Did Akyas laugh softly, or merely stifle a belch? She continued to say nothing, which was beginning to irritate Rebekah.

Still, it was obvious that the grandmother’s grumpiness was being exaggerated, perhaps as a test of Rebekah’s patience and grace. And “Mother” was being just as unnaturally nice, to try to win her over. So far, Rebekah might very well have made an excellent impression. It was time to put a stop to that.

“I hope you don’t mind that we did not offer any portion to the gods,” said Rebekah. “But I don’t believe that Ba’al or Asherah are anything more than stone images, powerless to answer prayers, and the true God asks for larger sacrifices than to spill a bit of this and that at every meal. Besides, it spoils the rugs.”

“We do it over an altar dish,” said Ethah testily. “You might have provided one for us to use.”

“But in my tent there is only one God,” said Rebekah brightly. “I will have no mockery of the true God by permitting others to be worshiped here.”

Ethah smiled triumphantly at the others, as if she had just won an argument. “Mother” faltered a bit, but bravely tried to smooth it over. “All gods are the same God, in the end, don’t you think?”

“The living God is the only God,” said Rebekah. “All the imitations are simply a way for priests to maintain control over the poor and ignorant.”

“Now we see she’s filled with rage!” cried the grandmother.

“Why should I rage?” said Rebekah. “I speak only the simple truth. I have no cause to be angry with those who do not know the truth. I pity their ignorance, and seek to help them understand that the God of Abraham is the only true God.”

“God of Abraham!” cried Ethah. “Yes, the one who told him to take his favorite son up the mountain and sacrifice him!”

“That is not true,” said Rebekah. “Abraham has spent his entire life fighting against the monstrous practice of sacrificing human beings to these false gods.”

“But to the ‘true’ god he’ll sacrifice his own son, is that it?” asked Ethah. “Don’t you tell me it’s not true—my grandson is a good friend of Abraham’s firstborn, Ishmael, the one who was cheated out of his inheritance when that runaway priestess Sarah had the wretched little baby Isaac, no doubt by some kind of sorcery, which is probably why Abraham wanted to kill it. Ishmael heard the story from his own father. It happens that at the last minute Abraham turned coward and sacrificed a ram in his son’s place, but he had Isaac all tied up and ready for the blade!”