She read the second chapter of Exodus and then engaged in prayer. As they rose from their knees, Donald read over again the portion from the fifteenth verse to the end of the twentyfirst :

"Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter."

66

66 Mother," said Donald, was this priest of Midian an idolater, or was he one of the servants of the true God?"

"I think there is little doubt," said Mrs Fraser, "that he was a priest of the true God. The meaning of his name, which is 'Friend of God,' indicates this; and as the Midianites were descendants of Abraham, by his wife Keturah, some of them may have retained a knowledge of God. It seems hardly likely that Moses, who had sacrificed so much for God's people, would marry into a heathen family. Reuel, or as he is in the next chapter called Jethro, seems to have been a man of considerable importance, for the word that is here translated priest also means prince, and it is likely that he was both."

"How, then," said Donald, "did his daughters have to take care of the sheep? If he was a prince, I should think that would have been unnecessary."

"Not at all," replied his mother; "there was nothing lowering in this employment. Laban's daughters (and Laban was a man of wealth) were doing the same thing when Jacob first met them.

"But if he was a prince," interposed Donald, "how did the shepherds dare to interfere with his daughters in watering their sheep?"

"These were probably Bedouins or wandering Arabs, who were only for a time in that part of the country, men who were not subject to Jethro or any other ruler,—men whose hands were against every man," said his mother.

But Donald, who was not yet satisfied, and seemed determined on an objection, exclaimed, "But, mother, why do they call Moses an Egyptian? He was an Israelite."

"Because he was clad in the garb of an Egyptian, spoke their language, and, externally at least, had all the appearance of being one. And besides, though Moses belonged to the slaverace of the Hebrews, yet he was born in Egypt. In the Old Testament the word Hebrew distinguished the chosen people from other nations, while Israelite was the sacred name used among themselves, and denoted their covenant relation to God. Thus Moses was an Egyptian by birth, a Hebrew by descent, and a Levite because he belonged to the tribe of Levi."

But, mother," continued Donald, "why was it necessary that Moses should be forty years in

B

Midian? It seems a long time for a great and good man like him to be idle."

"He was not idle, my son. God had a great purpose in keeping him there so long. In Egypt, Moses had become a scholar, a statesman, and a soldier; but he must now learn greater things than these by communion with God in solitude. It was necessary, also, that he be inured to the hardships of a wandering life, before so great a responsibility should be laid upon him. Moses never could have borne humbly his future power and glory but for this time of retirement and meditation. Then note the expression, 'Moses was content to dwell with the man.' He who had been accustomed to all the luxury of the Egyptian court was satisfied with this humble and self-denying life of the desert. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.'"

"What else does the Bible say about Jethro, mother?"

"You will find more about him in the 18th chapter of Exodus," said Mrs Fraser.

Donald read the account of Jethro's paying a visit to Moses, and bringing his wife to him

while he was with the children of Israel in the wilderness.

"Jethro must have been a believer in God now," said Donald, when he had finished the chapter, "whatever he was before, for he says in the 10th verse, 'Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians.' And again in the 11th verse, 'Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods;' and again in the 12th verse, he took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God.""

"And he was not only a good man but a very wise one," said Mrs Fraser, " as we see by the excellent advice he gave Moses to take 'able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over the people, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.' This wise counsel saved Moses a great deal of trouble, for he acted on it at once."

"But, mother, how was it that Moses' wife was not with him in Egypt? It says, in Exodus iv. 20, 'Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt.'"

"It is supposed," said Mrs Fraser, "that