And Moses came down from Hermon
Robed in splendor and ire
Graced by God
And the sound of the crowd
Came to Joshua’s ear
The ear of the Servant’s right hand
Moses declared, What is this we find?
Weak-minded golden-calf worship
Wastrel works of the ineffective
Mere gilt bovinity cannot cast out a demon
Cannot soothe the raging spirit
No, cannot still a writhing body
Yes Elijah came down the mountain
Full of the Lord’s might
Elisha joining at his side
Impotent would-bes could not withstand him
He girded his loins with leather straps
And called down power from on high
Elijah’s fire took the waters of unrest
Consumed blood and wood of torment
Destroyed even the stones of doubt
No, the boy is not dead
Moses and the Prophet have delivered him
Poured living water from the mountain
Man of God, even a king
May not command you to come down
So please spare our lives
Lord, your people are a stubborn lot
For the sake of your glory be patient
Do not destroy the faithless out of hand
Moses must depart from Nebo
And Joshua shall part the Jordan
Elijah must be taken in fire
And Elisha shall raise the dead
Joshua has been on the mountain, and prays
Elisha has been anointed, and fasts
The might of the Lord shall abide, in me
So… Peter’s brain goes into overdrive. See Mark 9. He imagines that things might have gone different if he, James, and John (well, primarily if he) had been on hand instead of up on the mountain. Peter is starting to understand that Jesus will move on at some point, just as Moses and Elijah did… and that means someone has to take up the mantle when the torch is passed (to deliberately mix metaphors, and stir well before spooning out). He’s figuring it’s to be him, and getting quite full of himself, drawing on his memory of the stories about Moses on Sinai and Nebo, and of the stories about Elijah on Sinai and Carmel.
Interesting side note: How far did Jesus travel during his forty days in the wilderness? Did he also possibly visit Sinai?