The last watering-hole of the journey, Beorn shuffled over to his two Babylonian friends, and although one was twenty years younger than he and the other twenty years older, he strangely felt he was addressing two brothers.
“I never dreamed I would hear myself say this,” Beorn said, and almost expected his own voice to sound awkward, but was surprised at how smoothly it came out, “but would you read this with me?”
Beorn had read from the sacred writings himself before. Most watering holes he did. He had spoken of them before. Many times. But Hathach and Melzar…would not laugh at anything in those writings, they would not treat them lightly; and something in Beorn told him Yahweh Himself said yes, let them have a look. This was the first time he had asked anyone to read along with him from the sacred writings.
“The prophets;’ sacred writings your mother let you keep? Oh, I would be so honored, Beorn! But I am just a eunuch. Would it not offend the great prophets to have a eunuch listen to their words?”
“And I, Beorn—I am a foreigner. I respect, have high regard for this Yahweh God, but would there not be great wrath if I, a pagan, tried to read the writings of chosen holy men of your faith?
Instead of having the writings belittled, Melzar and Hathach had both expressed high regard for the words of Yahweh! Beorn felt a lump of joy building in his chest and throat, saying, “Something tells me Yahweh Who sees has heard and is not angry but pleased. Come--you must read with me today:”
Beorn explained to Melzar Isa. 56:3 said the eunuch didn’t have to think of himself as a dry tree; it also said to Hathach: even a foreigner could join himself to the LORD—they could together go in to Yahweh’s open arms to serve Him; He has promised to receive them and make His house a joyful house of prayer for all peoples! All this was clearly laid out in Isaiah 56:3-7, the portion Beorn was to read that day.
They once more read Isa. 56:3-7 then the verse following it:
“The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, yet will I gather others to him, beside those who are gathered to him.” (Isa.56:8)
There, the three men bowed their heads, humbly joining their minds and wills, asking Yahweh to accept their all and to show them the rest of the way…to their Hope, His promised Messiah. They did not understand it all, could only follow Him Who did. Would He not prove Himself to them?
Leaving that watering hole, Hathach asked Beorn for a special favor. He wanted to read that portion of the sacred writings they had read together—about the foreigner that joins himself to the Lord and about God gathering: this Yahweh God accepted him! He didn’t reject him as pagan but chose him…as Hathach himself had picked up those shining rocks off the desert floor!
By the time the wise men made camp that night, he had made up his mind: whatever gold those stones were worth, he would give no less to the One sent by this Yahweh God Who freely accepted this foreigner Hathach.
(The rocks Hathach found are called “Al-Qaysumah Diamonds”, of course not the same as diamonds mined from the center of the earth, actually semi-precious stones similar to Amethysts and Smokey Topaz, Citrine. But they’re still valuable so would be worth plenty to merchants passing through. Hathach’s research had told him the stones were on the desert floor, but his study did not tell him Al Qaysumah, where the quartz are most plentiful, is on the other side of the desert. It seems Yahweh stepped in and had sandstorms carry them his way.)
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