The Two Walls

I walked in through the city gate after working hard in the groves all day. I was weary, but content. The olives were nearly ready, and soon I would start the harvest. The rain had come at the right times. There was peace and few bandits. I looked forward to tending our small garden and then sitting in the twilight with my family.

When I reached home, I checked on my children and our garden. The children were fine, but the plants were all trampled down. I yelled for my wife, and she tried to calm me, explaining that the neighbor children had been playing without supervision and had run through our garden. All that contentment was trampled with my plants. I did my best to stake up what I could. I picked damaged vegetables that were still unripe and hoped we could get some good from them. As I worked, I decided what I would do to keep this from ever happening again.

At bedtime, I lay down and pretended to sleep. When I heard everyone had the breath of sleep, I quietly got up and went to the city wall. I climbed up, took an armful of stones and carried them home to my garden. I laid them out for the beginning of a little barrier to protect my garden. Surely, the absence of a few rocks from the wall wouldn’t be noticed and would hurt no one…A week later, I did the same. Another week or so later, I went out once again. Soon, my garden was protected.
I thought no one noticed. At least no one said anything, but I noticed other little walls slowly growing as our city’s wall gradually grew shorter. I didn’t care. My garden was safe. Besides, our city hadn’t been attacked in generations.

The next year at harvest time, I was again coming home from working in the olive groves feeling contented. There were rumors of war, but one always heard all sorts of rumors. The harvest was going to be good, and my garden would this year provide for our needs. As I walked along the path, others ran past me, yelling, “Run! Run for your life! They’re coming!” Though I didn’t know who was coming, I, ran. And though I ran fast, the horses carrying the men with swords and spears ran much faster. I stumbled and fell senseless and the riders passed me by, thinking me dead like many others all around me.

When I came to myself, it was almost dark. I saw the city gates closed, but it was clear that wall was no longer a barrier to anyone determined to enter. I, too, was determined, as were the warriors who had gone over the wall before me. Stealthily, I went from building to building. The soldiers had finished conquering and now were now giving themselves to the rewards of that conquest. Now and again, I heard a woman or child cry out in anguish.

Finally, I reached our home. The door was askew. No one was there, but there was blood on the threshold. I heard drunken voices talking and laughing, coming in my direction, and hid in what had been our home. As I cowered in the corner, the sound of one of the neighbor children screaming, first in terror, then in pain, filled the night. He was one who had thoughtlessly played in my garden. When his cries stopped, I knew he would never play thoughtlessly again.

I remembered my anger. I remembered just wanting to keep my garden safe. And I remembered stealing the stones that were for my community’s protection and taking them for myself, and then others doing the same. I remembered my wife's face and my children's' laughter. I knew I would remember always because memories were all that remained--except my garden wall.

Haggai 1:9 "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.