Pharaoh's Daughter Receiving Baby Moses at the Nileby martin
2:4Exodus 2:4
And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
The sister was Miriam, a child, who stood afar off at a distance near the basket, the little ark of bulrushes in which the infant Moses, her brother, had been placed in the Nile, the river. She appeared indifferent and unconcerned while anxiously watching and waiting to learn what would be done to him. Angels watched over the infant, and the heavenly host watched with interest as he was placed in the ark and watched by Miriam, directing events toward his rescue. Her watchfulness let her respond when Pharaoh's daughter came to the river and discovered the babe and showed compassion. She then approached her and offered to find a Hebrew nurse, received permission, and brought his own mother to care for him without fear.
In watching beside the Nile the little basket in which the infant Moses was hidden, to know what would be done to him, Miriam displayed early force of character. Her self-control and tact in that watching God made instrumental in preserving the deliverer of His people. The Lord God guided in all these transactions. This minute detail stands with the greatest affairs, like the prophetic records of Revelation and the life, condemnation and crucifixion of Christ, because the same divine Instructor guided its recording. He placed the history on record to show that all human actions are seen by Him and by the heavenly angels.
The verse belongs to Moses's early years among his Hebrew kindred, during which the foundation of his later greatness was laid. It belongs to his early training in the lowly cabin home in Goshen. That training was Hebrew home education that brought forth youth vigorous in body and mind, quick to perceive and strong to act. The heart was prepared like good ground for the growth of the precious seed, and the mind was trained to see God in the words of revelation and the scenes of nature. So the stars of heaven, the trees and flowers of the field, the lofty mountains and the babbling brooks all spoke to him, and the voices of the prophets heard throughout the land met a response in his heart.
It belongs to the account of Jochebed, the Hebrew mother whose faith and courage helped preserve Moses, who became Israel's deliverer. Before he passed beyond his mother's care she faithfully taught him truth and sought to bind his heart to God. Those early lessons and impressions remained with him despite later influences. This illustrates a mother's great power to shape a child's mind and character in the earliest years.
The childhood shows the far-reaching results of the influence of his mother, one Hebrew woman who was an exile and a slave. The whole future life of Moses and the great mission he fulfilled as leader of Israel testifies to the importance of the work of the Christian mother, and no other work can equal it. To a very great extent the mother holds in her own hands the destiny of her children. Dealing with developing minds and characters, she works not for time but for eternity, sowing seed that will spring up and bear fruit either for good or for evil. She works not by painting beauty on canvas or chiseling it from marble but by impressing upon a human soul the image of the divine. Especially during their early years the responsibility rests upon her of forming the character of her children, and the impressions then made upon their developing minds will remain with them all through life. Parents should direct the instruction and training of their children while very young to the end that they may be Christians, for children are placed in care to be trained not as heirs to the throne of an earthly empire but as kings unto God to reign through unending ages. Every mother should feel that her moments are priceless because her work will be tested in the solemn day of accounts, when it will be found that many of the failures and crimes of men and women resulted from the ignorance and neglect of those whose duty it was to guide childish feet in the right way, and that many who blessed the world with the light of genius and truth and holiness owe the principles that were the mainspring of their influence and success to a praying Christian mother.
The sister was Miriam, a child, who stood afar off at a distance near the basket, the little ark of bulrushes in which the infant Moses, her brother, had been placed in the Nile, the river. She appeared indifferent and unconcerned while anxiously watching and waiting to learn what would be done to him. Angels watched over the infant, and the heavenly host watched with interest as he was placed in the ark and watched by Miriam, directing events toward his rescue. Her watchfulness let her respond when Pharaoh's daughter came to the river and discovered the babe and showed compassion. She then approached her and offered to find a Hebrew nurse, received permission, and brought his own mother to care for him without fear.
In watching beside the Nile the little basket in which the infant Moses was hidden, to know what would be done to him, Miriam displayed early force of character. Her self-control and tact in that watching God made instrumental in preserving the deliverer of His people. The Lord God guided in all these transactions. This minute detail stands with the greatest affairs, like the prophetic records of Revelation and the life, condemnation and crucifixion of Christ, because the same divine Instructor guided its recording. He placed the history on record to show that all human actions are seen by Him and by the heavenly angels.
The verse belongs to Moses's early years among his Hebrew kindred, during which the foundation of his later greatness was laid. It belongs to his early training in the lowly cabin home in Goshen. That training was Hebrew home education that brought forth youth vigorous in body and mind, quick to perceive and strong to act. The heart was prepared like good ground for the growth of the precious seed, and the mind was trained to see God in the words of revelation and the scenes of nature. So the stars of heaven, the trees and flowers of the field, the lofty mountains and the babbling brooks all spoke to him, and the voices of the prophets heard throughout the land met a response in his heart.
It belongs to the account of Jochebed, the Hebrew mother whose faith and courage helped preserve Moses, who became Israel's deliverer. Before he passed beyond his mother's care she faithfully taught him truth and sought to bind his heart to God. Those early lessons and impressions remained with him despite later influences. This illustrates a mother's great power to shape a child's mind and character in the earliest years.
The childhood shows the far-reaching results of the influence of his mother, one Hebrew woman who was an exile and a slave. The whole future life of Moses and the great mission he fulfilled as leader of Israel testifies to the importance of the work of the Christian mother, and no other work can equal it. To a very great extent the mother holds in her own hands the destiny of her children. Dealing with developing minds and characters, she works not for time but for eternity, sowing seed that will spring up and bear fruit either for good or for evil. She works not by painting beauty on canvas or chiseling it from marble but by impressing upon a human soul the image of the divine. Especially during their early years the responsibility rests upon her of forming the character of her children, and the impressions then made upon their developing minds will remain with them all through life. Parents should direct the instruction and training of their children while very young to the end that they may be Christians, for children are placed in care to be trained not as heirs to the throne of an earthly empire but as kings unto God to reign through unending ages. Every mother should feel that her moments are priceless because her work will be tested in the solemn day of accounts, when it will be found that many of the failures and crimes of men and women resulted from the ignorance and neglect of those whose duty it was to guide childish feet in the right way, and that many who blessed the world with the light of genius and truth and holiness owe the principles that were the mainspring of their influence and success to a praying Christian mother.