p. 429 | International S. S. Lessons

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 7, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 27.

International S. S. Lessons.

"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."—Neh. 8:8

LESSON VIII.—SUNDAY, MAY 20, 1894.

CHILDHOOD OF MOSES.

[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson; it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.]

Lesson Scripture. Ex. 2: 1-10.

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
And the woman conceived, and bare a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.
And she opened it, and saw the child; and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrew's children.
Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. 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, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Golden Text: "I will deliver him, and honor him." Ps. 91:15.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

Note the connection between this and the last lesson. Note 1.
What took place in the tribe of Levi at the time of Pharaoh's decree to destroy the male children? Verse 1.
What was the name of this man and woman? "And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife." Ex. 6: 20.
When her son was born, what did she do to save him alive? Verse 2.
When she could no longer hide him, what did she do? Verse 3. Note 2.
Who watched over him? Verse 4.
Who came down to the river in the morning? Verse 5. Note 3.
What did she find? Verse 6.
How did she regard the child when the ark was opened and brought to her? Same verse. Note 4.
What did she say?
As the sister of the child saw the compassion of the princess, what did she say to her? Verse 7.
What did Pharaoh's daughter reply? Verse 8.
Whom did the maid call?
What instruction did Pharaoh's daughter give the child's mother? Verse 9. Note 5.
What privilege did this give the mother?
When the child grew, to whom was he brought? Verse 10. Note 6.
What name did she give the child? and why?
Notwithstanding Moses' greatness, what choice did he make? Note 7.

NOTES.

THE time of this lesson, according to Usher's Chronology, is about 1571 B.C., extending to 1531, when Moses was forty years old. Our last lesson closed with the decree of Pharaoh that the male children should be slain. This lesson records an interesting incident in connection with that. The place of these events was probably Zoan, in Egypt, called Tánis in the Septuagint Greek and Sán in modern Arabic, all different forms of the same word. Egypt was then the most glorious nation on earth. Rome was not in existence, Greece was but a den of robbers, but Egypt was the seat of learning and civilization. The ruler was Rameses II., who filled the land with great statues and buildings. For an inspired commentary on this lesson see Acts 7: 18-29 and Heb. 11: 23-27.
She took for him an ark.—Bush says that we are told by Pliny that a piece of acacia wood was put in the bottom of the boat to serve as a keel, to which the plants were joined lengthwise, being first sewed together, then gathered up at stem and stern and made fast by means of a ligature. The bulrush is a papyrus plant. It is a strong-growing rush attaining the height of ten or fifteen feet. The Egyptian paper was made from its pith. Our word "paper" is derived from the word "papyrus." The slime with which it was daubed seems to have been mineral pitch, which when cold became as hard and brittle as glass, impervious to water. The river is the branch of the Nile, on which the capital, Tánis, was built, and said to be the only branch not infested with crocodiles. We are told in Hebrews that it was by faith that the father and mother of Moses did what they did. They knew that Israël was to be delivered from Egypt, and it seems evident that they felt that their child would be the deliverer. The sister set to watch was doubtless Miriam. See Num. 26: 59.
Daughter of Pharaoh.—Her name, say the Egyptian monuments, was Nefer-ari, who was first the sister and then the wife of Rameses II. She afterwards added to her name Mer-en-Mut. This last term is the basis of the Thermuthis of Greek historians, and this also shows why Josephus calls her first "daughter," and then "Thermuthis," and finally describes her as "co-regent in the administration of affairs." To wash.—While the women of Egypt are now secluded in harems, anciently they mingled with men as women in Christian countries do now. Bathing in the river was a common practice with them. The river was also considered a sacred object. The princess herself discovered the ark, and that gave her a personal interest in it.
And she had compassion.—The king had decreed the death of the child; but the heart of the princess was more than the law. Alford says, "If there is a thing too strong for man's law, it is a woman's heart." As Professor Green expressed it, "The babe found a protector in the very family of the king who decreed its death." She evidently concluded that it was a Hebrew child, from the complexion, which in the Hebrews was lighter than that of the Egyptians, or from the features, and from the fact that none but a Hebrew mother would need to hide her child.
Take this child and nurse it for me.—To the mother it was a call from God, for which she was doubly paid, first by the princess and then by the better wages of seeing her son and having the privilege of caring for him and training him. Trumbull says: "The highest wages in the world are earned by good mothers. The mother who does an honest day's work week in and week out in faithful and faith-filled care of her children is on a large salary; and she will be rich sooner or later." Every child should be trained, not for amusement, or for the service of the parent, but for God. It should be trained in the knowledge of God and his love.
Became her son.—He became a member of the royal family, and was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." This, says Rawlinson, "included orthography, grammar, history, theology, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and engineering. By the more advanced, poetry was read, and poetic composition was occasionally practiced." He was probably received into the priestly caste, and knew all the secret learning of the Egyptian priests. He was not only learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians, but Stephen says "he was mighty in words and in deeds." Stanley says "he taught Orpheus, and was hence called by the Greeks Musæus, and by the Egyptians Hermes." He was sent on an expedition against the Ethiopians. In fact, he was considered, not only by the Egyptians but by other surrounding nations, as one of the most remarkable men of his time.
THE remaining part of Exodus 2 tells how Moses was grieved because of the oppression of his brethren, how he took their part against the Egyptians, how he was forced to flee to the land of Midian at the age of forty years, and there for forty years was a simple shepherd, but learning higher lessons of wisdom from the God of nature than he had ever learned in Egypt. Heb. 11: 24-26 says that Moses chose "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." He had faith in God, and he looked forward to the future for his reward.