JOSHUA

Chapter 6 of the book-“NON-CONTRADICTORY CONTRADICTIONS”

VI. Joshua

1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in.”

6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the people, “Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.”

8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the people, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night there.

12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rehab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.”

20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it-men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho-and she lives among the Israelites to this day. Joshua: Chapter 6:1-25 (The Holy Bible, New International Version)

1

He was very nervous. It was the day of his job interview. He really needed this job, not only for the money, but more importantly, because it would also give him back his dignity. He left Long Road and headed towards Clapham High Street in Clapham, South London, England. The restaurant was about a mile away along Clapham High Street. He was walking fast although there was plenty of time for him to get to the restaurant before the 11:00 a.m. appointment. He felt uncomfortable in his borrowed jacket and tie. He had been unsure of what to wear but in the end he thought he could not go wrong with a jacket and tie. The jacket was one size too big. It belonged to his uncle who had been instrumental in arranging this job interview.

The person he was going to see was the owner of the restaurant. The name of the restaurant was Lord Westbury but many in the West Indian community called it “The Second Chance.” He had no idea why it had been nicknamed “The Second Chance.” At this thought he kicked himself for not having asked his uncle about this. He was sure his uncle would have known why the Lord Westbury was also known as “The Second Chance.” He hoped the issue would not come up during the interview and spoil his chances of getting the job.

He was thirty minutes early but he walked into the restaurant anyway. The restaurant had been open for hours as it served all meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was not only popular with people of West Indian origin as it was also heavily patronised by the local working-class white community. As he walked in, he could see that there were still a lot of customers who seemed to be finishing their breakfast or just enjoying a cup of coffee. He approached the counter which was near the entrance and said, “My name is Dwayne Smith and I am here to see Mr. Rawlings.”

“Oh yes Mr. Smith, the Boss mentioned that you would be coming to see him. Aren’t you rather early? Mr. Rawlings said to expect you at 11 o’clock?” the man behind the counter said.

“Yes, I know I am early. I will just go outside and walk around a bit and come back just before eleven,” Dwayne said.

“You don’t have to do that. My name is Sam. Come and sit down at this table over here and somebody will bring you a cup of coffee or tea to drink while you wait.”

Dwayne hardly had enough money for the tube ride back home and was sure not going to spend any of it on a cup of coffee, much as he might have liked to have one. He quickly said, “Oh no thanks. I mean, eh I will sit down but I won’t have anything to drink, thank you.” Sam seemed to sense what was going on as he knew why Dwayne had come to see Mr. Rawlings. Sam said, “I insist. I won’t take ‘No’ for an answer. Sit down and have a cup of tea, it’s on the house.”

Dwayne gratefully sat down and said, “Thank you I would not mind having a cup of coffee.”

2

As he sipped his coffee, Dwayne thought of what had transpired in the preceding five months since his release from jail. He had been imprisoned for ten years in his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica. He had been jailed for culpable homicide for killing a man during a pub-fight in which he had lost all control. He had not meant to kill the man, of course, although before the fight started he had uttered the words, “I am going to kill you!” He had only meant to teach the bully a lesson but as it happened Dwayne had completely lost control and beat up the guy so much he died on arrival at the hospital he was taken to after the fight. It did not also help that some people in the bar had heard Dwayne shout, “I am going to kill you.” So he ended up getting ten years in jail for his loss of temper.

It still pained him to think of the way his mother had screamed in anguish when the judge announced the ten-year sentence that day in court. In a way, she had suffered more than he did when he was in jail. She must have been thinking about what she was going to do with him when he came out of jail because no sooner had he been released than did she start talking about him having to go visit her brother who lived in London.

A month after his release from jail, Dwayne flew to London to join his uncle. He had considered the possibility that he might be refused entry into Britain because of his “criminal record” but the immigration officials at Heathrow Airport just stamped his passport and let him in. He had now been in England for the past four months and he was desperate for something useful to do. He hoped he was going to get this job. His uncle had made it plain that no promises had been made. Robert Rawlings, the owner of the Lord Westbury, had only agreed to talk to Dwayne and consider then, if there was anything that he could offer him or refer him somewhere else.

