KNUTSFORD METHODIST CHURCH

BACK

Egyptian face profile Memoirs of Moses
Part 6 - Sinai

When we arrived at Sinai I knew we were to meet Yahweh, but I was not expecting the awesome events which actually took place. Up to then He had been a voice which only I could hear, sometimes coming from a definite location such as the burning bush, or the pillar of cloud. Now everyone was to hear Him. Again I have written a very full account in my earlier books, so I will only highlight a few of the events of that momentous period.
We arrived at Sinai on the first day of the third month. Yahweh had defined what was the first day of our existence as a nation while we were in Egypt, and we actually left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month. So it took us 6 weeks to get to Sinai. As soon as the camp had settled down and we had a day or so of rest, I went up the mountain to pray to Yahweh. He told me to get the Israelites prepared to meet Him. They had to be washed and dressed in their best clothes. This was to take two days, then on the third day Yahweh would appear as a thick cloud on the mountain. They did all this. Also I had to put a fence round the base of the mountain and no-one was to cross the fence.
Mount Sinai On the morning of the third day a thick cloud covered the top of the mountain, as He had promised. In the cloud was a strange glow like a furnace, and the air shook with thunder and the ground shook also. I have been in some pretty aweful storms in my 80 years but never anything like this. Yahweh called me up into the cloud, but all He said was go back and warn the people again not to cross the fence. I went down and checked everything was secure. Then Yahweh spoke. It was a loud sharp voice like a nearby crack of thunder, but the words were distinct. Ten commandments He gave us, then silence. It was terrifying. The people were scared stiff and asked me to go to Yahweh and ask Him not to speak to them like that again. They would be quite happy for me to convey the messages.
So I went back up into the cloud to talk to Yahweh and He agreed to talk only through me. Scroll of rules During that session He gave me a long list of rules for the Israelites to observe, and I returned and narrated them to the people and wrote them down on a scroll. To confirm our acceptance of the laws we built an altar and held a sacrifice.
Again Yahweh called me up into the cloud, but this time He said, "Bring Aaron, his two oldest sons Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of the people". In the cloud we all saw a figure. It seemed like a man but shone so brightly that we could hardly see. He was standing on a pavement of clear blue, like sapphire. That is all we could make out. We all expected to die, because we had a tradition that if anyone saw Yahweh he would drop dead, but remarkably we were still alive when the figure disappeared. We all trooped back down and told the people what we had seen. Over the next few weeks I went up and down that mountain several times; altogether I think I made 8 ascents. Not bad for an 80 year old!
Two tablets On one occasion I had to take two pieces of flat stone up with me. I put these on a rock and, as I watched, words appeared on them, presumably written by Yahweh as there was no other way they could have appeared. When I read the words I found they were the 10 commandments which Yahweh had spoken to everyone. I later discovered that I had been up in the cloud for 40 days, but to me it seemed no time at all.
Then as I descended I heard a noise of partying. It was a great feast around a golden bull like the ones the Egyptians worshipped. It was also a licentious feast like the Egyptians had. I was furious. Crashing the stones I carried onto the ground I stormed into the camp and stopped the feast. I ground up the golden bull, mixed it with water and made the people drink it. I also tore a strip off Aaron. He was my mouth-piece and deputy leader. He had stood by me against Pharoah as the plagues showed that the Egyptian gods were impotent. Yet it was he who had made the idol in the image of the Egyptian god, Apis. He, of all people, should have known better.
The next few weeks were taken up in receiving more instructions from Yahweh about the Laws for the new nation of Israel, which we were becoming. These laws included an elaborate set of religious rituals which were quite different from those of the Egyptians. We also had to build a home for Yahweh which we called the "tabernacle", and again it was different from any Egyptian concept. It was a tent rather than a stone temple!
Eventually, everything was in place, and I made Aaron the High Priest, and decreed that his sons should be his successors, and that the whole tribe of Levites should be dedicated to serving the Tabernacle. Then I felt that the time had come to leave Sinai and head for the land promised to Abraham.
To be continued...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Top

