|
1. Now Moses, when he had obtained the favor of Jethro, for that
was one of the names of Raguel, staid there and fed his flock;
but some time afterward, taking his station at the mountain
called Sinai, he drove his flocks thither to feed them. Now this
is the highest of all the mountains thereabout, and the best for
pasturage, the herbage being there good; and it had not been
before fed upon, because of the opinion men had that God dwelt
there, the shepherds not daring to ascend up to it; and here it
was that a wonderful prodigy happened to Moses; for a fire fed
upon a thorn bush, yet did the green leaves and the flowers
continue untouched, and the fire did not at all consume the fruit
branches, although the flame was great and fierce. Moses was
aftrighted at this strange sight, as it was to him; but he was
still more astonished when the fire uttered a voice, and called
to him by name, and spake words to him, by which it signified how
bold he had been in venturing to come into a place whither no man
had ever come before, because the place was divine; and advised
him to remove a great way off from the flame, and to be contented
with what he had seen; and though he were himself a good man, and
the offspring of great men, yet that he should not pry any
further; and he foretold to him, that he should have glory and
honor among men, by the blessing of God upon him. He also
commanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt, in
order to his being the commander and conductor of the body of the
Hebrews, and to his delivering his own people from the injuries
they suffered there: "For," said God, "they shall inhabit this
happy land which your forefather Abraham inhabited, and shall
have the enjoyment of all good things." But still he enjoined
them, when he brought the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt, to
come to that place, and to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
there, Such were the divine oracles which were delivered out of
the fire.
2. But Moses was astonished at what he saw, and much more at what
he heard; and he said, "I think it would be an instance of too
great madness, O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to
distrust thy power, since I myself adore it, and know that it has
been made manifest to my progenitors: but I am still in doubt how
I, who am a private man, and one of no abilities, should either
persuade my own countrymen to leave the country they now inhabit,
and to follow me to a land whither I lead them; or, if they
should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaoh to permit them to
depart, since they augment their own wealth and prosperity by the
labors and works they put upon them ?"
3. But God persuaded him to be courageous on all occasions, and
promised to be with him, and to assist him in his words, when he
was to persuade men; and in his deeds, when he was to perform
wonders. He bid him also to take a signal of the truth of what he
said, by throwing his rod upon the ground, which, when he had
done, it crept along, and was become a serpent, and rolled itself
round in its folds, and erected its head, as ready to revenge
itself on such as should assault it; after which it become a rod
again as it was before. After this God bid Moses to put his right
hand into his bosom: he obeyed, and when he took it out it was
white, and in color like to chalk, but afterward it returned to
its wonted color again. He also, upon God's command, took some of
the water that was near him, and poured it upon the ground, and
saw the color was that of blood. Upon the wonder that Moses
showed at these signs, God exhorted him to be of good courage,
and to be assured that he would be the greatest support to him;
and bid him make use of those signs, in order to obtain belief
among all men, that "thou art sent by me, and dost all things
according to my commands. Accordingly I enjoin thee to make no
more delays, but to make haste to Egypt, and to travel night and
day, and not to draw out the time, and so make the slavery of the
Hebrews and their sufferings to last the longer."
4. Moses having now seen and heard these wonders that assured him
of the truth of these promises of God, had no room left him to
disbelieve them: he entreated him to grant him that power when he
should be in Egypt; and besought him to vouchsafe him the
knowledge of his own name; and since he had heard and seen him,
that he would also tell him his name, that when he offered
sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in his oblations.
Whereupon God declared to him his holy name, which had never been
discovered to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for
me to say any more Now these signs accompanied Moses, not
then only, but always when he prayed for them: of all which signs
he attributed the firmest assent to the fire in the bush; and
believing that God would be a gracious supporter to him, he hoped
he should be able to deliver his own nation, and bring calamities
on the Egyptians.
|
|