Exodus 18:1-12
~14 min read
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus 18:1-12.
We have been learning this important truth that our life is a spiritual journey, and as a spiritual journey, there are spiritual lessons to be learned. As the children of Israel were out in the wilderness, so far they had already learned several spiritual lessons. They had learned to sing praises to God by the seashore, known as the Song of Moses. They had learned to trust God to provide manna from heaven and water from the rock. They had learned to lift up their hands to pray while they fought against the Amalekites at Rephidim. Now they were about to learn another spiritual lesson, or to be precise, it was Moses who was about to learn this lesson. It was the reunion between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro.
Nothing is more painful than to be separated from our loved ones. It could be a separation due to the fact that our children have to go overseas to study or we have to travel to a faraway country for work. It is always painful; how much more when our loved ones have to leave us by way of death, especially when they are unbelievers, and we know that in the sweet by and by we shall never meet again. It will be the most painful experience, right? On the other hand to be reunited with our loved ones is the most wonderful experience that words cannot express. Tonight we want to learn from this passage about the blessedness of reunion.
I. The Joy of Reunion
Our first point is: The Joy of Reunion. Since chapter 4, Moses' family has never been mentioned. Let us recap what had happened. After Moses had spent 40 years tending the flock at Midian, he got married and had children. The Lord called him at the burning bush. He went to his father-in-law to seek permission to go back to Egypt to check on the well-being of his people - the Israelites. Jethro gave Moses his blessings, and Moses took his wife and two sons along with him.
So after a long break here, chapter 18, returns back to Moses' family situation, beginning with verse one. "When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt." Verse two, “Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
We do not know for sure when Moses had sent his family back to Jethro. Some theologians believed that he had sent his family away to Jethro before The Exodus, possibly for safekeeping because he anticipated that there might be danger. But John Calvin believed that Moses would not do that because if he had sent his wife and sons away to Jethro before The Exodus, that would be a sign of fear and distrust in God. And he would not have been a good example to the Israelites whose families had to go through the whole ordeal. But most importantly, he would have neglected his duties as a husband and a father.
Sometimes in the course of ministry, pastors and ministers would pursue their work even at the expense of their own families. Some of them will go to a faraway country to do mission works, not just for weeks but for several years, and the children, the wives, will be devastated. The effect will be horrendous. The children will grow up without fathers; the wives will be without support. That is not the right thing to do. They have forgotten that their duties as a father and a husband are as much a divine calling as their calling to be pastors and ministers. We must never neglect the calling that God has assigned to us. We cannot be faithful to one and be unfaithful to the other. We must be faithful to all our callings. So the best position to take is to believe that Moses has sent his family away sometime after The Exodus, most likely when the Israelites had reached Horeb because it was not far away from where Jethro lived.
It is significant to note how Moses had named his two sons. One was named Gershom, which means, " I have been an alien in a strange land." This was a reference to how Moses had felt living and growing up in Egypt. The second son was named Eleazar, which means, ‘God was mine help and delivered me from the sword of the Pharaoh.’ This was a reference to how he had killed the Egyptian. The Pharaoh was seeking to take his life, he had to run, and God delivered him. Both names serve as living testimonies of his faith in the God of Israel. But later did Moses realise that both these names were not only applicable to his own life but to the nation of Israel as well. Like Moses, the Israelites were strangers in Egypt, right? Like Moses, God was their help and delivered them from the hand of the Pharaoh.
Now let us take a moment and consider our lives too. Do you see these two names? How it can be applicable to us? Are we not strangers living in this world? The song we used to sing, "This world is not our home; we are just a passing through." Is God not our help? How he has delivered us from eternal damnation when we come to faith in Jesus Christ? Can you see how sovereign our God is? Even in names, He could take those names and use them for something far more significant.
Though Moses and his family might only be separated for a short period, surely he had missed them dearly. But it had been quite a while since he had last seen his father-in-law Jethro. So you can imagine the joy of this reunion. That was the reason why when Jethro brought his family to see him in the wilderness, verse 7 says, "And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.” But Moses did not only rejoice in the reunion; he knew the reason why God would allow him to meet his father-in-law.
