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. Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh"). Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her," Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people." And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
Exodus 18:1-12
Reference has already been made to 1-5 in the Notes on 4:18-31. It is made clear here that Moses had sent back his wife and family to Jethro. This circumstance raises in a very real form the question of 'help meets' really being a help, rather than a hindrance, when the service of the Lord is concerned. It was suggested in these earlier readings that part at least of the explanation for the delay in Moses' departure for Egypt was the fact that his wife did not share his enthusiasm and dedication for the service of the Lord. It may be asked whether such a partner is either a 'help' or 'meet' (suitable) for a man of God. Moses' meeting with Jethro here is instructive from several points of view. On the one hand, here is a man who does not belong to the chosen people, and is not within the covenant (although in fact he shared a common descent with Moses from Abraham, through Keturah, Abraham's second wife, Genesis 25:1, 2), yet as soon as he heard of the Lord's deliverance of His people from Egypt, he made instant response and 'rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel' (9), and acknowledged the Lord to be the true God (11). He was obviously a kindred spirit, spiritually at one with Moses, and his glad-hearted reaction to Moses' news typifies the response that many honourable and devout people, who have never heard the real gospel of grace, make when it first breaks upon their consciousness. To them it is like cold water to a thirsty soul. We may note something else, however. It was Moses' recounting of God's victory that brought the conviction to Jethro's heart that the Lord was God. This is the germ of New Testament proclamation - the telling forth of the mighty acts of God, and this bears its own self-authenticating witness in the hearts of those who hear. And, on any estimate, Moses had something to tell!