Category: Fiction
ISBN: 0446530115
Keywords: Moses, goatskin, bossy, Reuel, dangled the bait,
prey, husband, lotus blossom, marriage, Warner Faith, Warner Books, Hunt,
Angela Elwell Hunt
"After receiving an assurance that I would have no objection to the marriage (his asking my opinion was a rare honor, to be sure, for most fathers little cared what their daughters thought), at diner he summoned Moses and mentioned that he had a favor to ask and a favor to grant.
Hiding behind the goatskin wall, I silently shooed the servants away.
'The favor I must ask,' my father continued, 'concerns my daughter Zipporah, with whom you are well acquainted.'
Moses did not speak, though I am sure he nodded.
'She is seventeen and I must soon find her a husband. If you would not mind sharing your opinion, what do you think of Gal the Edomite, who often visits with his father. Is he not well suited for Zippora?'
'Gal?' Derision rang in Moses' voice. 'Gal is far too bossy for Zipporah; she would fight with him every day. I respect your wishes, Reuel, but I do not think Gal would be a good husband for our little bird.'
'Hmmmm.'
I pressed a hand over my mouth to subdue my smile. Though I could not see inside the tent, in my heart's eye I could see my father with his hand pressed to his beard, one gray brow uplifted as he dangled the bait before his intended prey.
'Perhaps Elan, then. He is a fine lad, and intelligent. He has a gentle nature, too--'
'Elan, begging your pardon, would break like a reed beneath Zipporah's force of will. She is not a hot-tempered girl, but she definitely knows her own heart, while Elan is like a feather in the wind. No, Reuel--since you asked my opinion, I'd hate to think of Zipporah married to Elan.'
'Askel, then. Only last week he was mentioning Zipporah's beauty, comparing her to a delicate lotus blossom on the river Nile--"
'Askel is older than you! I'm sorry, Reuel, but surely you don't mean to marry Zipporah to a man old enough to be her father?'
'I might,' Father's voice went oddly gentle. 'What I want most, Moses, is to marry her to a man who will love her. I care nothing about his age as long as he is strong enough to love her and soft enough to support her odd little ways.'
I closed my eyes in frustration for I could not imagine the look on Moses' face.
Father kept speaking. 'I would not like to send my Zipporah away. She is a delight to me, and an important part of my household. Therefore I should prefer it if the gods would allow her to remain nearby with her husband.'
When Moses answered, a trace of laughter lined his voice. 'You asked my opinion as a favor; I gave it. So what is the favor you'd like to grant?'
'I'd like to grant you the honor of marriage to my daughter. You are a worthy man. I would be honored to call you my son.'"
SoAmazing Review:
Have you thought about Moses' years in the desert
before the burning bush? How did God use those years
to prepare him to lead the children of Israel?
Angela Elwell Hunt's, The Shadow Women,
brings those years to life.
"So they traveled on, with Ignorance following along
behind them, until they came to a place where another
way joined the way that they were on, and both ways
seemed to lie as straight as the way they were supposed
to go. They were confused, unsure which of the two to
take, so they stopped there, wondering what to do." John Bunyon, p.165,
BuyThe Pilgrim's Progress, Faithfully Retold In Today's English By Cheryl V. Ford With Calligraphy By Timothy R. Botts Now!
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