The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

LETTER VI.

REMESES IN EGYPT TO SESOSTRIS IN PHŒNICIA.

Treasure-City of Raamses.

It is with gratitude to God, O Sesostris, that I inform you of my safe arrival in Egypt, after a perilous passage across the sea. Our chief pilot, finding, after we left the port of Tyre, that the wind was fair for the mouth of the Nile, and the weather seeming to be settled, signified to me his intention to leave the coast, and boldly steer from land to land. Having no knowledge of nautical affairs, I neither advised nor objected, leaving him to act according to his own experience and skill: he therefore laid the course of the ship as nearly straight for Pelusium, as he could ascertain it, by the position of the sun at noon.

Before night we were surrounded by a horizon of water, and this being the first time since I had lived on the earth, that I had been unable to behold it, the situation was wholly novel, not only to me but to other passengers,—some of whom manifested the liveliest fears, lest we should no more behold the land. My mind was impressed by the sublimity and vastness of the view; and the majestic idea of eternity—boundless and infinite—filled my soul. It seemed as if, from our deck, I could survey the universe of space, for there was nothing terrestrial to arrest and confine the eye.

"Who," I reflected, "as he surveys the illimitable sky, and the measureless ocean over which it extends, can withhold the confession that there is One God only, the Upholder of worlds and the Governor of His creation? Who, with such a scene before him, as day with its splendor and vastness of space, and night with its stars presented above the sea, could give the glory of the Almighty to another, and put his trust in such myths as are the gods of Egypt and the deities of Phœnicia?" I rejoice, O king, that you have listened to the truths it was my happiness to unfold to you, and that in your heart you acknowledge and secretly adore the Almighty. May the time soon come when you will have strength given you, from Himself, to establish His holy worship in your dominions! A king is God's representative on earth, and his power is great; and if he exercise it,—not like the Pharaohs, who reign as if they were gods, but—with judgment, and fear, and humble recognition of the Infinite source of all power, then He who is King of kings and Lord of lords, will bless him and cause him to prosper. When a king acknowledges that his power is delegated, and that he must be accountable for its use or abuse to his God, he has gained the highest wisdom that earth can give! Seek, O king, that wisdom!

Pardon me, my dear Sesostris, for presuming to teach you. I am diffident in speech when present with you, but you perceive I am bold, perhaps too much so, when away from you.

We continued, for three days and nights, sailing upon the sea, without a shore in view, and in a few hours more hoped to find the mouth of the Nile; when the wind, after a sudden lull, came round to the south, the air was darkened with clouds, and night came on, enveloping our ship in the profoundest gloom, amid which we drove, our pilot knew not whither! It was a night of painful suspense. The seas dashed over us; our banks of oars were broken or washed away; and not a cubit's breadth of sail could remain on the mast, while the air was filled with sharp sand, blown from the Arabian desert.

The passengers and crew were in despair, and believing that every succeeding billow would go over us and destroy us, they called frantically upon their gods! The Syrian cried to Hercules, and the Sabæan upon the sun and upon fire. The merchants of Tyre prayed to Adonis and Io, the Arabians to Ammon, and the Egyptians vowed libations and offerings to Apis, Osiris, and Thoth. Our pilot, finding all hope desert him, burned a cake of incense to the deity of the sea, and vowed an oblation to all the gods he could in his extremity call to mind.

Then it was, O Sesostris, that I felt the power and excellency of my faith in God! Then did the folly, the vanity, and degradation of the religions of those about me, deeply impress me, and move me to pity. Calm, serene, confident in the Almighty, who holdeth the sea in the hollow of His hand, and directeth the stormy winds and tempests of the skies, I lifted my heart and my voice to Him, whom, with the eye of instructed intelligence, I beheld seated above the darkness and the whirlwind, in the ineffable glory and peace of His own heaven, and directing all things by His will. I felt that He could protect and defend me, and those who sailed with me; that the night to Him was as clear as the day; and that even I was not too insignificant to be cared for by Him, who, in His love, gave voices of music to the little birds, who painted the lily, and perfumed the flower.

