Jethro Decides Its Time To Speak Up -- Exodus 18:1-6

 

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.  And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”  And the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”  Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God.  And he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

As I come to this passage of scripture, I must provide what is referred to as “full disclosure”.  In the business world, Farlex defines this principle as follows according to “The Free Dictionary” online:

“The need in business transactions to tell the "whole truth" about any matter which the other party should know in deciding to buy or contract. In real estate sales in many states there is a full disclosure form which must be filled out and signed under penalty of perjury for knowingly falsifying or concealing any significant fact.”

So, based on that, please note I am indeed a “father-in-law” three times over and I have often been in situations where I felt I must speak up.  This continues to be the case at present.  Thus what is going on in this passage of Exodus is most relevant to me, and my own experiences will definitely reflect my comments.

Prior to this 18^th chapter of Exodus, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had only been mentioned in two other verses by name.  In Exodus 3:1, he is mentioned as Moses’ employer in Midian where Moses had fled from ‘downtown’ Egypt after he had killed an Egyptian.  In Exodus 4:18, we are told that Moses went to him and asked for permission to return to Egypt to see how his Israelite brethren were coping, and Jethro bade him “go in peace” while his wife and children remained behind.  Earlier in Exodus 2:16-21, between the two references above, we read of how Moses and the “priest of Midian” (a.k.a. Jethro) came to be related through marriage.

So here we have Jethro, his father-in-law hearing of all God had done for Moses and the Israelites, bringing them out of Egypt.  The Midianites including Jethro and Moses’ wife Zipporah and his sons by her were not part of this migration.  They had remained in Midian with Jethro, Zipporah’s father (although some argue Jethro may also have been her brother since the translation for both father- and brother-in-law in Hebrew is similar according to some scholars).  Zipporah had possibly been sent back with the boys because of the argument she and Moses had gotten into on their way back to Egypt (as recorded in Exodus 4:24-26).

Moses had named one of his sons ‘Gershom’ recognizing his own state or condition of having spent much of his life in a foreign land as per its translation.  It would be good for all Christians to at least think sometimes as if they had a son called ‘Gershom’ for we too are simply sojourners or those that tarry in a foreign land.  Our real home is heaven.  His other son’s name, Eliezer, completes the scene for Moses providing all that he needs as he remains away from home.  ‘Eliezer’ means ‘God is my help’ and He delivered Moses from the sword of his enemy, Pharaoh.  Maybe a son called ‘Eliezer’ would be good for all of us as well in order to remember that God is our help and He can deliver us from the sword of our Enemy.

So having heard about all that was going on in Moses’ life, Jethro decides to pay him a visit in the wilderness (at the mount of God where he was camped) and he brings along Moses’ wife and two boys.  But whether out of custom, or common courtesy, or not wanting to catch him by surprise, Jethro sends word in advance that he was on his way.  Can you imagine, if you had left (not divorced) your wife and your children several years ago, getting a message from your father-in-law (or maybe your mother-in-law) saying, “I’m on my way and I have your wife and children with me”?

What was Jethro up to and how would Moses react?  As always, the life of a Christian is not about what “comes across our path” but “how we react to it”.  Stay tuned.

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God Seeks To Kill Moses -- Exodus 4:24-26

Now it came about at the lodging-place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.  Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood to me.”  So He let him alone.  At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” – because of the circumcision.

One cannot read the text above without wondering what on earth is going on.  God had just finished giving Moses an incredible assignment that required him to return to Egypt and now on the journey, God meets him (possibly, as Matthew Henry suggests, via a sword-wielding angel) and seeks to put him to death.  Well, let us see what we can make of it.

Clearly, the overwhelming opinion of almost all who write on this subject is that God was angry with Moses because he had not circumcised his son.  As this was a major instruction as part of the covenant God had made with His people, there was no way God would use Moses as long as this was the case.  Some think he did circumcise his first-born in keeping with God’s commands, but his wife, Zipporah, was so appalled at the blood-filled rite that she out rightly refused to allow Moses to have their second son go through the same experience.  So, when God attacked Moses, it was Zipporah who knew what it was all about and put a stop to it by doing what she did.

But let me go out on a limb here and suggest something very different, only as a possibility. 

The first thing that comes to our attention is that this happened “at a lodging-place” on the way to Egypt.  This phrase may suggest that this account happened during the night, while Moses was sleeping, and that it was all a dream.  We cannot be adamant about that, but the prospect exists.  We also note that the action changes very quickly, without notice or normal transition, from the Lord seeking to put him to death to his wife circumcising his son and yelling at Moses.  [Some would argue that the author of Exodus, Moses himself, did not want to give us all the details but I am not so sure, based on his usual writing style elsewhere, that he would have spared us as many details as he seems to.] All of this leads me to accept the dream hypothesis as a very plausible one.  There is lots of action, with no strong evident connecting points.  It makes even more sense when we consider that Moses was weary from his travels and had much on his mind as he considered the future.