II. The Purpose of Reunion
This brings us to our second point: the Purpose of Reunion. At this point in time, Jethro had not come to faith in the one living and true God. Most likely, Moses had tried to evangelize to him in the past during the 40 years when they had lived together. Surely, he had shared about the God of Israel and perhaps how God had appeared to him at the burning bush. But Jethro had not come to faith in the God of Israel. How do we know? Because according to verse one, he was still a priest of Midian. In other words, he was the servant of a pagan god. His unbelief could be confirmed in verse 11 when he said, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.” In other words, previously, he did not know; now he knew.
The word "obeisance" is to bow down. This bowing down is a sign of respect, not in terms of worship - Moses would not do that. In those days, it was the culture to show respect to the elderly by bowing down and kissing them, most of the time kissing their hands or their foreheads. Moses respected his father-in-law even though he was a pagan. By this time, Moses was a great man; he was the leader of a great nation which had just defeated the Egyptians and the Amalekites. Yet he humbled himself by going out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed down and kissed him and asked about his well-being.
This is an important lesson for us to learn; we must never disrespect our parents or grandparents just because they are pagans, just because they are unbelievers. If we do that, they will be stumbled from hearing the gospel. Who wants to believe the good news that comes from a God who does not teach his children to respect the elderly?
Dear friend, in evangelism, we must always begin with love and respect. Sometimes in our desire to evangelise to our unbelieving loved ones, in our zeal to present the truth to them, we start by correcting their wrong understanding, and we become so argumentative and then end up quarrelling with them and it takes years to repair those damages. It is very important for us to speak the truth of God's word, never compromise God's word, but you and I must be patient. We must understand their lack of knowledge; we must understand their desperate need for salvation. It is a matter of life and death, and we must do it with love and respect.
That was the true testimony of a man who heard the gospel at his workplace. His heart was convicted, and he embraced Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Immediately after his conversion, he wanted to share the gospel with his unbelieving wife. But he knew his wife would think he was out of his mind, and he knew he was not eloquent in words, and then they would end up arguing with each other. So he thought to himself, I am just going to love her with this new love that I have from God. True enough, the wife noticed the difference almost immediately, and subsequently, he had the opportunity to share with her the full gospel, and her heart was open to believe in Jesus Christ. But our love and respect alone are not enough. Though they may be good virtues, they cannot save. No matter how much we love, how respectful we are, only the gospel saves. So we must share the gospel.
You can imagine how eager Moses was when he brought Jethro into the tent. Verse 8: "And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them." Verse one tells us that Jethro had heard all the things God had done for Moses and the Israelites. He had heard those things from someone else, perhaps from his own daughter Zipporah and his grandsons Gershom and Eleazar. But in verse 8, he got to hear it from the horse's mouth, from Moses himself. Surely Moses would have told him about the 400 years of bondage in Egypt, how the Israelites cried out to God, and God answered their prayers and demonstrated His power in Ten Plagues. He would have shared about the Passover, the blood of the Lamb protecting them from the Angel of Death. The Red Sea, how the Israelites were able to walk across on dry ground while the Egyptians were drowned. The manna from heaven, the water from the rock, and how they lifted up their hands, as in Moses, Aaron, and Hur, and they fought against the Amalekites and won the battle.
Essentially, Moses was sharing his personal testimony, testifying his faith in the Almighty God. The word "told" as in “Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done” is the Hebrew word for proclaiming. In other words, Moses was sharing the good news of Israel's salvation, and their salvation points to one person and one person only: the Lord. All that the Lord had done. Moses did not mention anything about himself or the Israelites. Remember, they had contributed nothing to their salvation; in fact, they were constantly doubting, constantly murmuring and complaining. It was all about God. Salvation was the story about how God reached down and saved them.
Dear friend, this is the way you and I should share our personal testimonies too. We begin with our bondage in sin, how we have sinned against God again and again. Yet, God loves us and sent His only begotten Son to save us through His death, through the shedding of His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ is our Passover. Like the Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt, we were in the bondage of sin. Like the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea, God delivered us from death onto life. Then, as we live our lives in Christ, He continues to provide for all our needs, like the manna from heaven. He continues to protect us from harm and danger, like the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. And He continues to give us victory over our enemies, both physical and spiritual, like the victory over the Amalekites.
