And what varied instruction we draw from the life of Moses!  Hidden in the bulrushes on the banks of the Nile by a mother who, by instinct or by divine suggestion, previsioned a high calling for her son; found, under Providential direction, by a daughter of Pharaoh; reared in the environment of a palace and with the advantages of the most enlightened court of his day; compelled to flee into the wilderness because of an outburst of race passion; called to a great work by a Voice that spoke to him from a bush that “burned but was not consumed”; modestly distrusting his ability yet dauntless as the spokesman of God—­dispenser of plagues—­wonder-working man!  Born of an obscure family and buried in the Land of Moab in a sepulcher which “no man knoweth,” and yet between these two humble events he rose to a higher pinnacle than any uninspired man has ever reached—­leader without comparison—­lawgiver without a peer.

He teaches many lessons that, like all truths, can be applied in every generation in every land.  Race sympathy made it possible for him to lead his people out of bondage—­no one not of their own blood could have done it.  This lesson needs to be heeded to-day.  Our part in the evangelization of the world will be done through native teachers, educated here or in our missions, rather than directly.  The reformer, too, finds in the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart the final assurance of success; when the “fullness of time” has come and any form of bondage is ripe for overthrow, the taskmaster’s demand for “bricks without straw” gives the final impulse and opens the way.

Joseph has made the world his schoolroom.  He enables us to understand the words of Solomon; “where there is no vision the people perish.”  He shows how, in the hour of trial, faith can triumph over reason—­how God can lead a righteous man through a dungeon to a seat by the side of the throne—­how the dreamer can turn scoffing into reverence when he has the corn.

Samuel is a standing rebuke to those who think “wild oats” a necessary crop in the lives of young men.  He heard the call of God when he was a child; was reared for the Father’s work and lived a life so blameless that the people proclaimed him just when his official career came to an end.

In the Proverbs of Solomon we find a rare collection of truths, beautifully expressed; in Job we find an inexhaustible patience set to music and an integrity that even Satan himself could not corrupt.

The Prophets alone would immortalize the Bible—­rugged characters who dared to rebuke wickedness in high places, to reproach a nation for its sins and to warn of the coming of the wrath of God.  See Elijah on Mount Carmel, mocking the worshippers of Baal; hear him thunder the Almighty’s sentence against a king who, coveting Naboth’s vineyard, broke three commandments to get a little piece of land.  And yet Elijah fled from wicked Jezebel and would have despaired but for the Voice that assured him of the thousands who were still true to Israel’s God—­the obscure hosts who remained loyal even when the conspicuous became faint-hearted.