By Way of the Wilderness

by Gilbert, Morris

  Pharaoh stared at Jafari, then asked, “But what about the plagues? Will their God not start again to reek his vengeance on Egypt?”

  “It will not be so, Pharaoh. The plagues were nothing but natural phenomena. When the fish in the river died, it was natural there should be more flies and frogs. It is not the work of a god at all.”

  Pharaoh listened intently as Jafari urged him, saying, “The gods of Egypt are not dead. You must act at once. You are, after all, the son of Ammon-ra. Send for them. You will find them helpless—backed up against the Red Sea—and you can bring them back.”

  Pharaoh was persuaded by his high priest and decided on his course of action. “Call the army together. Assemble the chariots. We will run these ragtag followers of Moses and his God down!”

  “Good. They will be gathered there close to the sea. They cannot flee any farther. We have them trapped!” Jafari exclaimed. This victory over your enemies will prove to all of your people that you are indeed a god!”

  “See to it!” Pharaoh cried, and as soon as Jafari left, he also left the palace and went to the quarters of Princess Kali. During his reign, he had come to trust this daughter of his predecessor. She was only a woman and yet he knew she had more intelligence than most men—certainly more than his advisors.

  When he entered her apartment, he saw that she was lying on a couch, her face pale and lined. His heart smote him when he realized she was not far from death. He softened his voice as he approached and said, “How is it with you, Princess Kali?”

  “It is well with me, sire.”

  “You do not look at all as if you are recovering.”

  “I am going to be with God.”

  The simple declaration from the woman struck a chill in the pharaoh. “God?” he said. “Which god? Ammon-ra?”

  Kali’s voice was frail and weak, but her eyes were alive. She did not even lift her hand but turned her face toward Pharaoh. “I have prayed much to the gods of Egypt all of my life, and they have never spoken to me. But now I have prayed to the God of Moses. They call Him the great I AM, and He has spoken.”

  “You saw this God? But He has no form.”

  “I saw nothing,” Kali whispered. “But He came into my heart. It was like a warm sun coming into a cold room or like a light coming into a dark room. Suddenly my heart knew that all that Moses has said about this God is true.”

  “Impossible! It cannot be! You are losing your mind!” the pharaoh shouted. He began to tremble and said, “You are not well. I will send the physicians and the priest.”

  “Send no priest. I need no physicians,” Kali murmured.

  “What about our gods?”

  “They are not gods at all, sire. The God of the Hebrews,” Kali faintly whispered, “He is the only God.” She smiled then, and Pharaoh was frightened, for he himself was afraid of death. He saw that she had no such fear. There was a peace on her face, the light of joy in her eyes, and she lifted her hand now and said, “The God of the Hebrews, He is the only God….”

  Pharaoh turned and fled from the apartment as if pursued by demons. He was trembling, for he believed strongly in the wisdom of Princess Kali, but when he related what had happened to Jafari, the high priest had said soothingly, “She is a very old woman, sire. You know that people lose their minds when they are old and almost ready to cross to the underworld. The princess is confused, but you must not weaken in your resolve.”

  “No,” Pharaoh said, straightening himself up, “we will defeat Moses, and the princess will know then that the god of the Hebrews is no god at all. Is the army ready?”

  “It is assembling.”

  “I will personally lead them into the battle,” Pharaoh said loudly, as if to bolster his own fears. “Come. We must make a sacrifice to the gods before the battle!”

  ****

  Oholiab uttered a shrill cry and leaped toward Bezalel, grabbing hold of him. Bezalel stumbled and nearly fell. “Let go of me, Oholiab!” he snapped. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “I thought I heard the sound of Pharaoh’s chariots,” Oholiab said, his naturally high-pitched voice was even more shrill than usual. He was a small young man, the same age as Bezalel, but different in every respect. He was as homely as mud and skinny and thin as a stick. Three things about his life defined and controlled him: one was his gift of crafting things of metal and wood. In this he was second only to Bezalel among all of the Hebrews. The second was a distinct negative: His life was controlled by fear. He was afraid of practically everything! A spider or a snake could send him screaming, and just the thought of Pharaoh’s army made him turn ashen. The third thing that defined his personality was his misconception about his prowess with women. Despite his being undersized, homely, and afraid of his own shadow, he was convinced that women loved him. Experience never seemed to teach him anything, and even as he clung to Bezalel’s arm, he turned to watch a beautiful young Hebrew woman walk by. “Look at her. Isn’t she a beauty?”

  Bezalel could not help laughing. “Not a beauty you’re ever likely to talk to.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I have a way with women, you know.”

  “I know your way with women.” He looked back over his shoulder and squinted through the dust raised by the pilgrimage of the slaves. “You’re right about Pharaoh, but I don’t hear him yet.”

  Oholiab tugged at Bezalel’s sleeve. “You’d better listen to me, Bezalel.”

  “I have listened to you ever since we left Goshen. I’m tired of listening to you.”

