came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's
flock, but the shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses stood up
and protected the women and watered their flock.

When they came to their father, he said, "How is it that you have come
back so early to-day?" They replied, "An Egyptian protected us from the
shepherds, and besides, he drew water for us and watered the flock."
Then he said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why have you left the man?
Ask him to eat with us." So Moses made his home with the man; and he
gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. She had a son, and
Moses named him Gershom.

THE VOICE FROM THE BUSH

After a long time the king of Egypt died. Moses was taking care of the
flock of Jethro his wife's father. Once he led the flock to the other
side of the pasture and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the
angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a
thorn bush. As he looked, the bush flamed up without being burned. Moses
said, "I will stop here and see this wonderful sight, why the bush is
not burned up."

[Illustration: _The Finding of Moses_

Painted by Juliaan de Vriendt]

When Jehovah saw that Moses stopped to look, he called to him from the
midst of the bush, "Moses, Moses." Moses answered, "Here am I." Then God
said, "Do not come near; take your shoes off your feet, for the place
where you are standing is holy ground." He also said, "I am the God of
your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." Then Moses covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon
God.

But Jehovah said, "I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who
are in Egypt and have heard their cry of distress because of their
taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to rescue them
from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into
a land that is beautiful and wide, to a land with plenty of milk and
honey. I have heard the cry of the Israelites and I have seen how they
suffer at the hands of the Egyptians. Come now, I will send you to
Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and should
bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will surely be with
you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God upon this
m