Moses and Jethro

A historical story that shows you cannot do it alone... You need God, family, and friends.

Story taken from Exodus and Acts 7

Moses knew that he had been called of God to deliver his people from their bondage in Egypt. He had been raised miraculously in the Pharaoh’s palace by his daughter that had found Moses in a small ark made of bulrushes in the Nile River. Moses was placed there by his mother to save his life.  He was a Prince of Egypt and had learned that he was a Hebrew, and not an Egyptian. Moses had fought wars as a general in Pharaoh’s army and had learned all the skills of Egyptian culture.

(See my blogs: The Exodus: Real History Oct 2011, Into the Wilderness Nov 2011, and Into Sinai and God’s Total Presence Nov 2011.)

Now he was on the run for his life because he had killed an Egyptian guard who was beating on a Hebrew slave. He had hurriedly buried the body, but it was found out what Moses had done and Pharaoh’s guards were after him.

So he headed East above the gulf of Aqaba, through the harsh desert and down into Midian which is in modern Northwest Saudi Arabia.

Moses was tired and had traveled for nearly 3 weeks. He stopped in a village which today is called Al Bad and sat down by the well there.  

The Priest of Midian, known by the title Reuel, had 7 daughters that tended to his flocks of sheep and goats. When they came to get water from the well for their flocks the other men shepherds drove them away.

Moses would not stand for that, as a trained warrior, he fought the men off and helped the women to water their flocks.

When the women came home to their father, he asked, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” They replied, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.” He said unto his daughters, “And where is he?  Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread with us.”

So Moses went and stayed for supper and accepted Jethro’s hospitality, who introduced himself and was very grateful for what Moses had done for his daughters.

Jethro is a descendant of Abraham from Ketura who Abraham married after Sarah died, they had 6 sons of whom one was Midian. Even though the Bible does not give the lineage of Jethro, he is the Priest of Midian. The Druze religion claims that Jethro is a prophet and founder. However, the Druze religion was not really established until around 1000 AD, and was influenced by Islam. Jethro lived about 1400 BC, and he was no doubt influenced by his ancestor, Abraham to know of Jehovah. After the Exodus, Jethro was very much submitted to the God of Abraham and greatly impressed by all of the miracles Jehovah had performed in deliverance of Israel with Moses as their leader.

Ancient Midian and modern Al Bad

Moses at the well with Zipporah.

Moses was 40 years old when he fled from Egypt and went to Midian. Jethro took Moses in and was happy to give him his daughter Zipporah for his wife.

Jethro was glad to get a son-in-law, and Moses lived in Midian for 40 years and cared for Jethro’s flocks.

As mentioned, and by his actions, Moses knew he was called of God to deliver his people. But, he operated on his own resources and had to flee for his life. Now he is living 40 years in the very area that God will bring Israel by Moses’ leadership and the strong hand of God. He learns the lay of the land, where waterholes are, grazing areas, trails, etc. Moses is learning that you can't do it by yourself.

During this time, Zipporah had two sons born to Moses. The first is Gershom which means stranger, for Moses was a stranger in a strange land. 

The second is Eliezer which means God is my help, for Moses was learning to trust in the LORD and was delivered from Pharaoh’s sword.

Moses’ family in Egypt had been separate from him most of his life. His royal mother who raised him in the palace could not save him from her father, the Pharaoh, and so he now finds himself here with a wife that loves him and a father-in-law who loves him as well. He has 2 sons and 6 sister-in-laws, life is good. He is about to find out that God still has big plans for him.  

This could have been Moses' home in Midian.

Ex 2:23 ¶  And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

24  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25  And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Jehovah in the Burning Bush

One day while grazing the flock, Moses went Northeast about 22 miles near the Mountain of God called Horeb or Mount Sinai. There he saw a strange sight up the mountain; a tree was burning but no smoke, and it did not seem to be consumed. So he decided to climb up to investigate further.

The actual Mt. Sinai is Jabel Al Laws in Saudi Arabia. Here is a picture of one of the sides of the mountain. (see Wyatt Archaeological Research- discovered by Ron Wyatt in the 1970's)

Here is a close up of the top of the mountain. You can see an ancient almond tree there. Could this be the burning bush that Moses saw?

Ex 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

The LORD spoke to Moses and told him that He had heard the cry of Israel in Egypt, and was going to deliver them out of bondage in Egypt to a land of milk and honey, the Promised Land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He wanted Moses to go to lead His people out and said that He would be with him.

Moses was 80 years old now and questioned who was he that God would send him to Egypt. God wanted him to go gather the elders of Israel and tell them that God had heard their cry and would deliver them. God said that he would cause plagues on Egypt and that Pharaoh would let them go and they would not leave empty. Moses asked what was God’s name, for he did not believe that Israel would believe him. God answered “I AM that I AM tell the I AM has sent you.”

Moses protested more and God showed him signs by making his staff a serpent then back to a rod, and his hand leprous and then normal. Then Moses said that he was slow of speech and could not talk well. God said that He was the one who made the mouth and was getting angry with Moses. God said his brother Aaron spoke well and that he would go with him to speak for Moses, but Moses would be God’s representative.

