Exodus 3:1-22 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,
On the heels of Moses failure, he found himself as a shepherd in Midian, where he was married to a woman whose father was the priest. I submit to you that when God is readying you for a COMEBACK you will find yourself in places you had not intended to be surrounded by people you had not previously known or considered could help. Both will be preparation for your COMEBACK.
For Moses, the place of his preparation was a PASTURE.
Remember, God was preparing Moses to become a leader of the Israelite nation. How did God prepare him for that assignment by placing him in a pasture with sheep? Well, he was going to have some good alone time to think wasn’t he? Sometimes one of the best things we can do on the heels of failure is to get alone with our thoughts to think about our contribution to the setbacks we suffer. Time alone with his thoughts would be good for Moses.
Now remember, Moses had grown up in the palace. What could he know about the pasture life? I hardly doubt that sheep herding 101 was part of his educational curriculum. He would have to learn about how to find places to water a flock in the desert, how to feed and protect sheep in a vulnerable pastureland. In addition, Moses would have to deal with the frustration that comes from having sheep want to wander off and do their own thing.
Those of you who know the rest of the story know that once Moses was able to secure the freedom of the Hebrews, the Israelite nation, he would lead them for another 40 years through some wilderness wanderings. He would have to figure out food and water for them. He would have to know about the hazards that come with living in harsh and vulnerable conditions. He would basically be “herding“ a couple million people for the last forty years of his life. I can see how shepherding would be good preparation.
Listen, when you find yourself in an unwanted place don’t assume it is a wasteland or a place without a purpose. It may be the very training ground for your next assignment, and if you have suffered a personal failure, it may be the perfect place for God to ready you for your COMEBACK.
What is your place of preparation? Is it in a job that you don’t particularly like, but where you are learning some skills that will actually become the catalyst for you to get the next position? Is it in the classroom where you are studying something that seems to have no bearing on your future endeavors, but it is teaching you how to systematically study or is it refining your speaking or writing skills to make you the standout in the upcoming interview?
If you stay open to Gods leading, you can be assured that wherever He has you, wherever He leads you, you are on your way to a COMEBACK or a step up!
Back to verse 1 of Exodus chapter 3.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.
Not only was God at work in the place of the pasture to prepare Moses, but He was also at work through the People that He placed in his life, namely his father-in-law, the priest! It wasn’t random that Moses wound up marrying the daughter of a priest. For forty years he would be in and around someone who was obviously devoutly religious. If his role in Midian was to be the priest, there would be sacrifices made and worship and teaching going on.
Scholars don’t agree on whether Jethro worshiped the one, true Living God when Moses met him, but it is likely. Jethro had two names. His other name, Reuel, which was used in Exodus 2 and 18, means “Friend of God,” and the fact that the Bible calls him by such is a good indicator to me that He did worship the God of Moses. Whether he did when they met or not, there is solid evidence he did after they met.
Exodus 18 talks about an exchange Moses and Jethro had after the Israelites were freed. Listen to the encounter beginning with verse 7 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them. 9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. Jethro was a priest who was all in for worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses.
We know Jethro was a man of good judgment. He gave Moses advice on how to govern the people once Moses took the helm. He suggested a way for Moses to organize the people and told Moses to appoint capable men to become judges over groups of people in order to lighten Moses’s load and Exodus 18:24 says, Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
What does that tell you? It tells me that Moses respected his father-in-law, believed he was wise and that he could trust his counsel. Trust like that doesn’t happen overnight. Moses had grown to trust his father-in-law because during that forty-year period, his father-in-law had proven to be wise and had proven to be someone Moses could count on. Exodus 18 tells us that after Jethro gave his advice to Moses about how to lead the people, Jethro went back home to Midian. He supported Moses when Moses needed help and then he got out of the way and let Moses lead.
Why do I share all of that about Jethro? I share it because Jethro undoubtedly played a strategic role in Moses’ COMEBACK. How good was it of God to lead Moses to marry into a godly family? What did Moses learn about commitment to God and worship from his father-in-law? How strategic was it that God paired Moses with a father-in-law who made good decisions and knew when to step in and mentor Moses and when to let Moses lead?
They obviously had a healthy relationship, one that enabled Moses to learn to take some orders, to listen to some feedback, something he hadn’t done when he failed to lead appropriately when he had witnessed the injustice going on back home in Egypt. I am definitely not reaching when I say that the relationship Moses had with Jethro was a good one. It was a relationship that benefited and further prepared Moses to lead.
When you have a setback, be on the lookout for the people God wants to use to equip you for the next phase of your life. There are people you need to listen to and learn from. There are people who have good and godly advice that you would do well to follow. There are people whose lives you can study, whose habits you can take note of, and who you can learn from simply because of their example.
I believe Moses was led to Jethro’s house because Moses needed a mentor. Quite frankly, we all do. We can learn from the mistakes, the life experiences and the wisdom of others if we are willing to be taught. Proverbs 15:32 says that we gain understanding when we are willing to learn from others.
A teachable spirit is a stepping stone to a COMEBACK. What would have happened to Moses if he had not recognized the God-thing that his relationship with Jethro was? What if he dismissed Jethro’s advice and distanced himself from him? If Moses was going to be a leader, he would first have to learn how to follow, how to slow down and not rely on his impulses, but how to seek the wisdom of others.
Consider that your current pasture is a God-appointed placed of preparation for your COMEBACK.
Consider the people God may want to use to equip and mentor you for what is ahead.
Maybe God is using both to ready you for the COMEBACK ahead!
