The Priest: Aaron Read online

  The Red Sea rippled. All fell silent.

  Aaron sank to the ground, staring at the azure water—tumultuous just seconds before, now tranquil. The waves lapped against the rocky shore and soft wind whispered.

  Did they all feel as he did? Terror at seeing the power of the Lord visited upon the Egyptians, and exultation, for the enemy was no more! Egyptian soldiers washed up on the shore below him, hundreds facedown in the sand, their limbs gently lifting with the waves and resting again in the sand.

  Aaron looked at his sons and daughters-in-law, his grandchildren gathered close around him. “Egypt boasted of its army and weapons, its many gods. But we will boast in the Lord our God.” All the nations would hear what the Lord had done. Who would dare come against the people God had chosen to be His own? Look to the heavens! The God who laid the foundations of the earth and scattered the stars across the heavens was protecting them! The God who could call forth plagues and part the sea was overshadowing them! “Who will dare stand against a God like ours? We will live in security! We will thrive in the land God is giving us! No one will stand against our God! We are free and no one will ever enslave us again!”

  “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously!” Moses’ voice carried on the wind. “He has thrown both horse and rider into the sea.”

  Miriam took her tambourine and hit it, shaking it and singing out. “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously!” She hit the tambourine again, dancing and shaking the instrument. “He has thrown both horse and rider into the sea!” Aaron’s daughters-in-law joined her, laughing and crying out in abandon, “Sing praises to the Lord! Sing praises . . .”

  Aaron laughed with them, for it was a wonderful sight to see his aged sister dancing!

  Moses strode down the rise. The people parted for him as the sea had parted for all of them. Aaron walked with him, tears streaming down his cheeks, his heart bursting. He had to sing out with his brother. “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my victory!” He felt young again, full of hope and adulation. The Lord had fought for them! Aaron looked up at the cloud spread over them. Light streamed shimmering colors as though God was pleased with their praise. Aaron raised his hands and shouted his thanks and praise.

  Thousands cried out in jubilation, hands reaching toward the heavens. Some knelt, weeping, overcome with emotion. Women joined in Miriam’s dance until there were ten, a hundred, a thousand women spinning and dipping.

  “He is my God!” Moses sang out.

  “He is my God!” Aaron sang out. He strode alongside his brother. His family members fell in behind them. Others gathered around, raising their hands and singing out.

  Miriam and the women danced and sang. “He is our God!”

  Aaron’s sons sang out, faces flushed, eyes bright, hands raised. Filled with triumph, Aaron laughed. Who could doubt the power of the Lord now? With His mighty hand, He had broken the chains of their captivity. The Lord had mocked the gods of Egypt and swallowed up in the depths of the sea the army of the most powerful nation on earth! All those who had boasted that they would draw their swords and destroy Israel were now dead along the shores. Man planned, but God prevailed.

  Who among the gods is like You, Lord? There is no other so awesome in glory who can work wonders! The nations will hear and tremble. Philistia, Edom, Moab, Canaan will melt away before us because we have the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on our side! By the power of Your arm, they will be as still as a stone until we pass by. When we reach the land God has promised our ancestors, we will have rest on all sides!

  “The Lord will reign forever and ever!” Moses raised his staff as he led the people away from the Red Sea.

  “Forever and ever.” Our God reigns!

  As the jubilation subsided, the people rejoined their divisions. Families clustered together and followed Moses inland. Aaron called his sons and daughters-in-law close. “Keep within the ranks of the Levites.” The tribal leaders held up their standards, and family members fell in behind them.

  Aaron walked beside Moses. “It will be easier now that the worst is behind us. Pharaoh has no one to send after us. His gods have proven weak. We are safe now.”

  “We are far from safe.”

  “We are beyond the borders of Egypt. Even if Pharaoh could muster another army, who would heed his commands and follow when they hear what has happened here today! Word will spread through the nations of what the Lord has done for us, Moses. No one will dare come against us.”

  “Yes, we are outside the boundaries of Egypt, Aaron, but we will see in the days ahead whether we have left Egypt behind.”

  It was not long before Aaron understood what his brother meant. As the people followed Moses into the Desert of Shur and headed north through the arid land toward the mountain of God, their songs of deliverance ceased. There was no water. What they had brought out of Egypt was nearly gone, and there had been no springs at which to relieve their growing thirst or replenish their water bags. The people mumbled when they rested. They muttered on the second day when no water was found. By the third day, anger brewed.

  “We need water, Aaron.”

  Aaron’s tongue began to cleave to the roof of his mouth, but he tried to calm those who complained. “The Lord is leading Moses.”

  “Into the desert?”

  “Have you forgotten the Lord opened the sea?”

  “That was three days ago, and we are without water now. Would that it had been a body of freshwater so that we could have filled our bags! Why is Moses leading us into the desert?”

  “We are going back to the mountain of God.”

  “We’ll be dead of thirst long before we get there!”

  Aaron tried to restrain his anger. “Should Moses’ own kin grumble against him?” Perhaps it was thirst that lessened his patience. “The Lord will provide what we need.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ears!”

