CHAPTER VII

ISRAEL IN EGYPT

NOW there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph.” With these words the next chapter of the story opens. They imply more than they say. The Shepherd kings had never been popu­lar with the native Egyptians; they were regarded as foreigners and oppressors, and were hated for both reasons. The memory of the time of the famine faded, but the oppression remained; the people were practically in servitude to Pharaoh. At last the discontent broke out, and after a terrific conflict the Hyksos were driven out, and a new Dynasty, the eighteenth, began. It was a king of this Dynasty that knew not Joseph.

The Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, had come from Canaan; so had the Hyksos kings, though their origins were further north. They were therefore regarded as helpers of the defeated kings, and prob­able enemies if trouble broke out on the Syrian border. So the new king placed them under task­masters, reducing them to a condition of serfdom, compelling them to make bricks and build store cities. Two of these are named, Pithom and Raamses. In Egypt such labour was of a severe character; the labourers had to work from morning to night, hastened on by the rods of overseers.

The birth of Moses

As the people multiplied Pharaoh tried to keep their numbers down. He gave instructions to the midwives who attended on the Hebrew women to destroy every son that was born, but they refused to do so. Then he ordered his own people to throw every male Israelite child into the river to be drowned. This command was carried out, though it was evaded in at least one instance. Before the issue of the decree a man of the tribe of Levi, named Amrarn, had had two children, a girl named Miriam, and a boy named Aaron. Now his wife had another child, a boy, and the father and mother did all they could to save the child’s life. For a time they kept him hidden in the house, and, when they could no longer do this, the mother prepared an ark, or shrine, of bulrushes, covered it with pitch, and put her little son in it, placing the ark at a spot where Pharaoh’s daughter was in the habit of going to bathe. Miriam was told to watch and see what happened.

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile and when she saw the ark among the flags by the river’s brink, she sent one of her attendants to fetch it. As soon as she saw the child she was touched; she knew it was a Hebrew baby, and she knew her father’s command, but she determined to save the baby’s life and to treat him as her own son. Miriam then came forward and asked if she should call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby. When Pharaoh’s daughter agreed Miriam fetched her mother, who thus became nurse to her own child. Pharaoh’s daughter, whose name, probably, was Hatshepsut, gave him the name of Moses, because, she said, “I drew him out of the water.” The name is very much like a part of that of her father-Tuthmoses.

Tended by his mother, Moses imbibed a knowledge of Israel’s past history and of the promises. Brought up in the court of Pharaoh he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, for young princes were taught everything that was likely to fit them to rule. For forty years he lived in the court, gaining knowledge and experience that were to help him in his later career. Yet he never forgot that he was a Hebrew, nor the great promises concerning the future of his nation.

Moses forced to leave

When he was forty years of age he reached a crisis. Going out one day to see how his brethren were, he saw an Egyptian taskmaster smiting one of the Hebrews. Looking around to see if he was observed, he slew the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He thought his brethren would have seen in this the first act in a series that would have resulted in their deliverance. On the following day he saw two Hebrews striving together. As he approached he said to the one in the wrong, “Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?” He was startled by the reply. “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian?” Moses realised that the thing was known; perhaps it had become common talk among the Hebrews. There was no time for reflection; he fled, and crossed the desert to the land of Midian.

When he arrived there he saw seven young women filling troughs with water for their flocks to drink. Some shepherds drove them away, but Moses inter­vened and enabled them to water the flocks at once.

The incident led to his staying with the priest, the father of the seven, and to his marriage with one of them. He had left Egypt, as he thought, for good, rejected by his own countrymen. Yet he was to return and the time he spent in the land of Midian was a preparation for the great work of his life. Two sons were born to him; otherwise the days passed uneventfully in the solitude of the desert.

Meanwhile things were growing worse for the Israelites in Egypt. The action of Moses probably caused their bondage to be increased, and when yet another king ascended the throne the condition of the people grew worse than ever.

A miracle in the desert

At the end of forty years a strange thing happened to Moses. He was at Horeb, tending the flocks of his father-in-law, when he saw a bush apparently on fire and yet not burned. Fascinated by the peculiar sight he approached the bush. As he drew near he heard a voice saying, “Moses, Moses.”

Startled, he replied, “Here am I.”

The voice continued, “Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground.”

It was the Lord, speaking through an angel. The Voice continued, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, for I know their sorrows.” He proceeded to tell of His purpose to give them the land of Canaan, and to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. “Now,” he said, “I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

Moses was not prepared for such a commission. Forty years reflection had enabled him to realise the difficulty of the task he had been so ready to under­take before. He gave many reasons why he should not return to Egypt, and then asked Whom he should say had sent him. The answer he received was a remarkable one. The Voice said, “I will be Who I will be. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ‘I will be hath sent me unto you’.” It was a strange name, but wonderfully expressive to people who think. The usual rendering of the Hebrew, “I am that I am” is a poor expression beside it. “I am” asserts existence, “I will be” declares a purpose. When it reads “I will be Who I will be” it makes this known, and only God can declare a purpose and be perfectly sure of carrying it out. The first stage in the development of the purpose was the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

Moses’ commission

God did not tell Moses that his task was an easy one-quite the reverse. It was a difficult one, and the difficulties were of two kinds; firstly that of convincing a nation of slaves that deliverance was at hand, and, secondly, of persuading Pharaoh to let his slave population go. So God encouraged Moses by a series of signs. First He told him to throw his rod upon the ground where it became a living, writhing serpent, which reverted to a rod when he took it by the tail. His hand became leprous, and then clean again. He was told that if these signs were not sufficient for the Israelites, he was to take the water of the Nile and pour it out before them and it would become as blood. Still unconvinced Moses said, “Oh Lord, I am not eloquent; I am slow of speech.”

