Early in the morning, the day after the battle with Amalek.

“Ebenezer, how did you learn to fight so well? You were great in the battle!”

“Well, Bartholomew, I had help from this man – Ravi. He taught me everything I know about swords and shields and knives.”

“Ravi? Greetings. I have not seen you around the camp. What tribe are you with?”

“Good to meet you, Bartholomew.  I am not an Israelite. I escaped from Egypt at the same time Moses led the people out; I am originally from Tarshish but have traveled and lived in many places.”

“And where did you learn to fight?”

“I was trained in martial arts in the Eastern countries on the far side of Ur. It has been my pleasure to help many of the Hebrews who have shown some desire and skill.”

“Well, we sure are glad that you were available. The only skills we learned in Egypt were straw gathering and brick making. I am amazed that we were able to defeat those Amalekites.”

“It was indeed a wonder. I had scouted the people from Amalek before the conflict. They are skilled and experienced fighters; I knew they would be a good test for me, and I feared for the safety of my students, like Ebenezer here, who are still learning. But the fighting turned out to be the strangest I have ever witnessed. Have you heard any of the stories about what Moses and Joshua were doing?”

“The people I talked to said it was Hur and Aaron who were with Moses, not Joshua.”

“That’s right, Bart. Joshua was the one who contacted Ravi and me to join his fighters, and he led us into the battle.”

“Anyway, Moses was holding some staff thingy over his head. The story tellers are saying we were winning when he held up the spear, but whenever he let it down, the enemy prevailed. He needed Aaron and Hur to hold his arms up; then we were able to rout them. That sounds kind of crazy to me. I think it was you strong fighters who won the day.”

“It was really crazy out there. I am very thankful to make it out alive. Good to see you , Bart. Maybe we can connect at the party they are throwing for Moses’ father-in-law. ”

 

Later that day

“Ebenezer, did you feel like our mighty warriors won the battle yesterday?”

“Not really, Ravi. I certainly didn’t feel ‘mighty;’ I was actually a bit dazed after that first blow to the helmet. Thanks for saving me when I fell down.”

“You are welcome. I am proud of the way you continued the combat even when injured.

“I did not want to say anything in front of your friend Bartholomew because he did not seem to hold a high opinion of what Moses was doing. But I could see a very marked difference in the flow of the battle, especially late in the day. It wasn’t so much that we were a lot better, but the Amalekites seemed to be distracted; they were easy to push over, almost like they had given up.”

“I don’t know anything about battles; that was the first one I was ever in. But now that you mention it, it did seem a lot easier as the day wore on. What are you thinking?”

“I do not know this God of yours, but I respect Moses as a good and fair leader. Maybe it is true that Moses is really the one who won the battle.”

“Moses would never say that. He gives all the credit to God who gives him wisdom and instructions. I kind of think he is right; God IS mighty and powerful. After seeing the miracles he did in Egypt, it is easy to see that the battle result could be God’s doing. Remember how the Egyptian soldiers were all drowned back when we didn’t have any army at all? That must have been the God in the fiery pillar who did them in. If he whacked those Egyptians, he could deal with some Amalekites.”

“You think it was God, and not Moses? Maybe Moses is a god?”

“No, it was God. I’m sure of it.”

“Could be. I will have to learn more about your strange ways. In my travels, everyone else has many gods, each of whom has charge over a portion of our lives – harvests or storms or battles or fertility.”

“We believe there is only one God.”

“We? Seems like your friend Bartholomew doesn’t agree.”

“Yeah. I don’t get it. Some believe and some don’t, even after all the miracles we have witnessed.”

“Hmmm.”