Chapter 26: Black-Bearded Moses Comes Online
Moses covered his face out of fear.
He wanted to run, also out of fear.
Yet, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how fast he ran, he could not leave the holy ground beneath his feet. He remained amidst the thorns, unable to descend the mountain.
Around him, the thorn bushes once again burst into flames. The flames flared suddenly, and in the blink of an eye vanished without a trace. Moses looked closely and saw that the bushes touched by the fire were not even slightly scorched.
As surprise and fear engulfed him, a voice echoed from all directions, at first like thunder.
"Moses! Moses! I am the Lord of your Hebrews!" the voice cried loudly. Winds swirled around him, forcing Moses to curl into a ball on the ground, holding his head. "I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt!"
Moses, terrified, did not want to hear it. Yet the voice seemed to penetrate not just his ears but his very breath, entering through his mouth, nose, and skin, immersing his entire being and soul.
Every word shook him to his core, making his body tremble.
"I hear the groaning of those oppressed under the taskmasters!" "I have long known their suffering!" "I have come to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians, to lead them to a good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey—the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites!"
Moses felt his head about to explode. All sensations outside his hearing were in chaos; his body burned as if on fire.
He wanted to argue but could not speak.
"Now that I hear the Hebrews' groaning and see how the Egyptians oppress them, I am sending you to Pharaoh so you may lead my people, the Hebrews, out of Egypt."
Oppression… this was not entirely accurate. The Hebrews had not suffered so severely. Ramesses had made tangible improvements to their conditions; the Pharaoh had been favorable toward them.
Moses reminded himself of this.
Yet another thought surged in his mind.
Had the Hebrews not suffered oppression?
Joseph's rise to power in Egypt came because he saved the country from famine, earning Pharaoh's trust. The Hebrews' contributions earned them privileges. But when a Pharaoh who
did not know Joseph ruled Egypt, fearing the Hebrews' growing numbers, he enslaved them, managing them with whips and assigning them harsh labor.
The Egyptians deserved punishment.
Two conflicting voices raged in Moses' mind. He felt that if it continued, he would surely die.
Though he did not understand how all this was happening, he knew the immediate cause clearly:
"Who am I, that I could go to Pharaoh and lead my people out of Egypt!" Moses cried aloud.
"Bold!" the voice thundered angrily. "Do you dare not obey me? You must go!"
Moses… alright, he was utterly terrified.
As for hesitation? He had only spoken casually.
Perhaps noticing Moses had turned into a quivering quail, the voice softened and said, "I will be with you. When you lead the people out of Egypt, you shall serve me on this mountain. This is the proof I send you."
Moses' lips twitched. He wanted to speak but feared angering the voice—or worse, being struck.
After a moment, he could no longer contain himself and asked, "When I go to the Hebrews and tell them that the God of our ancestors sent me, they will ask for God's name. What should I say?"
Right. Moses did not believe in any supernatural manifestation.
A Lord who did not appear was a good Lord.
Moses was not blindly pious; he was careful and thoughtful.
Whatever this entity was, it seemed to need him. He decided to delay at least three times. Asking its name was the first.
Perhaps reading Moses' mind, the voice responded proudly, without anger.
"You shall tell the Hebrews, 'I am the Self-Existent, I am Eternal. I sent you to them. Yahweh is my name forever, my memorial to all generations.'"
"You shall tell the elders of the Hebrews that the God of their ancestors—Abraham's God, Isaac's God, Jacob's God—appeared to you and has truly cared for them, seeing how the Egyptians treated them. Therefore I send you to lead them out of Egypt's suffering into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land flowing with milk and honey."
"Thus they will heed you. You and the elders shall go to Pharaoh and tell him that God has met you, so he may let you go into the wilderness for three days to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your God."
Moses: "…"
Have you considered Ramesses' feelings and reaction? Are you sure he won't just kill me? Well, maybe not—but those elders are doomed, right?! Without them, how can I lead the people!?
A tacit understanding formed again between Moses and the voice, for it then provided concrete guidance.
"I know the Pharaoh of Egypt will not let you go. I will stretch out my hand in Egypt, performing all my wonders, striking the land. Then he will let you go, but you shall find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and take their wealth. You will not leave empty-handed."
Hmm, so there's compensation. Not bad.
But Moses considered it generosity at others' expense—hardly practical.
"Even so, they will not believe me or listen. They will say God has not appeared to me."
"What is in your hand?"
Moses looked down: his staff, used for his long journey.
"A staff," he answered honestly.
"Throw it on the ground."
Moses obeyed. Upon hitting the ground, the staff turned into a snake—a venomous one, scaring Moses backward.
The voice then taught him how to turn the snake back into a staff—by holding its tail.
Next, the voice had Moses place his hand in his cloak. When he pulled it out, it had leprosy, snow-white. Placing it back and drawing it out restored it.
The voice also taught him how to turn water into blood on dry ground. Finally, it said: "If they do not believe the first sign, they will believe the second. If they believe neither, pour the river water on dry land to turn it into blood. These miracles are the powers I grant you."
Moses almost lost control and prepared to obey.
Unfortunately, in the later biblical Exodus, Moses wandered for forty years. By the time he heard God's call, he was an old man with a white beard. Here, he had been in Midian less than a year. He had no son yet.
Now, he was a black-bearded Moses—far from satisfied so easily!
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