Moses Leading His Flock in the Midian DesertBible World
2:18Exodus 2:18
And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
Reuel was the father of the women Moses had helped at the watering place. His words record his surprise at their unusually early return that day from watering their father's flock after Moses helped them. His daughters regularly tended and watered their father's flock. Reuel is the same person as Jethro.
He was a worshiper of God, a God-fearing priest and prince of Midian, honored by those around him for wise judgment. The verse belongs to the account of Moses' flight from Egypt and his God-guided arrival in Midian. Moses was received into Reuel's household, married one of his daughters, and remained in Midian forty years as keeper of his father-in-law's flocks. Reuel's influence on Moses was great.
Moses' change from a mighty statesman and leader of armies in Egypt to a keeper of Jethro's flocks came because he had not yet learned the lessons essential for true greatness. In that humble, lowly station of work his sympathies were drawn out to the sheep and lambs, and he learned to guard these creatures with the tenderest care toward every living thing, recognizing that God cares for all He has made and that sheep show mistreatment by their attitude though they cannot complain aloud. By learning what it means to be a true shepherd of sheep, Moses learned to be a tender shepherd for Israel, a training still needed by anyone with a harsh, overbearing spirit.
Reuel was the father of the women Moses had helped at the watering place. His words record his surprise at their unusually early return that day from watering their father's flock after Moses helped them. His daughters regularly tended and watered their father's flock. Reuel is the same person as Jethro.
He was a worshiper of God, a God-fearing priest and prince of Midian, honored by those around him for wise judgment. The verse belongs to the account of Moses' flight from Egypt and his God-guided arrival in Midian. Moses was received into Reuel's household, married one of his daughters, and remained in Midian forty years as keeper of his father-in-law's flocks. Reuel's influence on Moses was great.
Moses' change from a mighty statesman and leader of armies in Egypt to a keeper of Jethro's flocks came because he had not yet learned the lessons essential for true greatness. In that humble, lowly station of work his sympathies were drawn out to the sheep and lambs, and he learned to guard these creatures with the tenderest care toward every living thing, recognizing that God cares for all He has made and that sheep show mistreatment by their attitude though they cannot complain aloud. By learning what it means to be a true shepherd of sheep, Moses learned to be a tender shepherd for Israel, a training still needed by anyone with a harsh, overbearing spirit.