Our testimony is not about how we have found our ways to God; it is about how God reached down and drew us unto Himself. So in sharing our testimony, we must always point the people to what God had done for us. All the things that God had done for us. Salvation is about Him. The ultimate purpose of reunion is not just for the sake of seeing our loved ones or embracing them or hearing about their well-being. Those are good things, but rather to see them believing the gospel. That is the ultimate hope of reunion, which is our final point.
III. The Hope of Reunion
Four things reveal to us that Jethro truly believed God. Firstly, Jethro testified of his faith. Look at verse 10: "And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians." Notice he used the covenant name of God, “the LORD”. He believed in the saving works of the covenantal God, the Lord.
Secondly, Jethro testified of God's supremacy. Verse 11: “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.” He acknowledged that God had defeated all the gods of Egypt. Remember, he has spent his entire life worshiping other gods, but here he professed there was only one God who was infinitely supreme. By professing the supremacy of God, he was renouncing his trust and belief in all the other gods.
Isn't it true that to be a Christian is to know who God is, to know His name, that Jesus Christ is the Lord and He is supreme, far above all the other gods? It is to declare that our Lord Jesus is superior in every way, in His love, grace, and mercy; in His forgiveness of our sins; in giving His life to save us; in offering eternal life as a free gift for all who believe; in His power over sins; in His resurrection as He triumphed over death; in His glory because at the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow, whether in heaven, on Earth, or under the Earth. To have faith is to believe that Jesus is the one and only Saviour, the almighty God.
Thirdly, Jethro praised God. Look back to verse 9, “And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.” The word "rejoice" is an overwhelming sense of joy, the kind of joy that penetrates deep into a person's soul. This is the unspeakable joy of salvation that both Peter and Paul spoke about in the New Testament. Remember when you were first saved, how happy you are. That is the kind of overwhelming joy when you believe that you are saved from eternal damnation, when you believe that heaven is your eternal home, when you believe that you are a child of God. That is the unspeakable joy expressed here as Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel.
Fourthly, Jethro worshiped God. Verse 12: “And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.” True faith will lead to worship; it must lead to worship. Here we see Jethro becoming a member of the worshiping community, a member of the body of believers. He worshiped and communed with the believers.
Dear friend, as we approach the New Year, during this festive occasion, we may have the opportunity to be reunited with our loved ones, relatives, and friends whom we have not seen for many years. Reunion is a most joyous experience because of our love for them. But the purpose of reunion is not just having a meal together or spending some time together or receiving and exchanging our presents. It is more than that. We must share our faith with them. If our relatives and friends are unbelievers, we want them to be saved. Therefore, no matter how difficult and inconvenient it is, through our lives, through our personal testimonies, we want to share the gospel - how we are saved by Jesus Christ, and only Jesus saves. And we do it with love and respect and with much prayer. We hope that this reunion, they will come to believe in the only Saviour of the world. And there's no greater joy than to see our unbelieving loved ones coming to believe and then, like Jethro, testifying their faith, professing that Jesus is the supreme God, there's no other God than Jesus Christ. And then, watching them praising God and worshipping Him, there is no greater joy and hope than that. And then when we are separated again, even though we may not see each other in this world physically, but in the sweet by and by, we shall meet again. We shall be reunited in heaven. When we look back, we can say this is a blessed reunion. If you have forgotten whatever I've said, this is the blessedness of reunion; the joy of reunion, the purpose of reunion, and the hope of reunion.
Let us pray, Our Father in Heaven, indeed, as we approach this festive occasion, as we meet our unbelieving loved ones and relatives, if Thou would allow this, as we are reunited with them whom we have not seen for years, it is a most joyous experience because we love them. And if they are unbelievers, we must share with them the gospel. As we have learned the eagerness of Moses as he brought Jethro into the tent and how he testified of his faith in Thee, how Thou has delivered the Israelites, how he shared about Thee and Thee alone, for salvation is truly the story of how Thou has reached down to us and drawn us to Thyself.
