The Encounter

Exodus 2¹⁶ The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came there to draw water and filled the troughs to give their father's sheep and goats something to drink. ¹⁷ But some shepherds came and wanted to chase them away. Moses came to their aid and gave the cattle something to drink.

Two people. She, the eldest of seven sisters, the daughter of a priest whom the shepherds in that region apparently did not respect enough. He, the fugitive foster son-prince from Egypt, educated at court, trained in the army.

Something about the girls had caught his attention. Their cheerfulness with each other? Their care for the sheep and goats? Their hard work drawing water from the depths? Something else had aroused his indignation when other shepherds wanted to chase them away from the water troughs they had just filled. Apparently, this happened often and frequently, because they usually came home much later. The shepherds laughed at their complaints.

And what did she see in him? An Egyptian watching them from the shadows. Perhaps with a horse and weapons. Rich clothing. Maybe he had waved to them, maybe the girls had laughed among themselves. Laughed until the shepherds came and ordered them to take their animals away for the umpteenth time. It was enough to make you lose heart. But then he stood there. He was magnificent in his anger. His strong right arm swung his sickle-shaped sword like lightning from the sky. Panic. Bleating sheep and cursing men. The shepherds slunk away, chasing after their animals. The man stared after them for a moment.

Then he looked at the girls. The youngest, five or six, behind the skirts of the oldest – a beautiful young woman of about seventeen. Clearly the one who was used to taking charge. He beckoned her closer, but she kept her flock at a distance. Then he laid his cloak and weapons by his horse. He walked back to the spring where their jug still lay. He picked up the jug and descended into the well. Again and again he drew water and again and again he brought it up to the drinking troughs for the cattle. The sheep and goats pushed forward until they were all watered. Satisfied, he looked at the young woman and her sisters. But they called their sheep and goats and disappeared over the hills.

He heard the men's jokes behind him. Moses looked back and saw the returning shepherds with grins on their faces. Then he laughed too and made an inviting gesture toward the drinking troughs.

The shame of Reuel

Exodus 2¹⁸ When they got home, their father, Reuel, asked why they had returned so quickly that day. ¹⁹ "There was an Egyptian who came to our aid against the shepherds," they replied, "and he also drew water for us and gave the animals to drink." ²⁰ "And where is he now?" their father asked. "Why did you leave that man there? Invite him to come and eat."

The priest looked up in surprise. He had not expected his daughters back so soon. Their explanation made him feel ashamed. He knew that the shepherds did not respect him. The sanctuary of Reuel was not in the heart of Midian, and not everyone worshipped God as his tribe did. The shepherds were mercenaries. He knew they pushed his daughters away from the well. He knew how they began to look at Zipporah, his "little bird."

But there was something else: "He drove away the shepherds and drew water for our animals."

His name was Reuel, "friend of God." He served in the small sanctuary in the Negev desert and spoke truth at the gatherings of the nomads. They addressed him as Jethro, "honorable one," but it did not bring him power or great wealth. His daughters had to tend his flocks in the wilderness of Kushan.

We hear nothing about their mother. Had she died? Was Zipporah the eldest who took care of the household, the upbringing of the children, and the tending of the flocks? Was she still at home because her father could not do without her? Did Reuel teach her the sacrifices and rituals, the laws and traditions, how to read contracts and administer justice? Did he tell her the stories of the patriarchs Terah, Abraham, and his cousin Lot, from whom the Ammonites and Moabites are descended? About Abraham's wives, Hagar and Keturah, the mothers of the Ishmaelites and the Midianites? And Sarah?

Sara was Abraham's first wife. At an advanced age, she gave birth to her only son, Isaac. Abraham asked his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Isaac in the land where Terah had died. Eliezer prayed that the girl who would give water not only to him but also to his camels would be the right one for Isaac. And that friendly, energetic girl turned out to be Rebekah, a granddaughter of Terah. Rebekah married Isaac and became the mother of Esau and Jacob. Through Esau, she became the foremother of the Edomites in Seir and the Amalekites in the Negev, and through Jacob, of the Israelites in Egypt.