	Memoirs of Moses Part 6 - Sinai
When we arrived at Sinai I knew we were to meet Yahweh, but I was not expecting the awesome events which actually took place. Up to then He had been a voice which only I could hear, sometimes coming from a definite location such as the burning bush, or the pillar of cloud. Now everyone was to hear Him. Again I have written a very full account in my earlier books, so I will only highlight a few of the events of that momentous period. We arrived at Sinai on the first day of the third month. Yahweh had defined what was the first day of our existence as a nation while we were in Egypt, and we actually left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month. So it took us 6 weeks to get to Sinai. As soon as the camp had settled down and we had a day or so of rest, I went up the mountain to pray to Yahweh. He told me to get the Israelites prepared to meet Him. They had to be washed and dressed in their best clothes. This was to take two days, then on the third day Yahweh would appear as a thick cloud on the mountain. They did all this. Also I had to put a fence round the base of the mountain and no-one was to cross the fence. On the morning of the third day a thick cloud covered the top of the mountain, as He had promised. In the cloud was a strange glow like a furnace, and the air shook with thunder and the ground shook also. I have been in some pretty aweful storms in my 80 years but never anything like this. Yahweh called me up into the cloud, but all He said was go back and warn the people again not to cross the fence. I went down and checked everything was secure. Then Yahweh spoke. It was a loud sharp voice like a nearby crack of thunder, but the words were distinct. Ten commandments He gave us, then silence. It was terrifying. The people were scared stiff and asked me to go to Yahweh and ask Him not to speak to them like that again. They would be quite happy for me to convey the messages. So I went back up into the cloud to talk to Yahweh and He agreed to talk only through me. During that session He gave me a long list of rules for the Israelites to observe, and I returned and narrated them to the people and wrote them down on a scroll. To confirm our acceptance of the laws we built an altar and held a sacrifice. Again Yahweh called me up into the cloud, but this time He said, "Bring Aaron, his two oldest sons Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of the people". In the cloud we all saw a figure. It seemed like a man but shone so brightly that we could hardly see. He was standing on a pavement of clear blue, like sapphire. That is all we could make out. We all expected to die, because we had a tradition that if anyone saw Yahweh he would drop dead, but remarkably we were still alive when the figure disappeared. We all trooped back down and told the people what we had seen. Over the next few weeks I went up and down that mountain several times; altogether I think I made 8 ascents. Not bad for an 80 year old! On one occasion I had to take two pieces of flat stone up with me. I put these on a rock and, as I watched, words appeared on them, presumably written by Yahweh as there was no other way they could have appeared. When I read the words I found they were the 10 commandments which Yahweh had spoken to everyone. I later discovered that I had been up in the cloud for 40 days, but to me it seemed no time at all. Then as I descended I heard a noise of partying. It was a great feast around a golden bull like the ones the Egyptians worshipped. It was also a licentious feast like the Egyptians had. I was furious. Crashing the stones I carried onto the ground I stormed into the camp and stopped the feast. I ground up the golden bull, mixed it with water and made the people drink it. I also tore a strip off Aaron. He was my mouth-piece and deputy leader. He had stood by me against Pharoah as the plagues showed that the Egyptian gods were impotent. Yet it was he who had made the idol in the image of the Egyptian god, Apis. He, of all people, should have known better. The next few weeks were taken up in receiving more instructions from Yahweh about the Laws for the new nation of Israel, which we were becoming. These laws included an elaborate set of religious rituals which were quite different from those of the Egyptians. We also had to build a home for Yahweh which we called the "tabernacle", and again it was different from any Egyptian concept. It was a tent rather than a stone temple! Eventually, everything was in place, and I made Aaron the High Priest, and decreed that his sons should be his successors, and that the whole tribe of Levites should be dedicated to serving the Tabernacle. Then I felt that the time had come to leave Sinai and head for the land promised to Abraham. To be continued... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *