The Temple Gates

Chapter 4

The Trial

"I'm pleased that you've come." The boyish voice came from the one who sat on the Golden Throne. His feet hung in midair, and swung forward and backward like two out of synch pendulums. His purple sandals matched his royal robe and turban.

The Throne Room measured somewhat larger than any other room in the Palace, and perhaps that of any other building in Jerusalem. The enclosure had window-openings to the outside on the two ends and on one side. These allowed for the only exterior light, and, during the summer, permitted air to pass through the room to cool it. Shutters were provided, and these shut out cool air and rain during the winter. With the shutters closed, the room would be lit by olive-oil lamps set on various stands around the room and in niches recessed in the walls.

Since the room had the primary purpose of the assembly of people before the King and in adding dignity to the corporate head of the Judean nation., there were no seats. Visitors, dignitaries from other countries, council members, criminals--all had to stand to the side of or in front of the Throne. There seldom gathered a large number of people in the room at any given time.

The men who had gathered this day included the leaders of every important branch of government: The Prime Minister, who also acted as the royal Cupbearer (he tasted the wine before it was served to the King), the High Priest, the Commanding General, Shaphan, the second priest and palace scribe, Joah, the Recorder, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and several of the elders of the city and nation.

On this day, following the day of coronation, the council met together.

"We need to organize a search for the two men who assassinated my father," Josiah ordered.

"How do you know it was two men?" The General sounded skeptical.

"There were two wounds in my father's body, and the guards found two knives. That's why I believe there are two men." Josiah seemed more mature than his years would suggest.

"That sounds reasonable," put in the Prime Minister. "We should send the soldiers right now before the assassins get away."

"Agreed," seconded the General as he looked to Josiah for permission to proceed. At the King's nod, the General left the room. He returned a few minutes later, a smile on his face. "My men are on the case," he announced.

"Who do you think could have done it?" asked Shaphan.

"I can only guess and this point. Perhaps I can appoint the Chief Steward to look into it."

"Good idea," piped in the Prime Minister. "He knows the palace inside and out. He ought to be able to find out who did it."

After the King had gone the councilmen talked about him.

"Such wisdom in an eight-year-old!" commented Hilkiah, the High Priest.

"Perhaps he'll do just fine as King," nodded Shaphan.

"It looks like it," returned the Prime Minister. "But we've got to watch this boy, or he might mess up the national situation."

"What do you mean?" queried Joah, the Recorder.

"He's a faithful believer in Yahweh, is he not?"

"Yes," returned Shaphan. "What does that have to do with it?"

The Prime Minister put his finger to his lips, and then spoke, carefully. "If he gets ideas about Yahweh being the only God, and tries to destroy the shrines and high places, he could spell big trouble for the national economy, and for the stability of the country."

"Yes, he could," returned Joah. "But remember how the economy grew in the days of Hezekiah? My grandfather Joah, who was also court Recorder, told me that in spite of the wars with Assyria, Judah flourished. If King Josiah moves in that direction," Joah went on, "I don't think it would shake the economy all that much."

"Well," scowled the Prime Minister, "we'll see."

When Josiah left the throne room he entered the family's personal rooms. The royal residence ranked as the largest house in Jerusalem, though it would be considered small by many people of other city-states, like Nineveh and Babylon.

The entrance led into a small garden. Just inside the front door, to the left, off the hall, visitors could be greeted in the main sitting room. Unless they had been invited to spend the night, visitors generally went no further.

Behind the main sitting room lay the guest quarters, shut off from the royal residence by a double door. Down the hallway beyond the doors, lay several suites, with two to three rooms each, one for the King, one for the Queen, and one for the Queen Mother. Other rooms would be used by lesser wives, and others, as space allowed.

A larger room sat in the center of the bed-chambers, which doubled as a dining room and a gathering place for the family. Behind this room they tucked the courtyard where the kitchen, with a wood-burning pit over which had been laid an iron grating. Two tables stood nearby on which the cooks placed dishes and pans, and preparations they were making.

Behind the courtyard was an area used for the butchering of animals for use in food. With no refrigeration, people had learned that the best way to keep meat fresh lay in keeping it on the hoof until the meat was needed.

At the corner of the Palace, not obtainable from the royal residence, stood a tower, the basement of which housed a jail. The courtyard of the palace had also been divided, and prisoners not thought to be a threat to others, were kept in barracks-like buildings there.

As Josiah left the Throne Room, His mother stood just inside the door.

"You were marvelous, Josiah." She enclosed him with her arms, and squeezed him tightly. "Somehow I thought of you as a mere boy, fearful of facing the dignitaries of the nation."

"I am King," Josiah returned. "I must do the work of a King." He paused and looked into his mother's eyes. "Of course, I shall need much counsel from you and others." Josiah kicked off his sandals, as he preferred to go barefoot. "What should we do when they find the ones who killed Father?"

