Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-05-13
THE BRIDE OF MOSES.
HOW zIPPORAH DECIDED HER MATRl-
MONIAL DESTINY.

ed to Special Labor.
ICopyriEht. 1898. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, May 8.-F'rom rustic |
Bible scene DR.. Talmage in this SER
mon draws practical and inspiring les
sons for all classes Of people. The text |
is Exodus iii, /, "Now Moses kept the |
fock Of Jethro his father-in-law, the |
priest Of Midian."
In the southeastern part Of Arabia a
man is sitting by well. 1t is an arid |
country, and water is scarce, SO that a
we'll is Of great value, and focks and
herds are driven vast distances to have
their thirst slaked. Jethro, a Midianite
sheik and priest, was so fortunate as TO
have seven daughters, and they are
practical girls, and yonder they come
driving the sheep and cattle and cainels
OF their father to the watering. They
lower the buckets and then pull them
up, the water FLASHING on the stones
and chilling their feet, and the troughs
are filed. Who is that man ont there
sitting unconoerned and looking on!
Why does he not come and help the
women in this hard work Of drawing
water? But no sooner have the dry lips
and painting nostrils OF the fiooks begun
TO cool little in the brimming trough
of the we'll than some rough Bedouin
shepherds break in upon the scene and
with clubs and shouts drive back the
animals that were drinking and alright
these girls until they hy in retreat, and
the flocks Of these i'll hammered shep-
herds are driven 10 the troughs, taking
the places Of the other focks Now that
man sitting by the we'll begins to color
up, and his eye flashes with indignation,
and all the gallantry Of his nature Is
aroused. 1t is Moses, who naturally mad
a quick temper anyhow, as he demon
strated on one occasion when he saw an
Egyptian depressing an Israelite and
gave the Egyptian a sudden clip ana
bnried him in the sand and as he show
ed afterward when he broke all the Ten
Commandments at once by shattering
the two granite slabs on which the law
was written. But the injustice OF this
treatment Of the seven girls sets him on
fire. with wrath, and be takes this shep-
herd by the throat and pushes back an
other till he falls over the trough and
aims a stunning blow between the eyes
of another as he cries "Begone, you
villainsp' and he boots and roars at the
sheen and cattle and oamels Of these IN
vaders and drives them back, and hav-
Ing cleared the place Of the desperadoes
he told the seven girls of this Midianite
sheik to gather their focks together and
hiring them again to the watering
oh, You ought to see fight between
the shepherds at we'll in the orient as
saw Il in December, 1890. Their we're
here q group Of rough men who haa
driven the cattle many miles, and here
another group who had driven their
cattle as many miles Who should have
p~ecedence? Such clashing OF bucketsl
Such hooking Of horns Such kicking
NJ hoofsl Such vehemence in language
fortunately could not understand!
Now the sheep with a peculiar marx
across their woolly backs were at the
trough and now the sheep OF another
mark II was one Of the most exciting
,cenes ever witnessed. An old book
describes one Of these contentious at an
eastern we'll when it says; "One day
the moor men, the widows and the or
phans met together and were driving
their camels and their fiocks to drink
and were all standing by the water SIDE.
Dali came up 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 aocosted him in a suppliant manner
saving: BE so good, Master Dali, as &c
let NV cattle drink. They are all the
property 1 possess and l live by theiI
milk. Pity my flock, have compassion
ON me. Grant my request and let them
drink Then came another old woman
and addressed him. oh, Master Dali,
am a poor, weak old woman as you see
Time has dealt hardly with me. 1t ha'
mined its arrows at me and Its daliy
and nightly calamities have destroyed
all nv men. have lost my chlldrel
and nv husband, and since then l have
been in great distress. These sheep arr
all that possess. Let them drink, 10
live ON the milk that they produce
PITY nv forlorn state. have no one Z
tend them. Therefore grant my suppl
cation and of thy kindness let then
} drink But In this case the bruta
slave, SO far from granting this humol
request, smote the woman to IN
ground. "
The Bride of Moses.
, A like sorimmage has taken place a
the we'll In the triangle Of Arabia be
tween the Bedouin shepherds aud Nose
championing the cause Of the seyel
= daughters who had driven their father
flocks to the watering. One OF tnes
girls. Zipporah. her name meanin
"little bird" was captured by TINS ne
= roio behavior of Moses; for howeve
nmid woman herself may be she al
ways admires courage in a man. ZIP
Y porah became the bride OF Noses Oh
Of the mightiest men of all the cen
turies. Zipporah little thought tina
4 that morning as she helped drive ne
fathers fiocks to the well she wa
(, splendidly deciding her own destiny
q Had she staid in the tent or house wnil
a the other six daughters OF the snei
tended 10 their herds her life woui
probably have been tame and uneven
= ful life ip the solitudes, but her indu
r try. her fidelity to her fathers interes
=, her spirit Of helpfulness, brought her IL
" TO league with one Of the grandest chai
q aoters of all history. They met at th'
famous we'll, and while she admired q
courage Of Moses he admired the nii'
q behavior of Zipporah.
The fact that it took the seven dauel
g tsrs 20 drive the flocks to the well IN
D, plies that they were immense hocks an
}. that her father was a man OF weai'l
% What was the use Of zipporah's D.
meaning herself with work when 81
might have rsclined on the hillside ne'
her fathers tent and plucked buttercul
and dreamed ont romances and sigh'