00:00:00
Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people, and so the children of Israel were bound in chains, their lives consumed by the relentless toil of Pharaoh's ambitions. Day after day, the sun rose and set, casting its unforgiving light upon a land where time itself seemed to stretch into eternity. Under the lash, beneath the weight of stones and mortar, the people of Israel cried out to the God of their fathers, Oh deliver us.
00:00:38
Speaker 2: Rescue your people.
00:00:42
Speaker 1: When Moses was weaned, he was returned to Princess Bitya and raised as a prince of Egypt. He grew up alongside Rameses, the son of Pharaoh SETI, the future ruler of the land. But despite the opulence of the palace, a shadow hung over Moses, a lingering scent of the Hebrews that clung to him like a second skin.
00:01:07
Speaker 3: That's enough, leave him alone.
00:01:10
Speaker 4: These dogs need to know who their masters are.
00:01:14
Speaker 5: I said enough, and I had to get out of here.
00:01:19
Speaker 1: Moses wandered the desert, his thoughts a whirlwind of guilt and fear.
00:01:26
Speaker 2: And where is here?
00:01:28
Speaker 6: Exactly why? The land of mountains, fields and mystery. Welcome my friend to Midian it is not a place as much as it is a people.
00:01:39
Speaker 1: The Hebrews had suffered under Setti's rule, but there had been moments of peace, moments when the whip was lowered and the labor eased. Ramses though there was a hunger in him, a lust for power that went beyond the throne.
00:01:58
Speaker 7: Our burden grew heavier.
00:02:00
Speaker 4: I feel it in my bones.
00:02:02
Speaker 7: He will use us until we break, and then he will grind our bones to dust to make more pitch. He is not a man who will be content with mere servitude. He will bleed us dry.
00:02:18
Speaker 1: Songs for deliverance fell upon the dust and pitch they worked in. Desperately, they sang to their God, appealing the promises he made their ancestors. The stars above seemed fixed in their indifference, and the Nile flowed on, dark and unyielding. And yet in the hearts of Aaron and Miriam a flicker of hope remained, For they knew that somewhere, beyond the veil of the scene and the unseen, beyond the power of pharaohs and the gods of Egypt, there was a God who listened, a God who remembered.
00:03:06
Speaker 8: God spoke from within the fire, and Moses, a lowly shepherd, was called to lead an entire people. Shallo, my friends from here in the Holy Land. Welcome to the Chosen People. I'm ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel story, we find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. If you haven't yet followed the podcast, be sure to do so now. That way you never have to miss an episode, and that small step helps us tremendously as we try to be discovered by more people so that we can inspire them. If you're interested in finding out more about the prophetic, life saving words of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, you can visit our website at IFCJ dot org. Moses, once a prince, now a shepherd, wanders the wilderness another ordinary day until it isn't A tree burns but isn't consumed, and a voice, the Voice of the Almighty, calls his name. What would you do if God spoke from the fire? Would you tremble? Would you listen and we ask, why does God call to us from the most unexpected places. This isn't just ancient history. It's an invitation to see this sacred in the ordinary. Because when God calls and we open up our eyes to it, everything changes.
00:04:53
Speaker 1: Moses rose in the gray stillness of the pre dawn, slipping from his bed quietly. Wife Zipporah and their youngest son, Eliezza, lay beside her, wrapped in the peace of sleep. He watched them for a moment. Zipporer's hair spread across the pillow like an inky river. Eliezza's tiny hand curled against his mother's side. There was a warmth in the sight, a quiet simplicity that had been his solace for years. Moses crept outside, grabbing his well worn staff, and heading toward the fields. The air was cool and clean, the kind of crispness that carried promise. Moses took a deep breath and let it fill his lungs. His oldest son, Gersham, had been watching the flocks overnight. He was a faithful, strong and dependable lad. How did the night watch gol my son.
00:05:54
Speaker 4: Uneventful?
00:05:55
Speaker 5: Except our newest little Lamb has been unruly as of late, she's curious for our own goods. Sometimes reminds me of you when you were but a lamb.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: Moses ruffled Gersham's dark matted hair and let him return to his tent to sleep. As he whistled, the sheep stirred from their slumber, responding to his call with bleats that echoed across the valley. They followed him eagerly, trusting in their shepherd's voice and his familiar gestures. He led them through the narrow, winding valley of Horreb at the foot of the great mountain the Medianites called Sinai. The mountain loomed above, its jagged peaks, cutting sharply into the dawn sky. Green life clung stubbornly to the earth in the mountain's shadow. Here, the sun's reach was softened, and the sheep grazed contentedly among patches of wild grasses and shrubs. Moses found a flat rock and sat, letting his weary body relax. As he reclined, he watched the sun's first light creep over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of amber and apricot. The sheep were scattered before him, A white speckling across the green, all grazing within sight except for one. Moses' eyes followed the errant lamb. She climbed each small rise of stone with an awkward enthusiasm, only to tumble down again. Moses chuckled softly at her antics until she bounded further, darting up toward the rocky crags that led deeper into the canyons.