"They should receive a fair trial." Jedidah looked through her window at people entering the temple through the Main gate. "And I believe we'll know them well when they are brought for trial."

"Didn't Father hold court down by the Eastern gate?"

"Yes, that's the proper place to do it. That way everyone will know the outcome of the trial." Mother commented. "But many Kings have held court before the Throne."

"Should I act as the judge, or should I defer to an older man of superior wisdom?"

"That will be up to you," answered Jedidah. "You are King."

"They've got them, they've got them." The shout rose from people on every side as the soldiers entered the Sheep Gate leading the accused. The men had their arms bound behind their backs, yet walked without urging from the soldiers. It was as though they expected this to happen. They held their heads high and looked into the eyes of the people in the crowd. They didn't cower like most accused of this kind of crime.

"We should thank them rather than hang them," whispered the Prime Minister. "If they hadn't done it, we probably would have."

"That may be true," put in Joah, "but the less we talk about it, the better."

"Say." The Prime Minister spoke again. "Isn't that the Chief Steward and his Assistant? Perhaps they knew of our intent. Perhaps they did it to save our hides."

"That's an interesting thought, but we dare not make it public."

"You're right, of course." The Prime Minister turned his conversation to another subject. "Who do you think will judge the case?"

There was no answer as the elders moved in the direction of the East gate.

"How can we try the case?" asked Josiah. "There are no witnesses. It took place at night, and the guard must have been sleeping. (A guard who slept on duty could be executed, but this seemed to have been overlooked in this case) He doesn't remember anyone entering or leaving the room."

"I think, perhaps," suggested Jedidah, "you'd better let one of the more experienced men judge this case. It will show wisdom on your part, and you can learn from watching the trial."

"Well spoken," returned Josiah with a new air of authority.

The two moved toward the East gate. People parted to let them through, smiling as they passed. Arriving at the place, Josiah sat down on the judgment seat.

"This case is difficult and requires one of superior wisdom and experience," Josiah spoke in a commanding, though immature voice. "The one I've chosen," he indicated the man who stood beside him, "has a long and distinguished record of defending truth, and has shown fairness to all concerned." He stood to his feet. "I recommend that the condemned men be handed over to the jailers while the Judge and his assistants have time to examine the case."

"Good thinking," whispered a woman to her companion. "Most new Kings would take such a trial themselves to help people see what wise and fair men they are."

"But Josiah has demonstrated his wisdom by stepping aside," returned the friend. "I like him."

"They don't have any witnesses to the murder of Amon," Joah pointed out. They can't condemn the men if there were no witnesses."

"Technically, you're right," admitted the Prime Minister. "But there are many, what would you call it, circumstantial evidences that point to them as the culprits. It all depends upon what the Judge decides."

"And King Josiah surely chose the right Judge," put in Shaphan. "He's the most righteous Judge in all Judah."

The trial moved forward with, as expected, no actual witnesses to point the finger to the accused. But there were many things that indicated that the Chief Steward and his Assistant had been the assassins. The two lived in the Palace, which gave them access to the royal bed chamber. The guard admitted he had been asleep for a period of time during the night. The murder weapons had come from the Palace kitchen. One cook recalls hearing sounds of arguing coming from the Chief Steward's office the day before. The Chief Steward and his Assistant were absent from their duties the following morning. The two had been found hiding in a tomb several miles down the Kidron Valley.

The judge took time for each piece of evidence to sink in, and to those who were near the front of the crowd, it was obvious that he was putting it all together in his head. He asked many questions of the ones producing the various parts of the evidence.

When all the information regarding the assassination had be presented, and the Judge had asked his last question, the crowd grew so quiet you could hear a needle drop on the cobblestone pavement.

The Judge took a long time considering the evidence. Occasionally he would ask about an item that witnesses had presented, and nodded his head as much as to say, "yes, I remember that now."

At last the Judge stood, his decision made.

"I find that the accused men are guilty. Every evidence points to them. Chief Steward, Assistant Chief Steward, did you or did you not kill King Amon?

The two men stood before the judge, heads down in an attitude of hopelessness.

"Yes, your honor," admitted the Chief Steward. "We are the ones who killed King Amon. We are guilty."

A sudden drawing in of breath throughout the assembly showed surprise at the judgment, even though everyone seemed to have been expecting that the culprits were guilty. A collective exhale sounded more like a sigh of relief.

Later in the day, outside the East Gate, two bodies could be seen hanging by the neck on a large olive tree. The Chief Steward and his Assistant had sealed their "sacrifice" in their own blood.

But no one ever knew that the King's council had discussed doing this themselves, or that the assassins had given their lives to spare the lives of the leaders of the country.