One day the caravan stopped at one of the few watering holes along the trail. I sat by myself, watching the cattle slowly drink from the pool. I noticed a group of boys about my age herd a flock of sheep up to the water. After their sheep were settled into an area next to our cattle, they approached me.


“We do not know you,” one of the boys said to me.

The other three circled around me too, greeting me with friendly, but curious smiles.

“I am Jarak,” I said.

They all seemed to want more information, so I continued.

“I am the son of Nivram and Rebekah, bread makers in Persia,” I offered.

They seemed satisfied. The one who had greeted me first shook his dark hair away from his face. His black eyes never strayed from mine.

“I am Zeke,” he said.

We shook hands. Then he pointed to the other boys one by one.

“This is Joseph, Micah, and Samuel.” I really was pleased to meet them as I shook each of their hands.

“You must have lived in the city?” Zeke asked.

I nodded my head, yes.

“So, then, you probably do not know much about raising cattle?” Zeke asked again.

This time I shook my head no.

“Well,” Zeke said, “it looks like too much work to me, and little to show for it.”

I was about to say that I rather liked working with cattle, but Zeke quickly changed the subject.

“So, why are you going to Jerusalem?” he asked.

“I wish to prosper. Then I will bring my family to Jerusalem,” I answered. Then I thought of something I had not considered before.

“How long do you think it will take to get there?” I asked.

“It takes a couple of months. But the boys and I wish there was a short cut. We cannot wait that long to get to Jerusalem and invest our money with the money changers,” Zeke said.

I had never heard of money changers before, so I asked him what they were.

“They turn a few coins into many, and you do not have to work for it. It is quick and it is easy and that is what we want so we can finally enjoy life.”

My head was spinning. I had money. If I could change my little amount of money to a large amount quickly, I could send it to my parents right away. They would be free from bondage. On the other hand though, Father told me to find Hanani, the wisest and most secure man in all of Jerusalem.

Then Zeke asked me.

“Hey, Jarak, why do you not come with us? Surely you have money.”

“I will think about it,” I said with hesitation in my voice.

Zeke seemed satisfied. But I felt confused.

The first chance I could, I sought out Petra, my employer on this journey.

“Jarak,” Petra boomed at me. I smiled back but Petra saw my hesitation.

“What can I help you with?” he asked me.

“I have heard some things about the money changers in Jerusalem. Is it true that if you give them a small amount of money, it will return to you ten fold, without you having to do anything at all?”

It seemed that such an easy method could not be real. Something inside of me told me that it did not make sense.

Petra nodded. “Let me tell you a parable I learned long ago. It is the parable of the Patient Traveler.”

I nodded, sure that somehow he would answer my question.

“A wise old man rode with five young and eager travelers over a large, hot desert to get to a land full of milk and honey. This wise old man had ridden the trail before and was the leader. In fact, this leader had ridden the path many times,” Petra began.

“After only a few days, some of the young travelers started getting bored and somewhat anxious to make it to their destination. They could not understand the purpose of the slow and deliberate pace.

“One offered that he had heard of a shortcut and convinced one of the other young travelers to follow him. The two rode away from the well-known path. They ran into danger and soon lost all they had and never recovered. The wise old man told the remaining youth that ‘shortcuts are nothing more than long shots’.

“As they continued, another youth believed that he saw water in the distance. Sometimes hot deserts will play tricks on tired eyes. That young traveler followed the mirage, never reaching water, and lost his way.

“The fourth young traveler saw an oasis off in the distance and was enticed to leave the trail and his wise leader. There were many people at the oasis and all of them seemed to be living a very wealthy lifestyle, even though very few of them did any work. After a short time the people exhausted all of the resources there, only having pleasure for a short time, and were left with nothing to continue their journey.

“But the fifth young traveler, the traveler who had the patience to follow the leader on the tried and true path made it to the Promised Land, and there prospered for the rest of his days.

“So, Jarak, the moral to this parable is ‘never give up what you want MOST, for what you want NOW’,” Petra finished.

We walked silently together for a few moments. I realized that Petra was not going to tell me what to do. I had to make the decision on my own.

Perhaps one of the most important decisions that I ever made was made that moment. I decided that I would follow my father’s advice and find Hanani. I knew that he would teach me the tried and true path to financial success and security; the path to my Golden Quest.