Va'era (I appeared)
The servants of Pharaoh dared not utter a word. They could see his anger as he sat red faced upon his throne, staring out the window that overlooked part of Egypt. For once, he was not looking at his great building projects, but rather over them, to the land of Goshen where the Hebrews lived. Why did I not just raise my hand when Moses entered my chamber and have him killed instantly? What was the force that caused me not to be able to lift my hand? His thoughts were interrupted when a servant timidly approached him, announcing that Moses and his brother, Aaron, were again asking to see him. This time they will not leave alive, even if I have to kill them myself!
Pharaoh gathered his emotions and walked up the steps to his throne. He sat down, carefully positioning himself so that he looked as menacing as possible, and motioned to a servant to allow Moses and Aaron to enter. The two men approached the throne, but did not bow. Instead, Moses gazed into the eyes of Pharaoh and, with a voice that rattled even his older brother, stated the same words of their last meeting with Pharaoh, "Let my people go!"
Pharaoh once again tried to raise his right hand as a sign to his guards to kill these men instantly, but his right hand would not move no matter how much the Pharaoh willed it. His faced flared red and his eyes grew wide. He looked to Moses and said, "Who is this God you desire Pharaoh to obey? I am the only god in Egypt. Show me a sign from this God of yours." With those words, Aaron threw his staff upon the ground in front of Pharaoh. The staff slowly became like rubber, bending and twisting itself on the ground. As they looked, the wood seemed to peel off like skin as a viper emerged from the tip, leaving the wooden skin behind.
Pharaoh sneered and glanced to his own sages. They threw their own staffs in front of Pharaoh, and, with a puff of smoke, they also turned to snakes. "Parlor tricks," was what the Pharaoh wanted to say, but he had only gotten to say the first sound before his mouth dropped open. In less than a second, Aaron's snake had struck at both of the snakes and was beginning to devour them both whole.
The room was silent with all eyes on Pharaoh. He sat for what seemed like an eternity and stared at Moses. Maybe there is something to this God that Moses is speaking of. He is no doubt more powerful than these stupid sages I have. I could summon Moses to a private meeting to enquire more and no one would ever know. He then looked at his servants, scanned the riches of his throne room and looked out the window. This time he did not look to Goshen, but rather to his buildings. Egypt is my kingdom! I am the god of this kingdom and no man or God will take me from the throne of Egypt.
The silence of the room was broken when Moses once again stated, "Let my people go!" The guards were so stunned by this outburst, they could not have moved if Pharaoh had been able to raise his hand. "Let my people go or Egypt will be destroyed with plagues."
A sneer spread over Pharaoh's face as he turned back to Moses, "You want to see who is God over Egypt? We will see. Now go from my presence!"
As soon as Moses and Aaron left the room, feeling came back into the hand of Pharaoh. He stared at his hand for a moment. Let the challenge begin, my hand will prevail in the end!
The plagues began the next day in Egypt. First, the rivers were turned to blood. Then, it was the frogs. Frogs were everywhere throughout Egypt. They were in the peoples' beds, their ovens and kneading bowls; Pharaoh even found one sitting on top of his crown one morning. The people would have gladly lived with the frogs as opposed to the lice and insects that came next, though. No matter where you went, people were scratching, skin streaked red. Then, it was a disease that came upon the livestock. Dead rotting corpses of cattle stretched from one horizon to the other across Egypt, but the plagues no longer affected Goshen. The Hebrews were not touched by the happenings of Egypt.
The plagues continued with hail and storms that destroyed every aspect of life in Egypt: the economy, the buildings, and the agriculture. Everyone and everything was affected; except for the Hebrews.
Pharaoh summoned for Moses and Aaron from time to time. He even once pretended to repent and acknowledge their God. This was only to buy some time for him to gather his thoughts and make a plan, but his heart was known and the plagues continued.
During this time, there arose a group of Hebrew leaders against Moses. It seemed many of the people were complaining. All they had to eat were cucumbers, leeks, garlic and melons, what they were able to grow in Goshen. The food supplies of Egypt were now contaminated and could not be trusted. Only the Egyptians who were on the verge of starvation would eat what was left in the stores of Egypt. The people begged Moses to stop and let them go back to their normal, if not hard, lives. Moses told the people how they should be content with what Yah was providing for them. He told them that they should begin to prepare themselves to leave Egypt. He traveled throughout the land of Goshen, meeting with the leaders. For the most part, they would not listen. Moses found out very quickly that his fears of the people not wanting to leave Egypt were correct. It was so engrained in them. It was so much worse than he imagined. No matter. He continued to warn the people.
As Moses continued to speak around Goshen, he noticed his crowds changing. The leaders and older established people, for the most part, no longer came to hear him. His crowds were now made up mostly of young people in their mid to late teens. They would sit for hours as Moses explained to them how he had been called to take the people back home. Many would stay way into the night and ask Moses to tell them other stories. He would tell them of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others. The youth would hang on to every word of the stories. Many of them were hearing the stories for the first time.
Moses began to notice a young man who seemed to be present at every meeting he held. One night, after everyone was gone, Moses noticed this young man standing next to a building, just staring up at the stars. Moses walked over and stood next to the young man. He introduced himself as Joshua. Moses asked Joshua what he was staring at.
"Tonight you told us the story of how Abraham had been told that his descendants would be as the stars of the sky. I was just wondering which one had my name on it."
The two men talked for a while and Moses excused himself. After all, he was over eighty years old and it was late! Moses walked a ways away and then turned back to see Joshua still standing and staring.That young man gives me hope that we, as a people, might just make it. At least, he will make it, even if he has to be the last man standing. I need some sleep. Pharaoh has called for another meeting in the morning.
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