Our journey back to Isaac was for the most part uneventful.  We did encounter a few would be highwaymen that can always be found.  Coming out of Assyria into the Canaan region, the transition to more city by city authority and family ruling classes can at times offer challenges.

By comparison to earlier years, especially the post Babel fiasco, times were relatively peaceful.  Keep in mind peace is a very relative thing.

Once we passed Damascus and crossed the Jordan river we were around more familiar faces and names we could call on if need be.  The path to Beersheba at that point was a stroll in our local neighborhood.

Arriving at home later in the afternoon I knew something was different.  I just did not know what had happened.  Jacob’s horse was gone which was unusual for this time of day.  Esau could be home or gone at any time.  If his horse was missing it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Talking With Isaac And Rebecca

I cleaned myself up and changed clothes before heading to Isaac’s house.  I did not have the opportunity to warn him of our arrival beforehand.  As I was walking to his home, I saw one of the servant girls rush inside after seeing me.  I am sure she was informing Rebecca I was here.

I reached the door and the same girl opened it for me telling me to go inside.  After walking in I saw Rebecca sitting with Isaac.

“Hello Isaac.  I am back home.”
“Clay!  I am glad you made it back safe.  We were beginning to worry about you.  How were your adventures?” He asked.

I informed him of the events that transpired and the arrival of new men that I brought with me.  Proper accommodations would be made for them.  Throughout the light conversation I could truly sense something was wrong.  The look on Rebecca’s face told the story.

“Is everything okay here Isaac?” I asked.
“Actually no.  I have a tale of a sneaky wife and a supplanting son to share with you.” He replied.

It was here that I learned of Rebecca prompting Jacob to fool Isaac into believing that he was Esau.  As a result Isaac had given Jacob a blessing which was intended to be for Esau.  The result was a serious rift in the family.

Esau had married the Hittite girls and then after Jacob went to Haran, Esau then married one of Ishmael’s daughters.  The whole episode was a mess and Esau still wanted to kill Jacob.  Through the time that Isaac was sharing the story, Rebecca sat in silence with her head hung low.

“Clay, it has now been a decade since Jacob left for Haran.  The affairs at home just are not the same as they were before.  I would like to ask you to do something for me.” Isaac stated.
“Sure, whatever you need.” I replied.

“Help get things in order here at home.  My eyes are too far gone now so that I cannot see.  Be my eyes here for a while.  Manage the servants to ensure things are in order.  Once this is done I would like for you to go check on Jacob.  In the meantime, see if you can talk to Esau.”  Isaac was clearly concerned.

“Absolutely will do.  I can get Nathan and Jarad started in the morning riding the land.  I will talk to your head men and ensure things are truly well.  Where is Esau at now?” I asked.

“More than likely he is around Mt Seir, perhaps Bozrah.  He is making a new home now.  He does not visit often as his anger runs deep.” Isaac concluded.

A meal was served and there it was that Rebecca finally joined in the conversation.  I believe she may have been concerned as to my thoughts surrounding the family events.  She remained reserved when normally she could be more outspoken.

“Did any interesting events take place while at the farm?” Rebecca asked.
“Not really.  I did hopefully form friendships in distant lands.” I replied.
“Are you planning on leaving?” She asked.
“No, oh no don’t take it like that. That is for far distant reasons in time.” I said.

“Ahh, so you are knowing of things that will come and preparing.” Isaac was quick to pick out.
“Somewhat, but many years from now I am confident.” I pointed out.
“So did the Lord reveal something to you then?” He asked.

The interesting thing about them knowing that I know things is the constant assumption that the Lord reveals anything to me.  Aside from my encounter with Enoch, the last encounter I had with the Lord resulted in me nearly being nuked by meteors from space at Sodom.

“No but I did have an encounter of some kind with a guy named Enoch.” I replied. Instantly everyone stopped eating, the room went silent, and they were staring at me.

“What?” I asked… “Who is he?” I was shocked that they were shocked. I had no clue who the guy was.

“You met Enoch?” Rebecca asked.
“Well, yes, but it wasn’t in this time I do not believe.” I replied.

After relaying the events which took place that day at the old Ark site they were still staring at me.  It was as if they couldn’t believe me.

“Why would God take you back in time to meet Enoch?” Rebecca asked.
“I have no idea.  I actually ask the same question because I am sitting here with you guys.” I said.

“Clay, forgive us, it is easy to forget your story and where you come from.  Even more so now for me, because I cannot always see your youthful state.  The only way I remembered it before was because you do not age.” Isaac pointed out.

His words were true.  The fact is I have lived the equivalent of many lifetimes in this older world than the one I come from.  I too can forget that this is not really my home.  It is easy to get caught up with what is happening in front of you and not see what was behind you.

