Lives of Great Men
45
foundation of his greatness; it was laid by the hand of one little known
to fame.
Jochebed was a woman and a slave. Her lot in life was humble, her
burden heavy. But through no other woman, save Mary of Nazareth,
has the world received greater blessing. Knowing that her child must
soon pass beyond her care, to the guardianship of those who knew not
God, she the more earnestly endeavored to link his soul with heaven.
She sought to implant in his heart love and loyalty to God. And
faithfully was the work accomplished. Those principles of truth that
were the burden of his mother’s teaching and the lesson of her life, no
after influence could induce Moses to renounce.
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From the humble home in Goshen the son of Jochebed passed to the
palace of the Pharaohs, to the Egyptian princess, by her to be welcomed
as a loved and cherished son. In the schools of Egypt, Moses received
the highest civil and military training. Of great personal attractions,
noble in form and stature, of cultivated mind and princely bearing, and
renowned as a military leader, he became the nation’s pride. The king
of Egypt was also a member of the priesthood; and Moses, though
refusing to participate in the heathen worship, was initiated into all
the mysteries of the Egyptian religion. Egypt at this time being still
the most powerful and most highly civilized of nations, Moses, as its
prospective sovereign, was heir to the highest honors this world could
bestow. But his was a nobler choice. For the honor of God and the
deliverance of His downtrodden people, Moses sacrificed the honors
of Egypt. Then, in a special sense, God undertook his training.
Not yet was Moses prepared for his lifework. He had yet to learn
the lesson of dependence upon divine power. He had mistaken God’s
purpose. It was his hope to deliver Israel by force of arms. For this
he risked all, and failed. In defeat and disappointment he became a
fugitive and exile in a strange land.
In the wilds of Midian, Moses spent forty years as a keeper of
sheep. Apparently cut off forever from his life’s mission, he was
receiving the discipline essential for its fulfillment. Wisdom to govern
an ignorant and undisciplined multitude must be gained through self-
mastery. In the care of the sheep and the tender lambs he must obtain
the experience that would make him a faithful, long-suffering shepherd
to Israel. That he might become a representative of God, he must learn
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of Him.