Sons of Encouragement

by Francine Rivers

  Aaron struck the water with his staff, and the Nile ran red and smelled of blood.

  “It is another trick, great Pharaoh!” A magician pressed his way forward. “I will show you.” He called for his assistant to bring a bowl of water. Uttering incantations, the magician sprinkled granules and turned water to blood. Aaron shook his head. A bowl of water was not the Nile River! But Pharaoh had already made up his mind. Turning his back on them, he walked up the steps and went into his house, leaving his magicians and sorcerers to deal with the problem.

  “We will return to Goshen.” Moses turned away.

  Aaron heard the priests making supplications to Hapi, calling on the god of the Nile to change the river back to water again. But the river continued to run blood and dead fish floated on the surface.

  Every water vessel of stone or wood was filled with blood! All Egypt suffered. Even the Hebrews had to dig pits around the Nile to find water fit to drink. Day after day, Pharaoh’s priests called to Hapi and then to Khnum, the giver of the Nile, to help them. They called to Sothis, god of the Nile floodwaters, to wash away the blood and fight against the invisible god of the Hebrews who challenged their authority. The priests made offerings and sacrifices, but still the land reeked of blood and rotting fish.

  Aaron had not expected to suffer along with the Egyptians. He had been thirsty before, but never like this. Why, God? Why must we suffer along with our oppressors?

  “The Egyptians shall know that the Lord is God,” Moses said.

  “But we know already!” Miriam paced in distress. “Why must we suffer more than we have already?”

  Only Moses was calm. “We must examine ourselves. Are there any among us who have embraced other gods? We must cast out their idols and make ready for the Lord our God.”

  Aaron felt the heat flood his face. Idols! There were idols everywhere. After four centuries of living in Egypt, they had made their way inside Hebrew households!

  The stench of blood turned Aaron’s stomach. His tongue clove to the roof of his mouth as he stood at the edge of the pit his sons had helped dig. Moisture slowly seeped into cups. The water tasted of silt and sand, leaving grit between his teeth. His only solace was knowing that Egyptian taskmasters and overseers were now suffering the same thirst he had every day he had worked in the mud pits and brick fields.

  The Israelites wailed in despair. “How long, Moses? How long will this plague last?”

  “Until the Lord lifts His hand.”

  On the seventh day, the Nile ran clean.

  But even Aaron’s neighbors talked about which god or gods might have made the waters drinkable again. If not Hapi, then maybe Sothis, god of the Nile floodwaters, or perhaps the gods of each village had joined together!

  “We are to return to Pharaoh.”

  “Signs and wonders,” Moses had said. How many signs? How many wonders? And would Hebrews have to suffer everything the Egyptians suffered? Where was the justice in that?

  A plague of frogs this time, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.

  Pharaoh was unimpressed. So were his sorcerers, who were quick to point out, “It is a small matter to make frogs come from the river.”

  Aaron longed to call out, “Yes, but can you stop them?” As the barge was poled out from the shore, the magicians and sorcerers remained beside the Nile, casting spells and calling on Heket, the frog goddess, to stop the plague of frogs. The frogs kept coming until they were a hopping, writhing mass along the shores of the Nile. They hopped into courts and houses and fields. They hopped up from streams. They hopped out of pools where no frogs had been. They hopped into kneading bowls and ovens.

  Even in the land of Goshen.

  Aaron could not stretch out on his mat without sweeping frogs away! The croak and rustle were maddening. He prayed as fervently as any Egyptian for respite from this plague, but the frogs kept coming.

  Miriam flung another frog out the door. “Why did God see fit to send these frogs into our house?”

  “I wonder.” Aaron looked pointedly toward their neighbor, shrieking as she beat frogs to death with her statue of Heket.

  Flanked by soldiers, Aaron and Moses were escorted respectfully to the palace this time. Aaron heard Pharaoh before he saw him. Shouting curses, he kicked a frog away from the throne. Croaking and ribbeting echoed in the great chamber. Aaron smiled faintly. Clearly, Heket had failed to recall her frogs to the waters of the Nile.

