The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 46

at1 other children. True hist-0ry admits this. Legendary history conceals it, denies it, makes up a series of extraordinary events anterior to the birth, which shadow for:l,. the coming greatness of the mighty one, and warn the world what to expect of him. The legends attaching to Cyrus, to Romulus, to Pericles (Herod. vi. 131) are cases in point. Contrast with such legends the extreme simplicity of vers. 1, 2 ;- " There went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi; and the woman conceived and bare a son." Here is the founder of the Jewish nation, the originator of its independence, its lawgiver, historian, prophet, for the first time introduced to our notice; and not one word is said to exalt him, to challenge to him special attention, to show that he is the foremost man of bis age, greater than Penta.our the poet, or Seti, or Rameses. His father and mother not even named-" a man"-" a daughter of Levi "-no rank assigned them, no epithet used- nothing recorded but the bare facts : a marriage, a birth, the child a me.le child, a son I Here at length a note is struck, which wakes a responsive echo in the heart of the reader. The last verse of eh. i. had told him of the barbarous edict issued by the cruel despot who wielded the sceptre of Egypt, and his interest is awakened for the poor babe born under such circwnMtances. Vvill he perish at once, or will he escape? Can it be possible to elude or defy the express order of an absolute monarch ? And if so, how ? The sequel shows, relating as it does his escape from death through the faithful, bold, anr.. loving action of his mother. (See below, p. 27 .) Ver. 2.-§ 2. The beauty of Moses. Moses was "a goodly child "-beautiful to look upon-" fair to God," or "exceeding fair," as St. Stephen expresses it (Acts vii. 20). Though beauty be but "skin-deep," and if unaccompanied by loveliness of character is apt to be a snare and a curse, yet, in its degree, and rightly employed, it must be regarded as. a blessing. 'l'he beauty of Old-Testament saints is often mentioned. Moses was" goodly," David" ruddy and of a beautiful countenance" (1 Sam. xvi. 12), Daniel " fair and well-favoured" (Dan. L 4, 15), Esther "fair and beautiful" (Esth. ii. 7); Solomon was comely and "the chiefest among ten thousand" (Cant. v. 10); One greater than Solomon was " fairer than the children of men " (Ps. xlv. 2). It is an affectation to ignore beauty, and the infl.uence which it gives. Those who possess it should be taught that they are answerable for it, as for other gifts, and are bound to use it to God's glory. Esther's example may help them in the details of conduct, Vers. 3-9.---§ 3. The escape of .Moses. The escape of Moses teaches three things especially-1. God's over-ruling providence, and his power to make wicked men work out his will; 2. The blessing that rests upon a mother's faithful love and care; and 3. The fact that natural virtue is acceptable in God's sight. I. Gov's OVER-RULING PROVIDENCE turned the cruel king's edict to the advantage of the child whom he designed for great things. Had it not been for the edict, Moses would never have been exposed, and Pharaoh's daughter would probably never have seen him. Had she not come down to the river when she did-had any little circumstance occurred to prevent her, as might easily have happened, the child might have died of hunger or exposure before she saw it, or might have been found by an unfriendly Egyptian and thrown from the a.rk into the water. Moreover, had the child not happened to be in tears when she opened the ark, it might not have moved her compassion, or at any rate not have so stirred it as to make her take the boy for her son. In any of these con- tingencies, Moses, even if saved by some further device of his mother's, would not have had the e luca.tion which alone fitted him to be the nation's leader and guide, nor the familiarity with court life which enabled him to stand up boldly before the Pharaoh of his time and contend with him as an equal. 'l'hus Pharaoh's pet weapon, the edict, was turned against him.self, and brought about that Exodus of the Israelites which he was so anxious to hinder (eh. i. 10). It was an aggravation of his punish- ment that the hand by which his designs were frustrated was that of his own daughter, who unwittingly preserved the child which, of all others, he was most concerned to destroy. II. GoD'8 BLESSING ON A MOTHER'S FAITHFUL LOVE .a.ND CABE. "By faith Moses, whet!. he was born, was hid three months of his parents" (Heb, xi. 23). Disobedience to the edict of the king would in Egypt, if detected, have been puuished either by death or JB, II, 1-10.j THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 27