Furious with the rabbi, and slightly impatient even with the Lord God, Saul Sr. said in his heart, "Yea, what is this child to me now? It is neither son nor daughter." And it grieved him. For it had been Saul Abbaskoptzi's intent for his son to become ordained as a holy priest, thereby to serve in Jerusalem, in the new Temple of Yahveh.

Herod the Great, a.k.a. Herod the Baby-Killer, King of Jewry, had begun building a grand new Temple in 20 BCE, after first ripping down the primitive stone hut that Zerubbabel had built for Yahveh in 516 BCE. The new Temple would not be finished yet for many years (and it, too, would one day be destroyed, clearing the way for a big, inconvenient mosque with a golden dome); but it was the dream of many Bible-believing Jewish Pharisees in those days, throughout the Roman Empire, for their eldest sons to become priests in the new Temple of Yahveh in Jerusalem.

(Historical digression. Many Jewish priests and rabbis, students of the Old Testament, prophesied that the Messiah would come three years after the new Temple was finished – and they were right on the money with that prediction: Herod's son finished the structure in 25 CE, just three years before Jesus began his ministry. But when Jesus showed up in Jerusalem, right on schedule, the Jews whacked him [John 2:20]. That's the way it's been, ever since Abraham. Every time I think I have the Jews figured out, they go and do something weird, like wear side-curls or crucify their designated Messiah.)

Saul Abbaskoptzi had dedicated his son to become a priest while the babe was still in his mother's womb. That dream was now (and I quote) "shot to hell" – or so it appeared to Saul Sr. from his strictly orthodox point of view. The man did not see the hand of God moving in mysterious ways. For whenever Saul Sr. changed the baby's swaddling cloths, what he saw there did not look like divine providence, it looked like a frigging disaster.

Saul's mother loved the boy anyway. Baby Saul was the apple of her eye. Saul's mother cherished the words of the prophet Isaiah, and pondered them in her heart:

Never let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs who observe My Sabbaths, and who choose the things that please Me, and who keep My covenant: "I shall give, even to them – in My own house and within My walls – a place and a name just as good, or better than, "son" or "daughter": I will give them an everlasting name – which is something that shall not be cut off.’ (Isaiah 56:3-5)

She remembered also that the Old Testament hero, Daniel, was a eunuch, and yet had a successful career in politics, serving in various positions under King Nebuchadnezzar, and under his son, Prince Mardug-Nadin-Ahi (a.k.a. Prince Belshazzar), keeper of the royal eunuchs. She remembered also that Daniel, even though he never married, was not without love: for "God brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the eunuchs" (Dan. 1:9).

That was a verse of Scripture that Saul's father – although he was a man of God and a Pharisee – would not even read. For Saul Sr. mistrusted what was meant by the phrase, "favor and tender love." Saul's mom took that passage to mean that Prince Belshazzar treated Daniel well, in recompense for his loyal service to the royal family. Saul's dad took it to mean that Daniel while in King Nebuchadnezzar's court probably got buggered every time he turned around or bent over. And that thought grieved him.

– L.

(To be continued!)