It all begins with Abraham. God Himself entrusted him with a profound secret, "the secret of the mystery of the Redeemer," as Howard Schwartz puts it in Tree of Souls. A heavy burden, a precious gift.
And what did Abraham do with this divine intelligence? He passed it on, of course. To his son, Isaac. Imagine the hushed tones, the weight of responsibility, as father shared this vital piece of knowledge with son.
Then Isaac revealed it to Jacob. The chain continued, each link forged in faith and trust.
And Jacob, he didn't hoard the secret either. He shared it with his beloved son, Joseph. Joseph, the dreamer, the one who understood the language of symbols and signs. It makes sense that this secret would be entrusted to him, doesn't it?
But the story doesn't end there. Joseph, in turn, revealed the secret to his own sons. Think about it: generation after generation, this knowledge was carefully guarded, passed from parent to child.
And then comes Asher, one of Jacob's sons. He took a slightly different path. Asher shared this most precious of secrets not with his son, but with his daughter, Serah.
Serah! A woman holding the key to redemption! It's a powerful image, isn't it? A reminder that women, too, play a crucial role in the unfolding of the divine plan.
So, what was this earth-shattering secret? The text doesn't explicitly tell us the words themselves. But we understand the power they held. It was understood, we are told, that whoever came to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt and uttered these specific words would be recognized as the true deliverer, the one sent by God. The real deal.
A kind of spiritual shibboleth, if you will. A password that separated the genuine article from the imposters.
Think about the implications. This secret wasn't just information; it was a test. A way to prove one's authenticity, one's connection to the divine. It placed an enormous burden on Moses – the one who would ultimately have to prove he knew the secret. The pressure!
This whole narrative invites us to consider what it means to truly be a "redeemer." Is it simply about power and miracles? Or is it about something deeper – a connection to tradition, a faithfulness to the secrets passed down through generations? What "secrets" are we entrusted with, and how do we guard and pass them on?