00:07:43
Speaker 3: Hey come back, oh.
00:07:47
Speaker 1: Moses groaned, his breath visible in the cool morning air. He got to his feet, gripping his staff, and jogged toward the canyon. There was a weariness in him, but also a clip of anticipation. Life in Median had been calm, but there was a part of him that had grown restless with it. The slight danger enlivened him more than he cared to admit. Moses followed the lamb up into the rocky path, the sound of his feet crunching over loose stones mingling with the fading echoes of the sheep's bleats. A few other herders had recently been there. Moses could see their footprints in the gravel. Where did you go a little while his voice bounced off the towering canyons. The further he went. The quieter it became, until only the sound of his own breathing remained. The canyon narrowed, its walls, closing in, and for a moment he felt utterly alone, Then faint and distant, He heard a whisper, a sound that was not quite a sound, a voice that seemed to come from the stones themselves, or even from within his own mind. Moses, Moses stopped dead in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat. The voice echoed softly, resonating in his bones, filling the air with a haunting familiarity. He called to him again, a whisper that was both near and far.
00:09:21
Speaker 4: Mosies.
00:09:24
Speaker 1: The name, his name rolled through the canyon like a wave, pulling him forward with a force that defied understanding. He rounded a bend in the path, his heart hammering in his chest, and saw it a light breaking through the shadows ahead. The light danced along the dusty floor, casting long, erratic shadows that seemed to move with the life of their own. Moses was drawn to it, unable to look away. His feet moved of their own accord, carrying him closer to the source of the light. The voice came again, clearer, now a murmur that seemed to thrumb through the very rocks beneath him. Moses, he turned a final corner and stopped, his breath stolen from his lungs. Before him was a tree, but not as any tree he had ever seen. It was engulfed in flames, a great burning bush that flared with a fierce, unnatural fire. Yet the fire did not consume it. The branches did not blacken, the leaves did not curl to ash. The flames leaped and danced wild and powerful, but the tree remained whole and unscathed. Moses, the voice, now nearer than before, sounded like a thousand rushing waters, all humming at once. Moses could hear the voice all around him and deep in his chest. It spoke to him, but it also spoke within him. He could feel the presence of another, someone foreign and familiar, All at once. The ground underfoot seemed alive, thrumming with an unseen force, as if beating to the rhythm of this voice. The earth rippled like a stone tossed in still water. Moses was drawn to the fire and inched closer.
00:11:23
Speaker 2: Here I Am.
00:11:25
Speaker 1: He clenched his staff and inched closer to the tree. As he stepped, the breeze nudged him back.
00:11:33
Speaker 4: Do not come closer, Moses, remove your sandals, for where you stand is wholly ground.
00:11:43
Speaker 1: Moses felt his heart quicken. The air was different here, charged with a strange energy that made the hairs on his arms stand. He looked down and saw the ground beneath him, rippling as though it were water. He bent down and removed his hands. Moses hands were trembling. He took a cautious step closer to the tree, still clutching his staff like a life line. The flames seemed to welcome him, enveloping him in their warmth without burning him.
00:12:16
Speaker 4: Who are you? I am the God of your Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
00:12:28
Speaker 1: With these words, the flames surged higher, and the brightness of the fire became blinding. Moses shielded his eyes, recoiling from the intensity. The light was pure, fierce, like a thousand suns burning all at once. He could feel its power washing over him, and he fell back, overwhelmed by its radiance. For a moment he dared not look up, afraid of what he might see. But as he lowered his arm. The light softened, and he saw the flames swaying gently, as if in an unseen wind.
00:13:05
Speaker 4: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries and beheld their suffering. I have come to deliver them out of slavery and carry them to a land of promise, A vast and vibrant land heaving with life, a land flowing with milk and honey.
00:13:31
Speaker 1: Moses rose to his knees and gazed deeper into the fire. In the middle there was a brighter light, something like a beating heart, a heart that beat with compassion and love.
00:13:44
Speaker 4: I will strike down the oppressors. My chosen will know my hand and my heart. No rise, Moses, for it is you that I I've chosen to send.
