The Weaver and The Veil

By D.L. Morgan

Seth is among the Hebrew slaves Moses has delivered from Egypt. They have arrived at Sinai and Moses has ascended the mountain, but he has been gone an extraordinarily long time.

The ex-slaves find themselves in a strange and demanding environment not knowing what has happened to their leader. This situation has led to their creating an idol, a god to lead them.

As a whole, the Hebrew nation acknowledges G-d, although they are not exactly obedient to him. A Tabernacle must be built to teach the people about G-d and to establish a system of worship. But Seth is an unbeliever and often feels he is in the company of a superstitious people. So ordinarily, he would have nothing to do with such a plan. But as a skilled weaver, when he is asked to create a special veil to guard G-d’s Presence within the Tabernacle, he is left dismayed and conflicted.

The Weaver and the Veil takes us along on his journey toward a decision, highlights the meaning of the veil, and reveals its call on the lives of Seth’s descendants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781636307916

Book preview

Chapter 1

The What

People were running like stampeded cattle, a full-blown panic. Everywhere, a horrific bloody mob scene. Swordsmen were killing everyone within their reach as they raced from one end of the camp to the other. Before it was over, three thousand people were dead, and the wailing could be heard for miles.

Chapter 2

The Why

It happened too fast. Before it could register in Seth’s brain, swordsmen were storming through a running crowd, their heavy footfalls kicking up clouds of grit, their weapons slashing the air, and bodies were piling up. He grabbed his wife by the arm and pushed her down behind one of the large boulders in the goat pen. Marta’s eyes were large, and she started to scream. Seth slammed his hand over her mouth.

Quiet, Marta. Do not let them see us.

They pushed their backs up against the rock and held their breath.

After a few minutes, Seth took a chance to peer over the boulder. It looked like they could get past the assailants as they seemed to be running straight ahead.

Run, Marta!

He pulled her up and shoved her along in front of him. They darted around bodies, trying not to stumble, not able to comprehend the massacre around them. Men and women alike were staggering and falling. The smell of blood was everywhere; screaming pierced the sky.

They headed for their tent. Marta could not seem to make her feet run as fast as Seth was pushing, causing her to fall on top of a body that was no longer moving. Her breakfast began to come up, and she thought she was going to pass out, but Seth scooped her up and onto her feet.

Let’s go, Marta! Go! Run!

About to collapse, they finally reached the tent, clinging to each other, gasping for breath, and covered with sandy grit. Marta was shaking as she began jerking around in circles, looking for a place to hide.

What’s going on, Seth? Are they coming in here?

She was frantic, flailing her arms around, making it difficult for Seth to get his arms around her to quiet her down.

Earlier in the day, Seth and Marta had been out to the goat pens. He was checking for any signs of trouble; she was milking. Their tasks were a welcome break from the morning’s argument about jewelry she contributed to Aaron’s gold calf, an offering which had been a source of discord between them for the past few days. Moses had led the Hebrew tribes out of Egypt and then eventually here to Mt. Sinai. Soon after their arrival, he went up the mountain to meet with G-d. But he was gone for a long time, and many wondered if he would return. Word had gone around that Aaron would fashion a calf of gold to take Moses’s place as their leader. Some of the women went from tent to tent collecting what gold they could, and Marta handed hers over.

But with chores to do, they had put their squabbling on hold. Being out among the animals was calming for them both. Marta began singing to her goats, and Seth could not help but smile; she was good with the flocks. His young wife was gentle and soft spoken most of the time, but she could raise her volume in a hurry if she was confronted about something she was determined to do. And she was determined to give a large amount of gold toward the idol. Yet now, as she sang, he could almost forgive her foolishness.

And then they were running for their lives.

Seth’s father, Benjamin, reached their tent a few minutes after they did. He ran in and grabbed them both into his big arms, breathing prayers of gratitude.

Thank G-d you are all right! He released his children and began to pace around the tent. Such a horrible nightmare.

They could hear the crying and anguish continuing, although the chaos seemed to be moving to more distant corners of the encampment.

Ab! Seth was trembling as he reached out to grasp his father’s arm. Is Em all right? What in the world is going on? What is this? He could not seem to focus his thoughts.

So shocking was Benjamin’s response that Seth faltered.

It was at the command of Moses.

Chapter 3

Thus the Story Begins

What? Seth was not believing what he was hearing. He stumbled backward, nearly falling to the floor. What are you saying?

He could not have heard that right; Moses could not have commanded such a vile thing as this.

Benjamin sat. Seth and Marta each took a seat. They just stared at each other, no one speaking for several minutes. As they listened, the sounds of bedlam continued to subside, and it appeared now that no one would be coming for them. Marta got up and managed to prepare tea into which she poured heavy doses of honey, hoping it might calm them all down.

Finally, Benjamin spoke, Moses was up on that mountain too long, and people were very nervous about what had happened to him. Not to mention being worried for what would happen to them stuck out here in this desert with no direction, not knowing where to turn. Some began a campaign to get Aaron to make a god who could lead them.

Seth’s father was a tall man with eyes that not only reflected his wisdom, but also had a way of seeing through to his son’s heart. And he knew this was going to be a very difficult conversation.

I know, Ab. Marta offered her own gold jewelry against my explicit wishes. We do not need any god, gold or otherwise, to go before us.

Still chaffing over his wife’s behavior, Seth gave her a harsh glance.

Marta held her breath, hoping that subject would not come up again. She knew her husband had no patience with any sort of religion, yet in her heart, she felt a need to somehow connect with something spiritual. But things were awful enough at this moment without rehashing her participation in the making of the idol. While she had witnessed brutality aplenty in her young years, nothing had been as excruciating as what she had seen and heard today. It left her totally shaken, unable to really even think. It took every ounce of her strength to not become completely hysterical.

Well, son, be that as it may, Aaron did make a golden calf, and when Moses finally returned from the mountain and was confronted with all that drunken foolishness, he was furious. He slammed down the stone tablets which G-d had given him and called Aaron to come forward, demanding to know what was going on.

Marta was there when that happened.

Marta had raced home to tell Seth what she had seen. Moses being so angry had badly frightened her, then she arrived home only to find Seth also very angry. He castigated her for her involvement in the first place, adding that it had caused them to fall behind on their duties at the animal pens. Now she was listening carefully to her father-in-law, heart still pounding, waiting to hear if he too would condemn her.

Aaron’s explanation was that he had gathered the gold, threw it in the fire, and the calf appeared.

Benjamin was watching his son closely, predicting in his own mind