Exodus 18:1-12 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 18:1-12. Let’s go!
Exodus 18:1-12 (NIV)
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, for Moses said, “I have become an alien in a foreign land”;
4 and the other was named Eliezer, 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 desert, 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 bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
On verses 1-12: Here Moses reunites with his wife Zipporah, his two sons Gershom and Eliezer, and his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro was a priest from the land of Midian where Moses met his wife. As for what God Jethro and the Midianites worshiped, it is not clear. Since the Midianites were descendants of Abraham (see 1 Chronicles 1:32), it is likely that Jethro and the Midianites had heard of the LORD, but it is not clear whether Jethro and the Midianites actually worshiped or believed in the LORD. What is clear is that as Jethro hears more and more about what the LORD had done for Moses and the Israelites (v1), when he saw the change in Moses and how the LORD rescued not just him but the Israelite people too (v8), Jethro responds by expressing faith in the LORD. He says, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly” (v11). Jethro also starts to bring burnt offerings and other sacrifices to the Lord (v12) and have a meal with Aaron and the other elders of Israel (v12).
What can we learn from this? Like Moses we all have loved ones who do not yet know the LORD as they should. This passage reminds us that the most important way to lead your family members and friends to Christ is to let them see the change that the LORD has made in your life, how He rescued you from the problems that once enslaved you. Also, like Moses, don’t be afraid or ashamed to share what the LORD has done in your life and the difference He has made. When they see God working in your life, may it soften their heart to want what you’re having as well.
Lord Jesus, I pray that through my actions and my words I would reflect You so well to my family members and friends that they would see the difference You have made in my life and they too would say “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods”. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