  They were like tired, cranky children, whining and complaining. “When will we get there?!” Aaron felt compassion for those who were sick. Some of the Egyptians traveling with them had boils; others still suffered from rashes and infections caused by insect bites. They were weary with hunger and thirst, sweating doubt and fear of what added miseries lay ahead. “We need water!”

  Did they think he and Moses were God that they could produce water from the rocks? “We have no water to give you.” Their bags were just as flat as everyone else’s. They were just as thirsty. Moses had given the last of his water to one of Aaron’s grandsons this morning. Aaron had a few drops left, but hoarded them in case his brother became weak from dehydration. What would they do without Moses to lead them?

  When they came to a rise, Moses pointed. “There!” Like thirsty animals, they stampeded toward the growing pond, falling on their knees to drink. But they reared back and spit it out, wailing, “It is bitter!”

  “Don’t drink it! It’s poison!”

  “Moses! What have you done? Brought us out here into the desert to die of thirst?”

  Children wept. Women wailed. Men shouted, faces twisted in wrath. Soon they would pick up stones to hurl at Moses. Aaron called for them to remember what the Lord had done for them. Had they forgotten so quickly? “Only three days ago we were singing His praises! Only three days ago, you were saying you would never forget the good things the Lord had done for you! The Lord will provide what we need.”

  “When? We need water now!”

  Moses headed for the hills, and the people cried out louder. Aaron stood between them and his brother. “Leave him alone! Let Moses seek the Lord! Be still. Be quiet so he can hear the voice of the Lord.”

  Lord, we do need water. You know how weak we are. We are not like You! We are dust. The wind blows and we are gone! Have mercy on us! God, have mercy! “The Lord will hear Moses and tell him what to do. The Lord sent my brother to deliver us, and he has.”

  “Delivered us unto death!”

  Angry, Aaron pointed to
the sky. “The Lord is with us. You have only to look up and see the cloud over us.”

  “Would that the cloud would give us rain!”

  Aaron’s face went hot. “Do you think the Lord does not hear how you speak against Him? Surely the Lord has not delivered us from Egypt only to die of thirst in the desert! Have faith!” Aaron prayed fervently even as he spoke. Lord, Lord, tell us where to find water. Tell us what to do! Help us!

  “What are we going to drink?”

  “We will die without water to drink!”

  Moses returned within minutes, a gnarled piece of wood in his hands. He tossed it into the water. “Drink!”

  The people scoffed.

  Aaron knelt quickly, cupped his hands, and drank. Smiling, he ran his wet hands over his face. “The water is sweet!” His sons and their families knelt and drank deeply.

  People ran for the water, crowding around the edges, pushing, shoving, and clamoring to get their share. They drank until they could drink no more and then filled their water bags.

  “Listen carefully,” Moses called out to them. “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, obeying His commands and laws, then He will not make you suffer the diseases He sent on the Egyptians; for He is the Lord who heals you.”

  Had anyone heard him? Was anyone listening? They all seemed so intent on taking care of their immediate needs that they scarcely looked up. Aaron shouted, “Listen to Moses! He has words of life to give us.”

  But the people weren’t listening, let alone listening carefully. They were too busy drinking the water God had provided to stop and thank God for providing it.

  When they left the sweetened waters of Marah, the people followed Moses and Aaron to Elim and camped. They ate dates from the palm trees and drank from the twelve springs. When they were rested, Moses led them into the Sin Desert.

  Aaron heard the complaints daily until he was worn down by them. They had come out of Egypt only one month and fifteen days ago, and it seemed years. They walked through the arid land, hungry and thirsty, vacillating between the dream of the Promised Land and the reality of hardship in getting there.

  The Egyptians traveling among the people stirred up more complaints. “Oh, that we were back in Egypt!” a woman cried. “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us there! At least there we had plenty to eat.”

  “Do you remember how we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted?” Her companion tore off a bit of unleavened bread and chewed it with distaste. “This stuff is awful!”

  The men were more direct in their rebellion. Aaron could not go anywhere without hearing someone say, “You and your brother have brought us into this desert to starve us to death!”

  When the Lord spoke to Moses again, Aaron rejoiced. With Moses, he carried the message to the people, speaking before gatherings of the tribes. “The Lord is about to rain down food from heaven for you! You are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way, the Lord will test us to see if we will follow His instructions. On the sixth day, you are to pick up twice as much as usual. In the evening you will realize that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. In the morning you will see the glorious presence of the Lord. He has heard your complaints, which are against the Lord and not against us!”

  When Aaron looked out toward the desert, the glory of the Lord shone in the cloud. The people huddled together in fear, silent as Moses raised his hands. “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning, for He has heard all your complaints against Him. Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us!”

  And so it was. When the sun began to set, quail flew into the camp, thousands upon thousands of them. Aaron laughed as he watched his grandchildren run and catch birds and bring them to their mothers. Before the stars shone, the camp smelled of roasting meat.