00:14:03
Speaker 3: Who am I to do this task? I am a rogue Egyptian and a former prince. They won't follow me there, Ah, I'm look good for this. You're the wrong man.
00:14:16
Speaker 4: Once I have delivered my people and set them free, you will bring them back to this mountain. I shall reveal myself to them and confirm my favor upon you.
00:14:30
Speaker 2: There are many gods in Egypt.
00:14:32
Speaker 3: They may not even know that you're the God of their forefathers. What's your name?
00:14:38
Speaker 2: Who shall I say?
00:14:39
Speaker 4: Send me you wish to know my name? I am called according to my deeds. When I created the heavens and called forth creatures from the sea, I was called the Eloheim. But when I speak with my two and people and wage war against the wicked who oppressed them, I am called.
00:15:08
Speaker 1: A sudden wind swept through the canyon, whipping around the flames, churning them into a whirl of colors orange, blue, white. The fire roared upward, then descended like a shower of glowing embers, settling gently on the ground like falling petals. The creator's voice descended from the heavens and sprang forth from the earth, all at once. Moses crumbled to the floor as he heard his name.
00:15:37
Speaker 4: I am who I am?
00:15:42
Speaker 1: Moses's heart was tight and heavy in his chest. He couldn't take his gaze away from the flame. It danced around Moses, nearly lifting him off the ground.
00:15:53
Speaker 4: Tell the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that this is my name forever and will be remembered throughout the generations.
00:16:06
Speaker 3: Yes, this all sings too much.
00:16:12
Speaker 2: Where would I even.
00:16:13
Speaker 4: Begin gather the elders of Israel together and tell them that the Lord, the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to you. Tell them that I have observed their anguish in Egypt, and I promise to bring them out of their affliction and into a new land, the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Parasites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the land I once promise to Abraham, a land flowing with milk and honey.
00:17:00
Speaker 3: By now Ramsey sits on the throne of Egypt. I know he won't part with his people. Am I to lead an army? How will I approach him? You may remember I didn't leave on the best of stirs.
00:17:17
Speaker 1: Moses noticed that his stammer had returned. It always did when he was nervous and afraid. Before the bright flames and rippling flaws, it seemed impossible to steady himself. Moses was shaking all over, trembling in fear of the God of all creation.
00:17:36
Speaker 4: Pharaoh will not let you go unless compel by a mighty hand. I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders.
00:17:50
Speaker 1: The flame rose like a sword, and then swooped down like the strike of a hawk.
00:17:55
Speaker 4: My people shall be free when they go, Oh, they will not go empty. They shall leave with silver, gold, jewels and ridges. The Egyptians shall be defeated and plundered.
00:18:15
Speaker 3: Why do you want me to lead them? They won't believe me. I'm a stranger to them. Who am I did? They would even listen to my voice?
00:18:25
Speaker 4: What is in your hand? Moses?
00:18:28
Speaker 1: Moses looked down at his shepherd's staff. It was the same one he had picked up long ago at the well. It fit his hand perfectly. Years of shepherding had fit the shaft to his grip.
00:18:42
Speaker 2: This is my shepherd's staff.
00:18:44
Speaker 4: Throw it on to the ground.
00:18:47
Speaker 1: Moses tossed the staff before him, and the sound of wood striking stone echoed through the canyon. The earth rippled around it, and to his shock, the staff began to run eth and twist, transforming into a living serpent. The snake coiled its body, rippling with tension, and raised its head, fixing Moses with a piercing gaze.
00:19:12
Speaker 4: Reach out your hand and catch the serpent by the tail.
00:19:17
Speaker 1: Moses heart thundered in his chest as he stepped cautiously around the serpent. Positioning himself behind it. He reached out, and in one swift motion, he grabbed it by the tail. In an instant, the serpent turned back into a staff, firm and solid in his grasp.
00:19:36
Speaker 4: This will be a sign to him, so that all may know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has appeared to you and chosen you to lead us.
00:19:56
Speaker 2: This all seems.
00:19:59
Speaker 5: Impossible.
00:20:00
Speaker 4: Place your hand inside your cloak, Moses.
00:20:05
Speaker 1: He did as he was told, slipping his hand beneath his cloak. When he withdrew it, he gasped. The skin was pale and withered, as white as snow, his flesh rotting and sickly, the bones nearly exposed. The stench of decay filled his nostrils.
00:20:24
Speaker 3: Oh oh leprosy ha ay am I dying.
00:20:31
Speaker 1: Put your hand back in. Moses did so, and his hand was restored.