It was the mothers who made Abraham a father of many nations.

"Go quickly and invite that man," said her father. She flew up. Who knows what kind of future he can offer?

They said that Zipporah could run like the deer of the field, as fast as the birds could fly.

Zipporah's song

Adapted from Song of Songs 1:5-17

Girls of Midian,

I am dark, and beautiful

as the tents of Kush,

like the soot of Cain's smithy.

Do not look down on me because I am dark,

because the sun has scorched me.

I had to tend my father's flocks,

his daughters and his sanctuary.

I left my own temple unguarded.

Tell me, my dearest,

where do you let your flock graze,

where do you let them rest at noon?

Do not let me go heavily veiled

along the flocks of your friends.

If you cannot find me,

fairest of all girls,

then follow the trail of the herd,

graze your goats where the shepherds shelter.

My friend,

I compare you to a mare for Pharaoh's chariot!

How lovely are your cheeks and your rings,

how graceful—your neck and your necklace.

"Let us forge a golden ornament for you,

studded with silver dots."

Now that my king lies on his bed of rest,

my nardus smells sweet.

My beloved is a bundle of myrrh to me,

sleeping between my breasts.

My beloved is to me a henna rose

in the gardens of Timna.

You are so beautiful, my friend,

you are so beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.

How beautiful you are, my love,

how seductively beautiful you are.

The greenery here is our sanctuary,

with trees as rafters,

foliage as a canopy.

Cain's smithy

Genesis 4 ¹⁹Lamech took two wives; one was named Ada, the other Silla. ²⁰Ada gave birth to Jabal; he became the forefather of those who live in tents and keep livestock. ²¹His brother was named Jubal; he became the forefather of all who play the lyre or the flute. ²² Zillah also gave birth to a son, Tubal-Cain; he was a smith and became the forefather of all who work with bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. ²³ Lamech said to his wives:

"Ada and Zilla, listen to me!

Wives of Lamech, listen to me!

If a man wounds me, I will kill him,

even a child who strikes me.

²⁴Cain will be avenged seven times,

Lamech seventy-seven times."

Reuel was not just any Midianite, he was a Kenite. That was the name of the tribe that could smelt copper and iron from the rocks of the desert. They lived in tents and made music with stringed instruments and flutes. Their secrets were passed down from father to son and from mother to daughter.

The Kenites traced their knowledge back to Cain, the firstborn man. Because of the murder of his brother Abel, he was doomed to wander and roam the earth, without the vengeance of family or tribe to protect him. But God gave him a sign, so that anyone who thought they could kill him would realize that God would avenge him sevenfold.

Like the tribes of Ishmael (the son of Abraham and Hagar), they had joined forces with the Midianites in the east, who crossed the deserts from the Euphrates to the Nile with their camel caravans. Among them, according to Egyptian hieroglyphs, were several tribes. One of those tribes was called the "nomads of YHWH." Was that the name of their God?

It was said of the Kenites: "Your dwelling place is secure, Cain, your nest is built on a rock."

Zipporah, our "little bird," looked out from the heights of the Negev over the lowlands of the Araba: the long plain stretching from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Elat. In the morning, she saw the sun rise behind the mountains of Seir, across the plain, where the descendants of Esau lived. In the evening sun, those mountains turned orange-red.

A stranger in Midian

Exodus 2²¹Moses allowed himself to be persuaded to stay with that man, who gave him his daughter Zipporah as his wife. ²²She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, "for," he said, "I have become a stranger, living in a land I do not know."

A love story in few words. Moses also barely spoke the language of the children of Abraham. But when Moses himself turned out to be a descendant of Abraham, he was welcomed as a gift from God.

