Pharaoh, not content with enslaving Israel, issued edicts for curtailing their numbers, which increased in the face of all his efforts. He was, no doubt, still afraid of their influence and power, slaves though they were. One decree for the destruction of the infant boys did not succeed, hence he ordered the Egyptians generally, “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river” (Ex. 1:2222And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. (Exodus 1:22)). All Egypt was thus committed to the death of the Hebrew boys. The sacred Nile with its crocodiles was to be their grave. As death in these waters was regarded with a religious veneration, it is possible that this decree may have been popular, or, at all events, it was not unpopular, as was his first decree for the death of the baby boys of Israel.
Now when this fierce order came into force, a power mightier than that of great Pharaoh’s word possessed the hearts of two Hebrew parents, and that power was faith in God. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment” (Heb. 11:2323By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. (Hebrews 11:23)). Courage is ever joined to true faith: “By faith.... they were not afraid.” Where faith rules, God overrules. Strange providences and coincidences mark the path of faith, so much so, that all seems prepared beforehand, and thus the story of the path of faith is frequently doubted, and is characterized as a “pious” invention.
The time came when the child could be hidden in the house no longer, and then the mother made a basket of flags, one of a kind common enough in the country, and within it she laid her precious burden. Then she obeyed the king’s commandment, and placed her babe upon the river. No doubt she knew well the movements of the palace, and the place where at certain times Pharaoh’s daughter’s custom was to bathe i n the sacred waters. The mother selected the guarded spot of the bathing place, and then, setting the ark amongst the papyrus rushes, she left it in charge of the babe’s sister.
Presently Pharaoh’s daughter, accompanied by her ladies, drew near. Her eye caught sight of the ark, and she bade one of her attendants fetch it. The lid was lifted up, and, as this was done, the waking child wept at the strange faces. Her royal heart was touched. “This is one of the Hebrew children,” said she, and the wise sister who had drawn near, with the wit of love suggested a nurse for the babe. And then by command, she ran and fetched the babe’s mother for the happy service. Thus was Jochebed attached to the palace as a servant of Pharaoh’s daughter, and her child was safe!
We may well imagine the joy and praise and wonder, that filled the house and hearts of the parents that night. Secured by royal will, the beautiful child was once more in their arms; but, we may be certain, they wondered what strange future should be that of their son, and what God would do through him.
In due time the mother yielded up the child to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she called him “Moses,” that is, “Drawn out,” “because,” said she, “I drew him out of the water.” Moses is a name of Egyptian origin, and one apparently coined on the occasion, but little did the Egyptian lady comprehend the deep meaning of her own words – the “Drawn out” was to draw out of Egypt the people committed to death. Thus, even in his name, Moses was a type of Jesus, God’s deliverer from death. He went down into death, and by His death draws God’s people out of the doom of this world.
From boyhood to manhood Moses had his home in the royal palace of the very greatest of ancient kings. Every advantage of training and position was his. He was educated, as was royalty, in the mysteries of the religion and in the wisdom of the Egyptians (Acts 7:2222And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. (Acts 7:22)). He saw how Pharaoh ruled in peace and in war, he learned to obey and to command, and was versed in letters and excelled in strength. Though very little is said respecting the time during which Moses dwelt in the palace, sufficient is recorded to allow us to picture the manner of his life. As adopted by royalty, he would wear the distinguishing robes of princes and their peculiar head-dress. The use of the bow and the handling of the war-chariot were important elements in the education of Egyptian princes. The accompanying picture of a son of Rameses the Great in his war-chariot, with his charioteer, who in all probability was a noble, gives us a portrait of one of the royal sons with whom Moses companied, so that we may very well imagine Moses as a young man in similar circumstances.
On, or the city of the sun, Heliopolis, where in earlier days resided Potipherah, the prince-priest of the sun, and the father of Joseph’s wife, was the great seat of learning in Egypt, and the place of its first college. There astronomy and all branches of science were studied, and the priests of On were for generations famed for their attainments. The city stood on the eastern bank of the Nile, not far from Pithom and Rameses, and there it is probable Moses became learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. On, as its name implies, was devoted to the sun, and hence its worship.
The home life of the ancient Egyptians was colored by religious observances. There are very many monumental pictures of the parents and children engaged in family worship. A part of one of these we present to view. The original is very beautifully executed, and evidences great power and character; indeed, the way in which the artist has cut into the stone shows a splendid mastery of hand. These familiar scenes represent the family offering to their idols. In the instance before us the father and mother are offering in the one case a joint, in the other a lotus flower, which occurs again and again in similar scenes. Fruit, flowers, cakes, and the flesh of animals and fowls (the goose, as here given, was very commonly offered), and also drink offerings, are shown in this representation. In such circumstances was Moses brought up.
The Bible narrative leaves all such matters untouched, and we come to the period of Moses’ life when he was a mar. in his prime. A common scene to him would be the tawny waters of the full-fed Nile, reflecting the soft tint of the blue heavens upon their surface, and flowing all placidly through the strip of cultivated country, with its luxurious emerald green studded with villas and palaces, temples and cities. Boats were ever floating down the water-way, and at tunes, also great rafts, conveying vast burdens of stone, destined for palace or city walls. Constant labor proceeded on every hand. Gangs of laborers, guarded by soldiers, watered the crops, and a toilsome business was this. Again, these laborers built cities under the eyes of the taskmasters, and were forced to incessant toil by stick or whip. These laborers were slaves, and multitudes of them were the children of Israel. The overseers had to report their day’s work to the chiefs of the department under which they worked, and a careful record was made of all their labor.
Cities were erected, dykes raised, canals dug, and wells sunk, in the desert or beyond the reach of the Nile water; corn, wine, and oil were gathered into store, and always exact records were entered, either upon papyrus rolls or earthenware, of all that was done.
That green strip on either side of the river produced marvelous wealth of cattle, corn, and fruit, while the numberless ponds and canals interlacing it abounded with fish. Beyond the green strip, the broad and profitless desert stretched away for miles, burning and dazzling beneath the cloudless dome of the delicate blue sky.
One day Moses left the surroundings of the palace, and, with his heart filled with plans for the freedom of his own nation, watched his own flesh and blood in their slavery. He knew he was to deliver them – he knew God had so ordered. And, as he watched their afflictions, his heart burned within him, and his strong arm was awake. Presently he came to a lonely spot on the limit of the cultivated area, on the edge of the desert. There he saw two men – an Egyptian taskmaster and a Hebrew slave – and, no uncommon sight, the taskmaster was smiting the slave. In a moment Moses’ hand was loose, and the Egyptian lay dead at his feet. But Moses was not easy; he looked this way and that way, and then buried the man in the sand. He had run before he was sent. He had used his right arm to deliver Israel instead of waiting upon God. He had faith in God’s word that he should deliver Israel, but he lacked patience to wait until instructed how deliverance should be effected.
The next day Moses went again to see his people, and this time, lo, two Hebrews strove together! Considering that they would recognize in him the deliverer of God’s appointment, he remonstrated with the wrongdoer, but only to receive the blunt rejoinder, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? “The deliverer was disowned by his own brethren. Pharaoh would soon know of his act and intentions. What could he do? He must flee for his life!
Thus fell the hopes of Moses for delivering his nation. He was indeed the man called of God to deliver, but he did not go to work in God’s way, and he had to flee. His own right arm gave him no courage.
In recording the notable acts of faith of His people, God singles out Moses at this very time: “By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward” (Heb. 11:24-2624By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:24‑26)). Truly we may say, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. He loves to remember the excellent things in His people.