Page 69 of The Heart’s Charge

“God don’t need fancy words,” Jonah encouraged, “just true ones.”

“But he don’t wanna hear nothin’ from me.”

Eliza’s heart cracked at the sad certainty in the boy’s tone. She started to rise, to go to him, but Jonah’s voice stopped her.

“Why d’ya think that?”

“’Cause I’m a whoreson.”

The ugly word stung Eliza like a hard slap to the face. Tears welled in her eyes. Cruel words from her own past clawed at her heart. Vile words hurled at her, at her mother. Words designed to degrade and humiliate. She clutched the chair arms in a bid to keep her anger and hurt under control.

Where had Abner heard such a horrible term? Certainly not around here. Had one of the railroad boys said something? No, more likely the word had followed him from the saloon brothel where Katherine had found him. Words like that tended to burrow deep into a person, leaving a stain that could be painted over but never removed.

Jonah didn’t react to the obscenity at all, however. Not a bit of outrage warbled his voice as he spoke in the same measured tone as always. “That ain’t what God sees, Abner. The Bible says he knew you even before you were in your mother’s womb. Knew you and had a purpose for you. That makes him your Father. You’re not the son of a whore, Abner. You’re the son of the King.”

Eliza’s grip on the chair’s armrests relaxed a fraction as Jonah’s calm assessment soaked into her spirit and lifted her head. She was also a daughter of the King. Her earthly father might not claim her as his own, but her heavenly Father did. That was where her identity came from. Her value. Her purpose. She prayed Abner would see that too. That he’d hear the truth in Jonah’s words and believe in his worth in God’s eyes.

Yet the longer the silence outside her window stretched, the more she feared he was losing the struggle.

“You ever heard ’bout a fella in the Bible named Jephthah?” Jonah said, finally breaking the silence.

“No. Who was he?”

“The son of a harlot.”

Eliza flinched at the bluntness. Jonah wasn’t one to mince words, but maybe that was exactly what Abner needed. Those who had reviled him certainly hadn’t sugarcoated their words.

“Did he do somethin’ bad?” Abner’s downcast voice sounded resigned, as if villainy were the only viable option for a man with such a beginning.

“He was a hero. One of the judges God chose to lead his people.”

“What?” The sharp disbelief in Abner’s voice contained a definite tinge of hope. Eliza smiled.

“Old Jep had it pretty rough growing up,” Jonah said, getting into his tale. “His daddy married a different woman and had sons with her. Those boys didn’t want Jep hanging around or getting any of their inheritance, since he was the son of a harlot. So they kicked him out of his father’s house. Jep had nowhere to go, so he left Gilead and went to a place called Tob—a land full of scoundrels and rough men. I imagine Jep must’ve been a pretty big fellow and a good fighter, ’cause those scoundrels made him their leader. Pretty soon, Jep was known far and wide as a mighty warrior.”

“But he was still a scoundrel.”

“Yep. Until the Lord got ahold of him. Remember what I said about God knowin’ us even before we were in our mamas’ wombs? And having a purpose for us? Well, God had a purpose for Jep too, even though he was a scoundrel.”

“What happened?”

“War happened.” Jonah’s voice tightened for a moment, but then he continued on as before. If Eliza hadn’t been listening so intently, she probably would have missed it, but there had definitely been something there. Something dark. Painful. Something that haunted this man of faith.

“Back home in Gilead, Jep’s brothers had grown up to take their place as the leaders of the land. Their land was under attack, and they were losing. That’s when they remembered their brother. The one they’d cast out. They needed a warrior, and Jep was the best one they knew. So they rode down to Tob and asked him to come fight for them.

“Well, Jep wasn’t exactly in the mood to help the brothers who’d been so mean to him, but when they promised to make him their leader, he agreed. Now Jep, even though he was a scoundrel, knew that any victory he won was only because of the Lord, not because of his own strength. So before he went to war, he prayed.”

“And God listened to him?”

“Yep. Not only did God listen, but he helped. First, he helped him defeat the Amorites, who didn’t want him crossin’ their lands. After that, Jep wrote a letter to the king of Ammon, warning him that God was on Israel’s side, hoping the king would back down. When that didn’t happen, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and helped him defeat the mighty Ammonite army. God made him a hero.” A quiet clap sounded, and Eliza pictured Jonah’s hand cupping Abner’s shoulder. “God can do the same for you.”

Boards creaked and bootheels tapped, signaling that Jonah had risen from the porch steps. “Now, why don’t you go on inside? I’ll take over the watch for the rest of the night.”

“Mr. Brooks?”

“Yeah?”

“If that Jep fella was such a scoundrel, why did God still help him?”