Stone

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11

Samuel bent and picked up the stone, he looked at it through sad eyes uncertainty of what would happen next. All around him his friends and neighbours did the same, the act of moving around caused dust to rise. The sun became increasingly hazy as the particles rose into the air. He had chosen the largest stone he could find, for he would be the first one to aim and throw. He prayed that the missile would be accurate, and the resulting blow would knock the woman unconscious before the volley that was to come. He never seen, let alone participated in a stoning before, although he had heard about them from the exotic travellers passing through. But now he faced the awful reality that he was the reason for the coming execution

It was twenty years since they had crossed into the promised land. Moses was dead and the people were now led by Joshua. Even though Moses was no longer physically with them, his impact was still huge. He had motivated, organised and taught them how to be God's chosen people, and because of that they had to live a different way. Samuel had grown to love God and he found his life fulfilled in his prayers, his sacrifices, and in his obedience to the words of Moses. He did not always understand the reasons for the Lord's instructions, but deep inside him he knew that by being obedient to the God of heaven he would know peace

He looked at the woman standing by the city gate, just a few yards from him. The Levitical priests were tying her to a post to ensure that she could not get away. Her brown eyes and complexion seemed darker than usual, all hope had gone, there was no future to look forward to. Everything in him wanted to run to her, untie her arms and legs and flee away with her, but he knew that he could not. He knew the words by heart, 'Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death.' But his heart went out to Sarah his wife and the mother of his children, to the woman who had shared his life for the past two decades. 

Samuel had known that something was wrong only a few months after their wedding. She had started to ask him questions about Moses, about the law, about God and how he could be known. They started off as honest questions, she was seeking real answers to deep questions of faith, but she had a stubborn streak and she refused to accept his answers. He told her to listen to the priests and to follow the law, he encouraged her to pray and ask God to make things clear to her. As the months turned into years, Sarah stopped asking her questions. She internalised the conflict and spoke no more of her doubts, she focused on her children and life continued in a normal way

The priest stood before the crowd and motioned for them to listen. He read out the charge against her, that she had encouraged her husband to forsake the God of Israel and worship other gods. This most serious of crimes had only one penalty, death by stoning. The evil was to be purged from amongst the people, God wanted his people to be holy. Samuel looked at the stone in his hand and then back to the priest. Here he was in front of his wife, ready to lead the people in their violent act. The charge against her was accurate, she was guilty, and she had to die. But he was torn, his love for Sarah was strong, it had kept them going through times of difficulty and of great pain. And yet, he loved God and believed that Moses words had to be kept. How could he satisfy his love? His heart was divided, but he knew what he must do

As their marriage continued, they seemed happy until the dreadful day came. Their youngest daughter, who was only five at the time, woke with a splitting headache feeling drowsy. The pain got worse and it seemed as if she was not going to last the day. The parents were frantic, they called the priest to come and pray and tell them what could be done. He was a kind man and spent the whole day with them. At nightfall he said they would simply have to wait and see if the child recovered. The following day, after much more prayer, the child died. The burial and the period of mourning were excruciating, and gradually Sarah lost all interest in anything or anyone 

That was five years ago, and Samuel knew that the current situation was rooted in that period. It was only two weeks ago that he had found Sarah breaking the law of Moses. He had been away on a trip and had got back late at night, the day before he was due. As he entered the door, he could see her on her knees looking out of the window at the full moon. It hung in a cloudless sky and he could hear her invoking the spirit of the moon as she gazed up. Samuel was horrified at what he saw and shouted at her to stop. She turned around and looked at her devastated husband and without thinking she asked him to kneel with her

So much had happened in the days that followed, Samuel in his devotion to God had told the priests what had happened. And after a careful investigation they had pronounced the death penalty. Sarah begged for her life but to no avail, but there was no one to plead her cause

It was time, Samuel lifted the stone and flung it at his wife, praying for accuracy. But this was yet another prayer that had fallen on deaf ears. The stone hit the pole where his wife was tied and fell harmlessly to the ground. He could not allow Sarah to face a slow and painful death, he loved her too much for that. He ran to her, picked up the large stone and smashed it down on her head. She blacked out and Samuel stepped back to allow the other stones to do their job

The evil was purged from amongst them