Before you read, this chapter, “Sleeper” was not meant to be what it became. It was supposed to be a fun street racing story about a guy who modified the most boring car and kicked butt in illegal street races. It only became a story about abuse, specifically in the IFB; but not the typical abuse story where the doctrines of the IFB are ridiculed, deconstructed, whatever it is you want to do with it. It takes the naming of the IFB (Independent and Fundamental) literally and deals with the individuals who give the movement a black eye. What happens in the many situations where dads and men in leadership do actually do the right thing? That is what’s at the heart of “Sleeper”. How far will a father go and how seriously will he take his biblical mandate to protect his family? What will it cost?
This week’s chapter is lifted from about 1/3 of the way through the novel, as I wanted to really get at the heart of the story and what it’s all about. Sorry, no racecars this week.
Chapter Eight
Liam and Elizabeth had agreed to keep their announcement on the down-low until she started showing. Max was Elizabeth’s hardest pregnancy, and she had developed gestational diabetes. Liam had faced down a teen pregnancy and the dregs of the criminal underworld, but he had never been so scared when his Elizabeth became so sick when she was about to have Max. Even so, her doctor had assured them that thirty-one was more than a healthy age to have children. The news was just more fuel for Elizabeth to feed them more rabbit food and to get Liam moving more. She reasoned that because he wasn’t spending the whole day in his car anymore that he should be moving as much as possible.
Liam’s first Sunday back at church felt awkward. He had prepared his lesson two weeks in advance, but it was a subject he had never expected would come from the curriculum. At least, the central idea of the text was something he never thought would need to be brought up.
The narrative of the new quarter was going through the latter part of the life of David. This week, the students were being introduced to three of his children: Amnon, Tamar, and Absolom.
Liam opened his Bible and read the first twenty-two verses of II Samuel 13: “And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him meat. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. And she had a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house. But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.”
Liam looked up solemnly from his Bible. He had read the account many times. He had heard it growing up in Sunday School. The older he grew, the more disgusting it became to him. He took a deep breath and prayed. He prayed for more guidance than he had ever prayed before. Even with the vagaries in the biblical text, Liam knew this lesson had to be taught with delicacy. Sexual assault is a touchy subject, and he knew there was a very thin line when it came to adolescents; but this was what the Bible said, so this is what he had to teach.
“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you who you’ll become,” Liam began. “We all fall into temptation, right? How many of you are homeschooled?”
About three quarters of the class raised their hands.
“How many of you know where your mom keeps the answer keys? Danny, put down your hand.”
Fewer, yet still a good portion of the class raised their hands.
“It’s pretty easy when Mom’s back is turned to look in the answer key. Maybe, she’s left the room. If anybody asks, I am not giving you ideas. Get your minds out of the gutter. But you guys desire the answers, right? But what is that? What are we doing when we cheat?”
“Sinning?” one child answered.
“Close, but a bit more specific.”
“Stealing,” replied Jael smugly.
“Jael’s right. In our story, we find that Amnon wanted to marry his half-sister. Well, that’s a big problem. Can anyone tell me why? Come on! It’s right there!”
“You can’t marry your sister,” Jael replied again. Liam wished he could wipe that smug look off her face.
“Correct, you can’t. Amnon knew this, but he had a friend. Jonadab comes to Amnon and says, ‘Bro, come on. You’re the king’s son. Don’t you know you can do whatever you want?’ in so many words. Well, Amnon says, ‘Yeah, you’re right. I am the king’s son,’ and he does what he did. He took Tamar for himself.” Liam started to feel sick trying to fight back the strong feelings he had for this crime that had been committed over three thousand years ago and still present it appropriately for his audience. “Tamar tried to get him to stop,” he trembled, “but he did it anyway. When he decided he wasn’t interested anymore, he threw her out. Afterwards, she went to her brother, Absalom’s, house. When he asked her if she had been with Amnon, she told him what had happened. They both went to David.” This is where Liam finally let his disgust seep out onto his face. “And he did nothing. Let’s read on.”
Liam looked again into his Bible and read the next eleven verses, “And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him. Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.”
Liam looked up again from his Bible. His class was a mix of awe and complacency. He figured the gears were turning for some of his students.
