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.

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.       

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."

The Visit Of The Wise Men

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, asking: "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him."

  When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he asked them where Christ should be born. "In Bethlehem of Judea," they said: "For thus it is written by the prophet:

'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are not the least among the prince of Judah.

For out of you shall come a Governor, that

shall rule my people Israel.'"

  Then Herod sent secretly for the wise men, and asked them that time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search carefully for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I may come and worship him also."

  When they had heard the king, they departed. And, lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over the place where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great joy. And when they came into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worship him, and presented to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed and returned to their own country by another way.

The Birth OF Jesus

It came to pass in those day that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, the emperor in Rome, that all the world should be taxed. This taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

Everyone went to be taxed, each to his own city. And Joseph went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be axed with Mary his wife who was soon to have a child.

So it came to pass that while they were there the day arrived for her child to be born. She brought forth her firstborn son , and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

There were in the same country shepherds staying in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were much afraid.

 "Fear not," the angel said to them.

"For I bring you good tidings of a great joy that is coming to all people.  For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savoir who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you: You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace, good

will toward men."

An Angel Visits Mary

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth , to a maiden betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David. The name of the maiden was Mary.

The angel appeared to her and said :

“Hail, you who are highly favoured ! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. ”

And when she saw him, she was troubled at what he had said and wondered to herself what this greeting could mean. Then the angel continued :

“Fear not, Mary, for you have found favour with God. You shall bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his forefather David. He shall rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

“How shall this be. ” Mary said to the angel, “seeing that I have no husband?”

 The angel answered and said to her :

“The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. The child that is born of you shall be holy and shall be called the son of God.”

“Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord. ” Mary said.

“Let it be to me as you have said.”

So Mary arose and went into the hill country with haste, to a town of Judah where she went to the house of Zacharias and his wife, her cousin Elisabeth. And when Elisabeth heard her greeting she was filled with the Holy Spirit and she cried out with a loud voice :

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you shall bear. But why is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me.”

An Mary said :

“My soul does praise the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced

In God my Saviour.

For he has regarded the lowliness

of his handmaiden : for, behold,

from henceforth all generations

shall call me blessed :

For he that is mighty has done

great things for me,

and holy is his name.

His mercy is on those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has showed strength with his arm;

he has scattered  the proud

in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty

from their thrones and

has exalted them of low degree.

He has filled the hungry

with good things,

and the rich he has sent

empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy;

As he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”

Mary remained with Elisabeth for

about three months and then returned

to her own house. 

They Are Driven From The Garden

The Lord God said to the serpent :

"Because you have done this , you are cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field . You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life . I shall make the woman your enemy and her children the enemies of your children . They shall wound you in the head and you shall wound them in the heel."
To the woman he said :
"I will multiply your suffering . you shall bring forth your children in sorrow and for happiness you shall depend on your husband , and he shall rule over you ."
To the man he said :
"Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the forbidden fruit , the ground shall be cursed beneath you . In sorrow you shall eat of it every day of your life . Thorns and thistles it will bring forth for you , and you shall eat the grass of the field . By the sweat of your brow you will earn your bread until you return to the earth , for out of the earth you were taken : dust you are and to dust you shall return ."
The Lord God then made coats of skin for the man and his wife , and clothed them .
And the Lord God said :
"Behold , the man is like one of us now . knowing all things . If he were to put out his hand and eat also of the tree of life , he would live for ever ."
Therefore the Lord God sent man out of the garden of the Eden , to till the ground from which he was made . He drove him out , and placed cherubim to the east of the garden of Eden , and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the path to the tree of life.