Our stories about the Bible patriarchs, such as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are now ended, and we are beginning the good stories about one of the most interesting persons in the Old Testament. This person is Moses.,
You remember that Jacob, the last of the patriarchs, was called Israel, and that his children were called Israelites. These Israelites lived in the land of Goshen for a long time after their fathers who brought them from Canaan had died. And they grew in numbers until they became a strong nation.
During this time Pharaoh, the king who had been kind to Joseph and to his kinsmen, died too, and another ruler called Pharaoh took his place upon the Egyptian throne. This new Pharaoh did not look kindly upon the fast-growing Israelitish nation. He thought, “Soon these people will number more than my own Egyptian people, and they may join themselves to our enemies who come to fight against us. Then they will go away from our country and we can no longer have them for our servants. I can not let them go away from Goshen; I must keep them for slaves.”
Pharaoh called his people together and told them of his fears concerning the Israelites. “We must do something,” he said, “to hinder them from becoming stronger and more powerful than we are.” Finally he and his officers decided to make the Israelites work harder than they had ever worked before. Pharaoh wished to have new cities built, where he could store his; rich treasures, and he commanded the Israelites to build those cities. Then the officers placed taskmasters over the workmen to compel them to work very hard and very fast. But the harder they worked the stronger they grew, and Pharaoh saw that his plan was not a success. “This will never do,” he reasoned,
“for the Israelites are growing stronger all the while I afflict them. I must make life even more miserable for them.” And he did.
The hard-working Israelites were horror-stricken when one morning this message came to them from the king’s house: born among your people must be thrown into the River Nile.” Because this was the king’s command it had to be obeyed.
After this cruel command had been put into practise, one day the baby Moses was born. Now, his mother feared God, and she believed it was very wicked to throw a child into the river. Like all true mothers, she loved her baby; and for three months she hid him. When she could hide him no longer she thought of a wise plan, and then she worked carefully to carry it out. First she gathered some bulrushes—plants which grew along the River’s bank—then she wove a little ark-like basket, and plastered it well on the inside with lime and pitch so that no water could leak through. When this was finished, she made a soft bed in the ark and placed her baby in it. Now the very hardest part remained to be done; but she was a, brave woman and she believed God would help her save the baby’s life. So she carried the basket to the river, and there among the tall reeds which grew near the water’s edge she placed her precious burden, and went away. Her little daughter Miriam, who had come along, lingered near the bank to play and to watch what should happen to the tiny ark. She had not long to wait, for soon a company of richly-dressed women came to the river’s bank. One of them was the Egyptian princess, Pharaoh’s daughter. They had come to bathe in the river.
When the princess saw the strange-looking ark floating among the reeds, she sent her maid to bring it ashore. “What can be inside this queer basket!” the women wondered as they gathered round to see it opened. And how surprized they were When a sweet-faced Israelitish baby looked up at them and cried.
The princess knew about the cruel command her father had given, and she said at once, “This is one of the Israelites’ children.” She was more kind-hearted than her wicked father, and she wished to spare this baby’s life. - So she decided to take him for her own son. Just then a little Israelite girl came running along the bank. She heard the princess say about the little baby, “I shall keep him for my own son.” This little girl was Miriam, and her heart was glad because she knew her baby brother could live. Bravely she stepped up to the princess and said, “Shall I go and call an Israelite woman to nurse this baby for you!” Of course there would need to be a nurse, and the princess was quite willing to hire an Israelite woman, so Miriam hurried home and quickly brought her own mother. And they carried the baby back once more to their own home, where they should no longer need to fear that its cries might attract the attention of their enemies, for every one learned that this baby had been adopted by the King’s daughter.
When the baby grew old enough to leave his mother, he was taken to Pharaoh’s palace and given to the Princess. She called his name Moses, which means “drawn out,” because she had drawn him out of the water. And she placed him in the best schools of Egypt, that he might learn all the wisdom of her own people and be ready some day to occupy the Egyptian throne.