We see an 80-year-old Moses asking his Father-In-Law for permission to leave for Egypt. Jethro was a priest who had taken Moses in and brought him into his family when Moses married Zipporah. The humility and submission of Moses is a far cry from the 40 years earlier when he was a prince and a member of the royal family of Egypt. Moses has now been directly called by God and he remains humble and Jethro.

“Even the call of God did not erase the need for human courtesy and respect for one’s father-in-law.” (Kaiser)

Moses didn’t tell his father-in-law the story behind his desire to return to Egypt. God will demonstrate His Word through fulfilling it. It is far more important to see the fruit of God’s guidance in your life than to hear you explain all you believe God said to you.

It seems that Moses’ wife and two children stayed with Jethro while he went away. We read later in Exodus 18 that Jethro brings them to Moses after leaving Egypt. From all we can tell in the Bible, Jethro was a godly man of integrity who played a small part in God’s great story of deliverance for the Israelites. He is a good role model for in-laws. He offered wise counsel, stepped in to help when needed, and then got out of the way!

Categories: Exodus

Tags: bible, Exodus, god, jethro, moses