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Topic: SMEAR (03/10/16)
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TITLE: The future looks better now | Previous Challenge Entry
By David Guion
03/17/16 -
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He had grown up hearing his grandfather Joel, Azaz, and his father Shimei pass on stories of the God of their ancestor Israel. Israel had been rich and successful. His son Joseph had even been ruler of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. But that was many generations ago. Another Pharaoh had soon reduced the people to servitude. What had that God done for Israel's descendants lately?
An old man named Moses recently returned after a long absence, claiming that he had actually spoken with that God. He said he had come back to Egypt to force Pharaoh to let the children of Israel leave Egypt and return to their ancestral home. Joel had been so excited at the news. That is, until Pharaoh in his anger had made life worse for everyone. That's when Azaz met his end. Would life ever get any better?
Not that the Egyptians benefitted from Pharaoh's wrath. At Moses' word, God had turned the Nile to blood. When it became water again, the Egyptians suffered from frogs, gnats, and flies. Their livestock got sick and died. Hail and locusts destroyed their crops. After all that, the sun refused to shine on Egypt for three days.
None of those plagues touched Goshen, where the Israelites lived. Micah never saw any of them, but he trusted the word of his grandfather and father that they happened. But what did it matter?
As he pondered the prospect of the sorry life before him, Shimei called him.
"You're a man now, and we're going to offer a sacrifice to God. Celebrate your manhood by slaughtering the lamb."
Micah had watched Shimei slaughter lambs before, but nothing is as easy as it looks. How quiet the lamb was as Micah so clumsily killed it! And how thoroughly unpleasant the feeling of its blood on his own body!
Joel said that this night was different from all others. The angel of death would kill the firstborn in every Egyptian household. Pharaoh would let the Israelites go. Sure enough, Micah's mother, aunt, and grandmother started to pack their belongings as if the family were going somewhere.
Micah shuddered. Shimei was Joel's firstborn, and he was Shimei's firstborn. The life that had seemed so worthless as he contemplated it earlier now seemed precious.
"How will the angel know who is Egyptian and who is Israelite?"
"The blood of the lamb will save us," Joel answered. "You have done your part in this sacrifice. Watch what we do now. The angel will know to spare you and all the firstborn of Israel."
Shimei had already poured the lamb's blood into a bowl. Now he butchered it. Ordinarily, he would have been careful to preserve the skin for its leather and wool. But this time, after he prepared meat for the family meal, he added the skin to the bones, entrails, and offal and burned it all to cinders.
The women roasted the meat for supper and prepared Micah's favorite salad of bitter herbs. It was unusual, though, that they had not added any starter to the flour to make bread. They said there was no time to let it rise.
Most unusual, though, Joel dipped hyssop in the lamb's blood and sprinkled it on the door post and lintel. Micah could almost imagine a man standing in the door, his head by the blood on the lintel and his arms stretched out toward the blood on each side.
Yes. The angel would see that man as easily as Micah could see the lamb's blood. He would know not to come in. Micah knew that he and his father would wake up in the morning. The whole family would leave this hovel. And the God of Israel would go with them.
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