3

At exactly 11 o’clock, Sam came to tell him that Mr. Rawlings was now ready to see Dwayne in his office which was located on a floor on top of the restaurant. Dwayne followed a waiter who had been instructed to escort him to the boss’s office. They went up two flights of stairs and approached a door which his escort opened after a cursory knock and telling Dwayne to go in on his own. Dwayne had not known what to expect but he was surprised to see a man, who was evidently Bob Rawlings, wheel himself from behind a huge desk to greet him as he entered the office. Rawlings was in a wheel chair.

He was smiling as he stretched his big right hand to shake Dwayne’s. “Welcome to the Lord Westbury, Dwayne,” said Rawlings as he shook Dwayne’s hand. Dwayne was not surprised to feel that the handshake was very firm as he had noticed that Rawlings had big broad shoulders and his upper body must have become stronger and stronger as he wheeled himself around in the non-motorised wheel chair. The enthusiastic greeting, instead of making Dwayne feel at ease, only served to make him more nervous. Rawlings must have felt Dwayne’s sweat in the palm of his hand because before Dwayne could offer an appropriate response to the warm greeting, the big man said, “Relax, Dwayne. Didn’t your uncle tell you that this was not a formal interview. I was curious to see the man who has spent the last ten years in a Jamaican jail.”

“Thank you Mr. Rawlings, sir. It was very nice of you to agree to see me,” Dwayne said.

“Not at all Dwayne. Your uncle and I go back a long way. Just tell me what you think you can do in the restaurant. Can you wait on tables?”

“Yes, I can. I was actually working as a waiter when ‘it happened.’ I mean, yes sir, I am sure I can,” stuttered Dwayne. Rawlings did not have to ask what Dwayne meant by when ‘it happened’ because it was obvious he meant the fight that led to all his troubles.

“Well, if I offer you a job here I hope you don’t end up beating up my customers,” Rawlings chuckled. “You need to control that temper of yours. Can you start tomorrow?”

“Can I start tomorrow? Yes, of course, I can start tomorrow. Oh thank you, thank you Mr. Rawlings. You will not regret this,” Dwayne was overwhelmed. He was getting the job. Just like that! He had not expected it to be so easy. He started wondering what Rawlings had meant by saying that he and his uncle went back a long way. Evidently, they must be in very good books for Rawlings to so casually hand him over a life line just like that.

4

That evening, when his uncle came home, Dwayne excitedly told him of his good fortune. He also remembered to ask him why the restaurant was nicknamed “The Second Chance.” His uncle did not seem surprised that he had got the job but he refused to tell him why the restaurant was nicknamed “The Second Chance.” He only said it would not take Dwayne long to work it out for himself.

Sure enough, towards the end of the day, the very next day, his first day at the job, he discovered why the Lord Westbury was also called “The Second Chance.” He discovered that almost the entire workforce at the Lord Westbury was made up of ex-convicts! Rawlings, himself, had spent some time in jail although he had not committed any crime. He had been wrongly accused and imprisoned for three years before Dwayne’s uncle, who was a lawyer, took up his case and managed to get him out. That had been fifteen years ago. Dwayne’s uncle had also managed to get the Government to pay damages to Rawlings when he sued for wrongful imprisonment. Rawlings had used part of the money that he had been paid by the state to buy the Lord Westbury. It had been a huge sum of money because Rawlings had grossly suffered whilst in prison, including losing his legs from being beaten up by a gang of prison bullies. Dwayne’s uncle managed to convince the Compensation Court that the state should take the full blame for not only his imprisonment but also the loss of his client’s legs.

Rawlings had managed to turn the Lord Westbury into the “top restaurant” it now was in South London. Some attributed his success to his policy of not hesitating to employ ex-convicts who have been recommended by reputable people. A lot had actually been recommended by Dwayne’s uncle. These people seemed to be so grateful to be given a second chance that they worked hard and tried all they could to please their boss, Bob Rawlings. This was a fact that was well-known within the South London West Indian community, hence the name “The Second Chance” for the Lord Westbury.

 The next chapter-Judges- will be published not later than Wednesday, 22 December 2010

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