Hail To The King! From The Diary of A Former Slave VII

I once watched a drunken man running down the street in the rain, weaving from one side to the other. When I asked him what he was doing, he responded, “I’m running through the raindrops!” I’m not drunk. I’m not even running. I can walk, even stand between the hailstones. They just won’t fall on me. It all began yesterday. Egyptians were running around warning each other that another plague was on its way, and that Moses promised that whoever was inside, and all animals that were brought inside, would be safe. Pharaoh’s Royal Guards are trying to stop anyone from bringing their animals inside. “Anyone who brings his animals inside will be prosecuted for treason!” They have large chariots with megaphones passing up and down every street warning the Egyptians not to hide their animals. My next-door neighbor is terrified. He doesn’t know whether to ignore Pharaoh’s troops, who have been decimated by the plagues, and to acknowledge God’s power and hide his animals, or to remain loyal to Pharaoh. There is a civil war brewing. They hate each other now as much as they hated us. My neighbor went with God. He was too scared to ignore the warning. He doesn’t have any faith in Pharaoh’s ability to protect or even hurt him. Some diehards painted “Traitor!” all over his house. We woke up to a perfectly quiet morning. When I went to the local Starbucks I saw that there was a cloud of hail over each Egyptian, his home and animals, while the sky was perfectly clear for me. The hail was incredible: there were actually flames burning inside each hailstone! The Egyptians were running around like that drunken man, but their clouds followed them wherever they went. They are all covering their ears because they hear a constant terrifying thunder. Interesting, because I don’t hear anything. They are standing at their windows yelling out to us; “Forgive us! Please!” Rumor has it that even Pharaoh has acknowledged his sins and declared that God is righteous. It won’t be long before this is all over. Their crops are destroyed. Most of their flocks have been decimated. The BNN reported that Egypt will have to import food for the first time in centuries. The food basket of the world, developed by Joseph, whom they chose to “forget,” has become a basket case. I still don’t understand why God is waiting for Pharaoh to let us go. If He is so powerful, why does He need Pharaoh’s permission? If He keeps all this up, even those of us who want to stay in Egypt, won’t be welcome. The Egyptians will force all of us to leave. Do you think that’s why God is dragging this out? There is Moses walking outside the city. He’s stretching out his hands to God, The thunder stopped. The hailstones are not moving and just floating in the air. It’s perfectly still. Nothing is moving. It’s as if God is telling us that nothing has changed. Is He waiting for us? One minute; Moshe’s representatives are running through the streets announcing a gathering of all the Jews. I’ll let you know what he says. You’ll have to wait till after Shabbat.