  Pharaoh glared. “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let the people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

  Triumphant, Aaron looked at Moses for the words to speak, but Moses spoke this time, quietly and with great dignity. “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. I will pray that you and your houses will be rid of the frogs.”

  “Do it tomorrow!” Pharaoh leaned back in his throne and then jerked forward, snatched a frog from behind him and heaved it against the wall.

  Perhaps the ruler still held out hope that his priests would prevail, though it was clear to all present that the number of frogs was increasing exponentially.

  “All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that no one is as powerful as the Lord our God.”

  The Lord answered Moses’ prayer. The frogs stopped coming. But they didn’t return to the waters from which they came. They died in the fields, streets, houses, and kneading bowls of Egyptian and Hebrew alike. The people gathered the carcasses and piled them in heaps. The stench of rotting frogs lay like a cloud over the land.

  The smell didn’t bother Aaron. In a few days, he figured they would be out in the desert, breathing fresh air and worshiping the Lord.

  Moses sat in silence, his prayer shawl over his head.

  Miriam sewed sacks in which to carry grain. “Why are you so downcast, Moses? Pharaoh agreed to let us go.”

  The next morning, Pharaoh’s soldiers arrived. When they left, the Hebrew taskmasters ordered the people back to work.

  Joy quickly turned to rage and despair. The people blamed Moses and Aaron for giving Pharaoh an excuse to make their lives even more unbearable.

  Go back . . .

  Aaron and Moses obeyed the Lord.

  Pharaoh sat smug. “Why should I let you go? It was Heket who stopped the plague of frogs, not your god. Who is your god that I should let the slaves go free? There is work to be done, and the Hebrew slaves will do it!”

  Aaron saw his brother’s calm ripple. “Stretch out your staff, Aaron, and strike the dust of the earth!”

  Aaron obeyed, and swarms of gnats came up as numerous as the particles of dust he’d stirred, invading the flesh and clothing of those watching, including Pharaoh himself.

  Aaron and Moses departed.

  People poured into the shrines of Geb and Aker, gods over the earth, and gave offerings to pay for relief.

  No relief came.

  Aaron sat waiting with Moses near Pharaoh’s palace. How long before the wretched man relented?

  A pleading Egyptian official approached one afternoon. “Great Pharaoh’s magicians tried to bring forth gnats and couldn’t. Pharaoh’s sorcerers say this is the finger of your god who has brought this upon us.” Shuddering, he scratched the hair beneath his wig. His neck showed angry welts and scabs. “Pharaoh won’t listen to them. He has told them to keep offering to the gods.” He uttered a frustrated groan and scratched at his chest.

  Aaron cocked his head. “If this is but God’s finger, consider what God’s hand can do.”

  The man fled.

  “We are to rise early in the morning,” Moses said, “and present ourselves before Pharaoh as he goes down to the river.”

  Aaron was torn between dread and excitement. “Pharaoh will let us go this time, Moses. Pharaoh and his counselors will see that they and all the gods of Egypt cannot prevail against the God of our people.”

  “Raamses will not let us go,
Aaron. Not yet! But only Egypt will suffer this time. The Lord will make a distinction between Egypt and Israel.”

  “Thanks be to God, Moses. Our people will listen now. They will see that the Lord has sent you to deliver us. They will listen to us and do as you say, for you will be as God to them.”

  “I do not want to be as God to them! It was never in my mind to lead anyone. I begged the Lord to choose someone else, to let another speak. You have seen how I tremble before Raamses. I am more afraid of speaking before men than I am of facing a lion or a bear in the wilderness. That’s why the Lord brought you to stand beside me. When I saw you standing on the hill, I knew there would be no turning back. But the people must put their trust in the Lord, not in me. The Lord is our deliverer!”

  Aaron knew why God had sent him to his brother. To encourage him, not just be his spokesman. “Yes, Moses, but you are the one to whom the Lord speaks. The Lord told me to go to you in the wilderness, and I did. When He speaks to me now, it is to affirm the word He has given you. You are the one who will lead us from this land of misery to the place God promised Jacob. Jacob is buried in Canaan, the land God gave him. And when we go from this place, we will carry his son Joseph’s bones with us, because he knew the Lord would not leave us here forever. He knew the day would come when our people would return to Canaan.”