“Because Amnon chose to listen to his bad friends, he died. Because he chose to pursue and give into his temptation, he lost his life. As we’ll see later, King David’s unwillingness to take care of the problem made it worse. I believe Brother Wong talked about David’s sin with Bath-sheba last week, right? Well, that sin snowballed into more sin. Yeah, God forgave him, and David restored his relationship with God; but that didn’t save David from the consequences. Because of that, David’s house was never whole again. He suffered from a broken home, and this is the first sign of the after-effects of God’s judgement. As we go on throughout this series, we’ll see Absalom’s reaction. He had already killed Amnon. Now, I don’t think anybody here wants to marry their sister, but like I said earlier, you are tempted in other ways. You copy out of that answer key. You start acing every math test for some reason, but you don’t know the material. Let’s say you realize you’re wrong, and you ask forgiveness. Happy day! God forgives you. Then, the day comes when you need to use a certain mathematical formula, but you don’t know it because you cheated for the answer. God is ready and willing to forgive us, but that does not free us from our consequences. David repented and got right, but he suffered the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life. Amnon had time and space to repent, and he didn’t. I firmly believe that this lack of repentance cost him his life.”
Liam scanned his class again. The wheels were turning. They were getting it.
“Amnon had no excuse for what he did,” Liam explained. “People like Amnon are scumbags, to put it mildly. He knew what he was doing.”
The first bell rang right as Liam spoke the last word.
“Guys, listen, we’re almost done. Sin will take your farther than you want to go. It’ll leave you longer than you want to stay; cost your far more than you want to pay. Let’s pray.”
Liam closed the lesson. He had never experienced such an awkward silence while he was teaching. He was sure that his students hadn’t truly grasped the magnitude of what Amnon had done, but he may have scared them into keeping their eyes on their text books and off of the answer key. Liam decided to finish off the session with their traditional sword drill.
During the main service, Liam kept himself scarce from Frank Rudd. For some reason, he felt off about the man, more off than he usually felt. He quickly retrieved Danny from junior high church and walked briskly to the car.
Elizabeth preferred this version of Liam to the one she saw two weeks ago. He was frazzled, yes, but not angry. She clutched his hand as he shifted the Highlander into drive. It was their Costco date with Dan and Cat, and they would have a visitor.
As the family met Dan and Cat in front of Costco, Liam spotted a familiar face. Arlo had come home. Skinny, bespectacled Arlo. The kid was almost an exact copy of Liam at twenty, only less muscular. He also wasn’t a kid either. He was now in his third year of Bible college. At the time Liam had slept with Elizabeth, Arlo looked up to him like a god. He was even more excited when he found out his idol would be sharing a room with him. That all came crashing down some years later when he came of age and learned the truth of what Liam had done. He then determined not to become like Liam. He embittered himself against his former role model; instead, Liam was the example of what not to do. A lot of good it did him. He was the top of his class and leaps and bounds ahead of his peers; but he was a loner. It worried Dan and Cat. He never talked to a girl unless he absolutely needed to. It’s not like they expected him to be engaged by eighteen, married at nineteen, and fathering a child at twenty either; but they hoped he would have somebody in mind. They had never seen a man so focused on his task that even the prettiest girl in school wouldn’t even turn his head. Instead of his face buried in a phone like most people his age, he was buried in some kind of book. In college, Arlo had gained a reputation of being stand-offish and almost unfriendly. Unbeknownst to the poindexter, he had garnered a few silent enemies during his time away.
Liam embraced his baby brother. It was cold. Arlo half-heartedly returned it. He was still bitter.
Dan and Liam took their usual spot while their wives took the children on their customary lap around Costco. Arlo remained quiet as Dan and Liam began their usual discourse.
“How’s the new office?” Dan opened the conversation.
“I’ve never had a view like it,” replied Liam.
“I still can’t believe how fast it all happened,” Dan continued. “What was it? A week?”
“Thereabouts,” said Liam as he stuck a straw into his blended mocha. “Obviously, God had His hand in all of it. I never thought God would move so visibly.”
This comment piqued Arlo’s interest a bit. Even with his Bible college courses challenging everything he believed about life and the Bible, he still held some unshakable moral ideals and codes. If the math wasn’t mathing for Arlo, it was wrong.
“Are you sure it was God?” he asked his big brother.
“Arlo, I don’t deserve a thing I have,” Liam explained. “It’s only by God’s grace that I am where I am today.”
“I just don’t see how God blesses sin,” continued Arlo.
“We’ve been over this thousands of times, baby brother,” Liam groaned. “God didn’t bless the sin. You know I had to sacrifice everything to get where I’m at. God didn’t bless the sin, but He did bless my sacrifice. How many times do you read your Bible through a year? Two or three? Do you skip Romans 8:28?”
“No,” retorted Arlo.
“Then quote it for me,” Liam challenged.
“’And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’,” Arlo quoted, “but that’s not what it means.”
“Then what does it mean, since we’re homiletically challenged?” Liam shot back.
“It’s about God helping His people out with their problems, not about God turning their sin into blessing,” Arlo rambled out.
“Maybe wanna take your Genesis class again,” Liam continued. “I seem to remember reading Genesis 50 where eleven men did something horrendous a few chapters earlier only for the conclusion that God meant it for good.”