“Who made man’s mouth?” asked the Lord, “I will be with thy mouth.”

Still he objected. “Oh Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send,” as much as to say send any one but me. This made God angry, but He replied, “Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well, and behold he cometh forth to meet thee.”

At last Moses was convinced. He said farewell to his father-in-law, took his wife and two sons, and started for Egypt. On the way a peculiar incident occurred. The Lord sought to kill him, it is said. Perhaps a serious illness threatened his life. Moses knew the reason. During his stay in Midian he had not carried out the ordinance that was the token of the covenant God had made with Abraham; neither of his children had been circumcised. So Zipporah, his wife, took a sharp flint, and circumcised her two sons, saying “A bridegroom of blood art thou.” It dedicated them anew to God, and hallowed him for the great work he had to do. He proceeded on his way, and, as he had been told, Aaron met him, and together they proceeded to Egypt.

When Moses and Aaron arrived in Egypt they called for the elders of Israel and told them of the com­mission they had received, and showed the signs. The people believed the glad message; they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Let my people go

Moses and Aaron then went to the Palace from which Moses had fled forty years before, and entered into the presence of Pharaoh. They stated their message. “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let My people go that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.” It was not a very drastic demand, but Pharaoh rejected it. “Who is the Lord?” he said. He knew, or thought he knew, Amon-Ra and the many gods of Egypt; he knew nothing of the One God of Israel. They tried to reason with him, but without effect. Pharaoh charged them with encouraging the people to be idle; keeping a feast was only an excuse to leave their work. The result was an increase in the burdens of the people; they must find their own straw and yet make as many bricks as before. The taskmasters and officers urged on the people, and beat them unmercifully. Expostu­lation was in vain, the only reply was “Ye are idle; therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice.” It was so different from what they had expected, that the people turned on Moses and Aaron, and Moses turned to God and told Him how badly things were going.

God was over-ruling affairs for something much greater than a sacrifice in the wilderness. He reminded Moses of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and said, “I am Jehovah your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, and I will give it to you for a heritage.” But the people were too distressed to listen; the bondage was harder than ever. Moses and Aaron entered the royal palace again, where Aaron cast down his rod and it became a serpent. The magicians of Egypt, who had remark­able powers (Egypt was the cradle of magic), cast down their rods, which also became serpents. As they gazed at the writhing creatures Aaron’s serpent-rod swallowed all the rest. But Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to take heed to the sign. Later on God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but it was a heart that had been already hardened.

The Ten Plagues

Next morning Moses went to the Nile to meet Pharaoh, and told him that unless he gave permission for Israel to go into the wilderness the waters of the land should be turned into blood. Pharaoh refused, and the Nile, and other waters of Egypt ran like blood, and the fish that were in them died. The magicians were able to perform a similar operation, and Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. For seven days the phenomenon continued. It was a terrible blow for Egypt, for the Nile was worshipped as a god. The God of the despised Hebrews had caused the Nile-god to be an enemy to his worshippers.

Again Moses stood before Pharaoh and demanded permission for Israel to go and serve Yahweh. Again Pharaoh refused, and as Aaron stretched out his rod frogs seemed to come from everywhere, covering the whole land, and invading the houses. Egypt had never seen the like. The magicians also provided frogs, or appeared to do so, yet Pharaoh was sufficiently impressed that he begged Moses to put an end to the plague, promising to allow Israel to go and sacrifice. When the frogs died they were gathered into great heaps and the whole land stank. But when the frogs went, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

Aaron was next told to smite the dust of the land that it might become lice. It is probable that “lice” is an incorrect translation, and that what really came were vast swarms of gnats and mosquitoes which made life a misery. This time when the magicians tried to imitate Aaron they failed. They said, “This is the finger of God.” They were beaten, but Pharaoh was not; his heart was still hardened.

On the fourth occasion Moses met Pharaoh and repeated his demand for the people to be permitted to go and serve their God. If Pharaoh still refused the land would be filled with “swarms.” What they were to consist of was not stated. This time an additional sign was to be given; Egypt should swarm with noxious things, but the land of Goshen would be entirely free from them. The “swarms” came; they were probably made up of various insects, including the scarab, or dung-beetle, which the Egyptians worshipped. If the Egyptians killed the insects they killed their gods! Pharaoh hastily called for Moses and Aaron, “Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land,” he said. Moses pointed out that they could not do that, they would have to sacrifice the “abomination” of the Egyptians, and would be in danger of being stoned. The Egyptians worshipped the bull, the cow, and the ram, three animals usual in Israelitish sacrifices. Pharaoh yielded. “I will let you go, only ye shall not go very far away”; he said, “intreat for me.” So the plague ceased - and Pharaoh hardened his heart once more.