"O Lord God, Holy One, the Almighty, who art the Creator of all things, if I have found grace in Thy sight, hear my humble petition, which I now offer before Thee. Let Thy presence be here, and Thy power; save us who are tossed upon the great sea, and who have no hope but in Thee. These call upon their idols, but I, O Lord God, call upon Thee, the God of our fathers. Guard us in our danger, and bring us in safety to our haven! For Thou art the only true and living God, and besides Thee there is no God!"

All the people who heard my voice, as I thus invoked the Living God, and saw my hands outstretched heavenward, turned from their idols and amulets, and ceased their prayers and cries, to hear me. The lightnings flashed about us in a continual flame, so that the ship seemed on fire, and I could be seen by all.

Judge, O Sesostris, my surprise, when instantly the winds—which at the first word of my prayer softened—ceased to roar; the waves fell level with the sea; the clouds parted above us, and revealing a bright moon shining down from the starry sky, they rolled, on all sides, swiftly away towards the horizon.

This sudden and wondrous change, evidently in response to my prayer, as a proof that it was heard by the Ear to which I, in fear and hope, addressed it, amazed me. It was the power and act of my God! I felt it to be so, and lifting up my eyes and hands to the cloudless skies, I said—

"Thine, O Lord Almighty, thine be the praise and glory; for Thou art the hearer and answerer of prayer, and art loving to all Thy creatures. Thou hast power in heaven and on earth, and on the broad sea, nor is any thing hid from Thee. Darkness is no darkness with Thee, and no power can resist thine! Thanks be to Thee, O Lord God on high, for this manifestation of Thy presence, and this confirmation of my faith. Let these idolaters likewise glorify Thee, for whose sakes Thou hast also done this."

When I ceased, I beheld a crowd, made up of all nations, prostrate around me. The captain, turning away from his god, was burning incense before me, while the invocations of the crew and passengers were being offered to me. With horror I drew back and waved them away, saying, "Rise, men, stand upon your feet! Not unto me, not unto me, but unto God, the one invisible Creator, give thanks and praise for your mighty deliverance!"

I then made known to them the mystery of the true God, whose power they and I had witnessed, and exhorted them to turn from their idols, and worship Him in spirit and in truth; for that He was their Maker, and besides Him there was no God. Nevertheless, but for my stern anger against it, they would have sacrificed a sheep to me, as if I were Hercules.

In a few hours we reached Pelusium, and to escape the adulations of the people on shore, to whom the crew made known this miracle of God, I withdrew privately, and went to Bubastis. After visiting, unknown to them, the tens of thousands of my brethren, who are engaged in extending the walls of that place, and increasing the number of treasure-houses therein, I took boat and came hither secretly, for fear that Mœris, if he knew me to be in Egypt, might watch my movements, if not banish or imprison me.

I have now been several days in the bosom of my family. My mother and father are well; but they, and Miriam with all the other women of our nation, have tasks of weaving put upon them, which are to be done each day before they are permitted to sleep. My heart is deeply wounded at all this. On every side I behold oppression and cruelty. Daily, scores of the Hebrews perish, and their dead bodies are thrown into ditches, dug for the purpose, and covered with earth. Often, the wretched men who dig them are the first to occupy them, for the work goes on day and night. An edict has been published throughout all Egypt, within the past month, that no Egyptian shall assist a Hebrew; and that no Hebrew who sinks down under his toil, shall be suffered to remain upon the ground, but must be placed upon his feet again, and driven to his task, until he sinks to rise no more; and to such, neither bread nor water shall be offered, that they may die! Such, O king, is the heart of this Mœris!

Yet, with all these extraordinary measures, inspired by his fear, to lessen the number of the Hebrews, they increase in the most unprecedented manner. The women bring forth without midwives, and are put to no inconvenience whatsoever afterwards. Such a state of things alarms the Egyptian king, and well it may; for it seems to me to be a direct act of the Divinity, so to multiply the people, that Egypt will be compelled to liberate them, and send them forth to find a country of their own.

