Chapter 2
Exodus 2:11-25
The following evening at bedtime found Sophy and Arthur again in their favorite spot on the sofa, waiting for Mother to sit down with her Bible.
“Mother,” asked Sophy, “why did Pharaoh’s daughter call Moses a Hebrew child?”
“The other nations called the children of Abraham Hebrews,” explained Mother, “because they came from the other side of the river Euphrates, and because they spoke a language which they did not understand.
“No doubt Moses’ mother told him about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and about God’s promises to them and how Pharaoh wanted to kill the boy babies, for when he grew to be a man, by faith he finally refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He said he would rather suffer with God’s people than to enjoy all the riches and pleasures of Egypt.
“Though Pharaoh’s daughter was very kind to Moses, he did not forget what he had been taught by his own mother. He believed in the true God and had faith that God would fulfill His promises to the children of Israel. When he was about forty years old he decided to visit them. He felt very sorry for them when he saw how they were treated by the Egyptians who had made them their slaves.
“One day Moses saw an Egyptian beating one of the children of Israel. He looked around to see if anyone could see him. When he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.”
“Oh, Mother,” exclaimed Arthur, “that was wicked of Moses, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, Arthur, it was. I think though that Moses thought he was doing right, but he should have asked God what he should do. He thought his brethren would understand that God meant to use him to save them from the Egyptians, but they did not understand because they did not have faith in God as Moses did.
“Another day Moses saw two of the Hebrews fighting and spoke to the one who was to blame. He became very angry and said to Moses, ‘Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian?’ Moses was afraid when he realized that someone had seen him kill the Egyptian. The king finally heard about it and was very angry with Moses and tried to kill him, but Moses escaped and became a poor stranger in the land of Midian.”
“But, Mamma, since Moses was so rich and so wise, why didn’t he stay with Pharaoh’s daughter and try to make the king kind to the children of Israel?” inquired Sophy.
“It was because Moses had faith that God would save them from Pharaoh in His own way,” replied Mother. “He felt he would be happier to suffer affliction with God’s people than to have all the pleasures of Egypt.
“When Moses came to Midian, he sat down by a well. The priest of Midian had seven daughters who came to get water for their father’s flocks. The shepherds usually drove the women away but Moses interfered this time and helped them water their flocks. Moses had many things to learn of God’s ways, that it was not all by might and by power, and so God put it into his heart to wish to be a deliverer. He taught him how He had taken care of him when Pharaoh had ordered all the boy babies to be killed. He meant to make Moses His servant in little things as well as great ones.
“When the women went home, their father was surprised to see them so soon and asked the reason. They told him how an ‘Egyptian’ had helped them water their flocks. Their father had them go back to invite Moses home with them. Moses accepted the invitation to live with Jethro, the priest of Midian.
“In time Moses married Jethro’s daughter Zipporah. They had a son whom they called Gershom which means stranger, for Moses said, ‘I have been a stranger in a strange land.’
“All this time the children of Israel were at their hard work in Egypt. But after awhile this king of Egypt died. The children of Israel still sighed because of their bondage, though. God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob. He looked upon the children of Israel and had respect for them. Though He had promised Joseph He would take them back to the land of Canaan, He had to make them feel the hard bondage of Egypt so that they might be glad to leave it altogether, and that they might wish to go to live in the promised land, to be a God-fearing people and to remember His wonderful deliverances which He wrought for them.”