Good morning. This is Rubel Milkash from the Canaan Broadcasting Corporation, bringing you the region’s top stories every morning. Today’s feature is an exclusive interview with Moses BenAmram, charismatic leader of the most amazing mass migration in recent history. But first, background from Lod Ashbel, who has been living and traveling with the Hebrew tribes for several months. Lod replaces our previous correspondent, who is still in critical condition following injuries received in riots during a religious ceremony involving, so I understand, a power struggle over a golden calf. Analysts wondered for a time if the unrest might have shaken Moses’ hold over the tribes, but after the execution of the opposition leaders, his position appears to be stronger than ever. But let’s hear the latest from the man who has been watching this amazing group from up close. Lod?
Thank you, Rubel. There has been a marked change in the mood of the camp just recently ... although I should say, these encampments. There are twelve tribes who all camp apart from one another, grouped around what they call a “Tent of Meeting” where they hold their religious ceremonies. All 12 tribes seem to be descended from a single ancestor, who as I understand it came from Canaan to
begin with, or perhaps even from farther north. As you know, we have heard reports from everyone who has come in contact with the Hebrew tribes that there is something unusual about how they have gotten here. There seems to be some
sort of a link with Midian, but almost everyone agrees that their trip began in Egypt, at least this stage of it. They are certainly not Egyptians themselves, but beyond that the details get a little fuzzy.
The political scene in Egypt has deteriorated markedly in the last year or so; Pharaoh has not been receiving embassies and there has been a mass shake-up of their armed forces. The Egyptian court recorders have refused to confirm or deny any of the rumors about the role these Hebrews had in all of this, and the information I have received from more informal sources are so far-fetched that one really cannot take them seriously.
On the other hand, everyone I have talked to in the camp tells pretty much the same story. They worship an invisible, all-powerful, mysterious god whose name I can’t pronounce, and they insist that this god has defeated all their enemies (including the Egyptian armies!), made them rich, given them laws to live by, and has on top of everything else has promised to give them Canaan as well. Well,
of course there’s no chance of Canaan being conquered by an untrained rabble, no matter how enthusiastic. But it wouldn’t hurt to beef up our defense budget, just in case.
It is strange that we haven’t been able to get any solid news from Egypt.
Things have been very quiet here until just a short time ago. (They count their time in seven-day increments, and never do any work at all on the seventh.) The entire population has been focused on building what they call the Tent of Meeting. It’s very ornate and elaborate, and everyone seems to believe that every detail was dictated to Moses by this god of theirs. People were practically
bidding for the privilege of running errands for the workers. They finished about a month after I got here, and since then they’ve just been having sacrifices and feasts and listening to Moses read their laws.
Every day after the sacrifices were completed, Moses read a new section of the law out loud to the whole congregation, and the scribes wrote it down, and then all you could hear during the whole rest of the day was people muttering under their breaths to get it by heart. Even the children got involved. For a while there I did start to believe that they might pull it off, really get some discipline into the organization. If they could do that, with their numbers and their - I think the only
word for it is fanaticism - we might have something to worry about. The place runs like clockwork, the people fall flat on their faces every time Moses walked by - incidentally, he wears a veil over his face, one can’t help but wonder if he has some sort of skin disease. The people I’ve talked to were really offended when I asked about it; apparently having a skin disease gets you kicked out of the camp. They say that the reason Moses wears a veil is because that his face shines, like the sun reflecting off of a pool, from all the time he has spent with their god. Well, anyone who can talk an entire people into believing
that is clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Until about 10 days ago, Moses looked invincible, and as long as Moses was invincible, his followers would be a force to be reckoned with. But ten days ago, they started traveling again. And almost immediately, the people started whining. Every evening, when we stopped for the night, another delegation would practically besiege Moses, bellyaching about everything from the weather to the food.
This most recent coup certainly wasn’t the first, and I don’t think it will be the last. But the reason I think it’s serious, and may signal the beginning of the end of this remarkable movement, is that this time the rebels were in Moses’ own family. That is, I believe, why Moses has broken his long-standing rule against talking to reporters, and has granted CBC this exclusive on-the spot interview.
Well - hello, Aaron, I’m glad to see you, of course, but I was expecting Moses. Yes, I know that you’ve been his spokesman from the beginning, but - to be blunt about it, Aaron, I’m surprised he still trusts you. Isn’t this the second time you’ve sided against him? How can he just let it go? And what about Miriam? No one has seen her since the failed coup; is she taking the fall for both of you? ... Okay, Okay, I’ll let you tell it.