  Stomach full, Aaron slept well that night. He did not have dreams of the people stoning him or his bag spilling out sand instead of water. He awakened to people’s voices. “What is it?” When he went outside his tent, he saw the ground covered with flakes like frost, white like coriander seed. He put a few pieces to his mouth. “It tastes like wafers with honey.”

  “Manna? What is it?”

  “It is the bread God promised you. It is the bread of heaven.” Had they expected loaves to rain down on them? “Remember! Collect only what you need for the day. No more than that. The Lord is testing us.” Aaron took a jar and went out with his sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. Miriam shooed the family along.

  Moses squatted beside Aaron. “Fill another jar and place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

  When they set out again, they traveled from place to place in the desert, and the people complained again because they were thirsty. Each time their wants were not immediately met, they grew louder and more angry. When they camped at Rephidim, their frustration overflowed.

  “Why are we camped here in this forsaken place?”

  “There is no water here!”

  “Where is the land of milk and honey you promised us!?”

  “Why do we listen to these men? We have done nothing but suffer since we left Egypt!”

  “At least in Egypt we had food to eat and water to drink.”

  “And we lived in houses rather than tents!”

  Aaron could not silence their fears with words, nor cool their anger. He was afraid for Moses’ life, and his own, for the people grew more demanding with each miracle the Lord performed.

  “Why are you arguing with me?” Moses pointed to the cloud. “And why are you testing the Lord?”

  “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To make us and our livestock die of thirst?”

  Aaron hated their ingratitude. “The Lord is providing bread for you every morning!”

  “Bread with maggots in it!”

  Moses held out his staff. “Because you collected more than you need!”

  “What good is bread without water?”

  “Is the Lord among us or not?”

  How could they ask such questions when the cloud was over them by day and the pillar of fire by night? Each day brought renewed complaints and doubts. Moses spent every day in prayer. And so did Aaron when he wasn’t forced to quiet the people’s fears and encourage them with what the Lord had already done. They stopped their ears. Didn’t they have eyes to see? What more did these people expect of Moses? Several picked up stones. Aaron called out to his sons and they stood around Moses. Had these people no fear of the Lord and what God would do to them if they killed His messenger?

  “Aaron, gather some of the elders and follow me.”

  Aaron obeyed Moses and called for representatives he trusted from each of the tribes. The cloud descended on the side of the mountain where the people were camped. Aaron’s skin prickled, for he saw a Man standing within the rock. How could this be? He closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, staring. The Man, if man he be, was still there. Lord, Lord, am I losing my mind? Or is this a vision? Who is it who stands at the rock by the mountain of God when You overshadow us in the cloud?

  The people saw nothing.

  “This place shall be called Testing and Arguing!” Moses struck the rock with his staff. “For the Israelites argued here and tested the Lord!” Water gushed forth, as though from a broken dam.

  The elders ran back. “Moses has given us water from a rock!”

  “Moses! Moses!” The people rushed toward the stream.

  Exhausted, Moses sat. “God, forgive them. They don’t know what they are saying.”

  Aaron could see how the responsibility of these people weighed on his brother. Moses heard their complaints and beseeched God for provision and guidance. “We will tell them again, Moses. It is the Lord who has rescued them. It is the Lord who provides. He is the one who has given them bread and meat and water.”

  Moses raised his head, his eyes full of te
ars. “They are a stubborn people, Aaron.”

  “And so shall we be! Stubborn in faith!”

  “They still think like slaves. They want their food rations on time. They have forgotten the whips and the heavy labor, the unrelenting misery of their existence in Egypt, their cries to the Lord to save them.”

  “We will remind them of the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea.”

  “The sweetened waters of Marah and the streams of water from the rock at Mount Sinai.”

  “Whatever you tell me to say, I will say, Moses. I will shout the words God gives you from the hilltops.”

  “Moses!” It was a cry of alarm this time. “Moses!”

  Aaron pushed himself to his feet. Would trouble never depart from them? He recognized the voice. “It’s Joshua. What is it, my friend? What’s happened now?”

  The young man sank to his knees before Moses, panting, red-faced, sweat pouring down his cheeks, his tunic soaked through. “The Amalekites—” he gasped for breath—“they’re attacking at Rephidim! They’ve killed those who haven’t been able to keep up. Old men. Women. The sick . . .”

  “Choose some of our men and go out to fight them!” Moses swayed as he stood.

  Aaron caught hold of him. “You must rest. You haven’t eaten all day, nor have you had so much as a cup of water.” What would he do if Moses collapsed? Guide the people himself? Fear gripped him. “The Lord has called you to lead His people to the Promised Land, Moses. A man cannot do that without food, water, and rest. You can do nothing more today!”

  “You are three years older than I, Aaron.”

  “But you are the one God has called to deliver us. You are the one bearing the weight of responsibility for God’s people.”

  “God will deliver us.” Moses sank down again. “Go out and fight them, Joshua. Call the Israelites to arms, and fight the army of Amalek.” He sighed, exhausted. “Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”