The evening sun shone on the red granite peak of Mount Sinai and cast a warm glow on their, nest or eyrie as Edward insisted was the correct name for their home! Edward and Hannah were two beautiful Golden Eagles and they lived on Mount Sinai with their two children, Adrian and Eve.
'Tonight they had all finished supper and the children were waiting for their story.
'Can we have a brand new story, please Daddy?'
'No, I like the old ones'
'Which one is your favourite.?
'Which one do you like best Mummy?'
On and on they went until Daddy said 'Enough, enough' and he laughed. 'Now which request shall I choose Mmm?' He thought and then - 'I'll tell you my favourite' he decided.' It really is very very special.
No-one was disappointed. Daddy's favourite story truly was 'extra special'.
'It all began' Daddy said after making sure the children were comfortable and would not be wriggling. 'Yes, it all began before you were born, in fact before I had even met Mummy' and here he paused to smile at his wife Hannah. 'I lived on the next mountain at the time, and one day as I was flying around I saw a huge crowd of people walking towards our mountain here where we now live!
'You had never seen so many people before, had you Daddy?' broke in Eve.
'Be quiet, Evie' said big brother Adrian. 'You are such a nuisance.
'No I'm not' shouted Evie giving Adrian a push.
'There will be no story at all if this continues' finished Mummy firmly. The children settled down. The story was far too wonderful to spoil by silly arguing.
So Daddy began again. 'When I saw all the people I flew down to see what they were doing and also find out why they were there. I saw them beginning to set up their Camp and as they talked I realised who they were.'
'The Children of Israel' called out Evie.
Daddy laughed. 'That's right, the people whom God had brought out of Egypt.'
'And they had a great Leader, called Moses'.This time it was Adrian who interrupted the story.
'Quite right' agreed Daddy 'and this great Leader climbed the mountain to speak with God - and God said....'
The children loved this part of the story - their little beaks opened wide as they held their breath.
'God said "Tell the people of Israel to remember how I brought them out of Egypt and back to myself AS THOUGH ON EAGLES WINGS" Yes! God had loved and protected His people as their Mummy and Daddy loved and protected them. They remembered when they had been frightened to fly when they were younger how their parents had always been with them swooping down under them their strong wings creating a wonderful current of air to lift them up and safely back to their home.
Oh! yes, the children understood perfectly how much God loved His people - hadn't He even told them about their Mummy and Daddy? They took a deep happy breath and smiled so Daddy continued. 'God our Heavenly Father then told Moses that He was going to come down on to the mountain in a cloud in two day's time, and the people would know He was there when they heard the trumpets of the Angels.' Adrian and Evie's eyes were shining. They knew the story well,but they still loved to ask questions, so - 'Did you see God our Father?' Evie asked in a hushed voice.
'No' Daddy answered her. When the great day came, there was a dreadful thunderstorm with the most vivid lightning streaking across the sky. Everyone for miles and miles around could see and hear it. And then a huge black cloud came down on to the mountain, and we all heard the trumpets of the Angels. Then, God Himself came down in the form of fire, and the smoke rose up into the air as if there was a huge furnace burning on top of the mountain. Daddy paused and quietly wiped away a tear - 'It was the most awesome sight I had ever seen' he said. 'I knew our Heavenly Father had come down to our mountain, and I heard His Voice. Even the mountains themselves shook and trembled as if they knew their Creator was standing amongst them.' 'Did anyone see our Father?' Adrian asked quietly.
'Yes' answered Daddy. 'Our Father called Moses to the top of the mountain to talk with Him again, and then later on 70 of the Elders and Aaron, Nadab and Abidu climbed the mountain to listen to God speaking.
'Tell us about the jewels' said Evie. 'I love this part.' Mummy chuckled. 'Yes, it must have been wonderful to see.'
'Well' said Daddy, 'When they came down from the mountain one of the things I heard them say was - 'And the pavement! The pavement our God of Israel stood on was made of sparkling jewels of Sapphire, as clear as the Heavens.
They were amazed, overwhelmed by the Glory on the Mountain.'
'Oh!' said Evie. 'The Glory on the Mountain; sparkling jewels of sapphire; and our Father Himself' and she gave a deep sigh as if the wonder and beauty of it was too much for her to even think about.
There was silence for a while in the eyrie, the only sound was the wind as it passed by ruffling their feathers in its progress.
At last Adrian spoke. 'Tell us about God's Laws, Daddy.'
'Oh yes, God gave Moses Ten Commandments for the people to obey and also many rules for them to live by. In fact Moses was on the mountain alone with our Heavenly Father for forty days and forty nights.'
'And when Moses came down' said Evie excitedly - 'When Moses came back down the mountain' and she looked at Daddy, her face alight with joy, her eyes sparkling.
'Yes, we mustn't forget that special part must we?' said Daddy.'When Moses came down from the mountain he didn't realise that his face shone with God's Glory - so much so that when the people saw him they were afraid, and Moses had to put a veil over his face. I saw it myself.'
'You saw the Glory on Moses' face. Daddy?' asked Adrian who loved to hear the answer.
'Yes, I didn't see God Himself, but it was enough for me to see a little of His Glory reflected like a mirror on the face of Moses. He had been in the Presence of God, and our Father's radiance was there for all to see.'
By now the evening sun was beginning to fade from the sky. Soon it would be dark, and time to sleep, but they were all reluctant to move. They wanted to remain in the warmth and beauty of the story, so as the darkness deepened their thoughts were on the crashing thunder; the brilliant streaks of lightning; the deep dark cloud; the smoke; the fire; the earthquake; the trumpets of the Angels; the pavement of sparkling Sapphires; the Presence and the Voice of God; and the glimpse of His Holiness, Beauty and Radiance on the face of Moses - surely one of the most wonderful stories of all.
Elizabeth Aynsley ©