Suffer Now, Reign Tomorrow: Exodus 18:1-27

Exodus 18:1‑27  •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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The seventeenth chapter closed with the promise of the cutting off of Amalek. Now the eighteenth chapter opens with a visit from Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law. He had heard about God’s ways with Israel, and of how God had delivered them out of Egypt, so he came to see them, bringing Zipporah, Moses’s wife, along with him. Jethro and Zipporah were Gentiles and provide a beautiful picture of Israel’s blessing in a coming day. Zipporah had been sent away during the time of judgment upon Egypt and of Israel’s deliverance out of it. Similarly Christ will take His Gentile bride — the Church — to heaven before the awful tribulation comes upon the world. Then, after the tribulation, Christ will come back with His bride to set up the kingdom. The Gentile nations which believe will, like Jethro, come up to see the glory of the Lord at Jerusalem and will rejoice before Him. They will then offer their sacrifices and keep the feast as Jethro did, while they hear about all the wondrous ways of God with His people Israel (Zechariah 14:1616And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16)).
True Justice
Jethro also saw Moses sitting to judge the people, and so there will be a display before all of righteous judgment on the earth in that day (Isaiah 11:1-9; 32:11And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:1‑9)
1Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (Isaiah 32:1)). Sometimes the wrongdoer is let go, and the innocent have to suffer now, but when the Lord Jesus reigns He will not make any mistakes — His government will be perfect. We Christians should remember that we cannot expect to see justice in this un- righteous world. They have rejected the only “Just One” — in fact they murdered Him — and now we can expect to suffer if we walk in His ways. It is part of our heritage while our Lord is rejected. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil. 1:2929For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; (Philippians 1:29)). However, we know that when He reigns in righteousness, as He will before very long, then we shall reign with Him.
Avoiding Suffering
Jethro made some suggestions to Moses about how to govern the people, and Moses immediately took his advice without inquiring of the Lord. It did seem like a good idea to appoint others to help him, but he should have asked the Lord about it. Sometimes we may become weary in well doing and may try to make things easier for ourselves. Let us be assured that if God has given us a work to do for Him, His grace will sustain us in it. Why should Moses accept the advice of his father-in-law, who was apparently a “natural man” in every way? It is always dangerous to take either help or advice about the Lord’s service from the unsaved. Notice here how Jethro saw all the wonders that the Lord had wrought and then turned and went back to his own land. He did not choose to accompany the people of God through the hardships of the wilderness, but seemed to think only of the easiest path for himself and for Moses. Moses, on the other hand, chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God” (Heb. 11:2525Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; (Hebrews 11:25)). May we as young Christians be content to suffer with Him now, for we shall reign with Him later (2 Timothy 2:1212If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: (2 Timothy 2:12)).
Further Meditation
1. Why was Jethro’s advice bad for Moses?
2. There are many scriptures that refer to Christ suffering first and reigning later. There are many more that show the same pattern for a Christian. Which ones can you find?
3. Many believers in Christ have suffered through the ages. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by J. Foxe presents many who died in faith and provides motivating history.