ARAB PRIEST REJOICES OVER GOD’S MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE OF HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE!!
And Jethro rejoicedH2302 over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from the hand of the Egyptians. Jethro declared, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
Exodus 18:9-11 (BSB)
Jethro [Jĕth’rō]—pre-eminence or excellence. The father-in-law of Moses, and an Arab sheik and priest of Midian (Exod. 3:1, 4:18; 18:1-12). Called Reuel or Raguel meaning “friend of God” in Exodus 2:18 and Numbers 10:29, and Jether in Exodus 4:18.
Lockyer’s All the Men of the Bible
It is of particular interest that this priest was obviously a priest to Yahweh. In a sacrifice of thanksgiving, at which Aaron was present, Jethro performed the sacrifice and Aaron and the other elders came and ate bread and had fellowship with him (Ex. 18:12).
New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters
The first person mentioned as having “rejoiced over all the good things the Lord has done for Israel” was not even a Jew. He was an Arab sheik and priest from Midian who worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jethro, apparently a Gentile, already believed in the one true God, but his belief was solidified and amplified when he heard all that Yahweh had done for His chosen people, the Israelites, in bringing them safely out of Egypt and miraculously destroying Pharoah’s army. He had a joyous response to God’s goodness and faithfulness to Moses and Israel. Later, this same Jethro gave Moses wise advice concerning the governing of so many people. The Lord used Moses’s father-in-law to help Moses learn to delegate the judging of disputes among the tens of thousands of people as they traveled to the Holy Land.
What good thing has the Lord done for you? Have you rejoiced over it? On this side of Calvary, we have even more reason to rejoice. God sent His Son, Jesus, to live among men that we might understand the Father and then to die in our place on the cross. Even if you cannot think of an immediate “good thing” God has done for you, a lifetime could be spent rejoicing over being saved from sin in order to gain a place in paradise. Perhaps if we took time to recognize all the good things God has done for us, great and small, we would be able to rejoice more often.
Father, help us to recognize Your mighty hand at work on our behalf. Let us rejoice over triumphs, even small ones, that You allow us to experience. Let us rejoice that You go before us in troubles and already have the answer to our problems just as You knew before Moses approached the Red Sea that You were going to part it for Your people to walk across on dry land.