  Aaron laughed, exultant. “I thought never to see it happen in my lifetime, Brother, but I believe. However many plagues it takes, God will deliver us from bondage and take us home.” Tears ran down his cheeks. “We’re going home, Moses. Our real home, the home God will make for us!”

  Aaron stood with Moses before Pharaoh again. He felt the silence around them, the uneasiness of some, and the fear of others. More unnerving was the hatred in Pharaoh’s dark glistening eyes as he listened, hands taut on his scepter.

  “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let My people go, so they can worship Me. If you refuse, I will send swarms of flies throughout Egypt. Your homes will be filled with them, and the ground will be covered with them.’”

  Alarmed whispers surged around Aaron, echoing faintly in the massive chamber. Aaron did not stop. He looked straight at Pharaoh. “‘But it will be very different in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I have power even in the heart of your land!’”

  Pharaoh did not listen, and the land was infested with armies of flies. They filled the air and scurried over the land. They swarmed up from the Nile, seeking warm human blood; they blanketed dung and infested the marketplace and houses. Bugs swarmed into sleeping mats. The Egyptians could not escape the torment.

  Aaron felt little pity for the Egyptians. After all, when had the Egyptians ever shown pity to the Hebrews? While thousands cried out to Geb, god of the earth, or to their village gods for rescue, a few came to plead with him and Moses. Flies continued to swarm, sting, bite, and draw blood.

  And then the Egyptian guards came again to usher Aaron and Moses to Pharaoh’s house.

  Counselors, magicians, and sorcerers thronged the great hall while Pharaoh, grim-faced and glowering, paced the dais. He stopped and glared at Moses and then at Aaron. “All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,” he said. “But do it here in this land. Don’t go out into the wilderness.”

  “No,” Moses said. Aaron felt his heart swelling with pride as his brother stood firm before the man who had once made him tremble. “That won’t do! The Egyptians would detest the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God. If we offer them here where they can see us, they will be sure to stone us. We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as He has commanded us.”

  Pharaoh’s face darkened. His jaw clenched. “All right, go ahead. I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness. But don’t go too far away.” He lifted his hand. “Now hurry, and pray for me.”

  Aaron saw the armed guards move closer and knew death was close. If Moses prayed now, they would die the instant he finished. Clearly, Pharaoh thought killing two old men would stop the God of the universe from carrying out His will for His people. But Aaron had no wish to die. “Moses . . .”

  Moses did not turn to him, but addressed Pharaoh again. “As soon as I go, I will ask the Lord to cause the swarms of flies to disappear from you and all your people. Tomorrow.”

  Aaron breathed again. His brother had not been fooled.

  Mouth tight, Pharaoh feigned confusion.

  Moses looked from the guards to Pharaoh. “But I am warning you, don’t change your mind again and refuse to let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

  When they were safely outside, Aaron slapped Moses on the back. “They were closing in around us.” He felt hope again. The prospect of freedom rising. “Once we are three days into the wilderness, we can keep going.”

  “You have not listened, Aaron. Remember what I told you when you met me at the mountain of God?”

  Confused by his brother’s frustration with him, Aaron bristled. “I listened. There would be signs and wonders. And so there have been. I remember.”

  “Raamses’ heart is hard, Aaron.”

  “Then don’t pray for him. Let the plague go on.”

  “And be like Pharaoh, who makes promises only to break them?” Moses shook his head. “The Lord is not like man, Aaron. He keeps His word. As I must keep mine.”

  Stung and ashamed, Aaron watched Moses go off by himself to pray. He followed Moses at a distance. Why should they keep their word to someone who broke his at every turn? It galled him that his brother was praying for relief for the Egyptians. Generations of them had abused and persecuted the Hebrews! Shouldn’t they suffer? Shouldn’t they learn what Israel had endured at their hands?