There is a prophecy which, as I associate more with the elders—who are slow, however, to give me their confidence, regarding me still as an Egyptian in feeling and prejudices—I ascertain to be well preserved, that, at the end of about four hundred years from the days of Prince Abraham, his descendants shall come out of Egypt a great nation. This period is drawing to its close. God, who can deliver from the storm, can deliver from the hand of Pharaoh those who trust in Him, and call for His Almighty arm to aid them.

Memphis, House of Aaron.

Since writing the foregoing, my dear Sesostris—for such is the familiar title, notwithstanding the present difference in our rank and position, that you condescendingly permit me to make use of in addressing you—since writing the foregoing, I say, I have been studying the traditions of my fathers, the Hebrews of old. In them I have found the following prophecies; and you will observe how confidently God, the Almighty, is recognized and spoken of as the one true God:

"Our father Abram, the Syrian, having been born in the great kingdom of Chaldea, served idols, as did all other men—the knowledge of the one God, being yet veiled under the multiplicity of gods. Abram, being just, and possessing those virtues and excellencies which elevate man, it pleased the one great and mighty God, only and true—who made all things in heaven above, in the earth beneath, and in the seas that are thereunder—to make Himself known unto him, as he was one day uttering a prayer to the sun. Suddenly, he beheld a hand across the disk of the sun, and the earth was instantly covered with night. While Abram wondered and trembled, the mighty hand was removed, and the day was restored. Then came a voice from above the sun—

'O man, and son of man that is clay! dost thou worship the creature, and know not the Creator? I am the Creator of the sun, the heavens, the earth, and man upon the earth! Worship me, who alone can create light, and who maketh darkness! I am God, and will not give my glory to a creature! The sun is but clay, and thou, O man, art clay also! Give me thine heart; worship me, the Maker both of thee and of the sun!'

"Then Abram saw the hand again cover and extinguish the sun; but lo, instead of night, the universe was lighted by the brightness of the hand, which shone with the splendor of a thousand suns, so that our father fell upon his face, as if dead, before its consuming splendor. When he rose again, the sun shone as before, and he fell prostrate upon the ground and said:

"'Lord God of the sun, Creator of all things, what is man, that thou displayest thy glory and revealest thyself to him? I am as a worm before thee! Teach me what thou wouldst have me to do!'

"Then a still, small voice answered:

"'Arise, go forth from this Chaldea, thy country, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, which I will show thee; and there I will make of thee a great nation, who shall bear thy name; for I will make thy name great, and a blessing to all men; and those who bless thee I will bless, and those who curse thee, I will curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed!'"

This remarkable tradition then goes on to say, O Sesostris, that the Chaldean hastened to obey God, and going into the city of Haran, where he dwelt, gathered his substance, and took his wife, and nephew, and all his servants, and departed from the land—being then five-and-seventy years old. By a sign, the Lord God went before him through many lands, until he crossed over the river of the king of Sodom into Palestine, when the Almighty, taking him into a high mountain, showed him all the land, from the lake and fair valley of Gomorrah and Sodom to the great sea westward, and from Libanus on the north to the desert of Arabia on the south, saying:

"'Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward, and eastward and westward, for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed after thee! Arise, walk through the land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it to thee; for the whole earth is mine!'"

"Night fell upon them while they looked from the mountain, and the Lord God said to our father: 'Look now towards heaven, and tell the stars if thou art able to number them. So shall thy posterity be. But know thou,' said the Lord to him, 'that thou, and thy son, and thy son's son shall be strangers in this land, and thy seed after thee shall also be strangers in the land shadowing with wings, and shall serve its kings, and they shall afflict thee four hundred years; but grieve not, for the nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards shall thy posterity come out of that land a mighty people, with great substance; and he whom I will raise up as their deliverer, shall lead them unto this land, and they shall enter in and possess it, and shall become a great people, and be in number as the sands of the seashore, and as the dust for multitude.'"

