Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-03-25
A SISTERS INFLUENCE.
The Power of q Sister Over q
Brother for Good or Evil.


bisteIb Auuucuco Opoh Alof Dioauciu.
The pastor first read and expounded O
chapter in Exodus, on the crossing Of the
Red Sea. and spoke of the water on either
side of the Israelites as crystal palisades"
The text was:
And his sister stood afar of, 10 wit
what would be done to him.-Exodus IL, 4.
DR.. Talmage said:
Princess Thermutis, daughter Of Pha-
raoh, looking out through the lattice of her
on the banks of the Nile,
saw q curious boat on the river. II had
neither Oar nor helm, and they would have
been useless anyhow. There was only one
passenger, and that baby boy. But the
Msyfower that broueh ut the Pilgrim Fathers
TO America carried not SO precious load.
The boat was made of the broad leaves Of
papyrus tightened together by bitumen.
Boats were sometimes made of that mate
nal, as we learn from Pliny and Herodotus
and Theophyastus. "Kill all the Hebrew
children born" had been Pharaoh's order.
To save her boy Jochebed, the mother of
little Moses, had put him in that queer boat
and launched him. His sister Miriam
stood on the bank, watching that precious
craft. She was far enough off not to draw
attention to the boat, but near enough to Of
fer protection. There she stands on the
bank, Miriam the poetess, Miriam the
quick witted, Miriam the faithful, though
very human, for in after time she became
90 mad with that very brother for marrying
Q woman she did not like that she made Q
great family row and was struck with lep-
rosy.
Miriam was asplendid sister, but had her
faults, like all the rest of MS. How care
fully she watched the boat containing her
brother strong wind might upset it.
The buffaloes often found there might, in
q sudden plunge of thirst, sink it. Some
ravenous waterfowl might swoop and pick
his eyes out with iron beak. Some croco-
dile or hippopotamus crawling through the
rushes might craunch the babe. Miriam
watched and watched until Princess her
mutis, maiden on each side Of her hold
ing pa m leaves over her head to shelter
her from the sun, came down and entered
her bathing house. When from the lattice
she saw that boat she ordered it brought,
and when the leaves we're pulled back from
the face Of the child and the boy looked up
he cried aloud, for he was hungry and
frightened, and would not even let the prin-
cess take him. The infant would rather
stay hungry than acknowledge anyone Of
the court as mother. Now Miriam, the sis
ter, incognito, no one suspecting her rela-
ton to the child, le,ps from the bank, and
rushes down and offers to get nurse to
pacify the child. Consent is given, she
brings Jochebed, the baby's mother, incog-
nito, not sure Of the court knowing she was
the mother, and when Jochebed arrived the
child stopped crying, for its fright was
calmed and its hunger appeased. You
may admire Jochebed, the mother, and
all the ages may admire Moses. but I
clap my hands in applause at the behavior
Of Miriam, the faithful, brilliant, and
strategic sister.
Go home" someone might have said to
Miriam. "Why risk yourself out there
alone on the banks of the Nile, breathing
the miasma. and in danger of being attacked
by wi d beast or ruffian? Go home!" No;
Miriam. the sister. most lovingly watched
and bravely defended Moses, the brother.
1s he wor,hy her care and courage? Oh,
yes; the sixty centuries of the worlds his
tory have never had so n ,.ah involved in
the arrival Of any ship at any port as in the
landing of that papyrus boat calked with
bitumen. It's one passeng was TO be a
non-such in history. Lawyer, statesman,
politician, legislator, organizer, conqueror,
deliverer. He had such r. markable beauty
IN childhood that Joselhu, says when he
was carried along the road eople stopped
to 6 axe at him, and workmen would leave
their work to admire him. When the king
playfuly put his crown upon this boy he
threw it off Indignantly and put his foot on
it. The king, fearing that this might be q
ss<v &oI~ l. "a
crown, applied another test. According to
the Jewish legend the king ordered two
bowls to be put before the child, one con-
tanning rubies and the other burning Goals.
And if he took the Goals he was to live, and
If he took the rubies he was to die. For
some reason the child took one of the Goals
and put it in his mouth, SO that his life was
spared, although it burned the tongue till
he was indistinct of utterance ever after.
Having come to manhood, he spread open
the palms Of his hands in prayer, and the
Red Sea parted to let 2,500,0O0 people
escape, and he put the palms Of his hands
together in prayer and the Red Sea closed
ON stranRulated host.
His life was unutterably grand, his burial
must be on the same scale. God would lei
neither man nor saint nor archangel have
anything to do with weaving for him q
shroud or digging for him grave. The
omnipotent God left His throne in heaven
one day, and if the question was asked,
"Whither is the King Of the Universe
going?" the answer was: II am going down
TO bury Moses" And the Lord took thi.
nightest Of men to the top Of hill, and
the day was clear, and Moses ran his EYE
over the magnificent range Of county.
Here the valley of Esdraelon, where the
final battle Of all nations is to be fought;
and yonder, the moun;ai Harmon. and
Lebanon, and Gerizim. and the hills OF
Judea; and the village of Bethlehem there,
and the city of Jericho yond,r aud tls
vast reich of landsc, .pe that aim "; took
the old lawgiver's breath away as he looked
at it. And then, without pang, as learn
from the statement that the eye of Moses
was undimmed and his natural force
unabated, Gci touched the great aw-
giver's eyes, and they closed; and his lungs,
ond they ceased; and his heart, aud il
stopped, and commanded. saving 10
the skies, thou immortal spirit" Aud n
one divine hand was Put against th.. ba k
OF Moses and the other baud Against the
pulseless breast, and God laid him s,i "
down on Mount Nebo. and then the laa-
giver, lifted in the Almighty's arms. was
carried to the opening of cave md plsced
In crypt, and one stroke of The divine
hand smoothed the features into an ever.
lasting calm. and rock was rolld to the
door, and the only obscquies at viii h God
did all the Offices Of priesi and i,nde .tnker
and gravedigger and mourner were enled.
Oh! was not Miriam, the sister Of Moses,
doing good thing, an important thing, a
glorious thing when she watched the boat
woven OF river plants and made water
tight with sulphatum carrying its one pas
senger9 Did she not put NIL the ag 4. Of
time and Of coming eternity under ol,ig.-
ton when she defended her helpisss