00:20:39
Speaker 4: If the Israelites do not believe your first sign or heed your second sign, take some water from the nile and pour it on to dry ground. The water you take will turn to blood on the floor. The serpent, the rat, the blood. Life and death are mine to control. Moses. I am the author of life, and for the enemies of my people, I can authur death.
00:21:14
Speaker 1: Moses fell to his knees and gripped the dirt below him. His head shook in disbelief, not in the Lord, but in himself. Images of his past failures flashed before him. He felt frail and inadequate. The feeling of dread threatened to consume him.
00:21:34
Speaker 2: Well, my Lord, I'm not an eloquent man. I've always slow of speech and tongue. How can I speak with this feeble mouth of mine?
00:21:47
Speaker 4: Who made man's mouth? Who makes the mute, the death, the scene, or the blind? Is it not I? The Lord? Now go, I shall be your mouth and give you the words to speak.
00:22:11
Speaker 1: Moses fell to the floor, burying his face in the dirt. He trembled in fear, whimpering like a frightened child. Even with the words of the Creator himself commissioning him, Moses couldn't shake his feelings of inadequacy. He felt paralyzed.
00:22:31
Speaker 4: Your brother Aaron walks among the people. He is an orator of skill and a man of the people. I have already instructed him to meet you. When he sees you, it will please his heart. You shall speak to him, and he shall proclaim on your behalf. I shall command you, and you shall command him. He shall be your mouth, and you shall be like a god to him.
00:23:04
Speaker 2: So you will still send me.
00:23:08
Speaker 4: Take the staff in your hands, and go. Go and behold my wonders. I shall be with you.
00:23:20
Speaker 1: Moses watched as the flames swirled upwards, twisting into a spiral of light that reached for the heavens. The fire flared one final time, burning white hot, so intense that Moses had to shield his face, and then as suddenly as it had appeared, the flame vanished, leaving nothing but the cool, empty air of the canyon. Moses was left standing alone, his heart heavy with both awe and dread. The memory of the encounter etched into his soul. He knew then that his life would never be the same again.
00:24:04
Speaker 7: Wow.
00:24:05
Speaker 8: What an incredible story. Moses, who once lived in the splendor of royalty, now finds himself a solitary shepherd, toiling in isolation. His life was once filled with the pomp and circumstance of Pharaoh's court, but now he tends sheep in the wilderness. Moses thinks that his days of serving a purpose are over, and then a bush bursts into flames and begins to speak. Imagine you're Moses for just a minute. You're on a hike, you're leaving work, and suddenly a blazing light appears from a talking tree. The Bible is filled with these strange, miraculous, and seemingly absurd moments, moments where God turned the ordinary into extraordinary, and even today's most profound revelations often come in the most unexpected moments. Years ago, I came across a story that caught my attention. Picture a crowded subway station, everyone rushing to get wherever they're going. In the middle of it all, a man stood playing violin, and he'd stood playing violin for forty five minutes. Nearly no one stopped to listen. But this wasn't just any musician. It was Joshua Bell, one of the world's greatest violinists, and he was playing a three point five million dollar violin. Days earlier, people had paid more than one hundred dollars a seat just to watch him perform, and yet here, in the chaos of everyday life, almost no one noticed. It makes me wonder what divine wonders are we missing. In today's episode, Moses encounters the Burning Bush, Jewish tradition holds that he wasn't the first to pass by it, but Moses was the first to stop. He was the first to see. Only when Moses turned aside did God speak. And what did Moses hear? He heard a name, A promise. Ray by Jonathan Sachs of Blessed Memory once reflected on the profound words God spoke from the bush. Ah yeah asher e, hey, yeah, I will be what I will be. For both Jews and Christians, this phrase has often been interpreted philosophically about the nature of existence. God is the essence of being, but in Jewish tradition, it's also something else. It's about the presence. God isn't just a distant force, but rather He's with us in our lives, in our struggles. I'll be with you, he says. Moses wasn't just encountering an abstract idea of God. He was meeting personally the one who would walk with him with all of Israel through the wilderness. This is our God, the God who sees, who knows, who is with us. The chosen people to speak more on this incredible story is Bishop Paulineer.