By learning each other's languages, Moses and Zipporah also shared their worlds with each other. He told her about the Nile that fertilized the fields of Egypt every year, about the cities with tens of thousands of people, about the pyramids and the temples. She taught him the paths of the desert, along which he would lead the flocks to food and water. Along the way, they talked for hours, sometimes days. About Moses' childhood at Pharaoh's court. About Abraham's life journey from his birthplace Ur, along the Euphrates to Haran, and from there along the snow-capped peaks of Lebanon to the Oak of Mamre, where his grave is found. And about the God of Abraham, whom Moses barely knew.

When Zipporah became pregnant and had a son, the question of circumcision arose. The Egyptians and most of Abraham's descendants did not circumcise their sons until they reached puberty. Then they were accepted into the covenant between God and man. But according to Moses, he had already been circumcised when he was given to the Egyptians as an infant. Had the Israelites started circumcising earlier because Pharaoh had ordered the killing of newborn boys for a time, so that they would never reach the age of the covenant? Moses probably did not know. In any case, they left the boy uncircumcised for the time being. After all, they were in Midian, and was the boy not the first to succeed his grandfather as priest?

Moses named his son Gershom, meaning "a stranger there." Moses still felt Egyptian. He did not yet feel like an Israelite or a Midianite. He did not feel at home in the land of Abraham. He felt like a stranger.

            "Then let's go to Egypt," said Zipporah. Her eyes sparkled. Moses looked away.

            "I cannot return to Egypt," he replied.

            "Why not?"

The sword of Pharaoh

Exodus 2 ¹¹ When Moses had grown up, he went out one day to visit his people. He saw the hard labor they were doing and witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² He looked around, and when he saw that no one was nearby, he killed the Egyptian and hid him under the sand.

¹³The next day he saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other. "Why are you striking a fellow Hebrew?" he asked the man who had started the fight. ¹⁴ But the man replied, "Who made you our ruler and judge? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was frightened and thought, "So the news has spread!"

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard about it, he wanted to have Moses killed. So Moses fled from Pharaoh.

Moses told his story.

            "So you are a murderer," said Reuel, "just like Cain, who was driven out of paradise."

            Moses nodded.

            "You have brought a curse upon yourself and your family."

            "I understand," said Moses, "give me two days and then I will move on, just like Cain."

            "You don't understand," said Reuel. "We all lost paradise long ago. You cannot flee any further if you have been cast out of your land and your tribe. Like Cain, you need a sign from God that He will stand by you. In order to live, you and your family must be cleansed. A new beginning."

            "How?"

            "You will fast, and so will I. Day and night. No food, no sexual intercourse, no work. Do not go to sleep until you realize who you are. Until you can dedicate the good to God and leave the evil to Azazel."

            "Who or what is Azazel?"

            "I hope you never find out."

The great atonement

Adapted from Leviticus 16

They wash their bodies with water.

Then a linen robe, a linen loincloth,

a linen belt around the waist,

a linen headscarf to cover the hair.

The priest takes two goats for himself,

for the entrance of the tabernacle.

The lot is cast:

one for Azazel, one for YHWH.

One for the desert, one for the altar.

The tabernacle of Midian in Kushan:

a garden of colorful cloths in the middle of the desert.

With a tree, a slaughtering place, and a stone altar full of fire.

And behind it, another black tent

That no one ever enters.

Except today.

The first goat is slaughtered, a mournful bleating ending in a gurgle.

Their hands on its head. Living blood that should have been theirs, collected in a bowl.

Sprinkled seven times before the entrance to the tent.

A copper scoop with fiery charcoal from the altar.

The priest scoops the coals onto the small altar at the entrance of the black tent.

He has two handfuls of finely ground herbs, gum, and resin.

Fragrant clouds fill the tent, awe fills his heart.

His head is light, his eyes wet with smoke.

What does he see? No image of a god, perhaps only a glimpse

of a block of basalt, a finger of God.

Solidified molten stone from the earth.