After finishing the meal and conversation we all wished each other a good evening and I excused myself.  I went back to my quarters to find Nathan and Jarad already snoring.  I laid down and due to the fatigue of the day and I also drifted off to sleep quickly.

Getting A House In Order

The next morning, we all overslept.  It felt good I will admit.  After rising we skipped breakfast and went to our horses.  The task of catching the servants in their early morning routines began.

I went to the books seeing how things were being managed.  Generally speaking while standards had slipped some nothing was intentionally off or stolen.

Day two was much the same except I began evaluating gear, maintenance and other routine things.  There was a good deal of repair work to be done across the spectrum of farm life.  We realigned the manpower to help address some concerns and kept working.

I had hopes that at some point I would see Esau come riding home.  After a few weeks and talking to the people, I realized that was not going to happen.  It looked like I was going to have to take a little trip to visit him.

I made arrangements for Jarad and Nathan to manage things at home and keep the regimen going.  I informed Isaac that I was preparing to go find Esau.  This made him happy.

I decided to take a couple of the Shang men with me.  Yu and Xiang were the two who would go with me.  Both were not only formidable and deadly, but they also despised farm work.  A little adventure for them wouldn’t hurt them.

Journey To Mount Seir

The truth is that the region of Seir was no easy place to be.  It was mountainous.  To describe geographical markers from my time, it runs from the east side of the Valley of Arabah and from the Dead Sea south to the Gulf of Aqaba.

It was a lot of territory and not exactly a nice place to be a stranger.  Isaac had informed me that Esau was there not only making a home but also at war.  He was driving out the Horites who had been inhabiting the mountains before him.

Every step towards Bozrah was an invitation to a fight of some kind.  The land was going to be Esau’s and he was there to make sure that happened.

We rode light and fast to minimize exposure time traveling between Beersheba and Bozrah.  The trick to this was getting through Zoar which was unfortunately along the path to Bozrah at the tip southernmost end of the Dead Sea.

I remember Zoar quite intimately from my days with Abraham.  It was among the cities with Sodom and Gomorrah that were to be destroyed.  It was said that God spared Zoar because Lot had taken refuge there.

The point for us now was that the offspring of Lot ,and his eldest daughter named Moab, still inhabited the city.  This gave rise to the Moabites which largely controlled the city.  It was the southernmost extension of their power base.  Their lands went east and north from our present location until one reached their northern border with the Ammonites.

The Ammonites were the offspring of Lot and his younger daughter who gave him a son named Ben-ammi.  We were too far south to have any concern from these people.  Nevertheless it helps explain why when traveling north we would take the path on the West side of the Jordan through Damascus instead of the Eastern side.

It definitely is rough when families cannot get along.  This case was a bit to the extreme.  Not only did these people not care for Isaac’s people, but they did not like foreigners to begin with.  Here I am a white boy with two Shang Chinese men traveling through lands not ours for Isaac.  What could possibly go wrong?

The Outskirts Of Zoar

We reached the outskirts of Zoar at early evening.  As the bird fly’s the distance between here and Beersheba may have been forty or so miles.  By horse with the trails and camps along the way it was slower than it should have been, plus some added distance.

We decided to use the fading light to continue around the city and keep going.  I wasn’t planning on spending the night there.  We would make camp on the far side of the city.

The small encampments we encountered along the way, and outside the city, we could not avoid.  Our heads were wrapped in cloth as to help conceal ourselves. Still, it was occasional glance at our eyes that let us know we had been noticed.

Reaching the far side we continued to ride as quickly as we could.  Putting the outer camps behind us, it was then I heard Xiang behind me talking to Yu.  We were riding in a straight line and Yu was in the middle.  Yu relayed to me that Xiang had spotted a group of riders behind us.

The light was now fading quickly.  I told Yu to prepare night arrows.  The goal here was to provide an escape.  At last light when one could barely see Xiang and Yu would turn and fire two arrows into the group of men.

This would hopefully wound at least two.  The goal is to cause them to care for the wounded while we make a run for it to hide in the dark.  If successful we could hopefully survive the night without a fight.

The sun was set.  Twilight was falling.  I heard Yu whistle.  I told him to go.  Yu and Xiang turned and fired.  We could hear screams in the distance as we formed back into a straight line and rode at full speed to get away.

Curving around a bend and over a hill there were trees ahead.  It was too dark now to track sign on the ground, so we dismounted and began to make our way off the road.  We made camp with no fire that night as far away from the roadside as we could safely get.

It was a long night.  Never did we hear anyone approach.  The road remained quiet, that is until first light that morning.