Free Signs and Wonders by Bernard Evslin Page B

promised that we will find water in the dry wells.”
    “Our bones will whiten on these sands before we find water.”
    “Then whiten they must. Shall not He who hung the sun and lit the stars and made man from a handful of dust—shall not He, the Almighty God, squeeze water from a rock if He wishes? Dispute me no more. Dig or die!”
    The men began working without hope. Their shovels struck rock. The sun beat down on their heads, and they grew very weary. But Isaac stood above them, arms raised to the sky, beard bristling, eyes glittering, and made them dig without rest.
    Deep in the hole, deeper than a well had ever been dug before, a man was digging. His shovel struck rock. And with his last strength, with all the rage of his thirst, and his hatred of Isaac, he struck again—and felt his burning head laved, as a fountain of living water sprang from the rock.
    The men raised a great shout of joy and scooped up water in their hands, drinking and splashing and laughing. They dug a trough, which filled with cool water, and the cattle rushed to drink.
    “Thank you, God,” said Isaac. And he named the place Beersheba, meaning “well of the vow.”
    The Lord was pleased with Isaac, and famine was lifted from the land. Rain fell, grass grew, the flocks fed. Isaac prospered in all things. His herds increased. And he became a man of greater wealth than his father, Abraham.
    The Hands of Esau
    Esau was forty years old and took two wives. Both of them were daughters of the Hittites, who followed other gods and other ways. And these ways offended Isaac and Rebecca, whose hearts were filled with bitterness.
    But Isaac still preferred the red-headed hunter, Esau, who brought him fresh meat for his table. Rebecca still loved best her other son, the quiet smooth Jacob. Now, Isaac had grown very old; he was feeble and almost blind. He called Esau to him and said: “I am grown old, Esau. The day of my death is coming swiftly, when I do not know. But before I die I want to eat once more of the savory venison you have always brought me—that I may feel nourished by your abundant love, O son of my heart. So take your bow and your quiver of sharp arrows and hunt. Kill me a deer and roast its haunch. I will feast upon it, and bless you.”
    Now, Rebecca had been on her way to Isaac’s tent and heard voices inside. She stopped at the portal and listened. When she heard what Isaac said, she turned and hurried away. She went swiftly to Jacob’s tent and said: “Your father has sent Esau into the forest to hunt. When he returns with a deer and roasts it, he will be blessed by your father and receive his inheritance.”
    “My father loves him best,” said Jacob.
    “I love you best,” said Rebecca.
    “I must be content with that,” said Jacob. “My father is the bestower of blessings and legacies.”
    “It must not be!”
    “It will be.”
    “No, I say! No! The inheritance must be yours. That hairy glutton despised his birthright and sold it to you for a meal. He cannot regain it now. And he shall not, if you obey me.”
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “Go among the flocks. Select two kids, the fattest and tenderest, and bring them to me. I shall roast them to a perfect savor, basting them in their own fat and spicing them with pepper and marjoram and wild thyme the way he loves. And you shall bring your father this meal and receive his blessing before Esau returns.”
    “He will wait for what Esau brings.”
    “He will get hungry, waiting, and the smell of the roasted meat will fuddle his wits. He will think you are Esau bringing venison.”
    “His sight fails, but not his touch. He will caress me, thinking me Esau. But I am smooth and Esau is hairy, and so my father will know what is being done. He will not bless but curse me.”
    “Let the curse fall on me,” said Rebecca. “Just do what I say and you will inherit.”
    Jacob went into a field where goats were cropping grass and caught two fat kids. He cut their