AARON
"What you’ve got to understand is that it wasn’t a coup. There wasn’t any question about wanting to replace Moses, he’s our our brother. And Miriam saved his life, back in the beginning, when she was just a little girl, and she’s always been right there, fighting for him even when half the people wanted to turn him in for the murder, back before he left Egypt the first time. Miriam has ALWAYS been on Moses’ side. She wouldn’t have anything to do with the calf, either, when I betrayed Moses’ trust in me so badly. She’s a fighter. She’s always been a fighter. Whenever she thinks that an injustice has been done, you’ll find Miriam right there in the thick of it. She doesn’t give in, and she doesn’t back down. She has backbone enough for two - at least that’s what Moses says, she’s got my share as well as hers. My job is talking. I’ve always been good at that. But I don’t like to fight. Don’t push me, I’m getting there. What happened is that Moses was wearing out. He spent all of his time going back and forth between YHWH and the people, and the people and YHWH, and there was never any letup. Even after we got the priests ordained and installed, and the daily sacrifices got going smoothly, and the people could see that YHWH was right there with us, everyone still wanted Moses to talk to him on their behalf. No one
could possibly keep up with the workload. And of course whenever we were on the move, everybody got more and more unsettled and anxious; people didn’t eat as well or sleep as well and they found fault with absolutely EVERYTHING. Especially the food. YHWH provided the manna and the quail, you were there, you saw it - but Moses was at the breaking point and YHWH finally gave him a way out, and that was by having him share the power.
"Of course you remember that Moses’ father-in-law Jethro had helped him set up a system of delegating authority, back in the early days. And they were really good for administration and for deciding property and domestic disputes. But they couldn’t speak to the people on YHWH’s behalf. Only Moses could do that. So what God did was to have Moses gather the 70 most respected men in the tribes and let his Spirit fall upon them, as well, so that they could help Moses carry the burden.
"I wasn’t one of them, nor my sons, nor any of us Levites. And that was fine. We already had our work, important work, and we had the respect of the people.
"But Miriam wasn’t included. Of course none of the other women were, either; nobody expected it, it just wasn’t done. I’m not saying that it couldn’t be done, mind you, we’ve already changed the property laws from what every other people around does, so that a women can inherit. But whatever the reason, Miriam got left out. There really wasn’t anything left for her to do; her work was done. Anybody who was looking could have seen it how unhappy she was, and Moses could have taken care of it so easily, just by giving her a little more attention and having her stand with him on public occasions, that sort of thing. But he was too burned out to notice. Or maybe he just didn’t think in those terms. One never knows, with Moses.
"Miriam didn’t say anything straight out, not right away. She just grumbled, mostly about Moses’ new wife. It’s always hard when someone new comes into the family, who hasn’t been part of everything we’ve gone through together. So I understood how she felt, and sort of went along with her, wondering when the real issue would surface. Unfortunately it all came out at the worst possible time, and in the worst possible way.
"It turned out that what Miriam was really upset about was that she hadn’t been honored in any way for her part in our great liberation. And so she blurted out, “Has YHWH spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” or, in other words, “What am I, chopped liver?”
"Moses was totally taken aback. Not that it’s in any way unusual for him to be without words, mind you, but he was really thrown. And YHWH spoke. I mean, really spoke, out loud, all three of us heard it. "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." So we did, and YHWH came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and we came forward. And he said,
'Hear my words: When there are prophets among you, I YHWH make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face-- clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of YHWH. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?'
"I had time to figure it out while Miriam was taking her punishment. You see, it wasn’t up to Moses who got chosen to serve YHWH, or in what way. He hadn’t even chosen himself. Moses didn’t deserve to be blamed for any of it; most particularly, he didn’t deserve to be criticized for keeping Miriam out of the limelight. He was breaking under the weight of office; how could he have imagined that she wanted it? Far from seeking office or honor or fame or glory, all Moses had ever wanted was to stay in Midian with his wife and children and be at peace. It was his very humility that made him acceptable for God’s service.
" I suppose in a different sort of way that’s one of the reasons both Moses and YHWH keep forgiving me when I bend in the wind of public opinion. I have no illusions about myself. I know I’m not strong; I know I’ll blow it every time if I don’t have someone to help me stay the course. And they know I know.
"But Miriam was really proud of her strength, and her faithfulness. I was proud of her, too, even though she wasn’t always the most comfortable of big sisters. She was never satisfied with the way things were, and was always pushing to make things better. But it doesn’t work like that with God. It’s kind of a Catch-22, really; if you want the job, you’re not qualified. But Miriam didn’t understand that. All this time, she had been serving Moses, our family and our tribe, as much as she had been serving YHWH, if not more. And she felt that Moses owed her.
"The punishment YHWH decided on - the week with leprosy - was just a way of showing what jealousy and ambition on the inside look like on the outside. What YHWH did was show Miriam the ugliness in her spirit, and give her the time to reflect upon it, and give it up. And so she did. Moses and Miriam and I are closer now than we’ve ever been, and Miriam is at peace, finally. Oh, yes, she’s back in camp, her skin is completely healed. But most important, her spirit is healed.
"No, Moses isn’t weakened by what has happened. He - and all of us - are strengthened. And you can tell your listeners for me that this undisciplined rabble will surprise them one day. Because it isn’t our numbers, or our horses, or our sharp spears that will win the day. It’s our God.
This is Lod Ashbel of Canaan Broadcasting Corporation, bringing you Aaron BenAmram live from Sinai. You’ve heard his take on recent events among the Hebrew leadership. I leave it up to you whether or not to invest in higher walls or to learn more about this God of theirs. But even an old skeptic like me has to admit that there’s something unusual going on here. I’ll be watching events with great interest over the coming months, and advise you to do the same.
