By the laws of Egypt, all who occupied the throne of the Pharaohs must become members of the priestly caste. Moses, as the heir apparent, was to be inducted into the mysteries of the national religion. But he could not be persuaded to participate in the worship of the gods. He was threatened with the loss of the crown and warned that he would be disowned by the princess if he persisted in the Hebrew faith. But he was unshaken in his determination to worship none but the one God, the Maker of heaven and earth. He reasoned with priests and worshipers, showing the foolishness of their superstitious reverence for senseless objects. For a while his firmness was tolerated because of his high position and the favor with which both the king and the people regarded him.
“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26). Moses was prepared to take first place among the great people of the earth, to shine in the courts of its most glorious kingdom, and to wield its scepter of power. As historian, poet, philosopher, general of armies, and legislator, he stands without an equal. Yet with the world before him, he had the moral strength to refuse wealth, greatness, and fame, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.”
The magnificent palace of Pharaoh and the throne were held out as an enticement to Moses; but he knew that in its lordly courts were the sinful pleasures that make people forget God. He looked beyond the palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that the saints of the Most High will receive in a kingdom untainted by sin. By faith he saw an everlasting crown that the King of heaven would place on the head of the overcomer. This faith led him to join the humble, poor, despised nation that had chosen to obey God rather than to serve sin.
Moses remained at the royal court until he was forty years old. He visited his fellow Israelites in their slavery and encouraged them with the assurance that God would work for their deliverance. One day, seeing an Egyptian beating an Israelite, he sprang forward and killed the Egyptian. Other than the Israelite, no one had witnessed the deed, and Moses immediately buried the body in the sand. He had now shown himself ready to take up the cause of his people, and he hoped to see them rise to recover their liberty. “He supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25). They were not yet prepared for freedom.
The next day Moses saw two Hebrews fighting together, one of them evidently at fault. Moses reproved the offender, who at once retaliated on him, saying that he had no right to interfere, and rudely accusing him of a crime: “Who made you a prince and a judge over us?” he said. “Do you intend to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?”
The whole matter soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. The king was told that this act was full of meaning, and that Moses planned to lead his people against the Egyptians, to overthrow the government, and to seat himself on the throne. The monarch at once determined that he should die, but Moses became aware of his danger and fled toward Arabia.
The Lord directed his journey, and he found a home with Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian, who was a worshiper of God. After a time Moses married one of Jethro’s daughters, and he remained there for forty years as keeper of Jethro’s flocks.
It was not God’s will to deliver His people by warfare, as Moses thought, but by His own mighty power, so that the glory might be given to Him alone. Moses was not prepared for his great work. He still had to learn the same lesson of faith that Abraham and Jacob had been taught—not to rely on human strength or wisdom but on the power of God to fulfill His promises. In the school of self-denial and hardship he was to learn patience, to control his passions. His own heart must be fully in harmony with God before he could teach the knowledge of His will to Israel and exercise a fatherly care over all who needed his help.
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