  A group of Hebrew elders approached. Aaron rose to greet them. “We want to speak to Moses.”

  “Not now. He is praying.”

  “Praying for us or for Pharaoh?”

  Aaron heard his own thoughts spoken back to him. He blushed. Who was he to question the Lord’s anointed? Moses had not accepted the Lord’s commission eagerly, and leadership still did not rest easily on his shoulders. As Moses’ encourager, he must listen and learn rather than chafe at God’s command.

  “Aaron!” The elders demanded his attention.

  He raised his head and faced them. “It is not for any of us to question the one God has sent to deliver us.”

  “We are still slaves, Aaron! And you say Moses will deliver us! When?”

  “Am I God? Not even Moses knows the hour or the day! Let him pray! Perhaps God will speak and we will know more in the morning! Go back to your houses! When the Lord speaks to Moses, he will tell us what the Lord says.”

  “And what are we to do while we wait?”

  “Pack for a long journey.”

  “What does a slave have to pack?” Grumbling, they went away.

  Sighing, Aaron sat and watched his brother lying arms outstretched on the ground.

  As soon as God removed the flies, Pharaoh sent soldiers to Goshen and ordered the Hebrews back to work. The Egyptians knew Pharaoh’s edict would bring more trouble upon them. Dread of the God of the Hebrews had filled them. They bowed their heads in respect when Aaron and Moses passed by. And no one dared abuse the slaves. People from the villages brought gifts to Goshen and asked the Hebrews to pray for mercy on them.

  And still, Pharaoh did not let the Hebrews go.

  Aaron no longer yearned to see the Egyptians suffer because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness. He just wanted to be free! He stood beside his brother. “What next?”

  “God is sending a plague on their livestock.”

  Aaron knew fear ran rampant among his people. Some said he should have left his brother in Midian. Frustrated and frightened, they wanted answers when none were to be had. Moses was in constant prayer, so it was left to Aaron to try to calm the elders and send them back to calm the people. “What will we
sacrifice when we go into the desert to worship the Lord?” Would the plague fall on them? Was their lack of faith in God any less sinful than bowing down to idols?

  But Moses continued to reassure him. “Nothing that belongs to the sons of Israel shall die, Aaron. The Lord set a time for the plague to start. Pharaoh and all his counselors will know the plague is of the Lord God.”

  Buzzards circled the villages and came down to tear at the bloated flesh of dead sheep, cattle, camels, and goats rotting in the hot sun. In Goshen, the herds of cattle, flocks of sheep and goats, and the many camels, donkeys, and mules remained healthy.

  Aaron heard the Voice again and bowed his face to the ground. When the Lord stopped speaking, he rose and ran to Moses. Moses confirmed the words and they went into the city, took handfuls of soot from a furnace, and tossed it into the air within sight of Pharaoh’s seat of power. The dust cloud grew and spread like gray fingers over the land. Everywhere it touched, Egyptians suffered an outbreak of boils. Even their animals were afflicted. Within a few days, the city streets were empty of merchants and buyers. All were afflicted, from the lowly servant to the highest official.

  No word came from Pharaoh. No soldiers came to order the Hebrews back to work.

  The Lord spoke to Moses again. “Tomorrow morning, we stand again before Pharaoh.”

  Dressed in splendor, Pharaoh appeared, two servants supporting him. Only a few counselors and magicians were present, all pale, their faces taut with pain. When Raamses tried to sit, he groaned and cursed. Two servants came forward quickly with cushions. Raamses clutched the arms of his chair and eased himself down. “What do you want now, Moses?”

  “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so they can worship Me. If you don’t, I will send a plague that will really speak to you and your officials and all the Egyptian people. I will prove to you that there is no other God like Me in all the earth. I could have killed you all by now. I could have attacked you with a plague that would have wiped you from the face of the earth. But I have let you live for this reason—that you might see My power and that My fame might spread throughout the earth. But you are still lording it over My people, and you refuse to let them go. So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm worse than any in all of Egypt’s history. Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields. Every person or animal left outside will die beneath the hail.’”