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Spiritual Gifts, Volume 3
thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou
killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is
known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing he sought to slay Moses.
But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of
Midian.”
The matter of Moses killing the Egyptian was made known to the
Egyptians by the envious Hebrew whom Moses reproved. And when
it reached Pharaoh, it was greatly exaggerated. And the Egyptians told
Pharaoh that Moses designed to make war with the Egyptians, and to
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overcome them, and rule himself as king. Pharaoh was exceedingly
angry. He thought that this conduct of Moses meant much, and that
there was no safety for his kingdom while he lived. He commanded
that Moses should be slain. But he was not ignorant of Pharaoh’s
design, and he secretly left Egypt. The Lord directed his course, and
he found a home with Jethro, a man that worshiped God. He was a
shepherd, also priest of Midian. His daughters tended his flocks. But
Jethro’s flocks were soon placed under the care of Moses, who married
Jethro’s daughter, and remained in Midian forty years.
Moses was too fast in slaying the Egyptian. He supposed that the
people of Israel understood that God’s special providence had raised
him up to deliver them. But God did not design to deliver the children
of Israel by warfare, as Moses thought; but by his own mighty power,
that the glory might be ascribed to him alone.
God overruled the act of Moses in slaying the Egyptian to bring
about his purpose. He had in his providence brought Moses into the
royal family of Egypt, where he had received a thorough education;
and yet he was not prepared for God to intrust to him the great work
he had raised him up to accomplish. Moses could not immediately
leave the king’s court, and the indulgences granted him as the king’s
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grandson, to perform the special work of God. He must have time to
obtain an experience, and be educated in the school of adversity and
poverty. His father-in-law feared God, and was especially honored of
all the people around him for his far-seeing judgment. His influence
with Moses was great.
While Moses was living in retirement, the Lord sent his angels to
especially instruct him in regard to the future. Here he learned more
fully the great lesson of self-control and humility. He kept the flocks of
Jethro, and while he was performing his humble duties as a shepherd,