Of course, one could also take the ‘literal’ approach.  But here are the implications -- God in the form of an angel, commences to attack Moses.  Did Zipporah actually see the actual Lord in order to put a stop to the fighting as the text may suggest?  Again, I do not think so.  Moses’ wife, Zipporah, ‘surprises’ God by, rather than coming to Moses’ defense, she actually blames her husband for what is going on.  She expresses her strong feelings by circumcising her son right there and then (could she really do this successfully especially given the fact she thought it so abhorrent? Perhaps) and throwing the foreskin at Moses’ feet (further proof of her anger) while calling him a “bridegroom of blood” which the text says refers to the fact that Moses had tried to introduce circumcision to her family but she had resisted and Moses never insisted on doing so.  As a result of her actions, God stops His attack on Moses, or otherwise, we can surmise, He would have killed him.  For all the above, I tend to think that the account here cannot easily be taken literally.

There is yet another school of thought that makes a lot of sense.  It suggests that Moses was fully aware of his sin and during the night, while examining his relationship with God, he realized its presence.  This may have driven him temporarily mad or to become mentally undone because of his failure to please God, especially as he knew he was going to lead the people of Israel for God.  This in turn may have resulted in a fever or a seizure, causing Zipporah to be greatly alarmed.  Or, this realization of Moses was followed by a one of those husband-wife discussions that turns into an argument, in this case over the matter of the circumcision of their son.  Worried about her husband as well as possibly her own future, she goes out and circumcises her son, not willing to fight it any longer.  (She uses a piece of flint rock readily available in the dessert there – evidence of which I have seen myself in a visit to Israel.)

We will not know the answer to the question of what really took place in the physical world until we can ask our Lord.  But as always, we should try to see what this account given in scripture might have to say to us.  What can we learn from it?

Whether the action portrayed here literally happened or whether it was a direction given to Moses in a dream, does not change the ‘content’ of what God was trying to convey to him, and perhaps to us.  The fact that God is willing to use you and me to accomplish His plan for mankind does not mean that He is willing to accept sin in our lives.  Sometimes He expects us to get rid of it ourselves; other times He’ll see to it that it is eliminated.  Either way, the sin has to go before He fully engages us in executing the plan He wants us to carry out.

Maybe the sin standing in your way is not as obvious as the one Moses committed by failing to carry out a key commandment of God’s.  Maybe it is just an attitude or a desire or a stubbornness based on false premises.  Maybe it is a sin of commission, but it could also be a sin of omission.  Whatever it is, we must identify it, confess it, and end it.

The implication in our passage is that Moses had his sin dealt with – either by Zipporah at the time God was fighting with him, or by his own action afterwards, if this were a dream.  We know that for God, as later verses and chapters tell us, allowed him to live and to carry out the purpose for which He had selected him.  It is my prayer that this be true in our lives as well.  I pray we can all be ready to do whatever it takes to eliminate any sin in our lives preventing God from using us in the way He wants to.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

The Angel of the Lord Appears in a Burning Bush -- Exodus 3:1-2

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

So Moses stays in Midian, marries Zipporah, daughter of Reuel, has a son they name Gershom and he works as a shepherd taking care of his father-in-law’s flock.  In this particular text, Zipporah’s father is referred to as Jethro, not Reuel.  Why is that?  The commentators are all over the place on this one.  First there is the possibility that people had more than one name as per the ancient Near Eastern practice.  (That would mean Jethro and Reuel were one and the same.)  Then there is the idea floated by some that Reuel was really a title or a “family patriot” who actually gives the younger women his blessing.  As the chief patriarch (grandfather, or great-grandfather), he arranges or approves the marriages for the female descendants of his clan.  (This would mean that Jethro was Reuel’s son.)

The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia tells us that the different names of Jethro puzzled the Talmudists (authors of the Talmud, comprising some of Judaism holy books).  Some of them thought that his real name was "Hobab," (whom we will come across much later in the Scriptures) and that Reuel was his father; others thought that his name was "Reuel," interpreting it "the friend of God”.  Some modern scholars hold that his own name was "Reuel," and that "Jethro" was a title, meaning "his Excellency". According to Simeon b. Yoḥai, a famous 1st-century sage in ancient Israel and active after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, he had two names, "Hobab" and "Jethro".  The Jewish Encyclopedia goes on to say that it is, however, generally accepted that he had seven names: "Reuel," "Jether," "Jethro," "Hobab," "Heber," "Keni" (compare Judges 1:16; and 4:11), and "Putiel".  Somewhere in these options lies the truth and one day we’ll know.

In any case, Moses leads his father-in-law’s flock to the west end of the Midianite wilderness or desert and comes to Mount Horeb, the “mountain of God”.  This is the first time we come to hear the name of this mountain, but it is understood to be another name for Mount Sinai from which God (much later) gave the law to Moses and the Israelites.

