By Way of the Wilderness (10 page)

The voice had come out of the burning bush. He stopped dead-still, staring at the bush as it blazed. Finally he cleared his throat and said hoarsely, “Here I am.”

The voice came out of the bush again. It was like no voice Moses had ever heard.

“Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Moses quickly kicked off his sandals and stood there trembling. He seemed hot and cold at the same time, for he knew he was hearing the voice of the God he had sought for so many years.

“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”

Overcome with fear, Moses fell on the ground and hid his face against his forearms, but he still heard the voice coming strong and clear.

“I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Moses was so stunned he could not answer at first, but after a while he cried out in a high voice, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

The voice spoke reassuringly:
“I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

Moses could not think clearly, so he voiced the question that had been on his heart for years: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?”

The voice that spoke to Moses was warm and tender and full of power.
“I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.'”

Moses thought his heart would burst on hearing the name he had so longed to hear. The eternal God who created all things was actually speaking to him! Moses was alive with every part of his being as he continued to listen to God's instructions.

“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, appeared to me.'”

Moses was trembling so much he could barely keep his mind on all that the voice was telling him. He struggled with doubts over the wisdom of his going back to Egypt as he was being instructed and telling the Hebrews that he had heard from God. How could they possibly believe such a claim? Finally he blurted out, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you'?”

And the voice said to him,
“What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” Moses replied.

“Throw it on the ground,”
God said.

Moses did as he was told, and the staff became a snake. Moses cried out and ran from it, but the voice continued:
“Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.”

Moses gingerly picked up the snake by the tail, and jumped in amazement when it became a staff again.

Then God said,
“Put your hand inside your cloak.”

Moses obeyed, and when he pulled it out, it was spotted with white leprosy. He gasped and thrust his hand away from him, but the voice spoke again:
“Now put it back into your cloak.”

Moses obeyed this command. As he drew his hand back out, he nearly cried to see the leprous hand restored to its normal state.

Again Moses' attention was drawn back to the voice coming from the burning bush.

“If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

Moses had never been a leader or a good speaker, and he simply could not fathom how God could be asking him to do such a task. He did not have the skills he would need for such a monumental accomplishment! So he protested, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

The Lord replied,
“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

But still Moses protested, begging God, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

Now the voice grew harsh with him.
“What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

On hearing these words, Moses was filled with joy. He did not want to anger God by protesting further. God had provided a way for him to carry out His instructions, and he dared not disobey. He knew he had finally found the God he had sought for all of his life.

Moses rose in quiet awe as the voice fell silent and the bush ceased to burn. He felt a rush of cold wind sweeping down the mountain and swirling about him, whipping his robes and stinging his face with sand. But the warmth inside of him from his encounter with God glowed with such intensity, he barely felt the chill of the wind. With confidence now that God was still with him, even though unseen and unheard, Moses slipped his sandals on, turned, and headed back toward his home in Midian.

****

Moses thought Zipporah would be happy to hear the news that he was going back to Egypt, but instead she hurled insults at him.

“You wouldn't go when
I
told you to go, but now you're willing because your god has told you to!” she griped. “I think you just want to get away from me and find a younger woman. That's why you are going back to Egypt.”

“No,” Moses said patiently, “I am returning because my God has commanded me to. He has work for me to do there.”

“And I suppose your family is so unimportant to your god that he has told you to leave us all behind.” Zipporah's eyes glared at him with her challenge.

Moses thought for a moment, then said, “There is no reason why you cannot come. We will all leave together in the morning.”

Zipporah bit her lip in anger but did not have a comeback for this unexpected offer from her husband. She whirled on her heel and went off in search of her sons.

****

The next morning, Moses and his family left together for Egypt. Jethro wished him well, saying as they parted, “She'll get over it, son. And you will do your work there and come back to us a wealthier man.”

“I don't think so, Jethro,” Moses said quietly. “None of us knows exactly what will happen in Egypt. I hope to see you again someday, and I thank you for your many kindnesses.”

As Jethro watched his son-in-law leave with Zipporah and their two sons, he rubbed his favorite small idol and prayed, “Go with them, and bring them back to me soon!”

The tribe of Judah had produced no better man than Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. He was a natural-born leader, a fearless man with the strength and courage of a lion. Ordinarily Caleb was a man of basically good nature, but his face was twisted with anger one day as he hurried through the slave camp, his eyes darting right and left. He ignored the greetings of those who spoke to him until he finally caught sight of Joshua, his friend from the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua was the son of Nun, and at twenty-five was younger than Caleb. Even though he came from the tribe of Ephraim, the two were fast friends.

Caleb marched up to where Joshua was engaged in a sword fight with one of the younger men. Joshua was stripped to the waist. His deep chest glistened with sweat and his eyes sparkled as he smashed his opponent's defense. They were using wooden swords since the Egyptians did not allow the Hebrew slaves to have any weapons, but now Joshua laughed, his white teeth flashing against his bronzed skin. “That's it, Eli. You're a dead man.”

