with Hebrew men.  But one widow told me that Jesse went in to her but did not lie with her.  Instead he lay with his arm around her, calling her Tamar all night."  Rizpah couldn't help smiling when Tamar heard her last words.  "How fortunate I am to be in the house of Absalom and the King's servant Jesse." Still smiling at her, Rizpah asked, "You're Jesse's Tamar, aren't you?"

   "Oh, yes!" Tamar said, forgetting her pain for the first time since hearing about Jesse going into the camp follower. When Jesse came home with Absalom, she grabbed him up in her arms and kissed him full on the mouth and said for all to hear, "Oh, Jesse, I love you so much!" She asked the startled Jesse to forgive her.