“You can’t, you can’t,” Arlo stuttered, as if the hard drive that was his brain was crashing and needed rebooting.
“How much was tuition?” Liam jabbed.
“You two,” Dan mumbled shaking his head. “Liam, I think he’s had enough.”
“Hey, Arlo, I still love you, little brother,” Liam conceded, “but you need to get your head out of the clouds. I feel like you’re falling into the trap of using the Bible as a text book. Rather, use it as your daily bread. Know what I like to do? I like to put myself in the shoes of the people it was written to, that way, I actually know what’s being said.”
Arlo, was frozen cold. He was soundly beaten again. It had been eight years, and he still never let it go.
After Cat, Liz, and the kids were finished checking out, Dan and Cat treated the family to their customary pizzas and Costco dogs. Then, it was back to church in Port Orchard for choir practice.
Liam was reclining in his office chair in the soundbooth when a text came through. He looked at the readout. It was Jorge. Liam decided to take a chance and open the message.
“GOT IT. WHEN CAN U COME BY?”
Liam typed back a response, “First thing tomorrow.”
That should’ve been sufficient. As soon as choir practice was over, Liam ran his soundcheck. This time, it was the teen choir. A gaggle of about eleven or twelve teenagers mounted the choir loft. The girls, as usual, were enthusiastic. The boys, on the other hand, were barely able to croak something that sounded like notes. It just sounded like an off-time, slightly flat monotone A below middle C. The lone exception was Jeremiah Rudd, who was clearly there to impress his new girlfriend – that new girlfriend being Wendy Anderson, Liam’s daughter and princess. Jeremiah constantly glanced Wendy’s way as he belted out the anthem. It almost made Liam sick.
The service passed like a blur. He was still thinking about everything that had gone on in the last two weeks. His baby girl was dating a young man, and he had been promoted. His wife revealed they were expecting their sixth child, and he was the proud owner of a brand new Lamborghini Revuelto. Even with all the blessings, some of Arlo’s words and ideals still returned to him. Was all of this God’s blessing? He had worked his butt off for fourteen years to make sure Elizabeth and any children she had could live comfortably without worry of being on the streets or ever going hungry, but what about how he had gotten the money? Sure, working for Grant Wilson paid big bucks, but the house was almost entirely paid for through illegally obtained money. That cash came from illegal street racing. Nobody but he, Jorge, and God knew what he was doing on his work trips. At least, that was over. No more trips for Liam. No more illegal street racing. The racecar had earned its retirement, and Liam had everything he needed or wanted.
As Liam pulled the Highlander into the driveway that night, he had no way of knowing he was far from being done. Overall, spirits were high, higher than they were two weeks prior. There were no awkward conversations in the car. Liam had successfully avoided Frank Rudd almost all day. For the first time in what seemed like months, Liam felt like he could relax for a little bit as his children went to bed one by one, leaving him alone with Elizabeth.
After kissing Wendy on the forehead, Liam relaxed on the couch and turned on the television. He wanted to zone out, something he hadn’t done in months. As the screen turned on, he found the sports channel. They were just wrapping up the weekend’s sports highlights. So, this was what it was like?
Elizabeth ran into the kitchen and started making popcorn. Soon enough, the heavenly smell of buttered popcorn filled the living room. It was a darn good thing the kids were asleep. Within another minute, Elizabeth emerged from the kitchen with a large bowl of popcorn smothered in butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. As she took her seat next to Liam, she turned on her puppy dog eyes. Liam knew what it meant: she wanted to watch something, probably some garbage television about some fat narcissists in the South or some thin narcissists dating other thin narcissists. Liam couldn’t resist, especially if she was going to guilt trip him with the popcorn. He handed the remote to his wife who then excitedly found her preferred programming: narcissists with dwarfism.
Liam began to tone out the television as he occasionally took a handful of popcorn out of the bowl. All of a sudden, his relaxation was interrupted by the piercing shriek of his ringtone. Both Liam and Elizabeth jumped, Elizabeth nearly spilling the bowl of popcorn before Liam was able to answer the phone.
“Yeah,” Liam said on one end of the line. “I said tomorrow. Fool, it’s ten at night.” Liam glanced at Elizabeth, seeing the worried expression on her face. “Okay, I’ll run over. Better make it quick.” And he hung up the phone.
“What’s wrong?” asked Elizabeth.
“Something at work,” replied Liam. “Can’t go into too much detail, but I won’t be long.”
“Please be careful,” Elizabeth pleaded.
“I’ll be quick,” said Liam as he kissed Elizabeth on the top of her head. The scent of mango from her dry shampoo filled his nostrils. He wished he could stay.
Liam rushed downstairs into the garage and pulled out into the darkness, heading straight for Gorst and Jorge’s garage.
