And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses.
§31. The Young Man's Unwise Methods (Exod. 2:11-15)
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, "Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?" And he said, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?" And Moses feared, and said, "Surely the thing is known." Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses.
§32. Moses in Midian (Exod. 2:16-22)
Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the trough to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, "How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?" And they said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock." And he said unto his daughters, "And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread." And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter, and she bare a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a strange land."
§33. The Unhappy Hebrews (Exod. 2:23-25)
And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took knowledge of them.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
84. In any nation one of the greatest heroes is the man who was the founder of the national life. The Italians look to the great Garibaldi, who delivered them from their enemies and brought about a united Italy. Americans call Washington the father of his country, because he was the leader in the great struggle to make America a nation. The Hebrews always looked back to Moses as their great deliverer, who brought them out of Egypt and made them a nation. The study of this hero takes us to the second book of the Bible, which is called Exodus, meaning "Going out," because it gives the story of the escape of the Hebrews from Egypt.
85 (§29). In the last chapter we were studying about a small tribe of people. Now we find that a long time has passed and the people have greatly increased in numbers. Consider how the negroes have increased in numbers since the War. There were then four millions. How many are there now?