00:27:13
Speaker 5: Thank you, Yaelle. This chapter begins by revealing that Moses, who had grown up in Pharaoh's palace, is now returning to his truest identity. Well, what does that mean. He's going to be tending sheep. M In fact, Moses is going to be tending sheep for the rest of his life, whether it's a flock or a people. And you'll remember what Joseph had said to his own brothers centuries earlier. He had said to them, listen, I got to tell you something about these Egyptian people. They hate shepherds, they despise sheep. The whole conversation. Well, while is out in the Median desert, and he begins standing at a mountain that's so significant in his life, Mount Horreb. While he's there, this manifestation really a remarkable epiphany of a burning bush. Now, burning bushes weren't weren't that strange in the desert, But this one talked to him, and this prophecy in it. The briars remind us of the bondage and the fire. The burning reminds us of the persecution. But neither the briars nor the fire could consume the people of God who yet remained. Verse five of Chapter three. God requires Moses, I want you to take your shoes off if I'm going to talk to you, because the ground you're standing upon is wholly Later Ones is going to put them shoes back on, and he'll never have to He'll never have to take them off again or get another pair, because they won't wear out for the same reason. There holy now and the voice reveals himself to be the God of generations, and Moses is so afraid that he's going to die if he sees the face of God that he covers his face. Well, later on, he's going to be back at the same mountain, different side, different season. On one side it's Mount horrib literally and on the other side it's Mount Sinai, and he's and he's going to cover his face as he's coming down from Mount Signyai. This time, he's going to cover his face because he has seen God. And it's the people who can't in dure God's glory. You know it moves me. How many times in this chapter we read the words God says I have seen, and God says I have heard. God says I have a plan, God says I will He's so intimately, intricately intensely engaged in this story, and he always was. Then God provides this glorious definition of deliverance. Too many times I think of deliverance as getting out of something that's just part of it, that's just an escape if it doesn't go farther. It's far more than being rescued from a place, but being released into the greater place God has for you. Deliverance is not simply the deliverance from by deliverance. In two and in verse verse ten, God speaks his assignment upon Moses' life. You remember Joseph said, I know I'm only thirty years of age, but I've got to tell you something. I have become father to Pharaoh. He looks to me, he listens to me. He reveals, well, Moses is about to have a whole other level of conversation and relationship with his Pharaoh. It's not going to be that kind of thing Joseph had at all. God provides Moses a sign of his presence and his power, and he says, I'm going to bring you back to this very same mountain with two and a half million jews for again. At the bottom of the mountain, at the burning bush is Mount Horbe, but he says, at the top of it, on the other side, you're going to stand it's Mount Signine. You're going to experience the full fiery glory of Heaven again. Same mountain, different sides, different seasons. God instructs Moses to confront Pharaoh and to require that he be able to lead the children of Israel altitude the wilderness for the sake of worship, for the sake of sacrifice, that they might redeem their truest identity at the altars of God. But God knows, and God even says, listen, Pharaoh's not going to allow you to go. He's going to raise up his stiff neck against me. But I'm going to reach out my hand and strike Egypt with my miracle power, and eventually everyone's going to know your God, who I am all I can do. And then, can I remind you of something? In Genesis, first book, chapter fifteen, round verse fourteen, God prophesied to Abraham that he would indeed have generations and generations, and that they would be in bondage to four hundred years. They would be delivered and they would not leave empty handed, but God would overwhelm them with the silver and you remember that the silver and the gold, and they would carry it from their place. Well, in this chapter three of Exodus, verse twenty one, God reminds Moses that the Egyptians will be so enamored, so in awe of the glory of the Lord upon this people, that they won't leave that bondage empty handed at all. But they're going to carry out the silver and gold. And this is important, This is important to me. You remember many years earlier that Benjamin, Benjamin, the baby boy of Jacob and Rachel, was lavished with silver and gold. Were right there in Egypt. I believe it's a prophetic moment, letting the people know God is God is still moving, the prophetic word is still alive in your life. When I have a silver and gold, why are you giving it to these people? Verse twenty two, which you will dress your own sons and daughters. Every blessing has an assignment, and the wealth of silver and gold at that moment has a generational assignment. I speak the blessing of the Lord over your life now and your generations.
00:34:33
Speaker 8: Jewish tradition, which tries to see the deeper meaning of the Bible's words and stories, asks this question, why did God reveal himself to Moses in a bush that burned but was not consumed. The Metrash explains that Moses was afraid that the Egyptians would really destroy the Chosen People, and so God showed Moses a fire that, although raging, did not consume the bush. And God said to Moses, just as the bush burns with fire but is never consumed, so too, Egypt will never destroy Israel. I often think of this beautiful explanation in times like these, difficult times for the Jewish people and for Israel. We see fire burning everywhere, but we remember God's promise in eternal promise that we will never be consumed. We are so appreciative for you are Christian friends and supporters who believe this as well.
00:35:38
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with the Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot Com app today. This prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People With You Isle Eckstein Edited by Alberto Avilla narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.