Ex 4:18 ¶  And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.

You can see the love and respect that Jethro had for Moses. No doubt, he had become dependent on Moses’ help, but had not tried to restrain him in any way.

19  And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

20  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

21  And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

23  And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

24 ¶  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

25  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26  So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

This son had to be Eliezer, the 2nd born. Moses probably had circumcised Gershom, his 1st born several years prior. This must have abhorred Zipporah because of her statement when she had to circumcise Eliezer to save Moses' life. She is the one who stopped Moses from circumcising Eliezer, but now realized the absolute importance of obedience as God wrestled with Moses.

God had become angry with Moses when he was protesting going to Egypt. Now when Moses had not shown his obedience by circumcising Eliezer, God was not going to let him be the leader of Israel if he was not dedicated and obedient.

Several hundred years before when Jacob was bringing his family back to Canaan God met him and wrestled with Jacob all night and changed his name to Israel after dislocating his hip, Gn 32.

Remember this; when God appears as a man, it is always Jesus. These are two examples of a          pre-incarnate Jesus, there are others.

Deliverance of Israel

God spoke to Aaron, Moses’ brother, and told him to go meet Moses at Mt. Horeb. Moses told him what God had said and showed him the signs with the rod turning into a serpent and his hand turning leprous and back to normal. Aaron believed and accepted his brother as the leader of Israel. They went and gathered the elders of Israel and they were glad to accept Moses as God’s choice as leader when he and Aaron presented the signs to them. 

They all bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD.

Moses’ natural family were Levites. They were destined to be the ones who cared for the Temple and were the Priests of Jehovah. Moses and his siblings were the starting of God’s Theocracy: Moses was the leading Prophet, Aaron the High Priest, and Miriam a Prophetess.  Moses loved his family and was glad to be with them again. With God and his family together with him, his confidence was building. The Bible describes him as the meekest man on earth, Nu 12:3, but he was humble, and not weak.

Moses and Aaron went before the Pharaoh and asked to take Israel into the wilderness for 3 days to worship Jehovah, their God. As God had forewarned Moses, Pharaoh did not recognize God and was hard hearted and would not let the people go. He even increased their burdens and made them gather their own straw to make bricks. So Moses, by God’s hand, delivered the 10 plagues upon Egypt.  

The final plague was the death of every first born in Egypt; human and animal, as God had told Moses. However, those who had the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their door posts and lintel, were passed over by the angel of death. The blood is a type or symbol of the future blood of the Messiah of God who was our Lord Jesus the Christ. The Israelites were protected in the land of Goshen where the Nile Delta is located. They had been there since the days of Joseph. This event is celebrated annually in the spring as Passover.

The blood on the lintel and door posts represents the cross of the Lord Jesus, where He became the final sacrificial lamb of God and took the sins of the world on Himself, buying by His blood and death our eternal Salvation.

After Pharaoh’s firstborn son died, he finally let the people go. As God had said they did not leave empty, but took much of the wealth of Egypt with them; payment for many years of slavery. There were about 2.5 million people along with their flocks that departed Egypt.

All were healed with none feeble for their trip, another miracle of Passover.

God lead the people with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day. The fire would also give them warmth from the cool desert nights. The pillar of smoke would give them shade from the desert sun.

Zipporah Gershom Eliezer back to Midian 

The Bible is not clear here, but somewhere in this period, Zipporah and the boys went back to Midian with Jethro her father. Some Jewish writings hint that she was not used to royalty as was now surrounding her husband Moses, or that there may have been a problem with Moses’ office of Prophet that may have required celibacy. Regardless she was escorted safely home. Zipporah is not mentioned during the plagues or events that shortly follow.

There was also the fact of Moses' first wife. In Nu 12 we read: 
1 ¶  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 ¶  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 ¶  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11  And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12  Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13  And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
14  And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
15  And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

The 1st verse is about the Ethiopian wife. I included the rest of the chapter to show God's feelings about Moses.

According to Jewish historian, Josephus 10 when Moses was an Egyptian Prince and General of the Pharaoh’s army there was a campaign in Ethiopia (Cush) which Moses led. They took the land and the Ethiopian king gave Moses his daughter as right of conquest. Her name was Tharbis.

Stephen said in Acts 7:22 that Moses was learned in all wisdom of Egypt and mighty in words and deeds.  

In the Egyptian historian Herodotus 2:110 concerning Sesostris the Pharaoh of the 12 Dyanasty, he was the 1^st to rule Ethiopia. He ruled it because of Moses' conquest. (That would make Moses’ adopted grandfather Osirtasin I.)  

The Red Sea Crossing

There are many traditions about where the Exodus route was, but only one is correct, and only one has archaeological evidence as was discovered by Ron Wyatt.

The crossing of the Red Sea was from the beach that is now at the town of Nuweiba on the West coast of the Gulf of Aqaba across into Saudi Arabia. Nuweiba is Arabic shortened for where Moses parted the waters.

Here is the satellite view from Google Earth.

