Sons of Encouragement

by Francine Rivers

  God had spoken to him as well. Aaron knew he had heard the voice of God. He knew. No one would make him doubt that!

  But why hadn’t Moses thrown down his staff and shown Pharaoh the signs and wonders the moment they were in the ruler’s presence? He asked Moses about it. “The Lord will tell us what to say and what to do, and when we are not to do anything less or more than that.”

  Satisfied, Aaron waited, ignoring the taunts and watching over Moses while he prayed. Aaron was too tired to pray, but he found himself distracted by concerns about the people. How could he convince them that God had sent Moses? What could he say to make them listen?

  Moses came to him. “The Lord has spoken again: ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels my powerful hand upon him, he will let the people go. In fact, he will be so anxious to get rid of them that he will force them to leave his land!’ ”

  Aaron gathered the people, but they wouldn’t listen. Moses tried to speak to them, but stammered and then fell silent when they shouted at him. Aaron shouted back. “The Lord will deliver us! He will establish a covenant with us, to give us the land of Canaan, the land we came from. Isn’t this what we have waited for all our lives? Have we not prayed for a deliverer to come? The Lord has heard our groaning. He has remembered us! He is the Lord and He will bring us out from under the burdens the Egyptians have put on us. He will deliver us from slavery and redeem us with great judgments with an outstretched arm!”

  “Where is his outstretched arm? I don’t see it!”

  Someone shoved Aaron. “If you say anything more to Pharaoh, he will kill us all. But not before we kill you.”

  Aaron saw the rage in their eyes and tasted fear.

  “Send Moses back where he came from!” another shouted.

  “Your brother has caused us nothing but trouble since he came here!”

  Despondent, Aaron gave up arguing with them and followed Moses out into the land of Goshen. He stayed close, but not too close, listening intently for God’s voice and hearing only Moses speaking low, beseeching God for answers. Aaron covered his head and squatted, his staff held across his knees. However long it took, he would wait for his brother.

  Moses stood, face to the heavens. “Aaron.”

  Aaron raised his head and blinked. It was near twilight. He sat up, gripped his staff, and rose. “The Lord has spoken to you.”

  “We are to speak to Pharaoh again.”

  Aaron smiled grimly. “This time—” he instilled confidence into his voice—“this time, Pharaoh will listen to the Word of the Lord.”

  “He will not listen, Aaron. Not until the Lord has multiplied His signs and wonders. God will lay His hand on Egypt and bring out His people by great judgments.”

  Aaron was troubled, but tried not to show it. “I will say whatever words you give me, Moses, and do whatever you command. I know the Lord speaks through you.”

  Aaron knew, but would Pharaoh ever realize it?

  When they returned to the house, Aaron told their families they were going to stand before Pharaoh again.

  “The people will stone us!” Nadab and Abihu argued. “You haven’t been to the brick fields lately, Father. You haven’t seen how they treat us. You’re only going to make things worse for us.”

  “Pharaoh didn’t listen the last time. What makes you think he’ll listen now? All he cares about is bricks for his cities. Do you think he’ll let his laborers go?”

  “Where is your faith?” Miriam was angry with all of them. “We have been waiting for this day since Jacob set foot in this country. We don’t belong in Egypt!”

  As the arguments swirled around him, Aaron saw Moses drawn away by his wife. Zipporah was as upset as the rest of them and speaking low. She shook her head, drawing her sons close.

  Miriam reminded Aaron’s sons again of how the Lord had protected Moses when he was put into the Nile, how it had been a miracle that the old pharaoh’s own daughter had found him and adopted him. “I was there. I saw how the Lord’s hand has been on him since he was born.”

  Abihu was unconvinced. “And if Pharaoh doesn’t listen this time, how do you suppose we’ll all be treated?”

  Nadab stood, impatient. “Half of my friends won’t even speak to me now.”

  Aaron blushed at his sons’ lack of faith. “The Lord has spoken to Moses.”

  “Did the Lord speak to you?”

  “The Lord told Moses we are to go to Pharaoh, and to Pharaoh we must go!” He waved his hand. “All of you, out! Go tend the sheep and goats.”

