Elam was almost out of the house, heading to work at a vineyard when he realized he did not have his sling bag with him. Not today, he thought to himself. He scurried back into the house, looking all around the for the bag. As he searched through the house, he saw his mother praying in her bedroom. He was sure she was praying for her brother. His uncle was in trouble with the synagogue leaders. He had barely seen his uncle in the last decade but he came back to town recently and had barely spent a week in town before he was arrested. He wished he had time to comfort his mom, but he was running late.

After a few minutes of searching, he found his sling bag under a dirty robe in the bedroom and hurriedly left the house. He technically was not late, but he and his best friend, Nadab had an agreed meeting time and spot to ensure that they would be assigned to work in the same winepress. Otherwise, he would be stuck with random co-workers and today was going to be one of such days. 

As he approached the vineyard, he saw two of his co-workers, Zeb and Uzziel, a few steps ahead of him. He rolled his eyes because those were the particular pair he usually avoided working with. Zeb and Uzziel were the bullies everyone avoided at work. They tried to intimidate others by bragging about being friends with zealots and claiming to have insider information about both the Jewish caucus and the Roman government. Well, he was stuck with them today. 

When he got to the vineyard, while waiting to be assigned a winepress, Elam spotted Nadab at an adjacent winepress to his left, treading grapes already. They made eye contact and gave each other a knowing nod, that meant they would meet up after work. When Elam was assigned to a winepress with Zeb, Uzziel and two other young men, he decided to face his reality for the day and tried to get into the conversation that had started. 

Uzziel was talking to Zeb, “Trust me, they have it all planned out. He thinks he is safe with the commander but by this time tomorrow, he will be a dead man”. 

Dead man? Elam got scared for a second but shrug it off. Discussions about violence were not surprising, coming from those two. Uzziel continued, “Do you know he used to be one of them?” 

“Of course! That is what is aggravating the Pharisees.”, Zeb replied. “After hearing about his atrocities all over, he dared to come back to town and thought he would get away with it?”

Wait, with the commander…former Phariseeback to town? Those words described only one person- his uncle! The realization made Elam lose his balance but Zeb quickly caught him before he fell into the grapes. “Easy, boy! If you fall, we will tread on you as well”. Zeb said laughing. 

Elam became worried that he might have looked suspicious but then, no one knew he was related to his uncle. His heart was beating fast but he quickly composed himself. Elam decided to turn away from them, so it looked like he was not interested in the conversation. Uzziel was replying a question Elam must have missed, “No, they will ask the commander to send him to the leaders for ‘further questioning’, but it’s going to be a ‘sudden attack’ on their way there.” They both burst into laughter. 

Zeb, looking impressed, added “You know, as much as I hate the Romans, this is one of the reasons I’m happy they don’t know our laws. Once you tell them about making a judgment according to our laws, they easily agree or hands off. I am sure the plan will work”. 

Uzziel retorted, “It has to work! Do you think we are joking here? My brother and his friends have taken an oath. They are not going to eat till it’s done. So the earlier, the better!” 

Elam pieced the information together- an ambush had been planned for his uncle, under the guise of sending him to the Jewish council for questioning. His uncle’s life was at stake! The rest of the day’s work was a blur as he thought about what to do with the information he just heard. At the end of the day’s work, after receiving his wage, Elam met up with Nadab but told him that he had to make a detour and promised to tell him all about it later. 

When he was alone, Elam turned around and made his way to the Roman barracks. He became nervous as he approached the barracks. The Roman barracks was not a place people randomly dared to visit, talk less of a young Jewish boy like him. Regardless, his uncle’s life was more important than his nervousness. So he said a quick prayer on his way. When he got to the gate of the barracks, he nervously told the soldiers he had a message for his uncle, Paul. To his surprise, they did not give him any trouble. He was led to the jail cell where his uncle was and when he saw his uncle, his heart broke. A bloodshot left eye, whip marks and unkempt hair, yet when Paul saw Elam, his face brightened up. Paul came forward as close as he could get to Elam but they were separated by the cell bars and an additional barricade. Elam greeted Paul quickly and whispered everything he had heard about the plan to have him killed. When Elam was done, Paul put his hands through the cell bars to touch him and thanked him profusely. Paul then called one of the soldiers and said “This young man has a message for the commander”. Elam did not expect that, but his uncle gave him an assuring look to go with the soldier.

When Elam was brought to the commander, the commander pulled him aside for a private conversation, where he nervously retold everything he had just told his uncle. The commander’s reaction made him realize that the plan had apparently been set in motion. This was urgent! A few minutes later, the commander thanked him and asked two soldiers to lead him out of the barracks. Elam did not know what transpired after, but he went back home and kept it to himself as he was instructed.

The next day, Elam arrived at his and Nadab’s meeting spot early enough to tread grapes together in the same winepress, while Uzziel and Zeb were in an adjacent wine press. Uzziel and Zeb both looked very angry. They were speaking aggressively but Elam could not hear what they were saying. Instead he smiled to himself, knowing what they were likely discussing. They must have heard that Paul, the ex-Pharisee turned Christian had somehow escaped the ambush and had been transferred to Caesarea overnight.

Nadab confused by Elam’s smile asked, “What’s going on?”

Elam still smiling, replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it on our way home”. 

Reference- Acts 23: 11-35

Posted by:Oyin Akinpelu

8 replies on “The Little Things

  1. When Rep Gabrielle Gifford was shot in the head in Nevada her PA used his hand to block the hole created by the bullet in her head. The block prevented her brain from swelling and helped her to survive. President Obama called him an American hero. He thought otherwise because he’d only done a little thing. The President reminded him that the hero is one who does little things under extraordinary circumstances. Elam’s lil effort in not keeping quiet about his uncle kept Paul alive. Else the New Testament would have consisted only of the Gospels and maybe followed by Revelations. May God always send those who will do or say those lil things on our behalf behind closed doors.

  2. You are inspired, dear Oyin. You have a way of elaborating without tampering with the message.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *