(AN: I decided to keep it! This story will not only tell the Exodus, but have bits and pieces of the rest of the Torah in as well, where it fits most appropriately. After all, they are the "Five Books of Moses", and therefore he had to have known about them in order to write them down. [lol], though divine inspiration is my guess)
(Thank you for reviewing, hylomorpher. You can read 'exploding sores' however you want, it fits either way.)
(An OC from Joshua appears in the flash-back. Let me just state again that that angel takes on feminine form only when appearing before man. Artistic license and such, since angels are neither male nor female.)
Fire and Ice
"Hail, mighty Pharaoh." Aaron greeted. He and Moses were back in his presence, accompanied by Caleb and Joshua. The morning was still early, and though the Pharaoh and his entourage looked much better off than they did while under the affect of the boils, they didn't look any more pleasant in their countenances towards them.
"You're wasting your time, mouth-piece!" Pharaoh groaned in annoyance. "My answer remains the same."
"Then the LORD shall..." Aaron began.
"Wait!"
All eyes turned to the speaker. Moses was now standing up tall, his staff in hand and strength in his voice.
"Thus sayeth the LORD God of the Hebrews," Moses said. "'Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For at this time I will send all My plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants and thy people: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto me in all the Earth. I shall stretch out My hand and smite thy people with pestilence and thou shalt be cut off from all the Earth.
"'Indeed, for this very cause I raised you up, Pharaoh, to show thee My power; that My name may be declared throughout all the Earth. Yet thou exalt thyself against My chosen people, refusing to let them go?'"
Pharaoh rose up in indignation, striking Moses down with his fist.
"I am Egypt!" he shouted. "Son of the gods! How dare you say that your God has power over the gods of Egypt!"
"This day it shall be proven, mighty Pharaoh," Aaron continued. "That..."
But Pharaoh was not looking at Aaron, instead at Moses. He had fallen, and his veil had slipped down from off his face. A light like the sun was shining from Moses' face. It was only for a brief moment, for he realized that his veil was gone from his face and quickly replaced it.
"I know not what sorcery causes your face to shine, prophet of slaves," Pharaoh said with contempt. "But nothing your God has done is beyond the power of the Earth! Therefore your threats are idle, since you have no power over me and my people."
Moses was now back on his feet, and whispered to Aaron. The spokesman looked surprised, then shook his gray head, his beard shaking as he did, turned back to the Pharaoh and announced.
"Send for your servants, mighty Pharaoh," he said. "And all the cattle in the field. Have them get themselves in-doors, for tomorrow the LORD God of Israel shall send forth a very grievous hail of fire, such hath never been seen in Egypt from its foundation until now!"
"My people will stay where they are!" Pharaoh shouted.
"Please, great one!" Aaron insisted. "Our God shows mercy to your people before the plague has stricken. Let your people..."
"They stay where they are!" Pharaoh shouted. "Or they will surely die!"
Aaron nodded and then he left, with Moses, Caleb and Joshua coming up after them. They left the door, then one spoke.
"My lord," the princess said. "We cannot let the people stay in the fields."
"The people brought this calamity upon themselves," Pharaoh said. "If that prophet seeks to harm Pharaoh, why should my people not stand with me?"
"But you cannot let your beloved subjects die at..."
"Silence!" The Pharaoh struck his daughter upon the face, sending her down upon the steps. "You should know your place, wench!" He turned to his son. "Now, my son, we have business to attend to."
"Yes, father." the prince bowed, not even looking back at his little sister as they left the hall.
Once they left the hall of the Egyptians, the Hebrews decided that it was safe to speak.
"Do you think they will obey him?" Joshua asked.
"All has turned to madness!" Aaron groaned. "In the hardness of his heart, the Pharaoh damns his own people to suffer through the same way ordained for him!"
"We can't let this happen, though!" Joshua said. "They may be our masters, but Pharaoh orders them to their deaths!"
"Moses?" Aaron asked.
"G-Go unto the people," Moses said. "Find those who f-f-f- who fear the LORD, and tell them t-t-t-t-to get their livestock and their p-p-provisions into safety, b-b-before the hail comes."
"Yes, Moses." Caleb said. He then turned to his companion with a smile on his face. "Come Joshua, we're off to save our task-masters."
The two took off to do as they were instructed, and Moses and Aaron returned to Goshen. They had all the rest of the day to warn the people of Egypt of the coming doom, for it would not happen until the morning. For Moses, at least, it seemed that the day was wasting away too quickly.
At last night fell. Even Nadab and Abihu became tired and fell asleep the moment they hit their straw beds. Miriam, Elishebah and Aaron were all dead asleep, as were the other of Aaron's sons. Moses, however, could not sleep. The fear of what was to happen tomorrow shook him to the core.
Why was this going on? Did God show no mercy to His enemies?
As he struggled with these thoughts, he sat himself against the wall and sleep filled his eyes at last.
"It's an open-and-shut case, if you ask me." the first one whispered.
"Yes, but He is giving them a chance to prove themselves." the second, a female, added.
"Why do they even need a chance to prove themselves?" the first asked. "You've seen them: they lie with man, woman, child, even beasts, eating until they cannot even move themselves. False witnesses, cheaters, thieves and murdering are common-place for them. It's the Antediluvian people all over again."
"But He let them be for over a thousand years before He sent judgment upon them." said she. "His mercy allows that they be allowed to show themselves once more before His judgment."
The two figures approached the city gates just as nightfall was setting upon the city. As they approached, a rather rich-looking man appeared before them.
"Welcome, strangers, to the city of Sodom!" he greeted. "The hour is late; please, I beg you, come into my home, have something to eat and wash the desert dust off your feet: by morning's light, you may be about your business."
"Thank you, sir," the woman said. "But we will stay in the streets tonight."
A look of panic came over the man's face as he walked closer to them.
"I should not be saying this," he whispered to them. "But it isn't safe to walk the streets of Sodom and Gomorrah even by daylight. I beg you, in the name of the Most High God, stay with me this night."
The two strangers looked at each other, nodded, and then turned to the man.
"We will abide with you this night." the first said.
"Ah, thank you." the man said, bowing low. "I am Lot, son of Haran. Come with me, my house is but a little ways from the city-gate. I keep watch over them for the queen of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah."
"You therefore have occasion to see many people come in and out of the city?" the woman asked.
"Oh yes," Lot said. "I have been here a long time, me and my wife. And our servants, as well."
"You seem to be rather wealthy." the man stated.
"By the grace of the Most High God." Lot said. "My uncle, Abram, son of Terah..."
"Abraham." corrected the woman.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Has not the LORD changed his name to Abraham?" she asked.
"I do not know." Lot mused. "But then again, I haven't spoken to my uncle since the War."
"What war?" the man asked.
"Several years ago, the King of Sodom broke tribute with the King of Elam. They declared war: Elam and his allies against Sodom and her allies. No one would have foreseen how that battle turned out."
"Why?" asked the man.
"Well, four kings against five, one would think the alliance of Sodom would have defeated Chedorlaomer's confederacy. But the Battle of the Wadi Shittim spelled victory for the confederacy."
"Why?" the woman asked. "What happened?"
"Wadi Shittim is a dangerous place, full of quick-sand." Lot said. "The armies of Sodom were not trained for battle and they lost. Then the confederacy entered the city and took us captive."
"Us?"
"I was captured as well." Lot added. "But, my uncle, Abram son of Terah, as he was called back then, came to my rescue. He had a small army of his own, the Amorites under prince Mamre and three hundred eighteen of his own servants. They attacked the confederates by night and drove them all the way to Damascus. We were rescued!"
"And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah paid him nothing?" the man asked.
"Oh, they tried." Lot stated, looking right and left before they turned a corner into a dark alley. "It looks suspicious - what doesn't in Sodom - but the alleys are often-times safer than the streets."
"I see." the man said, looking about as well.
"Anyway," Lot said, continuing to lead them on. "The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah offered him whatever he wished, but Abram refused to take anything that was not his, though he let Mamre and his brothers take what spoils they would. Though he accepted a blessing from the King of Salem."
Both of the strangers smiled.
"Ah, here's the place." Lot said, indicating a small house on the back-side of the town near the wall. He knocked on the door, a porthole opened, and the eye of his wife appeared.
"It's me, woman, open the door!"
The porthole closed, and the sound of locks being unhinged followed. By the way Lot moved about nervously, the strangers knew that he was eager to be in doors. Once the doors opened, Lot ushered his guests in and closed and locked the door behind himself.
"Who are these with you, husband?" Lot's wife asked.
"Oh, pardon me." Lot said, almost out of breath. "Uh, what are your names again?"
"I am called Gabriel." the man said.
"I am called Sherael." the woman said, with a nod of her head.
"And this is my wife, Ildith." Lot introduced.
"Are these married?" she asked.
"No," Gabriel said. "She is my sister. I am her brother."
"What brings you to the city of Sodom, might I ask?" Ildith asked.
"We are come to see the people of the city." Sherael said.
"You can see the people later." Lot said. "Right now, you must rest." He turned to his wife. "Are the others home yet?"
"Not the servants. They're at a festival of some sort. But Shuah and Maleb are still here." was her reply.
"Good, tell them to prepare food and water for our guests." Lot said.
At once, they got themselves busy with preparing food for the two guests. Before either of them could offer a word of protest, Lot and Ildith came with their daughters, offering bread and water for the guests. They accepted these, and prepared to break bread when Lot held out his hand.
"If it pleases you," Lot said. "Might I offer a word of thanks to the Most High God?"
"It would be an honor." Gabriel said. He and Sherael then lowered their heads and clenched their hands together tightly.
"Blessed art thou, O LORD our God, King of the World, who brings to us bread from the earth." Lot prayed, eyes lifted up to heaven.
"Amen!" Gabriel and Sherael said in fervent unison.
As they began eating, a knock came at the door.
More like the pounding of many fists.
"Open up!" a voice shouted.
"We know you're in there, Heb!" a drunken voice slurred.
"We know you brought those strangers with you!" a woman's voice cried out.
"Wait here." Lot whispered.
He then ran to the door, unbolted it and stood out on the doorstep of his house.
"Please, my friends, why have you called at my house at so late an hour?" he asked.
"Well, you see," one of them, a rather strange-looking man, with a beard like a man yet wearing a woman's dress. "Me and the boys saw a couple of strangers follow you home last night."
"And?"
"Well, we're a bit lonely as it is, can't you see?"
"We want to know them!"
"We want to know every inch of them!"
"So, then, Hebrew, why not?" their leader asked. "Let us have our way with them."
Lot seemed to be physically repulsed by what they said, nigh on to discharging the contents of his stomach.
"Please, don't do such a wicked thing!" he begged.
"Wicked?" one asked. "This sojourner thinks he's a judge now!"
"I have two daughters, virgins at that!" Lot said. "Please, I beg you, let me bring them out to you! My own flesh and blood!" His voice was in tears. "Do what you will with them, but don't harm these guests!"
"Stand aside, old bastard!" one shouted.
"Or do you want more of the same?" a woman's lecherous voice said.
"Believe me, Hebrew," the dress-wearing man said, pressing himself closer to Lot than was comfortable. "Your words have cost you a worse fate than what were going to do those strangers!"
"Break the door down!" another shouted.
Just then, the bolts on the door flew open. A strong hand seized Lot from behind.
"SHUT THE DOOR!" Gabriel cried out.
"Get them!" one of the women shouted.
But no sooner had Gabriel tossed Lot back into his house then Sherael sealed the door and bolted it fast.
"Who-who are you?" Lot asked, still feeling the grip of Gabriel's hand upon his shoulder.
"We are messengers from the Most High God." Gabriel said. "Are there any others of your people in the city besides your wife and daughters?"
"Well, yes." Lot said. "My servants, two sons, several sons-in-law, their wives, and the wives of my sons..."
"Go with him," Sherael said to Gabriel. "I'll stay with Ildith and the others."
"But what about...?"
"They are blind." Gabriel said. "They can't even find themselves, much less the door. Now get your sons and your daughters and prepare to leave Sodom immediately."
"Leave? Why?"
"The cry of this city's wickedness has reached the ears of the Most High God." Gabriel said. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall now also be. This city will be destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Lot repeated.
"Burned with fire and brimstone!" Gabriel added. "Now up, find your children and warn them of the danger! I will be with you."
A few hours later...
"None of them?" Gabriel asked, with great urgency in his voice.
"They said I was one that mocked." Lot said almost with disbelief in his voice, as he knocked once again upon the door of his house.
"Then they have made their choice." Gabriel said. "They have chosen the lust of Sodom over the commands of God."
"But can we not try again?" Lot begged. "Please, they are my children."
"You said they did not believe you." Gabriel said. "The dawn will soon be here, we must get out of the city now."
Ildith opened the door from within, and the two entered. They found her and her daughters standing there, with Sherael pacing the floor.
"Why aren't they ready?" Gabriel asked.
"They're afraid!" Sherael said.
They turned. It was true. The poor humans were shaking, Ildith did not even look at her husband's face, and the two young women were crying.
"Why are you afraid?" Sherael asked. "You will not die, you will be saved from the destruction."
"Please, I beg you!" Lot said, throwing himself at their feet. "Is the Most High God so cruel that He will not give mercy to the cities of the Plain of Jordan? Is He so blood-thirsty that He must destroy everyone who does not bow before Him?"
"The people of Sodom had their time." Gabriel said. "They had a chance to know God when your uncle saved them from the Elamites."
"But they refused. Even now, having perverted the image of God, they seek to pervert His servants!" Sherael said with disgust.
"Please, spare the city!" Lot said.
"Stop wasting time!" Gabriel insisted. "We must leave now!"
"The fires of judgment will not hold forever." Sherael warned.
"Please!" whined Lot. "Let the Most High God show mercy."
Gabriel and Sherael had ceased listening, but instead were looking at each other.
"Take him and her." she said.
"Take the women." he said.