  Zipporah went out quietly behind them, her sons close at her side.

  Moses sat at the table with Aaron and folded his hands. “Zipporah is returning to her father, and taking my sons with her.”

  “Why?”

  “She says she has no place here.”

  Aaron felt the rush of blood to his face. He had noticed how Miriam treated Zipporah. He had talked with her about it already.

  “Let her share your work, Miriam.”

  “I don’t need her help.”

  “She needs something to do.”

  “She can do as she wishes and go where she likes.”

  “She is Moses’ wife and the mother of his sons. She is our sister now.”

  “She is not our sister. She is a foreigner!” Miriam said in hushed tones. “She is a Midianite.”

  “And what are we but slaves? Moses had to flee Egypt and Goshen. Did you expect him not to marry or have children of his own? She is the daughter of a priest.”

  “And that makes her suitable? Priest of what god? Not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

  “It is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who has called Moses here.”

  “A pity Moses didn’t leave his wife and sons where they belong.” She rose and turned her back.

  Angry, Aaron stood. “And where do you belong, Miriam—you without a husband and sons to take care of you?”

  She faced him, eyes hot and moist. “I was the one who watched over Moses while he drifted on the Nile. I was the one who spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter so our brother was given back to Mother until he was weaned. And if that is not enough, who became mother to your sons when Elisheba died? Lest you forget, Aaron, I am your older sister, firstborn of Amram and Jochebed. I had much to do with taking care of you as well.”

  Sometimes there was no reasoning with his sister. It was better to let her think things through for herself and keep peace in the family. Given time, Miriam would accept Moses’ sons, if not his wife.

  “I will speak with Miriam again, Moses. Zipporah is your wife. Her place is here with you.”

  “It is not only Miriam, Brother. Zipporah is afraid of our people. She says they blow hot and change direction like the wind. She has already seen that the people won’t listen to me. Nor are they willing to listen to you. She understands that I must do as God tells me, but she is afraid for our sons and says she will be safer living in her father’s tents than in the houses of Israel.”

  Were their women destined to make trouble? “Is she asking you to return with her?”

  “No. She only asks that I give my blessing. And I have. She will take my sons, Gershom and Eliezer, back to Midian. She has spent her life in the desert. They will be safe with Jethro.” His eyes filled with tears. “If God is willing, they will be returned to me when Israel has been delivered from Egypt.”

  Aaron knew from his brother’s words that worse times were ahead. Moses was sending Zipporah home to her people, home to safety. Aaron would not have that luxury. Miriam and his own sons would have to remain and endure whatever hardships came. Hebrews had no alternative but to hope and pray that the day of deliverance would come swiftly.

  TWO

  “Show me a miracle!” Pharaoh raised his hand and smirked. The laughter rippling in the great chamber left a hollow echo in Aaron’s chest. The ruler’s smug pride was evidence he felt no threat from an unseen God. After all, Raamses was the divine child of Osiris and Isis, was
n’t he? And, indeed, Raamses looked godlike in all his finery as he rested his hands on the arms of his throne. “Impress us with the power of your invisible god of slaves. Show me what your god can do.”

  “Aaron.” Moses’ voice quavered. “Th-throw . . .”

  “Speak up, Moses!” Raamses mocked him. “We can’t hear you.”

  “Throw d-down your shepherd’s staff.”

  The laughter grew louder. Those closest imitated Moses’ stammer.

  Aaron’s face went hot. Furious, he stepped forward. Lord, show these mockers that You alone are God and there is no other! Let Israel’s oppressor see Your power!

  Aaron moved in front of Moses to shield his brother from the sneering crowd and looked straight at Pharaoh. He would not cower before this despicable tyrant who laughed at God’s anointed prophet and ground his heel into Hebrew backs!

  Pharaoh’s eyes narrowed coldly, for who dared look Pharaoh in the face? Aaron did not look away as he held his staff up in challenge, and then tossed it to the stone floor in front of the ruler of all Egypt. The moment it hit, it transformed into a cobra, the very symbol of power Pharaoh wore on his crown.