So through our lives, through our personal testimonies, we want to share our faith with our unbelieving loved ones. And we want to do it with love and respect, not with anger or arrogance and pride. We want to be patient, and we pray that Thou, who are the one who saves, will save our unbelieving loved ones. And this is the ultimate hope of our reunion because it is not only on this earth that we long to see our loved ones, but in heaven, in the sweet by and by, we want to see them and be reunited together with them for all eternity. This is the blessedness of reunion. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF EXODUSGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassExodus 1:1-7
From Prosperity to PersecutionFrom Prosperity to PersecutionExodus 1:8-14
God’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesGod’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesExodus 1:15-21
The Faith of JochebedThe Faith of JochebedExodus 1:22-2:10
The Faith Of A Beloved MotherThe Faith Of A Beloved MotherExodus 1:22-2:10; Hebrews 11:23
Moses in EgyptMoses in EgyptExodus 2:11-15
Moses in the Desert of MidianMoses in the Desert of MidianExodus 2:16-25
Moses and the Burning BushMoses and the Burning BushExodus 3:1-9
Who Are You?Who Are You?Exodus 3:10-15
Who Am I?Who Am I?Exodus 3:10-15
God’s Message to Israel and EgyptGod’s Message to Israel and EgyptExodus 3:16-22
What If They Still Don’t Believe?What If They Still Don’t Believe?Exodus 4:1-9
Send Someone ElseSend Someone ElseExodus 4:10-17
Moses’ Return to EgyptMoses’ Return to EgyptExodus 4:18-20
When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseWhen Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseExodus 5:10-21
When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesWhen We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesExodus 5:22-6:5
Having to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceHaving to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceExodus 6:6-12
Faithful or UnfaithfulFaithful or UnfaithfulExodus 6:13-27
What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceWhat God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceExodus 6:28-7:7
The First Plague - The River of BloodThe First Plague - The River of BloodExodus 7:14-25
The Second Plague - The FrogsThe Second Plague - The FrogsExodus 8:1-15
The Third PlagueThe Third PlagueExodus 8:16-19
The Fourth PlagueThe Fourth PlagueExodus 8:20-32
The Fifth PlagueThe Fifth PlagueExodus 9:1-7
The Sixth PlagueThe Sixth PlagueExodus 9:8-12
The Seventh PlagueThe Seventh PlagueExodus 9:13-35
The Eighth PlagueThe Eighth PlagueExodus 10:1-20
The Tenth PlagueThe Tenth PlagueExodus 11:1-10
The First PassoverThe First PassoverExodus 12:1-13
The Feast of the Unleavened BreadThe Feast of the Unleavened BreadExodus 12:14-28
Departure From EgyptDeparture From EgyptExodus 12:29-42
This Do In Remembrance of MeThis Do In Remembrance of MeExodus 12:43-51; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
Redemption and ConsecrationRedemption and ConsecrationExodus 13:1-2, 11-16
Precious Lord, Take My HandPrecious Lord, Take My HandExodus 13:17-22
Between the Desert and the Red SeaBetween the Desert and the Red SeaExodus 14:1-14
Crossing the Red SeaCrossing the Red SeaExodus 14:15-31
The Song of PraiseThe Song of PraiseExodus 15:1-21
Will You Obey Or Not?Will You Obey Or Not?Exodus 15:22-27
The Danger of a Complaining SpiritThe Danger of a Complaining SpiritExodus 16:1-3
God’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsGod’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsExodus 16:1-10
The Test of FaithThe Test of FaithExodus 16:11-20
Lessons About the SabbathLessons About the SabbathExodus 16:21-36
Do Not Test GodDo Not Test GodExodus 17:1-17
Lift Up Your HandsLift Up Your HandsExodus 17:8-16
The Blessedness of ReunionThe Blessedness of ReunionExodus 18:1-12
Why Do We Have Leaders?Why Do We Have Leaders?Exodus 18:13-27
I Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsI Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsExodus 19:1-6
Approach God Fearlessly or FearfullyApproach God Fearlessly or FearfullyExodus 19:7-15
God Reached Out And SpokeGod Reached Out And SpokeExodus 19:16-25
Thou Shalt Have No Other GodsThou Shalt Have No Other GodsExodus 20:1-3
