Evening star., 1932-07-02

Wherever the anniversary of Amer
| ican independence is celebrated. this
year, men will recall the birth of wash
| ington and our Nations debt to MS
| mother The close parallel which is seen
in the history of the Hebrew nation and
America appears in our opening study
Of a series of lessons that will cover
this quarter. They call for our studying
| the career and character of Moses, the
liberatcr and lawgiver of the Jewish
people. 1t is expected that our consid-
Grafton of the life and labor of one of
the worlds greatest men will help Ge-
velop in our lives "a spirit OF reverence
and willing obedience to Gcd." Judaism,
| Mohammedanism and Christianity rec
ognize Moses as a great prophet. We
ought to find our spiritual life quick
cned by our study during this quarter
of his life.
In every great crisis of human history
God provides His man whom He has
fitted and prepared to do the work
which He has assigned to him. One
is surprised to find how that apparently
the deliverer springs from the heart of
the very system from which God eX-
poets him to set his brethren free. A.
Pharaoh who knew not Joseph ruled
Egypt with an iron hand. He considered
the increasing number OF lsraelltes
whose fldelity to their faith ana segrs-
CATION as race and nation made their
presence in Goshen source Of danger
to his power in case Of any war. He
felt that political eXpediency demanded
that these hardy Senntes should be
crushed. He forced them to make bricks
and help build great public works. Ac-
cording to Philo, he employed them IN
constructing canals. Building work,
especially of canals, was dangerous. The
greater the burdens placed upon them,
the stronger and more vigorous the
Hebrews, who had been reduced to
slavery by taxation, became In an eff
fort to decrease their growth, Pharaoh
ordered that every son that is born be
cast into the river"
ProvidentiaI Preservation.
In the darkest hour of Israels history
in Egypt. the providence of God pre-
pared for their liberation in the birth
of son to Aaron and Jochebed. No
great man has ever been sent upon the
stage of time by our Lord without His
giving to that young life a great
mother, whose influence and instruc-
ton providentially helped to prepare
her son for his place in history. Al
though trouble and sorrow had fallen
heavily upon the Hebrew people, it had
not succeeded in destroying the passion
to protect and save the life of the
newborn son, who had arrived in the
home of Aaron and Jochebed. There
was sentence of death upon the little
stranger when he was born, so that the
throb of joy in the parents hearts was
weakened by their realization of his
danger. When the young child's mother
hat lzn hill ft1x.
ceeding fair" and "a proper child" her
faith moved her and her husband to
hide their newly born son.
After three months success in hiding
their child had passed, they faced the
presence of state officials, who had been
sent out seeking for all recently born
males. They determined to make a
heroic effort to save him. If he were
destroyed, then some other person must
do it, for they considered that there
had been given unto them child
OF God to protect and train for His
glory Evidently under the guidance of
the Divine Spirit, they prepared a
small basket, which they made water
tight, so that it would float upon the
waters of the Nile They obeyed the
orders of Pharaoh by placing their baby
hoy in the river, where the searchers
care to watch the small floating basket.
Miriam, an older child, saw the daugh-
ter of Pharaoh draw near to bathe and
watched her, when she commanded
servant to find out what that queer
looking floating object was that moved
up and down upon the river. She saw
the look of love break upon the face of
the princess as she saw her brother.
The cry of the helpless infant touched
the heart of the daughter of Pharaoh,
for God has planted in the heart Of
every woman a love for children. She
knew that it was a Hebrew babe, and
her keen judgment quickly detected the
love back of Miriam's question, Snail
I 60 and call to thee a nurse Of the
Hebrew women, that she may nurse the
child for thee?"
Education of Moses.
1t was not long after Miriam had
been ordered to bring a nurse that she
arrived with her mother. The princess
had quickly decided to adopt the boy
and train him as her own son. Back
of her decision was the providence OF
God, who had timed her arrival Tor
her bath, directed Joehebed as to how
and when to place Moses, where his
little ark attracted the attention OF
the kind-hearted princess He placed
the instructing influence OF the young
babes life in the keeping OF his
mother No officers OF the court would
interfere with the life of Moses, who
was trained in the faith of his country
men so ne never forgot his duty to
his nation or his God.
Except for its reference to the train
ing Moses would receive from his
mother, who, watching over his early
days as his nurse, educated him in the
political and religious ideals Of his ma
ton. the Bible is silent about his boy
hood. We are informed that he was
trained in all the wisdom of the Egyp-
tians" In all probability, "his hair was
shaved, like all the other Egyptian
boys, leaving one lock on the right side
of the head, which the young boys
wore in imitation of the young god
Horus" He had quarters assigned to
him in connection with the palace,
where his mother continued to live with
him. attended by slaves.
He possessed, without doubt, the