Читать книгу Their Father’s Heirs - Cynthia Ekoh - Страница 6

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Zelophehad was not only anxious about his lack of a son but worried about many things. They had embarked on this journey to the promised land some twenty years ago when Moses returned from his self-exile with a message of deliverance from YHWH. Moses was born an Israelite but grew up an Egyptian prince in the house of Pharaoh, where he was adopted. He got into trouble trying to identify with his true people, the Israelites. That cost him his royal privileges, resulting in his exile. Many of them had thought it an irony that the very palace that caused them so much pain would be the same one from which a savior would arise to deliver them. Well that was the very meaning of the name Moses if you were Hebrew. However, Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him had given him the name Moses, which to the Egyptians meant son. So depending on what side you were looking from, he was either Egypt’s son or Israel’s deliverer. He believed without a doubt that Moses was their “Deliverer.”

Many of his people had found it difficult to believe this Israelite-Egyptian in the beginning, and he believed some still doubted today because of this never-ending journey to the promised land. He sometimes wondered what would have happened had members of Moses’ family not been around to support his claims. Aaron his brother had been instrumental in convincing their people to follow Moses, and Miriam his sister had been the one who stood to prove his nativity to the doubting ones. Well they were the very ones that were closest to him and now assisted him with governing the people. Aaron his brother was the high priest, while Miriam was a highly respected prophetess and the only woman in leadership. She was a very influential woman, greatly admired by all the women, especially his wife, who wanted their daughters to be like Miriam. Though both Aaron and Miriam were older than Moses, who was their baby brother, yet they submitted to him as YHWH’s chosen leader for Israel. Moreover, they belonged to the house of Levi, the respected priestly tribe, even though Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh. For Zelophehad and many others it was the awesome acts and supernatural interventions which led to their deliverance that authenticated and proved Moses. He had vivid recollection of the time and all the events that had led to their escape from Egypt. He still had nightmares sometimes, of walking in the midst of that Red Sea. On dry land they had walked right in the midst of that sea, with walls of trembling water on either side looking tumultuous and ready to fall back into position. It had been as if the waters were literally held apart by a mighty invisible hand on either side as they walked through. It had been both a terrifying and exciting experience, like a dangerous adventure. He remembered some families who had been too terrified and would not follow the herd of people until much pleading and of course the approach of Pharaoh’s soldiers had forced them into the waters. He remembered watching in amazement and horror as the same waters that had parted to give them passage had returned with such force. Pharaoh, his six hundred soldiers, chariots and horses had all disappeared before their very eyes. It was as if the whole of Egypt was wiped out. And it had happened so quickly, shortly after Moses had proclaimed to them, “The Egyptians you see today, you will see no more.” It had been a miracle and the ultimate payback to Pharaoh who had believed he was a god unto himself and the people. The whole event from the first plague to the last they saw of the Egyptians had been a humiliation of all their gods. It was established that their hundreds of gods were no match for the One God of Israel. They had not only escaped from their slave masters but they had left Egypt a very wealthy people. There was no family in Israel without valuables. Gold, silver, bronze, every kind of gemstones and any valuable asset that could be named, they had it. They had more than enough to buy land and anything else that they would need to settle in Canaan. Perhaps this was why he worried so much, Zelophehad thought. “Without an heir, what is the benefit of all my possessions?” It was not enough to have possessions. It was commonly believed and recited among them that the righteous leave inheritance for their children’s children, but the wicked are cut off, never to be heard of. He had reassured himself time and time again that he was no wicked man and believed he would be counted among the righteous. “Without an heir you are no better than a pauper,” his mother’s favorite line seemed to invade his thoughts. But not for long, as his wife’s sweet voice interrupted. “My Lord, I see that you have deceived me.” They were walking back home with their baby, Milcah, wrapped up so completely in swaddling clothes that he could not even see her face. He cleared his throat, buying time as he thought carefully of what to say to his wife. He did not want her to think that the reassurance he spent time giving her that morning meant nothing. He meant everything he had said to her earlier in the day when she woke up crying and worried. “I just wanted to give an extra offering to the Lord. Who knows, he just might smile down on me with a son sooner that you think.” She glanced at his face, searching his soul through his eyes as only she knew how. He was always cautious with his wife because she understood his expressions and actions more than she did his Hebrew. “I will tell you. You are desperate for a son but you are an honorable man. You intend to keep your promise to me and our daughters and I love you but . . .” She paused looking very serious. He turned to face her stopping in his track. They had taken the less busy path home, the tracks behind the tents, so he could afford the luxury of some privacy with his wife. He put his two hands on her shoulders to stop her in her track and looked into her face. She looked down smiling, too shy to look into his face directly. He had known his wife for fifteen years and yet there were still moments like this one. She looked down at his feet and continued, “. . . You can always change your mind you know and I will still love you.” “Woman, are you speaking the truth! Would you still love me when the other woman mocks and insults you for something you have no control over? Would you still love me when she makes your life miserable because I love you more than her? Would you still love me when peace no longer reigns in our home because of some strange woman? Would you . . .” They jumped as they heard footsteps creep upon them. It was a young man and a maiden holding hands. The young man waived and shouted a greeting respectfully while the young maiden snatched her hand away from his hand, obviously hiding her face behind her veils. Zelophehad took a cue from the approaching couple, grabbed his wife’s hand, and they continued their journey home. “Let’s give the young people some privacy and I hope they are pledged to be married. We have had our days.”