Thou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesThou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesExodus 20:4-6
Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameThou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameExodus 20:7
Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayThou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayExodus 20:8-11
Honour Thy Father And Thy MotherHonour Thy Father And Thy MotherExodus 20:12
Thou Shalt Not KillThou Shalt Not KillExodus 20:13
Thou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryThou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryExodus 20:14
Thou Shalt Not StealThou Shalt Not StealExodus 20:15
Thou Shalt Not LieThou Shalt Not LieExodus 20:16
Thou Shalt Not CovetThou Shalt Not CovetExodus 20:17
The Response To The Ten CommandmentsThe Response To The Ten CommandmentsExodus 20:18-21
How God Wants Us To Worship HimHow God Wants Us To Worship HimExodus 20:22-26
Why Would God Allow Slavery?Why Would God Allow Slavery?Exodus 21:1-11
The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeExodus 21:12-17
The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeExodus 21:18-36
The Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsThe Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsExodus 22:1-15
The Character Of GodThe Character Of GodExodus 22:16-20
Reaching Out To The Down-And-OutReaching Out To The Down-And-OutExodus 22:21-24
The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodThe Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodExodus 22:25-31
Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthTruth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthExodus 23:1-9
Remember Who God IsRemember Who God IsExodus 23:10-19
What Must We Do To Have VictoryWhat Must We Do To Have VictoryExodus 23:20-33
How We Ought To Worship GodHow We Ought To Worship GodExodus 24:1-4, 7
On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?Exodus 24:4-8
Responding To God’s InvitationResponding To God’s InvitationExodus 24:9-18
The Right Attitude Of GivingThe Right Attitude Of GivingExodus 25:1-8
There I Will Meet YouThere I Will Meet YouExodus 25:9-22
Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Exodus 25:23-30
Let Your Light So Shine Before MenLet Your Light So Shine Before MenExodus 25:31-40
The Veil That SeparatesThe Veil That SeparatesExodus 26:1-37
A Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandA Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandExodus 27:1-19
Who Can Represent Us Before God?Who Can Represent Us Before God?Exodus 27:20-28:14
How Can We Know God’s Will?How Can We Know God’s Will?Exodus 28:15-30
Is Our Worship Attire Really Important?Is Our Worship Attire Really Important?Exodus 28:31-43
The Ordination Of PriestsThe Ordination Of PriestsExodus 29:1-21
The Provision For PriestsThe Provision For PriestsExodus 29:22-29
Remind Us For We Always ForgetRemind Us For We Always ForgetExodus 29:36-46
Sweet Hour Of PrayerSweet Hour Of PrayerExodus 30:1-10
The Danger Of The Number GameThe Danger Of The Number GameExodus 30:11-16
The Importance Of SanctificationThe Importance Of SanctificationExodus 30:17-21
The Anointing Of OilThe Anointing Of OilExodus 30:22-38
No Such Thing As An Unimportant Calling Or GiftNo Such Thing As An Unimportant Calling Or GiftExodus 31:1-11
The Most Ignored CommandmentThe Most Ignored CommandmentExodus 31:12-18
We Forget So QuicklyWe Forget So QuicklyExodus 32:1-6
Guilty As ChargedGuilty As ChargedExodus 32:7-14
Who Is To Be Blamed?Who Is To Be Blamed?Exodus 32:15-24
Who Is On The Lord’s Side?Who Is On The Lord’s Side?Exodus 32:25-29
I Will Die For You If I CanI Will Die For You If I CanExodus 32:30-35
I Will Not Go With YouI Will Not Go With YouExodus 33:1-11
If Thy Presence Go Not With Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceIf Thy Presence Go Not With Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceExodus 33:12-23
If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceIf Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceExodus 33:12-23
I Will Show You Who I AmI Will Show You Who I AmExodus 34:1-7
What It Means To Be In A Covenant Relationship With GodWhat It Means To Be In A Covenant Relationship With GodExodus 34:8-17
