The Woman Who Was Never Satisfied

a beautiful middle eastern woman

By Carole Towriss –

Acsah’s heart sank as the land around her become more arid with every step her donkey took. Springs arose farther and father apart, each one smaller than the last. She missed the gentle bubbling of the one outside the walls of Hebron that had soothed her too-often frayed nerves.

The donkey’s jerking motion wasn’t helping the ache building in her head. She tried to focus on something more pleasant, like the man her father had chosen to be her husband. Othniel. When she’d first heard the news, she was furious. Not that she hadn’t had her chances. She’d turned down eight young men—eight!—who had asked for permission to marry her. The last time she thought her father’s head would explode. But she wanted a hero like her father, and not one of those boys could come close to Caleb, the man who had conquered the giants of Hebron.

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So, weary of her antics, he had offered her as a reward to the man who could conquer nearby Debir, one of the last cities still occupied by the Canaanites.

And her cousin gathered forces and took the city. The last time she’d seen him he’d been a scrawny, short, beardless little boy, only a few years older than she was. When Caleb told her the name of the champion, she nearly lost the food in her stomach.

When Othniel came riding into Hebron on a Canaanite iron chariot, she nearly lost her breath.

He was tall, bronzed, broad-shouldered. His smile made her legs wobble. When he alighted and bent to kiss her cheek, his breath warm on her skin, all rational thought left her. The wedding was set for two months later.

Caleb presented them Debir as a wedding gift.

And now she was riding to her new home with Othniel, loaded donkeys, his parents, her parents and servants surrounding her. Her stomach clenched again as she scanned the landscape. How were they to make a life out of this—this desert?

Ahead, a walled city materialized out of the dust. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she kicked the donkey’s side and hurried to catch up to her groom. This was her only chance. “Othniel, my husband, how will we live here? There is no water. How will we grow our food? We’ll starve!”

“My love, when the rains come, there will be plenty of water. You’ll see. You need only be patient. Do you think your father would give us worthless land?” He gestured toward Debir’s walls. “Why would there be a city here if people couldn’t survive?” He flashed her one of his heart-stopping smiles.

She wasn’t convinced. She glanced again at the sand, void of any life. She grabbed his arm. “No! You must ask him for land with water. He must give us springs! We passed some very near here just a ways back!”

“No, Acsah. I will not. We’ll be fine.” He set his jaw. He’d made up his mind.

Her breath came faster. Panic set in. She jumped off her donkey and ran to her father, throwing herself on the ground before him, face in the dust, holding back tears. In a moment she felt his hands on hers.

“What is it, Acsah? What do you want?”

She raised her face to meet his, recognizing the wary look in his eyes.

“Father, since you have given me land in this … desert … as our gift, give me a further blessing. Give me springs of water, so we may grow our crops.”

Caleb’s eyes darted around. How could he refuse her in front of everyone? She looked over her shoulder at Othniel. The muscle in his jaw flexed. His arms were folded over his substantial chest. His eyes narrowed.

The story of Acsah is told in both Joshua 15 and Judges 1. Here was a woman who was not satisfied with anything life gave her. She had a good husband, land, probably servants, but she wanted more. Judges 1 tells us she first requested Othniel ask her father, but in the end she does it herself. Othniel surely had good reason. It’s doubtful they truly needed the springs to survive. After all, a city had thrived in that spot for centuries. Cisterns were already built. And I seriously doubt Caleb would give his only daughter a plot of land on which she would never be able to grow food.

The Hebrew words Acsah uses are the command form—an unheard of way for a child to address her father! She literally commanded him to give her the springs.

It seems Acsah did not trust her father. After a lifetime of his providing for her—a home, food, safety from the enemy, and a faithful, valiant husband, she did not trust him for a basic of life. (She didn’t know it then, but Othniel was to become Israel’s first judge, the only one of whom Scripture has nothing bad to report.)

And yet Scripture tells us Caleb gave her not only the “lower” springs but the “upper” springs as well. Why? Because no matter how we behave, whether we trust him or not, our heavenly Father always wants to give us blessings. He loves it when we come to Him with our needs, and He longs for fellowships with us.

God loves us with an everlasting love. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. (James 1:17) And if we can learn to trust in Him, our lives will be all the sweeter.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

 

Carole Towriss grew up in beautiful San Diego, California. Now she and her husband live just north of Washington, DC. In between making tacos and telling her four children to pick up their shoes for the third time, she reads, watches chick flicks, and waits for summertime to return to the beach. You can find out more about her Biblical fiction novels at http://www.caroletowriss.com/.

 

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The Woman Who Was Never Satisfied
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