It is there the “angel of the Lord” appeared to him.  This is the third record that we have to one called the “angel of the Lord”.  The first was in Genesis 16 when he appeared to Hagar.  The second was in Genesis 22 when he appeared to Abraham.  And now he appears many years later to Moses.  The term is used later in Scripture as well.  There is much that has been written about who this angel is and a search on Google will give you much of that.  Generally speaking, especially as his presence progresses through Scripture, there is agreement that this “angel”, for many reasons, is none other than the Lord or God Himself.

We then have here the famous reference to the “burning bush” (a misnomer) in which the angel of the Lord appears.  In actuality the bush was not burning at all.  The Scriptures correctly state there was a “blazing fire” in the midst of the bush, but it did not consume the bush.  It is understood that the bush was a thorn bush (with all the symbolism that can present and which many draw on) and because of the very dry desert environment and the acacia (thorn) being brittle, it is possible for it to easily be lit by any small spark, which would start a blaze.  The event was very rare and Moses was clearly attracted to it.  The equivalent for us would be to see what we think was a log fire but the logs were never burning.  Upon closer examination, we could detect that in fact what we thought was a wood fireplace, was a gas fireplace being fed by a continuous supply of natural gas.  The logs are never consumed.

So what then is the application for us today?  Let me suggest that we need to stop long enough and ask ourselves the following questions: “Am I aware of the ‘burning bushes’ that God places in my life, especially in my desert?  Do I realize His presence in them and am I attracted to it?  Do I realize the continuous availability of His power and sustenance to my life?  Am I dependent on it?”

I challenge you today to realize that without Him, you have no power to live a victorious life.  With Him, and in Him, and through Him, you have already won against the enemy.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Moses Marries in Midian -- Exodus 2:18-22

When they came to Reuel their father, he said, "Why have you come {back} so soon today?"  So they said, "An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock."  He said to his daughters, "Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat."  Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.  Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."

With Moses’ help, the daughters of the Midianite priest named Reuel returned to the house from their water-fetching duties much earlier than usual.  So Reuel asked them, “How come?”  Their reply was most interesting.  “It was an Egyptian,” they said that not only helped them, but they felt Moses had “delivered” them from the hands of the shepherds.  Moses must have still been wearing some of his expensive Egyptian royalty fashions.  But more interesting is that it seems he continued to play the role of a “deliverer” as he did for his Hebrew brothers back in Egypt when he smote an Egyptian in their defense.  Seems, from what we will learn later about his purpose in life, being a deliverer was indeed what God had in mind for him.  What he did in Egypt and what he did by the well in Midian was simply a foretelling of not only what he himself would be called upon to do for his people the Israelites living in bondage, but also of what the ultimate Deliverer, Jesus Christ, would do for the world.

So what does the father of the girls do?  He asks, “Well, where is he?  Why did you leave him there?  Go get him and have him eat with us.”  Yes, that’s Middle Eastern hospitality at its best that still continues today.  But Reuel, I am sure, had something more in mind.  Surely this Egyptian would make an excellent husband for one of his daughters.  So, the text says he had Moses “invited” to join them.  Moses was the ‘deliverer’ and the family had to “invite” him in.  I don’t know about you, but I sense a slight parallel here to how we are to “invite our savior” in to join us.  Like Moses, who had already delivered the young women from the shepherds, Jesus has already delivered us from our sins by what He did on the cross.  We need to first recognize it and then “invite Him in” to our daily lives as our “Deliverer” and Lord.

And what does Moses do?  The Scripture says He was “willing to dwell with the man”.  Moses stayed as Jesus wants to stay with you and me.  And if that’s not enough, Moses takes a bride from among Reuel’s daughters.  That’s what Jesus does – when He comes to stay within, we become part of His Bride, His Body -- the Church.  The parallels are there to be appreciated if we so choose, but never to be exaggerated beyond the obvious.

The woman that Moses married was Zipporah.  We’ll hear more about her later, but for now suffice it say that the meaning of her name is “a little bird”.  Well, we’ll see about that soon enough.  And speaking of his new in-laws, we’ll soon come across more implications of names and who’s who in this whole clan – watch out for Jethro vs. Reuel (later in Exodus) vs. Hobab (in both the books of Numbers and Judges).  But that can wait.

For now, let’s focus on the facts we know.  Zipporah gave Moses a son whom Moses named Gershom.  Moses called him that because ‘Gershom’ means being a “sojourner in a foreign land”.  That’s how Moses felt about his situation at the time.  And here any parallelism between Moses and Christ may seem to break down, but perhaps not totally.

A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place.  And that place is often seen as foreign ground.   Jesus certainly came to earth from His heavenly home and sojourned among us for thirty-three years.  But He is coming back.  The rest of us, including Moses, started off here on this earth and when we leave it, we’re headed elsewhere.  In a way, we’re all sojourners.  There is much good we can and must do while we’re here, but ultimately, for the Christian, this is indeed a foreign land.

Before we return to Moses, we would do well to think about our own personal temporary residence.  How can we make it better?  How can we occupy until He takes us home or until He returns?  At the least, we should never forget that our real citizenship is elsewhere.  I pray that God, no matter what your circumstances are, will give you courage and patience to serve Him well until such time.

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.