The Sovereign Guidance of God

Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:3-1, 18:1-12

Key Verse: ..Jethro , his father-in-law, the priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1)

Meditation: God providentially guides Moses even as he runs from God. Of all the different directions his unrehearsed trip might have taken, Moses suddenly finds himself safe in the land of Midian. Having just experienced disappointing rejection by his own people and the near death  pursuit by Pharaoh, he must have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of strangers.

Jethro seemed so impressed with Moses that he offered him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. Two sons were born. The first, Gershom, means,"alien in a foreign land."  The original language also seems to suggest "sojourner", one who has no plans to settle permanently. Moses was teaching his family that their future would not be in Midian. Apparently he was holding in his heart the dream of the Promised Land. His second son was named Eliezer meaning "God is my help". His relationship to God remained active and now had become more personalized. He was not just the God of Moses' ancestors, but the god who is helping him personally.

Not only were Moses social and emotional needs met through his new family, but also his religious needs.  Jethro was also the priest in Midian and traces his ancestry back to Keturah, Abraham's slave mistress. It appears Jethro was a monotheist, a believer in the God of Israel. After  the exodus he visited Moses at Mt. Sinai and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving for their save deliverance from Egypt. 

Thought for the Day:  God know what we need and may be ordering our steps even when we are least aware of His workings.

The Miracles of Exodus by Colin J. Humphreys actually explains where Midian was and how Moses got there. He dictates an entire chapter to the whole location of Midian.  He  cites older texts based on actual journeys of others and includes Muslim texts as well as the Jewish and the Greek translations of the Old Testament. 

 I had believed as my uncle had that Moses somehow found Midian. And I assumed it was somewhere on the path between heaven(Canaan) and hell(Egypt). I was wrong. 

It is actually a "province" in Saudi Arabia. Moses got there by following one of three trade routes through the desert. 3000 years ago they were producing wonderful pottery.

This location would have been about a two week walk along a well traveled path. So there would have been oasis and wells for water.

Humpreys dedicates several pages on who Jethro was and what his position was in the Midianite culture.He was not a priest of the God of the Israeli people, as my uncle had assumed. He was a priest of the moon-god.
 I will give more information next time about this ancient moon god.