The Priest: Aaron by Francine Rivers Page A

called him to assist Moses, not to plague him with petty worries? How he longed to speak with Moses as they had when they were alone and crossed the wilderness together! The years of separation had fallen away. The imagined grievances dissolved. They were more than brothers. They were friends joined in one calling, servants of the Most High God. “I’m sorry, Moses. I will leave you alone. We can talk another time.”
    “Stay with me, Brother.” He continued to look out over the people. “There are so many.”
    Relieved to be needed, Aaron stepped closer and leaned on his staff. He had never been comfortable with long silences. “All these descended from Jacob’s sons. Sixty-six came into Egypt with Jacob, and Joseph’s family made seventy in all. And from those few came this great multitude. God has blessed us.”
    Thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children traveled like a slow-moving sea into the desert. Clouds of dust rose from their feet and the hooves of their flocks and herds. Overhead was the heavy gray cloud canopy of protection, a shield from the burning heat of the sun. No wonder Pharaoh had feared the Hebrews! Look at them all! Had they joined with Egypt’s enemies, they could have become a great military threat within the borders of Egypt. But rather than rebel, they had bent their necks to the pharaohs’ will and served as slaves. They had not tried to break the chains of bondage, but had cried out to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to rescue them.
    Egyptians traveled among the people. Most stayed on the outer edges of the mass of travelers. Aaron wished they had stayed behind in the Nile Delta or Etham. He didn’t trust them. Had they cast aside their idols and chosen to follow the Lord, or had they come along because Egypt was in ruins?
    People waved. “Moses! Aaron!” Like children, they called. There was still jubilation. Maybe it was only Korah and his friends who questioned the route they traveled.
    Moses began walking again. Aaron raised his staff and pointed in the direction he led. He did not ask why Moses headed south and then east into the heart of the Sinai. The gray cloud transformed into a swirling pillar of fire to light their way and keep them warm through the desert night. Aaron saw the Angel of the Lord walking ahead, leading Moses and the people deeper into the wilderness.
    Why?
    Was it right that he should even think such a question?
    Moses did not make camp again, but continued traveling, resting for brief periods. Miriam and Aaron’s sons’ wives made enough flat bread to eat on the way while children slept using a stone for a pillow. Aaron sensed Moses’ urgency—an urgency he also felt, but did not understand. Canaan was north, not east. Where was the Lord leading them?
    The mouth of a great wadi opened ahead. Aaron thought Moses might turn north or send men ahead to see where the canyon led. But Moses did not hesitate or turn to the right or the left. He walked straight into the canyon. Aaron stayed at his side, looking back only to make certain Miriam, his sons, and their wives and children followed.
    High cliffs rose on either side, the cloud remaining overhead. The wadi narrowed. The people flowed like water into a river basin cut for them. The canyon twisted and turned like a snake through the jagged terrain, the floor flat and easily traveled.
    After a long day, the canyon opened wide. Aaron saw rippling water and smelled the salt-sea air. Whatever waters had come through the wadi during the times of Noah’s flood had spilled a sandy pebbled beach wide enough for the multitude to encamp. But there was nowhere to go from here. “What do we do now, Moses?”
    “We wait on the Lord.”
    “But there is no place to go!”
    Moses stood in the wind facing the sea. “We are to encamp here opposite Baal-zephon as the Lord said. And Pharaoh will pursue us, and the Lord will gain glory for Himself through Pharaoh and his army, and the Egyptians will know