  “We’d better go back. It’s the only safe thing to do. After all, we don’t know what lies up ahead of us except the sea. We’ll all drown if we try to get across that. I can’t swim and it’s full of beasts.”

  Bezalel listened for a time, then shoved his friend away. “Go chase after that girl,” he said. “I think she gave you a certain look.”

  Instantly Oholiab forgot the terrors of the sea ahead and the army of Pharaoh behind. “You really think so?” he said. He spit on his hand and smoothed his hair back with the flat of his palm. “Well, you’re probably right. I’d better go talk to her.”

  Bezalel grinned as his small friend scurried off in pursuit of the young woman. He was well accustomed to Oholiab’s fantasies. They were amusing, and he was a good fellow, clever with his hands and a good assistant.

  Suddenly Bezalel saw Caleb striding along toward the head of the line. They were both of the tribe of Judah, and there was no one, even Moses, that Bezalel admired more than Caleb. He hurried forward, and when he caught up with the tall, older man he said, “It looks bad to me.”

  Caleb turned and looked at Bezalel with his steely, gray eyes. “What looks bad to you?”

  “Why, it’s obvious we don’t know where we’re going.”

  “Moses is the man God has chosen as our leader. We will follow him wherever he goes.”

  “Oh, come on, Caleb. You know he’s only a man.”

  “He’s the man God has chosen.”

  “But when we get to the sea what will we do?”

  Caleb snorted impatiently. “It’s not what we’re going to do. It’s what our Lord God will do.” His face grew fixed, and his lips drew together in a pale line. He was a stern man full of faith, and now he snapped, “If necessary, our God will bear us in His hands!”

  “Why, I thought He didn’t have hands,” Bezalel said, “that He didn’t have a form.”

  Suddenly Bezalel found himself on the ground. It happened so quickly he did not know how he got there. His face was burning, and his head was ringing. He had not even seen the blow coming. Caleb reached down and jerked him to his feet. “A man of Judah will not speak lightly of the Lord God!” he said. He shook Bezalel until the lad’s head spun and then loosed him so abruptly Bezalel nearly fell to the ground.

  “What was that all about?”

  Bezalel turned to see Miriam who had come to see what was happening. She was bearing a heavy basket on her shoulder and leading a nanny goat with a young one follow
ing, trying to nurse.

  “It was nothing, Mother.”

  “Caleb doesn’t strike men for nothing. What did you say?”

  Bezalel knew that there was no way he could hide anything from Miriam. “Well, I simply said I didn’t think we were going to be able to get across the sea.”

  “He wouldn’t slap you for that. What else did you say?” She soon had the whole story out of him and then said, “I ought to slap you myself. What’s the matter with you, Bezalel?”

  “Nothing. I’m all right.”

  “No, you’re not. You have such a gift.” Miriam’s face grew sad, and she reached out and touched his face with her free hand. “You could do so much, but instead of that you just wander around. I’ve heard it said that sailors can follow a star. That’s how they get across the sea, but you don’t have a star. You don’t have anything to guide you. You’re like a man with nothing on the inside.” She turned and walked away, her back bent. Bezalel watched her go and felt terrible. “I didn’t mean it,” he whispered aloud. He trudged along after Miriam, and gloom seemed to encircle him.

  ****

  “He’s coming! Pharaoh is coming with his army! There are hundreds of chariots!”

  The people in the rear had seen the Egyptian army, and indeed Pharaoh had a mighty host of six hundred chosen chariots with captains over every one of them. They had overtaken the Hebrews who were encamped by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth.

  Panic spread at once among the entire multitude. Their cries rang out, and Moses was trapped in the middle of a group of screaming people. One of them shouted, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”

  Korah was standing close enough to hear, and he said, “Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

  Moses suddenly flung his way through the crowd, shoving people aside until he came to stand upon a slight mound. His voice was like a trumpet as he cried out, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

  The shouting of the people softened, and Moses prayed desperately, “O God, show your power. Deliver your people.”

  Instantly Moses heard in his heart the voice that he had heard speak out of the burning bush. As clearly as he had ever heard anything, the Lord said to him, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

  Even as God spoke, the cloud of dust raised by the army of Pharaoh grew thicker. But somehow the mighty army did not reach the Hebrews. From Pharaoh’s vantage point, a darkness seemed to fall on the Hebrews so that they were no longer visible, but the Hebrews were, in fact, not in darkness.

  Moses lifted up his staff as God had commanded and instantly the sound of a moaning wind filled the ears of the frightened Hebrews. They stood there trembling, all except Moses and a few like Caleb and Joshua. Even as they watched, they saw the water of the Red Sea become agitated, and suddenly it began to roll back. It moved until there were two walls that led directly through the sea.

  Moses turned and cried out, “Children of the Living God, the Lord has made the way. Go now through the midst of the sea.”

  At first no one moved, but then one man advanced, holding his wife by one hand and his young son by the other. He cried out with exaltation on his face, “The God of our fathers is here! Come, this is the day of Redemption!”

