MOSES ENCOUNTERING WITH HIS PEOPLE When Moses encountered with God through the burning bush, the prophet had to leave Midian to encounter with his brother Aaron and with his people in Egypt. 1- Three miracles for his people 1 - 9 2- “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” 10 - 13 3- Aaron as support to Moses 14 - 17 4- Leaving Midian 18 - 23 5- Circumcision of Moses’ son 24 - 26 6- Commencement of work 27 - 31 1- Three miracles for his people As God appeared to Moses through the burning bush to declare the secret of salvation through the Divine incarnation, the virgin birth and the Passion, Moses had to be given the ability to perform certain miracles that carry a shadow of that secret, namely, salvation through the Divine incarnation and the cross. God granted him three miracles to perform before his people, not just to reveal a supernatural power but also to proclaim the exalted work of God toward man. These miracles were: transforming the rod to a serpent; making Moses’ right hand leprous; and changing water into blood. (1) Transforming the Rod to a Serpent The Lord asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” and he said, “a rod” (Exod. 4.2). Does God not know what Moses has in his hand? Why does He ask him then? St. John Chrysostom answers this saying, “in order that when he saw it become a serpent, He should not forget that it was a rod before, but being reminded of his own saying, might be amazed at what was done.” 1 This is God’s way in dealing with us, as in the case of Lazarus, He asks, “Where have you laid him” (John 11.34)? He directed this question so that the Jews themselves would testify that Jesus raised him from the dead. The Lord commanded Moses to cast the rod which was later called ‘the rod of God’ (Exod. 4.20), on the ground, to become a serpent that swallowed up all the serpents of the Egyptians. God the Word, is the Rod and Power of God, who descended to earth for our sake; He, “who knew no sin, to be sin for us” (2 Cor. 5.21) to kill all our sins. That is to say, that miracle carried a shadow of the two secrets of incarnation and of the cross. St. Gregory of Nyssa says that the transformation of the rod into a serpent should not confuse the lovers of Christ. If we accept the teaching concerning the incarnation, through an unfit serpent, the Truth Himself, did not reject that analogy saying, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3.14). It is obvious that if the (father) of sin was called (a serpent) by the Scripture, the offspring of a serpent must, by necessity, be a serpent. Therefore, sin is equal to him who begets it. The apostle testifies that the Lord became a sin for our sake (2 Cor. 5.21), having been clothed by (an image) of our sinful nature. This symbol truly conforms with the Lord for, if sin is a serpent, and the Lord became sin, therefore, the logic result becomes obvious to all. Becoming sin, He also 1 St. John Chrysostom. On the Gospel of Matthew. Hom. XXXI. 43 became a serpent, which is nothing but sin. For our sake, He became a serpent to swallow up the serpents of the Egyptian wise men and sorcerers1. St. Augustine also says, “To what did the serpent persuade man? To death (Gen. 3.1). Therefore, death is from the serpent. If death is from the serpent, the rod in the serpent is Christ in death2. Likewise, St. Irenaeus3 and St. Cyril of Alexandria4 spoke of that rod, transformed into a serpent, as a symbol of the Divine incarnation. St. Justin5 and St. Ambrose6 spoke of it as a symbol of the cross. While the scholar Tertullian,7 and St. Ambrosealso saw in it a symbol of resurrection. The latter says that He, who transformed the rod into a serpent, can He not, by His divine might, restore life to the dead and revive the bones? St. Augustine comments on Moses’ fear of the rod transformed into a serpent and fleeing from it saying, “What, brethren, save that which we know to have been done in the Gospel? Christ died and the disciples feared, and withdrew from that hope wherein they had been.”8 St. John Chrysostom also compares between Moses’ fear and that of the disciples, as they saw the Lord walking on the water (Matt. 14.25-6), saying that man normally becomes afraid and terrified when he realizes the power of the Divine work9. The rod refers also to faith, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says that by that rod, the word of faith in his hand, he overcame the serpents of the Egyptians10.Our faith in the Incarnated and Crucified Word of God, even if it is ‘foolishness’ in the sight of the Greeks and a ‘stumbling block’ for the Jews. Yet, it swallowed up the wisdom and philosophies of the world, presenting a real healing for the wounds of man. As the apostle Paul says, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.... Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1.21, 25). St. Ambrose speaks of the healing power through that serpent, “this signifying that the Word should become Flesh to destroy the poison of the dread serpent by the forgiveness and pardon of sins. For the rod stands for the Word that is true-royal-filled with power-and glorious in ruling. The rod became a serpent; hence, He Who was the Son of God begotten of the Father became the Son of man born of a woman, and lifted, like the serpent, on the cross, poured His healing medicine on the wounds of man. Wherefore the Lord Himself says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3.14)” 11 Finally, the serpent, turning again into a rod, refers to the Lord Christ ascending to heaven, to His glories, having paid our debt, to raise us and to let us sit with Him in Heaven, to share with Him His glories and to abide in His Father’s bosom through His righteousness. 1 Vita Mos. 2:31-3. 2 St. Augustine. On Ps. LXXIV. 3 Adu. Haer 3:28. 4 Glath in Ex. 2:298. 5 Dial. 86. 6 Duties of the Clergy. 3:15. 7 Deres. Mort. 28. 8 On Ps. 74. 9 In Matt. Hom. 28. 10 Vita Mos. 2:36. 11 Duties of the Clergy. 3:15. 44 (2) His right hand turning leprous St. Ambrose says that the right hand of God the Father is the Son sitting on his right side, namely, the Power of the Father, who is in His bosom. He descended to us, bearing our sins (Leprosy refers to sin), to cleanse and sanctify us, then to get us back to His Father’s bosom, whole and without sin. It is, as though, this miracle is a confirmation of the previous one1. St. Jerome sees in this miracle a declaration of the death in flesh of the Lord Christ, as His hand turned white; and of His Resurrection, as His hand returned to its original state2. St. Augustine sees, in the words of the Psalm: “Why do you withdraw your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your bosom and destroy them. For God is my King from the old, working salvation in the midst of the earth” (Ps. 74.11-12), cries directed to God the Father, asking Him to send His only begotten Son (His Right Hand), who is in His bosom to destroy evil and to present salvation in the midst of all nations. The Saint says that the Jews were blind and did not recognize the Lord Christ as a Savior “in order that the fullness of the Gentiles might enter in, and so all Israel might be saved3." (3) Turning water into blood This miracle came to confirm the two previous ones, as there is no salvation for us, except through the blood of the Lord Christ who sanctifies the cold water of our hearts. 2- “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” Moses tried to excuse himself of that mission saying, “‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue’. So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say” (Exod. 4.10-13). When did Moses realize that he is slow of speech and slow of tongue? When he was in the palace, a son to the princess daughter of Pharaoh, learning all the wisdom of the Egyptians he felt capable of talking. However then, being in the presence of the Father Himself, he felt slow of speech, and slow of tongue. The scholar Origen says that as he was in Egypt, Moses was learnt in all the wisdom of the Egyptians (Acts 7.22), he was not then slow of speech and slow of tongue. He was eloquent when speaking about himself. He was, in the eyes of the Egyptians, of incomparable eloquence. Nevertheless, when he listened to God’s voice and commandments, he felt himself mute when he started to understand the true Word who was from the beginning with God (John 1.1). To make this easier to understand, Origen presented the following analogy: Compared to the dumb animals, man seems to be reasonable, even if he is illiterate and without education. He seems eloquent, as dumb animals have neither voice nor reason. However, compared to highly educated persons and people of eloquence, he looks as though mute. Likewise, when you meditate in God’s word and lift your eyes to the Divine wisdom, whatever your work and your wisdom are, you would admit before God that you are like a dumb animal and even less. That was how the blessed psalmist felt when he compared his wisdom with the Divine wisdom, “I 1 Ibid. 2 To Pammachius Against John of Jerusalem. 33. 3 On Ps. LXXIV. 45 was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You” (Ps. 73.22). This was what Moses, the greatest among the prophets, meant when he said, “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Compared to God the Word, all men, not only the noneloquent, are mute1. Standing before God, Moses discovered the slowness of his tongue. He felt meek within himself; thus, he excused himself from ministry, only to become worthier before God to fill his mouth to minister. The fathers dealt abundantly with that issue of Moses’ humility. For example, St. Clement of Rome says, “Moses was called faithful in all God's house (Num. 12.7; Heb 3.2); … Yet he, though thus greatly honored, did not adopt lofty language, but said, when the divine oracle came to him out of the bush, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh ... I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue” (Exod. 3.11, 4.10). And again he said2, "I am but as the smoke of a pot." 3 St. Gregory Nazianzen says, “For it is a good thing even to hold back from God for a little while, as did the great Moses of old (Exod. 4.10), and Jeremiah later on (Jer. 1.6); and then to run readily to Him when He calls, as did Aaron (Exod. 4.27) and Isaiah (Isa. 1.6), so only both be done in a dutiful spirit; the former because of his own want of strength; the latter because of the Might of Him That calleth.” 