The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1898-05-27
THE HISTORY OF MOSES.
Practical and inspiring Lessons for All
CIassen Of People.
Great Man Whose Many Deeds Should
Be Constant Inspiration tn Every
One-An Inter sting Sermon By
Rev. T. DE Witt Talmaee, d. u.

Rev. T. DE Witt ralmaee. d. ID.
DR.. Talmage's text Sunday was Exc.
dus ill.,, L: Now Moses kept the flock
of Jethro. his father-in-law. the priest
of INDIAN"
In the southeastern part of Arabia
a man issitting by we'll. 1t is an arid
country. and water is scarce, so that a
well Is of great value. and flocks and
herds are driven vast distances to
have their thirst slaked .Iethro, a
Mdianite shiek and priest. was so for
tunate as to have seven daughters; and
they are practical girls, and yOnder
they come driving the sheep and cattle
and canels of their father to the water
ing. They lower the bnckets and then
pull them up, the water FLASHING on the
stones and chilling their feet, and the
troughs are filed. Who is that man out
there sitting unconccrned and looking
on? Why does he not come and help
the women in this hard work of draw.
ing water? But no sooner have the
dry lips and painting nOstrils of the
1Ocks begun to cool little in the
brimming trough of the well than some
rough l'edOuin shepherds break in up
on the scene, and with clubs and
shouts drive back the animals that
were drinking. and alright these girls
until they fly in retreat. and the Aocks
driven to the trOughs, taking the place
of the other nocks. Now that man sit
ting by the well begins to color up.
and his eye flashes with Indignation.
and all the gallantry of his nature is
aroused. 1t is Moses, who naturally
had a quick temper anyhow. as he
demonstrated on one occasion
when he saw an Egyptian OPP
pressing an Isracliic and gave
the Egyptian a sudden clip and buried
him in the sand, and he showed after
ward when he broke all the Ten Com
mandments at once by SCATTERING the
two granite slabs on which tho law
was written. But the in Justice of this
treatment Of the seven girls sets him
on fire with wrath, and he takes this
shepherd by the throat. and pushes
lack another shepherd till he falls
over the trough, ani aims stunning
blow between the eyes of another, as
he cries: "Begone. you villians!' and
he boots and roars at the sheep and
cattle ana camels of these invaders
and drives them back: and having
cleared the place Of the drSpcradOes
he told the seven girls of this INDIAN
tie sheik to gather their tlocks to-
gether and bring them again to the
watering.
Oh, you ought to see fight between
the shepherds at a we'll in the Orient,
as saw it IN December. 1929. There
were here a group of rough men who
had driven the cattle many miles, and
here another group who had driven
their cattle as many miles. Who
should have precedence? Such clash
ing of buckets! Such hooking of horns!
Such kicking of hoofs! Such vche-
mence in a language | fortunately
could not understand! Now the sheep.
with peculiar mark across their wool
ly backs, were at the trough. and now
the sheep of another mark. 1t was
one of the most exciting scenes
ever witnessed. An old book desert hes
one Of these con ten tionS at an eastern
we'll when it says: s.'Ohc day the poor
men, ,the widows and the orphans met
together and were driving their cam
els and their flocks to drink. and were
all standing by the water side, Dali
came no and stopped them all, and
took possession of the water for his
masters cattle. Just then an old
woman belonging to the tribe Of Abs
came up and accosted him in n suppli-
cant manner saying: "Re so good Mas
ter Dali, as to let my cattle drink.
They are all the property | possess
and live by their milk. Pity my flock;
have compassion on me. Grant my re-
quest and let them drink" Then
came another old woman
and address ID him: "Oh. Mas
ter Dali, am poor. weak, old
woman, as you see. Time has dealt
hardly with me. 1t has aimed its ar
rows at me, and its daily and nightly
calamities have destroyed all my men.
have lost my children and my hus-
band, and since then / have been in
great distress. These sheep are all
that l possess Let them drink, for
live on the milk that they produce.
Pity my forlorn state. have no one
to tend them. Therefore. grant my
supplicatiOn and of thy kindness let
them drink But in this case the
brutal slave, so far from granting this
humble request, smotc the woman to
the ground"
A like scrimmage has taken place at
the we'll in the triangle of Arabia, be-
tween the Bedouin shepherds and
Moses championing the cause of the
seven daughters who had driven their
fathers f1ocks to the watering. One
of these girls. Zippor all. her name
meaning ''little bird" was fascinated
by this heroic behavior of Moses; for
however timid woman herself may be.
she always admires courage in a man.
Zipporah became the bride of Moses.
one of the mightiest men of all
the centuries. Zipporah little thought
that that morning as she helped
drive her fathers flock to the
well she was splendidly deciding her
own destiny. Had she stayed in the
tent or house while the other
six daughters of the sheik
tended to their hocks her life
would probably have been a tame and
uneventful one in the solitudes But
her industry. her fidelity to her faith
er's interest. her spirit of helpfulness,
brought her into league with one of
the grandest characters of all history.
They met at that famous we'll, and
while admired the courage of Moses
he admired the flial behavior Of Zip
porah.
The fact that 1t took the seven
daughters to drive the fiocks to the
we'll implies they were immense Aocks,
and that her father was a man Of
wealth. What was the use of Zipporah
bemeaning herself with work when