  Gasping, servants and officials drew back. The snake moved with ominous grace, head rising as the cape of skin spread and revealed a mark on the back of its head, a mark unlike any other. The snake hissed and the sound filled the chamber. Aaron’s skin prickled from head to foot.

  “Are you all afraid of this sorcerer’s trick?” Pharaoh looked around the room in disgust. “Where are my magicians?” The cobra moved toward Pharaoh. At a flick of his hand, four guards moved in front of their ruler, spears down and ready to jab if the snake came any closer. “Enough of this! Send for my magicians!” Running footsteps echoed off the stone as several men entered from each side, bowing low to Pharaoh. He waved his hand imperiously. “Deal with this farce. Show these cowards it is a trick!”

  Uttering incantations, the sorcerers came toward the snake. They tossed their staffs on the floor, and their staffs also transformed into snakes. The floor teemed with serpents! But as each raised its evil head, the Lord’s struck hard and fast, swallowing one after another.

  “It’s a trick!” Pharaoh paled when the great cobra seemed to fix its dark, unblinking eyes on him. “A trick, I say!” It moved toward him.

  Moses gripped Aaron’s arm. “Take hold of it.”

  Aaron longed to see that cobra strike Pharaoh, but he did as his brother said. Heart thumping, sweat trickling down the back of his neck, he stepped forward, leaned down, and grasped the snake in the middle. The cool scaly skin and muscle of the cobra hardened into wood, straightening into his staff. Aaron stood tall before Pharaoh, staff raised, his fear gone in the rush of awe. “The Lord God says, ‘Let My people go!’ ”

  “Escort them out.” Pharaoh waved them away like flies. “We’ve had enough entertainment for today.”

  Guards flanked them. Moses bowed his head and turned away. Aaron followed, teeth clenched. He heard the whispered insults as the Egyptians blasphemed God.

  “Whoever heard of an invisible god?”

  “Only slaves would think of anything so ridiculous.”

  “One god? Should we fear one god? We have hundreds of gods!”

  Resentment and bitterness over the years of slavery and abuse filled Aaron. It’s not over! He wanted to shout back at them. “Many signs and wonders,” Moses had told him. This was only the beginning of the war God was waging on Egypt. His father, Amram, had waited for this day, and his father before him and his father before him. The day of deliverance!

  The guard left them at the entrance. Aaron put his hand on Moses’ shoulder. His brother was trembling! “I know fear, too, Moses. I’ve lived with it all my life.” How many times had he cowered before a taskmaster’s whip or looked at the ground rather than allow those above him to see his true feelings? Aaron squeezed tightly, wanting to give comfort. “They will mourn the day they treated God’s anointed with such contempt.”

  “It is God they reject, Aaron. I am nothing.”

  “You are God’s prophet!”

  “They do not understand, any more than our own people understand.”

  Aaron knew the Hebrews treated Moses with as much contempt as Pharaoh had. He bowed his head and let his hand hang at his side. “God speaks through you. I know He does. And God will deliver us.” He was as certain of that as he was that the sun would go down tonight and come up again in the morning. The Lord would deliver Israel by signs and wonders. He didn’t know how or when, but he knew it would happen just as the Lord had said it would.

  Aaron shuddered at the power that had turned his staff into a cobra. He ran his thumb over the carved wood. Had he imagined what had just happened? Everyone in that great chamber had seen the Lord’s cobra swallow those brought forth by Pharaoh’s sorcerers, and still they dismissed God’s power as nothing.

  Moses stopped along the road to Goshen. The hair prickled on the back of Aaron’s neck. “The Lord has spoken to you.”

  Moses looked at him. “We are to go to the Nile and wait near Pharaoh’s house. We will speak with him again tomorrow morning. This is what you are to say. . . .”

  Aaron listened to Moses’ instructions as they walked along the riverbank. He did not question his brother or press him for more information once the command was given. When they came near Pharaoh’s house, Moses rested. Weary, Aaron squatted and covered his head. The heat was intense this time of day, making him lethargic. He watched as shimmering light danced on the surface of the river. Across the way, men were cutting reeds that would be woven into mats and pounded and soaked into papyrus. On this side of the river, near Pharaoh’s house, the reeds were left untouched.