Reuel goes inside and kneels, the bowl raised before YHWH

with blood that has become theirs, sanctified for YHWH.

Coming outside, he smears the blood of life on the corners of the altar.

He burns the fat of the goat on the fire.

At the exit of the tabernacle, they lay their hands on the second goat.

And they confess all their sins.

Zipporah's sisters cheer.

They chase the goat into the desert.

They chase it to Azazel.

Two sons

Exodus 18 (...) two sons. One was named Gershom, "for," Moses had said, "I have become a stranger, I live in a land I do not know." (⁴⁾ The other was named Eliezer, "for," Moses had said, "the God of my father came to my aid, He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh."

When Gershom was born, Moses still felt like an Egyptian in Midian. A refugee from Pharaoh. His second son was named Zipporah and he named him Eliezer, 'my God helps'. In Midian, Moses was saved by the God of his forefather Abraham. In the desert, he gradually became a Hebrew.

Perhaps the name Eliezer referred to Abraham's servant, who found a wife for Isaac in Rebekah. Who brought her to this land, to this Negev. Who brought Isaac and Rebekah together.

            "May I tell you that story?" asked Zipporah, as she laid little Eliezer at her breast.

            Moses let the little one grab his pinky finger and looked at her invitingly.

            "Isaac, the father of Israel, lived here in the Negev. After the loss of his mother Sarah, he often went into the desert in the evening to mourn at the spring where the desperate Hagar found the water that saved her son Ishmael from death. 'The Living One has looked after me,' she said at the time. And she named that spring Lachaï-Roi.

One evening at that spring, he looked up, surprised by the camels approaching. He recognized Eliezer walking in front of the lead camel. Rebekah also looked up and saw him. She immediately slid off her camel. "Who is that man coming toward us?" she asked Eliezer. "That is my master," he replied. She then covered herself with her veil. Eliezer told Isaac everything he had done. When they arrived home, Isaac took Rebekah to his mother's tent. They received each other as husband and wife and fell in love. Thus Isaac found comfort after what he had lost.

            "You comfort me," said Moses, and he kissed her forehead.

            But he still felt the longing for a home he had never known.

*      *      *

Suggestions for reading groups

• Check in with the group and with yourself, seek stillness/humility.
• First share the story. Moses comes from a rich and busy career in politics and the military and from a complex family situation. He also has some burdens to bear from his past. Zipporah is still young and comes from a strong family of sisters in which she bears a lot of responsibility. Her father does not have excessive status, but he does have an important role in his community and a deep spirituality. Zipporah shares in this but also longs to experience more of the world, and Moses offers her that opportunity. And Moses learns to know God in a new and more intimate way through his relationship with her. What did you read?
• Encourage, comfort, inspire. What do you recognize from Moses and Zipporah in your own situation? What did you learn from your parents and the family(ies) of your loved ones? Can you tell us something about your parents and grandparents? What is your own faith history? What do you hope to pass on to the next generation?

Reflecting on Genesis 11²⁷-36, stories of faith

The faith story of Abraham's family begins with their migration to another country, even before he knows God. There, in that experience, Abraham learns to listen to an "inner voice" that drives him forward. The faith he develops along the way, through trial and error, is passed on to his children and they to their children—however flawed. It is Abraham's "exodus" and his "covenant with God" that make this story the perfect introduction to the exodus and covenant of Israel.

• Encourage, comfort, exhort. In which stories do you recognize something of your own family history and faith story? Where do you see inspiring examples in this Bible passage, where do you recognize painful situations? What character differences do you see between the main characters? In what ways do you see them growing as people and believers? Do you see that the narrator hardly judges or glorifies his main characters? What does it mean to you that God does not want to bear a name, other than in relation to these people? "I am who I am, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
• Leave room for silence and contemplation. Perhaps you will "see" or "hear" something from "God." Like Moses and Zipporah, do you dare to enter into conversation with that voice? What answer wells up within you? How do you test that answer?