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	Memoirs of Moses Part 3 - Life in Midian
My life in Midian was quite different from that in Egypt. Although my father-in-law was a man of considerable position in the land, he lived a humble life, and he gave me the task of being his shepherd. No more rich palaces, glorious clothes and endless servants, but long days and nights alone in the semi desert with the sheep, leading them from place to place to find adequate grass for them to eat. To be honest I grew to like the life. It gave me time for contemplation, particularly about God and religion. I was surprised to find that the Midianites were related to the Israelites. Their founder, Midian, was the son of our ancestor, Abraham, by one of his concubines. Consequently, he could not inherit Abraham's wealth and position, which went to Isaac, so Midian and his brothers moved across the Jordan Valley to live in North Arabia. The name Israelite came from Isaac's son, Jacob, whom God renamed Israel. I found that they worshipped the same God as the Israelites, though they had developed some aspects of their religion rather differently. This I suppose is not surprising since about 400 years had passed since Abraham's family had split up. Because Jethro was the high priest of the Midianites, he was responsible for keeping the records of the tribe, and he was able to tell me much about the origins of mankind and of our ancestors. In this he confirmed what I had learned from the Israelites in Egypt. I was able to draw on Jethro's records for my account of the origins of the Israelites in my book of "Genesis". One major problem I had to resolve now was which religion I was to follow. I had changed from the Eguptian religion to that of the Hebrews, and now I was being challenged to change to that of the Midianites. The time watching the sheep was a time of meditation, and the time when I was at home often developed into long debates between me and the priest. Slowly I came to realise that there could only be one God, a supreme creator being, and, because the earth behaved in a predictable and logical manner, then that God must be a logical being. The Egyptian belief system had so many weird aspects that it could not have come from such a god, so I concluded it was a false religion. I tried to live according to the religion of our ancestor, Abraham, who was considered by both the Israelites and the Midianites to be a truly great man of God. My conclusions were dramatically confirmed as correct by a most amazing event. I had discovered that there was good pasture for the sheep on the slopes of a mountain called Horeb, or Sinai, and I led them there. One day, as I looked around for any wild animals which might attack the sheep I saw a bush on fire. In that hot climate this was not unusual, but as I idly watched it burn I realised that the leaves stayed green and the flowers did not shrivel up. This was strange to put it mildly. Of course, curiosity drew me closer, and as I approached a voice seemed to come from the bush saying "Moses, take off your sandals because you are standing on Holy Ground". I was so stunned that I did so. Then the voice told me that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I was to go back to Egypt and set the Israelites free from their slavery. This did not seem to be a good idea to me. I was wanted for murder in Egypt, so the chance of me living long enough to release the Israelites was minimal. Besides I was 80 years old, though I prided myself on being remarkably fit for my age, and I had almost forgotten how to speak Egyptian. In fact, the long lonely days with the sheep had almost robbed me of the power to speak articulately. All this I argued with God, but it was no use. He insisted, told me that he would send my brother Aaron to act as my spokesman, and he gave me certain signs and miracles which I could use to persuade the Egyptians to agree to his plan. God even told me his own name - it was Yahweh, a name I had been told by my nanny many years before. You can't argue with Yahweh for long, but I was not fully persuaded, so I went home to talk it all over with my father-in-law. That wise priest simply supported what Yahweh had said, commenting that I had obviously been prepared by every aspect of my life for this time. Defeated, I said goodbye, and, with my wife and son, set out for Egypt. So ended the second stage in my life... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *