Exodus 18:1-12
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[a] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer,[b] for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.” 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them. 9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
Now here we see, a story where Moses meet his family again after a long journey from egypt. It is not sure when did Zipporah, Moses wife was back to Midian. The last account regarding Moses and Zipporah was noted in Exodus 4 where at that time, Moses almost got killed because his son, Gersom was not circumcised. Some speculates that after that Moses and Zipporah decides that it is good for Zipporah to stay back with Jethro, so that Moses can focus on his ministry to free Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. Since then, we may consider that Moses was without his wife and his sons. It is also the first time, the bible mentioned another name “Eliezer” which is Moses other son. The meaning of Eliezer might be another indication for us of when Moses and Zipporah was been together at the very last. It means “God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh”, which most likely referring to Exodus 2 when Moses flee from the egypt. But apart all of the possibility and question of when did they both got separated, I think the bible mentions all the name here (Zipporah, Gershom, Eliezer, and Jethro) with some purposes.
One, at the very least, the bible mentions them to tell us the reader that Moses’ family are still alive - that God has taken care Moses’ family while Moses was doing his job to free Israel as what God commands. Second, that God made a sweet reunion between Moses and his family back after his ministry to save God’s people - “Israel”. Isn’t it a sweet blessing that God gave to Moses? It is noted by the hand of Moses, because Moses realise that it is God that made it happen. Moses wrote this with thankfulness, and he wants this to be remembered in history to show that God kept his family, and that God is very kind to him. When we have such a good time, a memorable time, do we remember that it is God that made it happen? Do we praise Him with thanksgiving?
I would think that this passage is about Moses response to God after such a journey that he had. We can say that it is quite a tiring journey that Moses had a while ago from egypt up until now. Firstly, as written above, Moses mentioned this sweet reunion, but also it does not stop there. Moses wants to share with us, that his ministry, his journey that drains up his energy, time, and effort, brings another fruit - that is: it becomes a living testimony. I remember a verse in 1 Cor 15:58 that says: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." This verse as well as Moses testimony to us today, should encourage us to stand firm in serving our LORD. We may never know that our life could be used as His tool to strengthen other people.
Look at verse 10-11, of what Jethro said. He says praise to God, and in verse 11 he said “Now I know...” Didn’t Jethro already know God? What needs highlighted here is that Jethro served the right God, namely Yahweh, but he did not know that Yahweh was greater than all other gods. But now he has come to know, through Yahweh's salvation and Moses' testimony, that there is no god like Yahweh. Yahweh is greater than all gods, even greater than the Egyptians gods who for so long had supported Pharaoh's enslaving regime. Jethro's faith has grown. He has a new knowledge of the power of the God whom he serves. "Now I know. . ..". Let’s imagine that we worship the right God, but we never really know Him; we never really have a right relationship with him. Our worship is merely a ritual, where we worship and know our God cognitively, but we haven’t had a personal knowledge about Him who saves us. We never really know (in hebrew: yada - which means knowing intimately and not just cognitively) Him intimately. Let’s reflect ourselves, and if we don’t, pray to Him, ask Him to touch us to open our hearts so that we could better know Him, and in our lives we may feel His presence.
Moses wrote this passage, about his testimony, and i suspect he wrote this with a thankful heart, knowing it was a priviledge to be God’s tool for his father in-law, and his family. Let’s pray that God would use our life as a living testimony, for Him to use us as what He desire. But firstly, let’s also remind ourselves to stand firm and give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Amen.
~ Paul Hartono
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[a] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer,[b] for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.” 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them. 9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
Now here we see, a story where Moses meet his family again after a long journey from egypt. It is not sure when did Zipporah, Moses wife was back to Midian. The last account regarding Moses and Zipporah was noted in Exodus 4 where at that time, Moses almost got killed because his son, Gersom was not circumcised. Some speculates that after that Moses and Zipporah decides that it is good for Zipporah to stay back with Jethro, so that Moses can focus on his ministry to free Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. Since then, we may consider that Moses was without his wife and his sons. It is also the first time, the bible mentioned another name “Eliezer” which is Moses other son. The meaning of Eliezer might be another indication for us of when Moses and Zipporah was been together at the very last. It means “God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh”, which most likely referring to Exodus 2 when Moses flee from the egypt. But apart all of the possibility and question of when did they both got separated, I think the bible mentions all the name here (Zipporah, Gershom, Eliezer, and Jethro) with some purposes.
One, at the very least, the bible mentions them to tell us the reader that Moses’ family are still alive - that God has taken care Moses’ family while Moses was doing his job to free Israel as what God commands. Second, that God made a sweet reunion between Moses and his family back after his ministry to save God’s people - “Israel”. Isn’t it a sweet blessing that God gave to Moses? It is noted by the hand of Moses, because Moses realise that it is God that made it happen. Moses wrote this with thankfulness, and he wants this to be remembered in history to show that God kept his family, and that God is very kind to him. When we have such a good time, a memorable time, do we remember that it is God that made it happen? Do we praise Him with thanksgiving?
I would think that this passage is about Moses response to God after such a journey that he had. We can say that it is quite a tiring journey that Moses had a while ago from egypt up until now. Firstly, as written above, Moses mentioned this sweet reunion, but also it does not stop there. Moses wants to share with us, that his ministry, his journey that drains up his energy, time, and effort, brings another fruit - that is: it becomes a living testimony. I remember a verse in 1 Cor 15:58 that says: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." This verse as well as Moses testimony to us today, should encourage us to stand firm in serving our LORD. We may never know that our life could be used as His tool to strengthen other people.
Look at verse 10-11, of what Jethro said. He says praise to God, and in verse 11 he said “Now I know...” Didn’t Jethro already know God? What needs highlighted here is that Jethro served the right God, namely Yahweh, but he did not know that Yahweh was greater than all other gods. But now he has come to know, through Yahweh's salvation and Moses' testimony, that there is no god like Yahweh. Yahweh is greater than all gods, even greater than the Egyptians gods who for so long had supported Pharaoh's enslaving regime. Jethro's faith has grown. He has a new knowledge of the power of the God whom he serves. "Now I know. . ..". Let’s imagine that we worship the right God, but we never really know Him; we never really have a right relationship with him. Our worship is merely a ritual, where we worship and know our God cognitively, but we haven’t had a personal knowledge about Him who saves us. We never really know (in hebrew: yada - which means knowing intimately and not just cognitively) Him intimately. Let’s reflect ourselves, and if we don’t, pray to Him, ask Him to touch us to open our hearts so that we could better know Him, and in our lives we may feel His presence.
Moses wrote this passage, about his testimony, and i suspect he wrote this with a thankful heart, knowing it was a priviledge to be God’s tool for his father in-law, and his family. Let’s pray that God would use our life as a living testimony, for Him to use us as what He desire. But firstly, let’s also remind ourselves to stand firm and give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Amen.
~ Paul Hartono
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