"What are you doing?" Lot asked through blood-shot eyes as strong hands fixated themselves around his robes.
"Let me go!" Ildith shouted, as she and the others were being dragged out of their house and through the streets.
"We are showing you mercy!" Gabriel shouted.
"Let loose your hand off my robe!" begged Shuah.
"You're hurting me!" Maleb whined.
"Better a little rash than burned alive by the fires of judgment!" Sherael said.
"I hoped it would not come to this..." Gabriel said.
"But you leave us no choice!" Sherael added.
"You call this mercy?" Lot shouted.
"Help!" Ildith cried out.
"God is merciful, even in judgment, or else He would let you die in Sodom and Gomorrah!" Gabriel said.
"Know that your uncle pleaded for the cities of the Plain on your behalf!" Sherael said.
"But we found not even ten who listened to the warning of God!"
"It would be a great offense to the people of the Earth if God let Sodom and Gomorrah last any longer!"
"And that justifies this genocide? This destruction?" Lot shouted.
"It is not genocide." Gabriel said. "The LORD is not a tyrant, delighting in the deaths of man."
"He created man on the Sixth Day." Sherael began.
"And from Adam and Eve came all the children of men."
"He is the Creator of all mankind."
"Your Eternal Father."
"He alone has the right to punish transgressors!"
"And to give mercy to His beloved!
"And that mercy He gives to you now!"
"Escape for your lives!"
"Look not behind you! Do not even stay in the plain of Jordan!"
By this time, they had come outside the walls of the city of Sodom. With strong hands, they threw Lot and his family forward, towards the hills to the east.
"ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS, LET THOU BE CONSUMED!" Gabriel shouted.
"The day is at hand, go now!" urged Sherael.
"Please, I beg you!" Lot moaned, grovelling at the feet of the angels. "Some evil might slay me and my family in the wilderness. Let us go to the city of Belah, it is but a little city not far from here. please don't let us go into the mountains!"
"Go then to Zoar, if you will." Gabriel said, almost disgusted.
"But you must go now!" Sherael said.
"AND LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE!" they both admonished, returning once again into the Light.
Moses awoke in a cold sweat. It was clear to him now, the heavy burden that lay before him. He felt ashamed for ever questioning the LORD God. The task still lay before him, for the people were not yet freed.
It would not be any easier, though.
The dawn had at last risen upon the land of Egypt. Just outside the city of Goshen, upon a hill that looked towards Memphis, Moses, Aaron and Caleb and Joshua stood upon its summit.
"Have the Egyptians been warned?" Moses asked.
"Yes, Moses." Caleb said. "Most have gone into their houses to seek shelter."
"Most?" Aaron asked. "Not all?"
"Many are like the Pharaoh," Joshua said. "They have no regard to the command of the LORD."
Moses sighed.
"They refused mercy when it was g-given them," he said. "There is n-nothing more we can do."
Moses rose his rod up to the morning sky. To their surprise and great shock, they saw a black cloud forming in the empty sky. Lightning began shooting out from its billows as it began to gather across the whole sky. The sound of rain could be heard, followed by balls of burning hail. Memphis, the city of the Pharaoh, was in flames. The smoke was rising up to mix with the reek of clouds in the sky.
The dark cloud was now covering all of the land. It was now coming towards the city of Goshen at a great pace.
Suddenly, the clouds halted, stopping like a wave crashing against an unmovable rock upon the side of the ocean. It would not go into the city of Goshen. All around their little hill, burning hail struck the earth, singeing wherever it touched with great fire. Many fell within a few inches of their hill, but the heat did not harm them.
They turned back to their homes. Soon they would be summoned before the Pharaoh and it would all begin over again.
(AN: The names of Lot's wife and daughters come from the 1963 sword-n-sandal movie Sodom and Gomorrah. Some of the dialogue with the angels I came up with, since it sort of helps Moses with his doubts about what he has to do. As much as I want to keep Moses a super-human figure, like in The Ten Commandments, I still want to make him a little human with some doubts and fears as well. After all, if he was perfect, he wouldn't have killed the Egyptian.)
(The whole 'send for the people to come in from the fields' thing actually came from the Bible. They usually leave that out of every other adaption of the Exodus, but I thought it stood to be included. I also have something special planned for Pharaoh's daughter later on.)
(I did not know that Stephen Schwartz, composer of "Defying Gravity" and many other hits from Wicked, also composed the music for Prince of Egypt. I listened to "Let My People Go" from Prince of Egypt while writing this part as well as while re-writing it. I know its a bit corny, especially having the villain sing [i don't like when villains sing in musicals, especially Disney movies, because they're usually baritones and that makes me sad. But Wicked can be excused since The Wizard's not that bad sounding], but it fit with what I was writing.)