4 He also says, “Aaron was eager, but Moses resisted, Isaiah readily submitted, but Jeremiah was afraid of his youth, and did not venture to prophesy until he had received from God a promise and power beyond his years.” 5 The scholar Origen says that as Moses reached the depth of understanding; that is, recognition of his real value, God granted him great graces: “…I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say” (Exod. 4.12). Blessed are they, whose mouths are opened by God to speak! He opens the mouths of prophets and fills them with eloquence, as God says on David’s mouth, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81.10). And with the same meaning, the apostle Paul says, “... that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6.19). Therefore, it is God who opens up the mouths of those who utter the divine words. It was not only Moses’ mouth that was opened to utter God’s words but also his brother Aaron’s mouth as well, who encountered Moses on the mountain of God (Exod. 4.27). It is as though he who wants his mouth to be opened, to enjoy God’s words and knowledge, has to encounter with Moses (the Law), in the spirit, on the mountain of God, namely, inside the divine, holy Church. Concerning this, the scholar Origen says, that peter, James and John ascended to the mountain of God, to be worthy of beholding the Lord Jesus Christ transfigured, and with Him in glory, Moses and Elijah. You too, if you do not ascend the mountain of God to encounter with Moses; if you are not lifted up to the spiritual understanding of the Law; if you do not reach to the summit of the spiritual apprehension, God will not open up your mouth. If you stop at the hateful literal concept, and get confused with the historical record of the Jewish events, you will never catch up with Moses on the mountain of God; you will never have your mouth open and will never be taught what you should say6. 1 Origen. In Exode. Hom. 3:1 2 This is not found in Scripture. [They were probably in Clement's version. Comp. Ps. cxix. 83.] 3 Clem. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. 17 4 Greg. Naz. Orat. 1:1. 5 Orat. 2:114. 6 Ibid 3: 2. 46 God does not only open our mouths to fill them with His words but He also opens our eyes to enlighten them with the Holy Spirit, to behold the divine glories. He opens our ears to hearken to His Divine voice without obstinacy. He also renders our senses and inner energies ready so as to be completely emerged in God. The scholar Origen says that as God opens up the mouths of the Saints, he also opens up their ears to hearken to the Divine words. So testifies the prophet Isaiah who says, “The Lord God has opened my ear; and I was not rebellious” (Isa. 50.5). Likewise, God opened up Hagar’s eyes to see the well of living water; and as the prophet Elisha prayed saying, “‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see’; then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6.17). Thus, God opens up the mouth, the ears and the eyes, to say, hear and see the Divine matters1. As God’s children have their senses and spirits opened to receive the work of God in them; likewise, the children of Satan have their senses and spirits opened to receive the works of their father in them. The scholar Origen asks the reader to behold what is written about Judas, which is that “Satan entered Judas” (Luke 22.4). He opened his mouth to confer with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them, after he got the silver2. Someone will probably ask, “Who will open our mouth? Do we open it ourselves, and God fill it, or will He do both?” St. Augustine, in his answer against two letters of the Pelagians, says, “For although, save by His assistance without whom we can do nothing, we cannot open our mouth, yet we open it by His aid and by our own agency, while the Lord fills it without our agency.” 3 3- Aaron, as help to Moses Despite all God’s confirmations to Moses, that He will work in him, and His promise to give him success, Moses again said, “Oh my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send.” How melancholic the human heart could be when it gets tired! “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses” (Exod. 4.14). Then, Moses lost his individual role in doing that mission and was offered someone to share it with him. Indeed, fellowship in ministry is beautiful and rejoicing, as the disciples of the Lord were sent two by two. However, what happened with Moses was the result of his weakness and his insistence on escaping responsibility. Anyhow, God turned that weakness into something good, as Aaron became a helper to Moses and a symbol of a guardian angel. As Moses had an evil angel (Pharaoh) who represents Satan opposing him, he had also a guardian angel as his brother. It is Aaron who became a priest to intercede on behalf of the people, and a helper to Moses in his ministry. St. Gregory Bishop of Nyssa says that there is a teaching, based on the tradition of the fathers, that God did not forsake our nature after our fall into sin. On the contrary, He supported it with His care. He sent an angel, carrying a non-corrupt nature, to support the life of man; on the other hand, He also sent the corrupt and killer devil to oppose man’s nature. Thus, man finds himself between those two, who carry two different goals, so that he can let one prevail on the other. The good angel, with his prudence, would reveal the benefits of virtue, so as to fill those walking straight with hope; while his adversary would present the temporary lusts that do not give hope in the coming good. If man prudently gets away from those 1 Ibid 3:2 2 Ibid 3:2. 