(7-143-147)(19-51-53)
When Moses was
moving in the desert with the Israelites, he frequently had been going to Mount
Sinai to get guidance. God told him to
come to the mountain for forty nights. Since
it was a long period of absence, Moses put his brother Aaron in charge of the
Israelites while he was gone. He gave
him the responsibility to keep vigil after the affairs of the Israelites, guide
them to the right path and keep constant check on the mischievous elements in
the nation.
When Moses came on the appointed time to
the mountain, God talked to him and gave him the guidance. The guidance given to him was so clear,
precise, to the point, illuminating, unique, and unimaginably beautiful that he
was overwhelmed by it. In his ecstasy, he
cried out, “Show Yourself to me, so that I may behold You.” “You cannot see Me,” was the reply. “Look at the mountain; if it remains firm when I reveal
Myself, then you will be able to see Me.”
When God’s glory came upon the mountain, it was unable to stand it. The
mountain crumbled down into pieces and Moses became unconscious. When he recovered he said, “Oh God you are
infinite and we human beings are finite.
No finite being can see the infinite. I am the first one to acknowledge
this truth.”
God said to
Moses, “I have chosen you from all mankind to fulfill My plan and receive
revelations. I have also honored you by
talking to you, so firmly hold my laws and be grateful for them. By acting on these laws you will become one
of those fortunate people whose efforts have brought the best possible results.”
According to
the prevalent method at that time, the laws were written on tablets. God told Moses to act on these laws along
with his nation. Very soon the good
results would show the verity of these laws.
Moses observed that only those people who wanted to be praised without
doing any constructive work turned away from these laws. Such people were so proud and conceited that
if all the bad results of their actions could become crystal clear to them,
they would still not embrace the right laws. On the contrary, if they visualized any wrong
path, they would follow it joyfully if it strengthened their vanity. Their pride was a great hindrance in realizing
the truth.
The Israelites were brought into the desert
for training, so that they could get rid of all the bad habits of slavery which
they had acquired in Egypt. The aim was
to enable them to live an ideal life, a life of constant struggle and firm
determination. This type of positive
attitude could not be imposed from outside.
The Israelites could achieve this level of perfection by willingly
submitting themselves to the discipline of Moses. The life of the desert gave them an
excellent chance to acquire new habits because all the basic necessities for
living were given to them without hard work and payment. Clouds were covering the sky to save them
from the scorching heat. They were given
free food, twelve springs of water, and two prophets to teach them the ways to
live according to the laws of God.
However, the
Israelites were not happy with the current situation, the rugged discipline
and the hard life; the life of ease and comfort
was their ideal. All the time
they were grumbling about the food, even though the meat of birds (manna) was
the most nutritious diet. The Israelites were remembering the leftovers and
pots they had been licking in the time of slavery. Their patience was running thin about the
food, so they declared to Moses, “We cannot confine ourselves to one single
food forever. Ask God to give us the
products of the earth such as herbs, cucumbers, lentils, onions, and ginger.”
Moses was not
happy with this request because he knew that for this kind of food they would
have to leave the desert and live in a city.
He tried to explain, “My nation, you are absolutely free in the desert.
Your full time is spent in learning and training; if you want this kind of food
you will have to lead a city life. A
good amount of your time will be spent in tilling and sowing fields, looking
after the harvest, cutting the products, and you will not be able to devote all
your time to learning. Do not exchange
your liberty for spicy food. The life of
the desert is much higher than city life.”
All of Moses’ advice fell on deaf ears.
The Israelites were inflexible in their demand.
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