The day came when the princes, the daughter of Ramses, sent for Moses. It was a crucial time when he was transferred from the cottage to the palace, and from the home of a brick maker to the luxuries of the house of Thermuthis. I don’t know a twelve-year-old boy who wouldn’t be impressed by the new world into which Moses walked that day. He must have felt almost a stranger to himself.
The new Prince Moses was the king’s grandson, the master of servants, a privileged character if anyone ever was. He was surrounded with groups of attendants, teachers, and counsellors, to do his will and instruct him in every department of learning. The princess would take care that her adopted son should not want anything to detract from his happiness or his position. The flatterers of her court would worship the rising sun of the Empire. Fawners and hypocrites would bow before the youthful prince. It was a position of overwhelming danger. Such allurements and snares have drawn many to destruction who have had to endure the fascinations of court life and the infamous hollowness of courtiers.
As to Moses, the result showed that he passed the fiery test unscathed. What a lot of choices he must have had to make ! But he had the teachings of Jochebed and Abram to guide him, and in the pagan household, God became his friend.
Twenty-eight years later, Prince Moses was heir apparent to the throne of Egypt. From a boy of twelve he had grown to be a man of forty. Was he an Hebrew or an Egyptian ? In Acts 7:22 Stephen says, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in word and in deeds.” There was apparently little left of the Hebrew boy to meet the eye. His clothes were Egyptian. His language was Egyptian. His manner was Egyptian. His bearing was the bearing of a military man, a statesman. Tradition credits him with having won renown in the field of battle, and his long career in the palaces and colleges of the State must have familiarized him with every walk of public life. There was no manly gift in which he was deficient. In the hearts of the royal family, the court, and the people he was fully the crown prince of Egypt. This involved an ordination to the priesthood.
The priest in Egypt had powers entrusted to him of the weightiest kind. The first forty years of his life must have been a time of strain and strenuous discipline. When he deliberately cast his die he was qualified for the highest position earth could give. Only in one thing he was not what he appeared to be. His heart was loyal to the God of Israel.
Up to this point Moses had everything heaped upon him that earth could give of honor and greatness. His magnificent endowments by nature and their development by education and practice, qualified him for playing a leading part in history. To this he was called by the Providence of God. That part had to be definitely settled. He alone could make the choice. As he decided his destiny was fixed forever.
The choice was Egyptian or Jew, tyrant king or deliverer, a pyramid mummy or an incorruptible saint. It was a great man that was called upon to make the choice and he stood the test. In Hebrews 11 : 24-26 we read, “By faith Moses when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season: Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt : for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Out in the cabins of the slaves lay Moses’ highest loyalty. They were his people. Their deliverance was his task, his calling.
No tangled apron strings could confuse that issue in his mind. The step was taken which could never be retaken. He never wished that decision reversed. His judgment, conscience and will all conceded to it—Moses was not a man to allow these to be neutralized by the claims of wealth or the fascinations of power. We do not know under what circumstances he was called upon to decide his future, it is useless to surmise.
In Acts 7:23 we are again told by Stephen, “And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.” In all probability Moses had kept up friendly relations with his kindred and was in frequent communication with them. The reason for the special mention of this visit is that a crisis came which abruptly changed the course of his life.
He saw a grievous wrong being inflicted on a Hebrew. The word used in other places implies to kill. The subtle influence of his princess mother had changed him. He measured himself by her standards and judged himself ready for his work. He decided to announce his reaffirmed allegiance. Impulsively Moses’ spirit flamed out, he resented the injustice being done to the slave. His temper probably carried him beyond what the occasion demanded.
He slew the Egyptian, and buried him in the sand. The thing could not be hid, it could not be kept secret, that he who had been educated and fitted for the throne, the adopted son of Thermuthis, had interfered to protect a Hebrew from wrong and had slain the Egyptian oppressor. The slave would tell his fellows, but Moses’ people did not see the message that he expected them to read in his actions. They simply did not understand, and they were afraid. The story spread, the king heard of it, and the court was aflame with indignation. Moses was a fugitive.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One