  Frogs croaked. An ibis stood motionless, feet spread, head down, waiting for prey. Aaron remembered his mother weeping as she placed Moses in the basket. Eighty years had passed since that morning, and yet Aaron remembered it now as clearly as if it had happened this morning. He could almost hear the echo of other weeping mothers as they obeyed the old pharaoh’s law and gave up their infant sons to the river. The Nile, Egypt’s river of life, controlled by the god Hapi, had run with Hebrew blood as crocodiles grew fat during those years. His eyes filled with tears as he looked out over the Nile. He doubted Pharaoh would feel any remorse over what had happened to the Hebrew babies eighty years ago on the banks of this river. But perhaps his historians would remember and explain after tomorrow. If they dared.

  God, where were You when the old pharaoh was making us cast our children into the brown, silt-rich waters of the Nile? I was born two years before the edict or I, too, would be dead. Surely, it was You who watched over Moses and allowed him to drift into the hands of one of the few who held sway over Pharaoh. Lord, I don’t understand why You let us suffer so much. I never will. But I will do whatever You say. Whatever You tell Moses to do and he tells me, that will I do.

  Moses walked along the shore. Aaron rose to follow. He did not want to think of those days of death, but they often came to him, filling him with helpless wrath and endless despair. But now, the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had spoken to a man again. God had sent Aaron into the wilderness to find Moses, and He had told Moses to lead His people from Egypt. Finally, after centuries of silence, the Lord had promised an end to Israel’s misery.

  And revenge would come with freedom!

  Help me stand tall beside my brother tomorrow, Lord. Help me not to give in to my fear before Pharaoh. You have said Moses is the one to deliver our people. So be it. But please, Lord, don’t let him stammer like a fool before Pharaoh. Moses speaks Your words. Give him courage, Lord. Don’t let him tremble for all to see. Please give him strength and courage to show everyone that he is Your prophet, that he is the one You have chosen to bring Your people out of bondage.

  Aaron covered his face. Would the Lord hear his prayer?

  Moses turned to him. “We will sleep here tonight.” They were only a short distance from Pharaoh’s house on the
river, only calling distance from the platform where the barge would dock and board Egypt’s ruler for a journey up the Nile to visit temples of lesser gods. “When Pharaoh comes out at first light to make his offerings to the Nile, you will speak to him again.” Moses repeated the words the Lord had given him for Aaron to say.

  Torn between fear and eagerness for morning, Aaron slept little that night. He listened to the crickets and frogs and the rustle of reeds. When he did finally sleep, he heard the dark voices of the river gods whispering threats.

  Moses shook him awake. “It will be sunrise soon.”

  Bones aching, Aaron stretched and stood. “Have you been up all night?”

  “I could not sleep.”

  They looked at one another and then went down to the river and drank their fill. Aaron walked shoulder to shoulder with his brother to the stone landing at the river’s edge. The moon and stars shone overhead, but the horizon was turning lapis. Before the first golden beams emerged, Pharaoh emerged from his house, his priests and servants in attendance, all in readiness to welcome Ra, father of the kings of Egypt, whose chariot ride across the sky brought the sunlight.

  Pharaoh paused when he saw them. “Why do you trouble your people, Aaron and Moses?” Pharaoh stood arms akimbo. “Why do you give them false hope? You must tell them all to go back to work.”

  Without his cape of gold and jewels and the double crown of Egypt, Pharaoh looked smaller, more like a man. Perhaps it was because he stood in the open rather than inside that huge chamber with its massive columns and vibrant paintings, surrounded by his finely dressed servants and sycophants.

  Aaron’s fear evaporated. “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say, ‘Let My people go, so they can worship Me in the wilderness.’ Until now, you have refused to listen to Him. Now the Lord says, ‘You are going to find out that I am the Lord.’ Look! I will hit the water of the Nile with this staff, and the river will turn to blood. The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.”