Then Abram believed God. We, O Sesostris, are his posterity. Are we not as the stars of heaven in number, and as the sands of the shore? The four hundred years are drawing to a close. Will not He who has brought about the fulfilment of one part of His prophecy, accomplish also the other? Therefore do I look with hope to our release, ere another generation passes away. Who shall live to behold it? Who shall be so blessed as to see this deliverer that is to lead them forth to the promised land? I may not live to see that day of joyful deliverance! Perhaps thy son Remeses may behold it. That land, according to our tradition, is Palestine, through which I journeyed when I visited the ruins, visible above and beneath the Lake of Bitumen; near which, also, I beheld that extraordinary statue of an incrusted woman, on whom the shower of salt fell until it had encased her alive, and transfixed her to the spot, as if hewn from a column of salt. The people of that region informed me, that she was a niece of Prince Abram, overtaken in her flight, when the five cities of the plain were overthrown by fire from heaven. How beautiful is all that land of Palestine! It is like a garden for fertility, and is filled with populous cities, and a cultivated and warlike people. I also visited the city of Salem, where, anciently, King Melchisedec, the wise sage, and friend of God and of Abram, dwelt. It is now but a rock covered with fortresses and the treasure-city of the land. Is this land yet to be given by God to our people? Is it, indeed, already ours by the title of God to our Abram, only waiting for us to go up and possess it? We are then not without a country, though in bondage. This idea elevates my heart; and I have sought to rouse the dormant feelings and hopes of our elders and people, with the faith that our nation has a country reserved for us, by the God of our fathers.

But they shake their heads. They have so long sat in the dust of despair, that they have ceased to hope. Still, my brother Aaron and I everywhere try to lift up their feeble hearts, and to encourage them with the bright future. But one of the old men answered—

"Thou sayest that it is a land filled with a warlike people; that they are the descendants of the old Phœnician shepherd-kings, who once conquered Egypt. How, O son of Pharaoh's daughter," he added, giving me this appellation in his anger, "how can we Hebrews, who know not an arrow from a lance, or a spear from a bow, who are crushed in spirit and dwarfed by toil, how are we to conquer such a land, even if the God of our fathers has given it to us?"

"Does not this foreign land of which the stranger-Hebrew speaks," arose and said another, by the name of Uri,—whose son is the most skilful in Egypt in devising curious works in gold, and in silver, and in precious stones, having served with the queen's royal artificer,—"does it not lie beyond Arabia, and are there not many and strong kings in the way, the armies of Edom, of the Hittites, of the Philistines, and of the sons of Ishmael! Even though Pharaoh were to bid us begone to-morrow, to the new country of our God that we boast of, could we traverse the desert, or do battle with the nations on the way, much more conquer the warlike people who hold it? Listen not to this Egyptian-Hebrew, who doubtless would tempt us to leave Egypt, that we may be destroyed by the warlike people, who will dispute our march. Doubtless, Pharaoh, his former friend, hath sent him to talk with us that he might thereby either get rid of us, or seek occasion to destroy us in a body."

Thus, my dear Sesostris, were my words turned against me. Yet I will not fear, but shall quietly strive to influence my brethren, and persuade them to look forward with hope, to deliverance by the arm of God.

Farewell, Sesostris! May the Almighty give you His divine Spirit, and fill you with wisdom and judgment, that you may honor Him as King of kings, and rule your people mercifully and prosperously. To the beloved queen, Thamonda, I send the most respectful greetings; and thank her from my heart for giving to your daughter the dear and honored name, "Amense." May the virtues of the pure Queen of Egypt be transferred to her; but may her life be far happier! To my namesake, the bright and beautiful Remeses, give my cordial affection. Tell him that I hope, when he shall be a man, and like other princes, visit Egypt, he will not find the Hebrew nation there in bondage, and that, if he inquires after the people of his father's humble friend, he will be answered—

"Their God, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, led them forth to a land given to them for an inheritance, where they now dwell, free and happy!" Ah, Sesostris, shall this dream of hope thus be realized? Tell Remeses to lay a bunch of flowers for me upon the tomb of Queen Epiphia, whose memory and kindness I shall ever cherish deep in my heart.

I once more write, farewell.

Remeses.