It was not unusual to find young lovers along the paths behind the tents. This was one of the largest camps they have ever set, yet they seemed to have not enough space. You were always sure to bump into people anywhere and everywhere around the tents even on the Sabbath. If you wanted privacy, you remained in your tents or went to the mountains, hills, or bushes surrounding the camp. The only people with complete privacy, which of course was not by choice, were the offenders and the lepers. As much as he coveted some more privacy, he cringed at the thought of such complete isolation from the camp. Such had been the fate of the greatest woman in the camp—Miriam. Some years ago she had been isolated for leprosy, a curse that had come upon her for daring to challenge her brother Moses. They were a people governed by laws given to Moses directly by YHWH. They were different from the surrounding nations who envied their organization and culture. They had courts and judges to settle their disputes. They had a good system of justice that worked well for the people. Moses elected elders from all the tribes who were assigned to oversee the people in divisions of tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands just like their army was structured. The overall judge, however, remained Moses, to whom difficult cases were presented. For the Moabites, the Amorites, the Amalekites, and the Cushites—the nations surrounding them—it was different. It was survival of not only the fittest but the roughest. Barbaric and unclean, they called them and were forbidden by the law to marry from these nations. Over the years they had had families come from these nations to beg for citizenship in Israel. Some qualified and many were rejected based on a number of conditions required by their laws. It was good to live in a community with laws. Egypt had been lawless. The Pharaohs were the law. They maimed, killed, and did about anything at their whims and wills. Israel had laws and regulations regarding every aspect of living. Food, drink, housing, marriage, birth, genders, death, diseases, crimes, slavery, farming, inheritance, and the list goes on. They had restitution and death penalty depending on the offense. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Life for a life. Even their animals were not exempted. He had once watched his brother Makir’s leg deliberately broken as payment for his neighbor’s fractured limb, which he had been responsible for in the course of a fight. His friend Ramah, a Cushite turned Israelite, often argued that their people were no better than the other nations but were forced by the laws to behave. Zelophehad’s comeback was always that it did not matter which came first, whether the law or the good behavior. It was peace that mattered. At least he was sure that a man could not kill him and go free. He was sure that no man would encroach on his territory and get away with it. He was sure no priestess would demand for one of his daughters to be burnt in a fire as a sacrifice to a worthless idol. He was sure no man could forcefully take his wife from him. He was a man who loved predictability. At least they were not likely to wake up one day and be told that they were no longer bona fide members of their community. They were a nation now. They were God’s special people, they were Israel! The mention of their name terrified many nations. Clearly they had heard of the dread they left in Egypt and their dealings with the Amalekites. Only their destination Canaan troubled him. They were informed that giants filled the land and great walls surrounded their cities. For twenty-five years now they have been waiting on this promised land. The land they were to claim was extensive. It included the land of the Amorites, Hitittites, Hivittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and of course the focus—Canaan. Maybe if they had at least conquered the extensions by now he would worry less. But here they were, it seemed, stranded in Paran for now. Maybe the several wars they had faced so far was part of YHWH’s plan to prepare them for the giants of Canaan, only Moses could tell him he believed. His thought focused on Moses at the moment as he tried to understand the person he was made of. He was in awe of this man. There was just something about Moses. He thought of his calm, his carriage, his courage, his humility, his conducts, his intimacy with YHWH, even his looks. He looked the same as he had over twenty years ago when he began to lead them. His brother, Aaron, the high priest, was not so lucky. The four years between them seemed more like forty years. Yet all the weight and burden of their nation was on this man. To be fair to Aaron, he had undergone a lot, losing two sons at the same time and having to live a very restricted life as a high priest.