Thursday, July 31, 2014

Moses In Midian

One day, when Moses was grown up, he went out among his kinsmen and watched them labour. And he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. He looked this way and that way. When he saw that there was no one near, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He said to the one who was in the wrong:
"Why are you srtiking your own comrade?"
The man replied:
"Who made you a prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"
And Moses was afraid and said to himself, "What I have done must be known."
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses escaped from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
There one day he sat down beside a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water from the well, and filled the throughs to water their father's flock. Shepherds came and tried to drive them away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
When they came home to their father, he said:
"How is it that you have come back so early tody?"
And they answered:
"An Egyptian protected us from the shepherds, and also drew enough water for us, and watered the flock."
"Where is he?" their father asked.
"Why have you left the man behind? call him to eat with us."
Moses was happy to live with this man, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
Zipporah bore Moses a son, and he called him Gershom, which means "a srtanger there," for he said, "I have been a stranger in a strange land."
And in due course it came to pass that the king of Egypt died. But the children of Israel were still oppressed and in slavery. In their suffering they cried out, and their cry carried up to God. He heard their groaning and remembered his promise to Abraham to Isaac, and to Jacob.
And the Lord looked down upon the children of Israel and had pity on them.


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Moses In The Bulrushes

Now there was a man of the family of Levi whose wife bore him a son. And when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. Then, when she could no longer hide him, she took a basket made of bulrushes, daubed it with pitch and put the child into it. She took it and laid it in the reeds by the river's edge. And the baby's sister stood far away to watch what was done to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maids walked along by the river's side. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maids to fetch it.
When she opened the basket, she saw the child, and he was crying. So she took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
The baby's sister came forward and said to Pharaoh's daughter:
"Shall I go and find a nurse from the Hebrew woman to look after the child for you.?"
"Go," said Pharaoh's daughter, and the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to the woman: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages."
So the mother took her child and nursed it.       

Sunday, July 6, 2014

The Birth Of Moses

The children of Israel were fruitful. They increased greatly in number and prosered , and the land of Egypt became filled with them.But there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph and the great work he had done. This new Pharaoh said to his people : 
"The children of Israel are more and mightier than we are . Let us deal wisely with them. For, if they continue growing in numbers , they may join our enemies and fight against us in time of war and go away from our land."
Therefore the Egyptians set taskmasters over the children of Israel and forced them to work for them. They built for Pharaoh the treasure cities of Pithom and Rameses. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them , the more the Israelites grew in strength and increased in number.
So the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, saying :
"When a Hebrew woman gives birth and you see that it is a son , then you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter , she shall live."
But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. Instead , they let the men children live. So the king called the midwives and said to them :
"Why have you done this thing?
Why have you let the men children live?"
"Because", answered the midwives , "the Hebrew women give birth without our knowing of it before we come to them."
God was pleased with the midwives and dealt well with them. And the people continued to increase and grow stronger. So Pharaoh commanded his people , saying :
"Every Israelite son that is born you shall cast into the river , and every daughter you shall let live."

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