Highlander - Donna Lettow [31]
Despite Avram’s urging his father to hurry, the meeting had begun by the time they arrived. Eleazar, Masada’s commander, stood at the top of the stairs to the administration building, addressing his people. Eleazar was a tall, muscular man with flowing hair and beard who carried himself like a soldier, and in Avram’s eyes he could do no wrong. As he came within earshot, Avram was astounded to hear Judah, Deborah’s brother and one of Eleazar’s most trusted captains, openly confronting his commander.
“You are a coward! In your fear, you have lost your manhood, and I will follow you no longer.” The crowd of men shouted in response, many trying to shout him down, others sounding their allegiance with Judah.
In the crowd, Avram found Simeon, another of his unit, and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s happened?”
Simeon turned to him, his face a mix of fear and confusion. “Eleazar says that we’ve no hope against them. That we should burn the complex and kill ourselves before daybreak.”
“No.” Avram was astounded. He was ready to fight, eager to take as many Roman devils with him as he could before he died. “This can’t be.”
On the stairs, Eleazar bore the shouts and jeers from the crowd with great patience for some time. Then he spoke again. “We cannot win a battle of weapons against the force arrayed against us. The Empire has us outnumbered twenty to one. To believe otherwise would be madness. On this, we are in agreement. Correct?”
Begrudgingly, the crowd acknowledged their agreement. After watching the massive military force of the Roman Empire marshal beneath them, only a foolish few harbored belief any longer that the meager forces of Masada could somehow defeat Rome and liberate their homeland.
Eleazar continued, “Then if we cannot save our lives, I say we save our honor. And the honor of our people.”
Judah climbed the stairs, challenging. “There is no honor in suicide. You want honor for the people of Israel? I say we fight like men and we die like men. Let our deeds be remembered.”
”That’s fine for you, Judah. You fight like a man and preserve your honor. But what about our wives? Our daughters? Look on them.” Although it was forbidden, more than a few of the women of Masada had gathered in the shadows of the buildings surrounding the meeting place to hear the decision of their men. It was toward them Eleazar addressed his words. “What of their honor? Look them in their sweet and trusting eyes and tell them you wish to see them captive on a Roman’s couch. Made whore to the Romans’ lust, slaves to their perverted appetites.” Some of the women present began to cry. Some fled away into the shadows back to their homes, a few braving the wrath of the assembly to run to their husbands, clutching them for comfort. Eleazar took little note of them. “And what about your sons, Judah. Dragged in chains to heathen lands, raised as heathens to service heathens. Is that how the People of God are to be remembered?”
Judah was obviously affected by his leader’s words. Head low, eyes downcast, he started back down the stairs to join the throng at Eleazar’s feet. But Eleazar stopped him, holding out his hands. “Put away your pride, Judah, and join me in one final victory over the Romans.” Judah hesitated, the pain of his decision on his agonized face, then grabbed Eleazar’s hands like a lifeline. The commander pulled Judah to him in a close embrace, then, with his captain by his side, turned to his people. “We will save the honor of our fathers and their fathers before them. Our deeds here today will he remembered!”
The meeting ran late into the night, and by the time it had ended, the men of Masada were united in their resolve to snatch the prize of victory from the hands of the Romans. Even Avram, who once dreamed of confronting the Romans face-to-face, conceded theirs would be a victory in the eyes of God and of history. Each man would be responsible for easing his own family’s passing. The ten unit captains would then help the men join their families. As the meeting ended, Eleazar, Judah, and the other captains