  As soon as the multitude closest to the sea saw this man go through with his wife and child, a glad cry arose and they began to follow. Soon the dry path between the two walls of water was filled with people. Bezalel was stunned. He could look through the wall of water and see fish moving inside of it.

  As for Moses, his heart was rejoicing, for the God who had spoken to him out of the burning bush had delivered him. While Pharaoh’s men groped in the darkness, the children of Abraham moved through the depths of the sea.

  When the Hebrews had all reached the other side, Pharaoh and his army could once again see them. “Look, there they are!” Pharaoh cried out.

  “Yes, Mighty Pharaoh,” his chief general cried. “Shall we go after them?”

  Pharaoh stared at the path through the sea and pointed. “Look! Ra has made a way for us to pass through so that we may overtake his enemies. Forward!”

  Moses watched and saw the Egyptians pursuing, and the Lord said to him, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back again over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”

  And Moses stretched forth his hand, and instantly the sea began to join itself together. The mountains of water collapsed and fell back, swallowing up the pharaoh and his army.

  Pharaoh saw death as the waters closed and knew that the Hebrew God had won. He threw himself to the floor of the chariot and cried out for mercy, but it was too late, for the sea had come to claim him.

  The Hebrews watched as Pharaoh and his army were swallowed up, and Moses and the people began singing a joyful song to the Lord. Miriam led the women in dance and song, and as they danced on the shores of the sea, the people feared the Lord and believed Him and Moses, His servant.

  Chapter 14

  Many found it strange that Moses had chosen Joshua, the son of Nun, to be always at his right hand. Not a little jealousy ensued among the Hebrews as a result of Moses’ choice, for Joshua was a young man that few people noticed, but Moses had seen in him a quality that he had found in no one else. He mentioned this to Miriam, saying, “I’ve not found so much faith in any of our people. He never doubts the Lord God.”

  Joshua was probably more surprised than anyone that he was chosen for such an honorable position. He was a tough man of no more than average height, but was built like an oak and possessed an absolute fearlessness.

  After the waters closed in upon Pharaoh and his army, and the people were celebrating their deliverance, Joshua did not join in the singing. He felt almost envious as he watched the dancers and singers who lifted up their voices in an explosive cry of praise to their God. But he himself was not a singing man.

  What interested Joshua most was what they could salvage from the destruction of Pharaoh and the soldiers of Egypt. He begged Moses to let them stay by the shores of the Red Sea until the bodies of the Egyptians washed up, and they could take their weapons and armor.

  Moses agreed, and the people gave shouts of joy as it happened just as Joshua said it would. In addition to the armor and weapons they found gold and silver treasure, for it was customary for the chariot captains to carry precious-metal images of their gods to help them in battle. They also found rich clothing, such as the silk tunics the soldiers wore under their armor. But Joshua and the young men who gathered themselves around him cared little for this. What they sought and found were the quivers full of arrows suspended on the bodies of the soldiers and anything else in the way of weaponry.

  Finally Moses gave the command to go forward, and the pillar of cloud began to move down the Suez arm of the Red Sea and directly into the Desert of Shur. Moses, of course, knew that this would be so, for God had told him when speaking out of the burning bush that after the people were delivered they would serve Him on Mount Sinai.

  The people were ecstatic over their deliverance. There was still plenty of food in the packs on their backs and in the carts that they pulled, and every night the camp was filled with singing and rejoicing. Moses was in a continual state of excitement, se
eing the hand of God at work. Many Hebrew children were safely born, and the people marveled to see this miracle occur many times. Moses was also aware of the foreigners who had joined them and who had come to be called the “mixed multitude.” He himself had no doubt that this was God’s will.

  When he spoke to Joshua about it, the young man remarked that some of them had gone back to Egypt, but many had passed through the sea with them.

  Moses was as adamant as he had been when he spoke to Aaron. “Those who have thrown in their lot with the children of Abraham, no matter what their nationality, shall live under the one law with us.”

  Joshua nodded solemnly. He accepted whatever Moses said without question. He did wonder about one thing, though. “Sooner or later we are going to run out of food, my lord Moses. What then?”

  Moses had thought about this. “How much is left?”

  “Some are already out of food. Quite a few of the people have a good supply—mostly vegetables, eggs, and honey. There’s a little hunger in the camp but not much.” Joshua hesitated, then said, “What I’m most worried about is water. We can do without food for a time, but not without water. There’s already some complaining against you.”

  Moses did not reply, but all that day and late into that night he pondered the situation. The lack of water had become the most pressing issue for the people, for they had consumed what they had brought and had not found any more in the desert.

  He waited for the word of God to come to Him, begging God to speak so that he might know how to act. He had led an army at one time and knew well how much thought and effort went into providing for a multitude of men through a hard journey. He remembered clearly how months of preparation had been necessary for such a journey, and now here he was with barely any preparation at all!

  “Oh, God, I cannot do this alone! Please speak to my heart. Tell me what to do.”

  God was totally silent on this question, but Moses did not complain. He was confident that whatever happened, God would come through, and late at night he would cry out his praises to God.