Years ago, Carla and I lived in a home in northern Idaho that we heated with a wood-burning stove. The stove was located in the corner of the basement living room, the room where we spent the bulk of our free time, especially during the long winter months. Except on rare occasions, that stove was hot from September to May. Every evening, I loaded the furnace with logs. Early the next morning, the cherry-red embers were still glowing when I loaded it again.
Andrew, our first-born, arrived during those days. As a toddler, Andrew learned to walk and run in that wood-warmed basement room. One of his first spoken words was “hot.” We taught him that the stove was hot, that it would burn him, and that he should not get too close to the hot stove. When he disobediently reached out to touch the hot steel, we swatted his little hand. When he tried again, we swatted his bottom. In all those years, Andrew never burned himself on that stove. He was consistently disciplined and learned the important life-lesson without getting burned.
The wisdom of Solomon includes this gem. “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Proverbs 13:24, NKJV). It also includes the proverbial promise, “Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, KJV).
Moses’s earliest training and discipline came from his mother and dad. His parents instilled into him important truths that would direct his steps for his entire life.
Before three-month-old Moses floated into the reeds, many plans were put into place. They must have spied out the place on the edge of the Nile where the Pharoah’s daughter frequently bathed. I’m certain that Amram and Jochebed had coached and re-coached Miriam on the important part that she would play. Can you imagine... “Now Miriam, hide behind that tree or that rock. When Pharoah’s daughter wades out into the water and finds the basket, be ready.” Miriam knew exactly what she would say. “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?” (Exodus 2:7).
Undoubtedly Moses’s family had prayed for God’s wisdom and guidance. The Almighty had directed them, and on the appointed day, God worked miraculously and just like they had prayed. When Pharoah’s daughter plucked the baby from the floating bassinet, Miriam was right there, ready to offer her assistance. “Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.’ So the woman took the boy and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son” (Exodus 2:9–10).
We don’t know how old Moses was when he left Amram’s home to move into Pharoah’s palace. We do know this: Moses sat at his parent’s knees and was taught about the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses was trained at a very young age concerning “the way he should go” and when Moses was old, he did “not depart from it.”