3 St. Augustine. Against Two Letters of the Pelagians. Book II, Chapter XX. 47 trying to attract him to evil, giving control to his mind and going back to the virtuous life, giving his back to evil and setting forth to hope in good as if looking at a mirror, such man would have, imprinted on his pure soul, the images of virtue proclaimed to him by God. To such a man, God will present a brother (Aaron) as a support and companion. The angel is nothing but a brother to the balanced and prudent soul to give support when confronting Pharaoh1. Aaron also refers to the priestly work of worship. His clinging to Moses symbolizes the fusion between the commandment and worship, to work in God’s Spirit for the salvation of the world. Thus, preaching is based on the declaration of the commandment or the divine word in the Spirit of pious worship. 4- Leaving Midian Commanding Moses to go back to Egypt to lead the people out of it, he said to him, “See that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put, in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exod. 4.21). Thus, God proclaimed beforehand to Moses the possibilities He granted him and the temptations he is going to face so that he would not collapse on the way of fighting. That was what the Lord Christ did with us when He confirmed to us, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16.33). Yet at the same time, He said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matt. 10.16). Does God harden the heart? It is obvious in the Holy Book (Exod. 8.32) that Pharaoh is hardening his heart by his own free will. God says that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart. By that we know that God, for His justice, lets Pharaoh execute his free will, which is the hardness of heart, and does not stop him, so as to be glorified in him. According to the words of the apostle, “God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts ... and gave them over to a debased mind” (Rom. 1.24, 28). 5- Circumcision of Moses’ son It seems that Moses’ wife, of foreign origin, ‘Zipporah, daughter of Jethron’, was reluctant to have her son circumcised and Moses submitted to her will. Thus, even men, who are great in their spiritual life, are sometimes exposed to weaknesses that might get them into complete destruction. Moses had to set forth with his wife from Midian, to work in the vine of the Lord. Moreover, he had to have his son, the fruit of his union with that wife, circumcised. This is a living symbol of the Church, that did not despise the foreign wife, or antagonize the foreign philosophies, but embraced her and was committed to set forth with her from the house of her father, and to have the fruit of their union circumcised. As a result, her shortcomings and faults may be taken away from her in order to keep believers from perishing. In this regard, St. Gregory Bishop of Nyssa says that the foreign wife follows him, as there are in the teachings in this world things that we do not despise, as they aim at bringing forth virtue. Indeed, the ethical and natural philosophy can be, at a certain time, a companion and a friend to the exalted life, on condition that nothing defiled or foreign would enter into the fruit of their union2. He also says that as her son was not yet circumcised I.E. that harmful and defiled things were not completely removed from him, the angel who encountered with them terrified her; but she calmed the angel down by presenting her son pure, by completely removing from him the sign of foreigners (the uncircumcision) 3. St. Gregory took this line of thought after the 1 Vita Mos. 2:45, 46. 2 Vita Mos. 2:37. 3 Ibid 2:38. 48 Alexandrian scholar Origen, who saw in marriage to foreigners as a symbol of adopting philosophies1. 6- Commencement of work Moses encountered with Aaron, the divine commandment with the pious priestly worship, and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel, who submitted to the work and words of God. The people then “bowed their heads and worshipped” (Exod. 4.27). This is a living portrait of the submission of all the energies of the soul and flesh to the work of God, through receiving the word of God and worship. We are indeed in need of working in our heart -the holy vine of the Lord, through the word of God, and with a spirit of worship, so as to have the whole heart sanctified in submission for the Lord. 1 In Gen. Hom. 11:2.
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