CHAPTER III. HE little congregation which Arthur and Holdich consisted of the steward himself and his gentle wife, a farmer of the neighbourhood and his little maid-servant, and several of the labourers who worked under Holdich, with their wives and some of their children. The people were quiet, and appeared to be devout, a little flock gathering around a faithful shepherd. Mr. Eardley was already at his post when the Maddens entered the cottage. LECTURE I.--THE INFANT MOSES. In the slight sketch which, with God's permission, I hope to give you of the life of Moses, and the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, I shall endeavour to keep three views of the subject before you--the historical, the typical, and the practical view. To explain my meaning more simply: I wish us first to consider the life of Moses as the history of a great and good man, a patriot and lawgiver, who was raised up to save his nation from a most cruel yoke, and to lead them to the land which God had promised to their fathers. This is the historical view. But there is deeper interest to ourselves in the story of the rescue of Israel from Egypt, than can attach to any mere account of past deeds, however grand and heroic. Moses was a type of the blessed One who hath redeemed His servants from bondage more cruel than that of Pharaoh—a type of Him of whom it is written, Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a Leader and Commander to the people; and in the history of God's chosen nation we see a picture of the Christian Church, redeemed and guided through this world's wilderness to the heavenly Canaan above. This is the typical view. But there are also many lessons to be drawn from the character of Moses, and that of the people whom he led, lessons that may serve as aids to our faith, and incentives to earnest devotion and active obedience to God. It is to this, the practical view of the story, that St. Paul would draw the attention of Christians when he wrote to the Corinthians of the wanderings of ancient Israel: Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. May the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Knowledge and of Love, bless our meditations on this subject in its threefold aspect; making us receive with faith the wondrous history recorded by Moses, giving us wisdom to perceive the precious truths conveyed in types, and meekness to profit by the examples and the warnings which meet us at every point of the story of the people rescued from Egypt ! About 2427 years after the creation, and 1577* before our Christian era, a monarch mounted the throne of Egypt, taking the name of Pharaoh,† which was common to the kings of that land. Pharaoh found himself at the head of a great and powerful people, renowned for their arts and inventions, their mighty buildings, and their knowledge of the stars, many ages before the name of Rome had ever been mentioned, or this island of Britain been known to exist in the western corner of the earth. * In the margin of our Bibles the supposed date of the birth of Moses is given as about 1571 years before Christ. This was before the founding of Athens, and more than eight hundred years previous to the founding of Rome. The preservation of such very ancient writings as those of Moses (the first five books of the Bible, usually called the Pentateuch), seems in itself a miracle, and reminds us of the inspired declaration, The word of God endureth for ever. What but the Lord's providential care could have handed down from generation to generation, for more than three thousand three hundred years, writing penned so many ages before the invention of printing! As to the fact of the sacred record being really so ancient and so precious, we have not only the testimony of the Jewish nation, who have been and are to the present day, most careful and jealous guardians of Old Testament Scriptures, but what, to the Christian, is of all authorities the highest-the witness to their value and their truth from the lips of the Son of God: If ye had believed Moses ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; but if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words. We have also the Lord's authority, as well as that of His inspired apostles, for regarding as typical much of what the Pentateuch contains. As examples of this, I refer the reader to Luke xxiv. 27; Luke xxiv. 44; John iii. 14. † As to the name of this monarch, and the exact dynasty to which he belonged, various opinions are held by the learned. Rollin, following Archbishop Usher, writes that he was called Ramesses Miamum. Mr. Wilkinson, the explorer of the monuments of Egypt, was inclined to think that Amasis of the Theban dynasty was the persecuting Pharaoh who knew not Joseph. (See Dr. Kitto's "Pictorial History of Palestine.") In Egypt lived a race that was not Egyptian. The family of Jacob, or Israel, had migrated from Canaan, their home but not then their possession, and had taken refuge in Egypt from the fearful famine of which we read as occurring in the time of Joseph. Egypt had at first kindly welcomed the shepherd strangers, and given them a home in the land of Goshen, the eastern portion of the Delta of the Nile. Here the family of Israel, by God's peculiar blessing, had increased abundantly and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them. The large family and household of Jacob had rapidly grown into a nation, and become an object of jealousy to the people amongst whom they dwelt, and the monarch who then ruled over them. Behold, said the king of Egypt, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that when there falleth out any war, they join also to our enemies, and fight against us. In accordance with his cruel policy, Pharaoh set task-masters over the Israelites, and forced them to labour. To break their spirit, and keep down. their numbers, a pastoral people were compelled to become makers of bricks and builders of cities for their cruel oppressors. Yet the more they sought to crush them, the more God's people spread and increased, till Pharoah resolved on a measure which he deemed must be as effectual as it was barbarous. The tyrant commanded that every infant born of an Israelite mother should thenceforth be flung into the river Nile ! We may conceive the thrill of indignation and horror which such a command would arouse in the homes of Goshen ! What curses not loud but deep" must have burst from the lips of fathers as they clenched in vain despair the strong hands which they dared not uplift in defence of their babes! With what agonized entreaties for mercy mothers must have clasped the doomed little ones to their hearts! It was at this fearful time that Moses was born; he first opened his infant eyes to the light under the cruel sentence of death. It was under trying circumstances indeed that Amram, of the tribe of Levi, and Jochabed his wife, received this gift of a son from the Lord! Of the piety of these Israelites we can entertain no doubt, as St. Paul expressly declares that it was through faith that they hid their babe for three months, and were not afraid of the king's commandment, disobedience to which would doubtless be heavily visited on those found attempting to conceal their children. And here how forcibly are we reminded of the dangers to which One greater than Moses was exposed in the days of His feeble infancy! As the murderous decree of a tyrant doomed to death all |