The fifth plague was a murrain on the cattle of the Egyptians. Again the land of Goshen was free. When this plague fell Pharaoh sent to enquire what had happened in Goshen, and found that not a single beast had died there. Even that did not move him; he still hardened his heart.

The plagues were increasing in severity. When the next fell Moses and Aaron took handfuls of ashes from the furnace and scattered them in the air, causing boils and blains to break out on men and beasts. The magicians were so affected by them that they could not stand before Moses. This time God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

When Moses next met Pharaoh it was with a much sterner message. “Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go that they may serve Me. For I will this time send all My plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” He threatened that a very grievous hail should sweep through the land, destroy­ing all the cattle that were in the fields and every form of vegetation. Many of the Egyptians removed their cattle from the fields that they might save them. The thunders crashed, the lightnings flashed, and storms of hail swept the land. Egypt had never experienced such a thing, and all the while the land of Goshen was free from the plague. Pharaoh was cowed this time. “Intreat the Lord, and I will let you go,” he said, “ye shall stay no longer.” But when the hail and the lightnings ceased he again hardened his heart, though part of Egypt’s harvests for the year had been destroyed.

An eighth plague followed. Moses said, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before Me? Let My people go that they may serve Me; else I will bring locusts into thy borders.” It was a terrible threat; it meant ruin for Egypt. Pharaoh’s servants were impressed; they begged their lord to let the men go. Their fears communicated themselves to Pharaoh, and he called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go?” Moses’ reply was very far-reaching. “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds, will we go.” Pharaoh was torn between two desires. He knew that if they went with all their possessions they would never return. If he refused to let them go, the locusts would come and eat up what remained of the harvests of the land. The vacillation of his mind was shown by his reply. “So be the Lord with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it; for evil is before you. Not so; go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what ye desire.” It was an incoherent reply, but Pharaoh showed what he meant by his action in driving Moses and Aaron from his court. So the locusts came; the whole land was darkened by them, and they devoured every vestige of vegetation that was in the country. Pharaoh was beaten. “I have sinned,” he said, “against the Lord your God and against you.” Then a strong wind carried the locusts away, and “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” He had gone so far that he must follow his path of refusal to the bitter end.

A ninth plague followed. An intense darkness covered the land of Egypt, except the land of Goshen. For three days the whole life of the nation was at a standstill. It was terrible. The sun was the chief god of Egypt. As Amon-Ra he was supreme, but in this conflict with the God of the Hebrews he could do nothing, he could not even appear dimly through the darkness. Again Pharaoh called for Moses and told him that they might all go, all except their flocks and herds. But there was to be no compromise and no concession. “Our cattle shall go with us, there shall not a hoof be left behind,” said Moses. Another hardening of heart followed. “Get thee from me,” Pharaoh said, “take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face, thou shalt die.” Moses replied, “Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.” He left in great anger; he had spoken his last word to Pharaoh, he never saw him again; the last plague came unannounced.

The Passover

Before the last plague fell upon the land other events of importance took place. The Israelites were told to ask of their neighbours jewels of silver and jewels of gold and thus “spoil the Egyptians.” They were to prepare for an instant departure from the land in a night when all the firstborn of the land of Egypt should be slain.

Special preparations were made for that night. It commenced an epoch, and the month in which it took place became the first month in Israel’s new calendar. Every household was to take a lamb which must be of the first year and be without blemish. If the family was too small for a lamb, two or more families were to join together. When the lamb was slain its blood was to be caught and sprinkled on the door posts and lintels of their houses. The whole of the lamb was to be eaten; anything that was left over was to be burned. The lamb had to be eaten with bitter herbs, and all who partook of it were to do so with their loins girded, their feet shod, and their staves in their hand.

In the midst of these directions God gave Israel a warning of what He was about to do. “I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements.” Only where the sprinkled blood was seen on the doorposts would there be safety. “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” When Moses gave the instructions to the people he said, “The Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.”

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Death of the firstborn

It was midnight. In Goshen the Israelites had slain their lambs, had sprinkled the blood as directed, and were ready to leave at a moment’s notice. In the rest of Egypt most of the people were asleep, yet there must have been a sense of impending doom. They had gone through so much. Rumours of the terse words that Moses had addressed to Pharaoh must have passed from lip to lip. What did they portend? Why did not Pharaoh give way? Would they all have to die because of his obstinacy? “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle; . . . and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” It was enough; the contest was over; Pharaoh was beaten.

He sent hastily to Moses and Aaron saying, “Rise up get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as ye said.” There were no reservations now, all could go little ones and flocks and herds. He ended his message with a despairing cry, “Be gone, and bless me also!”