“Let me try again, Joshua,” the young fellow begged.

“No. That's enough for now.” Joshua half turned, and he smiled. “Why, Caleb, I didn't see you.”

“Come with me. We have to talk.”

Joshua was accustomed to Caleb's abrupt manner of speech. He moved quickly into step with Caleb, and the two made their way through the camp to a place beside the river where they would not be overheard. “What is it, Caleb?”

“It's Bezalel,” Caleb said shortly.

With a sigh, Joshua shrugged his muscular shoulders. “What's he done now?”

Ignoring the question, Caleb turned to face Joshua. “Have you seen him?”

Joshua hesitated, for he and Bezalel were close friends.

Caleb noticed this at once. “Don't try to cover up for him, Joshua,” he warned. “He's in trouble this time.”

“I haven't seen him today,” Joshua admitted. “He doesn't come down here too often.”

Caleb nodded shortly. “If he does, grab him and hold him. Send for me.”

“Why? What's he done?” Joshua demanded. “He's not a bad fellow, you know.”

“He's a spoiled brat! He'd be better off working down in the brickyards,” Caleb stated flatly. His eyes were hard as agates, and he shook his head. “I knew there would be trouble when he went to work in the house of that rich Egyptian.”

“It's an easy life.” Joshua shrugged. “I don't blame him for taking it. With a talent like he's got, it was inevitable.”

Bezalel was the son of Uri, who had been married to Miriam's best friend, Illa. The boy's parents had both died years ago, and out of devotion to her friends, Miriam had raised young Bezalel. He had been a difficult youngster to raise, always into trouble of some kind. He had good looks, was highly intelligent, and had a talent for art. Early in his life he had revealed an almost miraculous talent for molding clay into statues. He made caricatures of some of the leaders of the tribe of Levi, and Miriam had been forced to stand between him and the angry leaders. The statues had not been flattering!

Working with clay had been just the beginning, however. As soon as it was discovered that the young fellow had a talent for making almost anything in silver, gold, and bronze, he had been taken out of the brickyards and was trained by some of the Egyptian metal workers. They valued such things, and less than a year ago, Bezalel, at the age of sixteen, became a highly valued apprentice in the hire of a wealthy Egyptian.

Caleb shook his head. “He would have been better off working down here in the pits.”

“He's got it pretty easy. And he makes life easy for Miriam and the family. You know he gives most of his earnings to them.”

Caleb gnawed on his lower lip. He was a tall man, lean and muscular, given to quick movements. “He's too clever and it will get him into trouble.”

“He'll be all right. He's just a little wild.”

“You've got to talk to him, Joshua. He'll listen to you.”

“I doubt that.” Joshua grinned dryly. “What has he done?”

“He's chasing around with Adila.”

“You mean the daughter of old Hezmiah?”

“Yes. That's the one.”

“But she's betrothed to Laaman.”

“You think that makes any difference to Bezalel?” Caleb demanded.

“I'm sure Bezalel doesn't mean anything by it. He's just high-spirited, but it'll make a difference if he has trouble with Laaman. That man's a beast!”

Caleb shook his head. “He's driving Miriam crazy. I'd like to break his neck. He's like his father was, a trifler.”

“You're right about that!”

Caleb stood in the hot sun, and finally he said grimly, “You'd better go looking for him. If Laaman finds him with his woman, he'll break his neck.”

“So far he's had plenty of luck not getting caught,” Joshua said.

“If Laaman catches him,” Caleb said, “he'll need more than luck!”

****

The marketplace was busy, and Bezalel was pleased with himself. He was walking alongside Adila, and from time to time she would stop and admire something in one of the booths. The young woman was beautiful. She was from the tribe of Dan, the tribe with the worst reputation among all the sons of Jacob. They were easily led into idolatry and had caused a great deal of trouble back in the past. Adila was small but well shaped, with a pair of full lips enhanced by red paint. Her father was one of those Hebrews who had managed to become as well off as a slave can be, and she wore an attractive garment of light green silk.

“Oh, Bezalel, look. Isn't that precious?”

Bezalel stopped and looked at a small statue Adila was pointing at. It was a figurine of one of the hundreds of Egyptian gods. He studied it for a moment and shrugged. “It's very poor workmanship. But look—the eyes are made of a precious stone. Do you want it?”

“Oh, I would never buy an idol!” She laughed and turned and leaned against him so that he smelled her perfume. “But look at that ring there. I would love to have that.”

Bezalel turned to the tradesman who was listening to all this and began a lively barter. Finally he bought the ring, and Adila at once stuck out her hand, spreading her fingers. Just as he was slipping the ring on her finger, they heard a harsh voice calling out her name, and the young couple turned. Adila let out a whimper. “It's Laaman. You'd better run.”