Pharaoh changed his mind and took his army to kill the Israelites who now were camped on the beach of what is now Nuweiba. The people chided against Moses, but he told them to:

Ex 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

The fire pillar of God moved to the mouth of the wadi there and separated Israel from the Egyptian army. Moses then raised his staff over the water and the sea separated. Israel crossed to the other side during the night with a wall of water on either side. The Egyptians then tried to follow but the water collapsed and drowned them.

Here is part of the song Israel sang about it.

Ex 15:1 ¶  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

4  Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

All of Israel was thankful and praising God. Miriam took her tambourine and sang a prophecy of the event as well.

Ex 15: 20  And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Moses had Joshua and the young men to gather the weapons that were on the bodies of the Egyptians that washed up on shore. Then they went deeper into the wilderness of Shur. Where they found water, but it was bitter and they could not drink it. God then showed Moses a certain tree, and when he threw it into the waters they became sweet. This is a type or symbol of the cross of Jesus.

God told Israel through Moses and Aaron while there:

Ex 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

From there they went down to Elim where there were 12 wells of water and lots of palm trees. This is near the East coast of the gulf of Aqaba part of the Red Sea.

From there they went into the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim. The people were nearly out of food, and were complaining to Moses that they should have stayed in Egypt, where they had food. 

God gave them "bread from Heaven" here and when they saw it they said, "what is this?", which in Hebrew is manna.  So, this is the name that stuck. It was miracle food that was on the ground and gathered about a half gallon per person or what a person could eat. Raw it tasted like honey wafer, but according to tradition it could be prepared to taste like many foods. Jesus said he was the bread from Heaven and that we must eat Him, Jn 6,  which is our Communion bread; along with the wine which is His blood.The manna had to be eaten every day, for if you tried to keep in till the next day it would spoil. Only on Friday could you gather double and it would miraculously last through the Sabbath Day of rest. 

Moses had his hands full for these people were hard headed and God called them stiff necked. God told them there would be no manna on Saturday the Sabbath, but they went out and looked anyway. They complained all the time and Moses was becoming overwhelmed. He was their leader and they came before him for everything. Even when God sent them manna, they complained they wanted meat. So God sent them quail in great numbers, “till it came out their noses.”

While camped in Rephidim they ran out of water and chided against the LORD and Moses. God told Moses to go the Rock in Horeb and take his rod and smite the rock and water would come out for God would stand before the Rock.

This was a symbol of Jesus the water of life and Him smitten for the sins of the world. 
All the people and their livestock had water to drink as the rock split and formed a lake there in Rephidim.  

Here is an altar still there under the Rock of Horeb.

While there, they were attacked by Amalek. Moses sent Joshua out to fight against Amalek with the young men. Joshua and Caleb became close friends with Moses.

The next day Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill and Moses would hold his rod up over his head. While doing this, Joshua would be winning, but if the rod came down, Joshua would be loosing. When Moses’ arms got tired, Aaron and Hur would hold up his arms and finally Amalek was defeated and left.

God told Moses to write it in a book, because He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation until he was eliminated. He attacked Israel when they were weak and really not trained or well armed. 

Jethro visits Moses

1 ¶  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;

2  Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,

3  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:

4  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:

5  And 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:

6  And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

7 ¶  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.

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.

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.

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.

11  Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

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.

13 ¶  And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

14  And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?

15  And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

16  When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

17  And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

18  Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

19  Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

20  And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21  Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22  And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

23  If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

24  So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

25  And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26  And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

27  And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

So we see that Moses loved and respected his father-in-law. He took his advice and put it into action. Also that Jethro sacrificed to Jehovah and worshiped Him. He called Him the God of all gods.

Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai, directly from God. The people of Israel continually rebelled against God, so that whole generation (except Joshua and Caleb) perished because God had them stay in the wilderness for 40 years. However, the next generation made it to the Promised Land.

So to review,So to review, Moses had some contact with his biological family while a child, because Miriam had convinced the Pharaoh’s daughter that she needed a wet nurse, and Miriam brought her mother Jochebed to the palace to nurse Moses.
 Moses knew that he was called of God to deliver Israel, but he tried to do it by himself. 40 years as a shepherd humbled him. So He had lost his royal family, but got a new family with Jethro, Zipporah, Gershom, Eliezer, plus 6 sister-in-laws

When he returned to Egypt, He was united with his siblings from his birth and with God with him, started a Theocracy for Israel along with his siblings.  His parents Amram and Jochebed had passed by this time. He was able to re-unite with Tharbis, his wife from Ethiopia. The Bible is not clear if his wives or children stayed with him the 40 years in the wilderness. The point made here is that with God, family, friends you can accomplish great things.

Aaron and Miriam both died in the wilderness journey. Moses lived to be 120 years old and got to see the Promised Land. Before Moses died, he anointed Joshua to take his place as leader. Joshua took Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones that lived from that generation through the 40 years in the wilderness. 

Joshua is a type of the Messiah, and his name is the same in Hebrew as Jesus which is Greek.

Jesus by his death and resurrection brought us into the New Covenant of Grace. The Holy Spirit revealed to us in Deu 18:15 that there would arise another Prophet greater than Moses. This was the Lord Jesus Christ, our only Salvation.

Bible quotes AKJV and pictures from the Inet.


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