n is for all. None can know what may be God’s purpose
in His discipline; but all may be certain that faithfulness in little
things is the evidence of fitness for greater responsibilities. Every
act of life is a revelation of character, and he only who in small
duties proves himself “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed”
(2 Timothy 2:15) will be honored by God with weightier trusts.
Moses, Powerful Through Faith
Younger than Joseph or Daniel was Moses when removed from
the sheltering care of his childhood home; yet already the same
agencies that shaped their lives had molded his. Only twelve years
did he spend with his Hebrew kindred; but during these years was
laid the foundation of his greatness; it was laid by the hand of one
little known to fame.
46 Education
Jochebed was a woman and a slave. Her lot in life was humble,
her burden heavy. But through no other woman, save Mary of
Nazareth, has the world received greater blessing. Knowing that her
child must soon pass beyond her care, to the guardianship of those
who knew not God, she the more earnestly endeavored to link his
soul with heaven. She sought to implant in his heart love and loyalty
to God. And faithfully was the work accomplished. Those principles
of truth that were the burden of his mother’s teaching and the lesson
[62] of her life, no after influence could induce Moses to renounce.
From the humble home in Goshen the son of Jochebed passed
to the palace of the Pharaohs, to the Egyptian princess, by her to be
welcomed as a loved and cherished son. In the schools of Egypt,
Moses received the highest civil and military training. Of great
personal attractions, noble in form and stature, of cultivated mind
and princely bearing, and renowned as a military leader, he became
the nation’s pride. The king of Egypt was also a member of the
priesthood; and Moses, though refusing to participate in the heathen
worship, was initiated into all the mysteries of the Egyptian religion.
Egypt at this time being still the most powerful and most highly
civilized of nations, Moses, as its prospective sovereign, was heir
to the highest honors this world could bestow. But his was a nobler
choice. For the honor of God and the deliverance of His downtrodden
people, Moses sacrificed the honors of Egypt. Then, in a special
sense, God undertook his training.
Not yet was Moses prepared for his lifework. He had yet to learn
the lesson of dependence upon divine power. He had mistaken God’s
purpose. It was his hope to deliver Israel by force of arms. For this
he risked all, and failed. In defeat and disappointment he became a
fugitive and exile in a strange land.
In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper
of sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life’s mission, he
was receiving the discipline essential for its fulfillment. Wisdom
to govern an ignorant and undisciplined multitude must be gained
through self-mastery. In the care of the sheep and the tender lambs
he must obtain the experience that would make him a faithful, long-
[63] suffering shepherd to Israel. That he might become a representative
of God, he must learn of Him.
