Gods And Kings Read Online Free

gradually that he hadn’t noticed the downward slope, hadn’t realized how far he had separated himself from God until it was too late. He had lived to please himself instead of God all those years, giving little more than lip service to His holy laws. And now when Zechariah cried out to God, his numberless sins swallowed up his prayers before they reached heaven. His guilt filled the yawning gulf between him and God.
    “I’m so sorry… .” he moaned.
    “Shh … shh …” the little merchant soothed. “Never mind, now. You’re almost home, my friend. See? There’s the Temple.”
    “Leave me here, Hilkiah. I know the way.”
    The merchant clicked his tongue. “How can I leave you here? You’ll never make it home by yourself. Come on.”
    They passed through the Temple gate and crossed the broad, deserted courtyard. Yahweh’s Temple loomed ahead of them, the white stones bright in the moonlight. Zechariah halted again as another memory came to him with startling force. King Uzziah had wanted to go inside that Temple, into the holy place, where only the descendants of Levi were permitted to go. “The kings of other nations don’t need priests to offer their sacrifices,” Uzziah had insisted. “Why should I need them?”
    Zechariah closed his eyes, remembering Uzziah’s arrogance, remembering with shame his own failure to act. He should have known what to tell the king. Zechariah was his trusted advisor, a teacher of God’s holy law. But he didn’t have an answer for Uzziah, didn’t try to stop him. He had allowed the king to take a censer in his hand and walk into the Holy Place where he was forbidden to go.The priests had been the ones who had confronted the king, shouting at him as they ordered him to leave the holy sanctuary. In his pride, King Uzziah refused. But Yahweh saw him—and His judgment had fallen swiftly. There in the Holy Place, Yahweh cursed King Uzziah with leprosy. He fled from the Temple, an outcast for the rest of his life.
    “It was my fault that Uzziah died a leper,” Zechariah murmured.“I should have told him not to go inside. I should have stopped him… .”
    “That was many, many years ago,” Hilkiah said. “Every man in Judah has heard of the terrible fate of King Uzziah—may he rest in peace.”
    He nudged Zechariah until he started walking again, steering him in a wide arc around the outer perimeter of the Temple courtyard, away from the holy sanctuary. At last they reached the cluster of buildings on the north side that housed the storerooms, meeting rooms, and the living quarters that had been set aside for the Levites on duty.It was where Zechariah lived, even when he wasn’t on duty. He remembered living in a house with his wife and family after King Uzziah died—after he’d moved out of the palace. But right now he couldn’t recall what had become of his home or why he no longer lived there.
    Hilkiah led him to his room and helped him remove his outer robe, then sat him down on his bed to untie his sandals. He gave Zechariah’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Get some sleep, my friend.”
    “King Uzziah is dead,” Zechariah mumbled.
    “Yes. Yes, he is.”
    Zechariah remembered his funeral, his dishonorable burial outside the tomb of the kings. “His son Jotham is dead, too, and now his grandson, Ahaz, is king. He’s married to my daughter. Did you know that?”
    Hilkiah nodded. “Yes, you have told me that many times before.Well, good night, my friend. I must go home now.”
    Zechariah clutched Hilkiah’s arm to stop him. “Your children, Hilkiah! Where are your children?”
    “My son Eliakim is at home,” he replied, gently freeing himself from Zechariah’s grip. “He’s probably sound asleep already.”
    Zechariah had to make his friend understand, to stop him from making the same mistakes he had made. “You must diligently teach God’s laws to your son—and to his children after him,” he pleaded. “The Torah commands it. I failed to teach