Ex. 18:1-121When 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; 2Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: 4And 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: 5And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: 6And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. 7And 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. 8And 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. 9And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10And 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. 11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. 12And 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. (Exodus 18:1‑12)
NOW WE have a family scene out in the desert. It is God Himself 1010 has formed the family, and where the Lord Jesus is owned as saviour and Lord in the home, what happy times are enjoyed there. Today Satan is hard at work seeking Ito undermine and break up the family circle, for he knows that when family life has disappeared from the home, when there are no regular gatherings for prayer and reading the Word of God, when the home is broken, it will lead to the ruin of society and the downfall of the nation. As the days grow darker and much of what God has instituted for man’s blessing is disappearing from our generation, the Christian can take comfort in knowing that God is gathering His family out from the nations of this doomed world. Soon He shall call His redeemed children away from earth to heaven, to dwell with Christ in the Father’s house forever.
Perhaps you remember that Moses and his wife, Zipporah, had a little son born to them while he was a stranger in the land of Midian. He called him Gershom, “for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land.” Then God gave them another little son, and they called him Eliezer; “for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” The names of these two boys are significant. Gershom tells of Israel’s strangership now while they are away from their own land, but Eliezer speaks of God’s deliverance in power from the world and all their enemies in a coming day.
But Moses had sent the little boys and their mother back to her father, Jethro, in Midian, while the terrible judgments were falling on the land of Egypt, and here in Zipporah, the Gentile wife of Moses, we have a picture of the Church who will be removed from earth to heaven dung the time when the awful judgments of God will be falling upon this world in the great tribulation. Then after the tribulation, the Church will return with Christ when He comes back to reign. Jethro had heard of all that God had done for Moses, and how he had brought his people out of Egypt, “and Jethro... came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God.”
“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.... And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel... 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.... Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly He was above them.”
Here we have a beautiful picture of the future millennial kingdom and the glorious reign of Christ. Moses is a type of Christ as King, and, as mentioned, Zipporah, the Church, His bride. Next, we have the tribes of Israel, all in their proper place and order. Then we have the Gentile as seen by Jethro’s blessing and confessing Jehovah’s name, for when Jethro heard the wonderful works of God concerning the Israelites, he praised God and rejoiced greatly. The Gentiles in that day will rejoice for all the goodness the Lord will have done to Israel in delivering them from the hands of all their enemies from first to last. Like Jethro, they will come up to see the glory of the Lord at Jerusalem and will rejoice before Him. (2 Chron. 9:1-121And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 2And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. 3And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 4And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. 5And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: 6Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. 7Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. 8Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. 9And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon. 10And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the Lord, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. 12And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants. (2 Chronicles 9:1‑12); Rev. 21:2424And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:24).)
“And Jethro... 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.” It is a wonderful picture of the joy and gladness and blessing that shall flow out when Christ shall be King over the earth. The knowledge of these things, dear young Christian, should make us, who are the Lord’s, to rejoice now in thoughts of our saviour’s exaltation and glorious reign, He will set all things right in this, world then. Now righteousness suffers, but in that day righteousness shall reign.
ML-12/07/1969