Acts 7:20-43 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:… I. THE EDUCATION OF MOSES. 1. He was instructed by strangers. Pharaoh's daughter had him taught Egyptian learning at her own expense, as children have to be taught in schools by strangers. Instruction by parents not always possible, because of their ignorance, labour, etc. (1) God appointed a princess, as if to honour the teacher's office. People say any one will do; but if your watch-spring is broken, do you take it to a blacksmith? Can a common mind guide that delicate, ethereal thing, a child's soul? We want first-rate men. Miserable economy in parents! Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. You weigh your child's mind against copper. (2) Consider the influence of teachers. Three thousand five hundred years an Egyptian princess took a poor man's child and taught him. The result of that education is not over yet. Compare her influence with Pharaoh's. To rule in a single heart is greater than the proudest sway. The teacher is greater than the king. Here is a man perched on high, dressed in a little brief authority, with fingers pointing: That is he! And here is Christ with little children round Him. 2. He was under home influences. By a merciful arrangement Moses' early years were entirely superintended by Pharaoh's daughter. His mother nursed him. The princess gave him instruction, his mother education. People think education reading, writing, etc.; loading the memory with information and making preparation for a profession; but that is only the wisdom of Egypt. We must distinguish between education and instruction. The former is to unfold nature; to strengthen good and conquer evil; to give self-help; to make a man. The teacher cannot give this. You want influence bearing on the heart. Now influence is given at home. God gives the father to impart strength of will, and the mother tenderness of affection. Moses owed his lawgiving, politics, etc., to the princess; his religion to Jochebed. Jochebed that woman of poverty and toil, her hands black with brick-making; Jochebed that woman of faith, ennobled to defy the might of Egypt. Mothers, know your work! God has given you the destinies of the world. Our schools fail for the want of mothers and home influences. 3. He was disciplined by circumstances. Pharaoh's daughter had done something, and Moses' mother something, but there were other things needed beyond man's control. (1) He belonged to an oppressed nation: hence his patriotism — that deep, long devotion to one vast cause which only can be felt in such circumstances. (2) He was a banished man: hence his sympathy with the crushed. (3) He was a solitary man: hence his depth and solemnity of character. (4) He was a traveller: hence his knowledge of the world and man, and his enlarged views. 4. But he needed some sudden impulse. It came in the burning bush, and from thence the man of learning became the man of public action. Observe from all this — (1) That education goes on through life. After he left Egypt and home his development continued. The lot of many is poverty: hence their fondness of character. It is often the lot of the orphan: hence may spring self-help; or, if the disposition be. weak, bad habits. Riches may obstruct the child's moral growth, and produce, in spite of expensive education, only indolence of character. Again, we are disciplined by public circumstances. We live in time of war or peace, during a revolution, or in an age of trade, science, and philosophy — all this disciplines character. We talk of "finished education." Education only ends when a man is in his winding-sheet. Observe — education is useful to call forth power to grapple with and modify circumstances. Trees on the sea-coast or in stony soil are thwarted, yet they may be pushed by agriculture. The best agriculture is in Scotland, which has but a poor soil. (2) Education is God's work, for circumstances come from God. Teaching cannot do all; we must look for fruit from God. We must war for our best impulses, which come like a flash, unexpectedly. "The wind bloweth where it listeth," etc. Look back on our lives: what governed our most remarkable moments and alteration in character? Not systematic education; but some impression like that of Moses in the wilderness, that locked like chance — an impression from some great soul, or an old truth forcibly put. II. ITS RESULTS. 1. On his own character. (1) Mentally, it gave him the habit of inquiry. He turns aside "to see why the bush is not burnt." Other men would have simply seen the bush on fire. The first thing in education is to encourage this habit. When your child asks, "What is the use of this?" etc., do not call it troublesome. But not in duty. "Why" in phenomena is the acknowledgment of ignorance, but in practical duties it is the boast of presumption. (2) Morally, it gave him boldness and tenderness. Many men are bold, yet tyrannical; many tender, yet weak. The perfect character joins both. Moses was ever the champion of the oppressed — his brethren, Jethro's daughters. (3) Religiously, it gave him — (a) Reverence. He takes off his shoes. (b) Obedience. God says, "Go before Pharaoh," and Moses braves the angry king. (c) Meekness. He was humble as a child. This is what is meant by education — mental power, moral worth, religious character. 2. On his nation the chief result was the elevation of the labouring classes. The Egyptian policy was to keep Israel down, to refuse them educational and political advantages, to prevent their increase. The task of Moses was their emancipation. So is that of every Christian. To elevate the labouring classes, however, is not to exempt them from toil. Labour is a blessing; it brings out strength of character. Nor is it to break down classes, but by Christianity and education to level up. Thank God the time has passed when the English policy was the policy of Egypt. The insane cry once was, "The people must not be educated, because it will unfit them for their station." Now the mighty chasm between rich and poor is filling up. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: |
    |