March 8, 2026 - Jethro's Salvation & the Feast in the Wilderness (Ex 18:1-12)

Jethro's Salvation and the Feast in the Wilderness (Exodus 18:1-12)

Rev. Myung-Sin Choi

And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—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 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, [e]took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

Introduction

I am sure you know of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. In 1820, there was a book that was written as Jefferson’s Bible. Thomas Jefferson was very humanistic and if you look at the content of Jefferson's Bible, he has excluded all of the miracles and supernatural events that occurred in the Bible. He omitted events such as The birth of Jesus Christ through the Virgin Mary, feeding the 5,000, and even His resurrection.  Jefferson only included what made sense to him and most realistic parts of the Bible to him. Jefferson commented that Jesus was a great philosopher and moral character in history. As we know Thomas Jefferson appears in the $2 dollar bill and he was also the person who was one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. When people heard that Jefferson wrote a Bible, many people were very amazed and he would pass out his Bible books around. Many people were amazed to read his version of the Bible and many politicians were influenced by this version as well. But the problem is that many people think that Jefferson is a great Christian figure; however, many people who go to church also think this same way as Jefferson. People think that if they live and think this way, it is okay and fine. Why do people live like this and live their walk of faith like this? I am not sure Jefferson went to church and read the Bible but I don’t think he was a person who truly met God. Through today’s sermon, we can see how a person changes after they meet God. We read today’s Biblical passage and it spoke about Jethro. 

1. Jethro's Salvation

(1) Jethro, the Father-in-Law

Verses 1-4 - We know the meeting of Moses and Jethro. Moses murdered an Egyptian soldier and ran away as a fugitive, and ended up in Midian. In Midian, Jethro took in a fugitive and allowed Moses to marry his daughter. In Midian, the wilderness, that was where Jethro was from. Midian was where Jethro’s tribe lived. Where was Midian? 

Genesis 25:2 “And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.” - After Sarah passed away, Abraham married Keturah, and had six sons together. Among one of those sons, his name was Midian so Midian was a descendant of Abraham. 

Judges 2:16 “Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.” - Here it does not mention Canaanites but rather Kenites. If you look in the Bible, the Midianites were known as a tribe that harassed and fought with the Israelites a lot. There were many tribes within the Midianites but one of them was the Kenites. And the Kenites was the tribe where Jethro was from. Even though many Midianites harassed and fought with the Israelites many times, the Kenites never attacked the Israelites but rather helped them. The reason is because of Jethro. We read in verses 1-4 that Jethro came to Moses with Moses’ wife and his children. There is something we must hold onto here. Moses met God on Mount Horeb through the burning bush and God commanded Moses to save His people, the Israelites. When Moses heard God’s command, Moses obeyed and took his sons and wife and headed back to Egypt. But a strange thing happened. Even though Moses was obeying God’s command, God all of sudden tried to kill Moses. 

But at that time as we can see in Exodus 4:25 “Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’ ” - Zipporah took one of her sons and circumcised him. This means that Zipporah bought the life of Moses with blood. This represents that circumcision means atonement of sins. God tried to kill Moses but through the act of circumcision, Moses was saved. This has an important meaning. If you lose hold of God’s covenant even if you are someone like Moses, God will try to kill you. If you lose hold of the blood of the covenant, then we will not be saved. Only those who believe in the blood covenant will be saved. Moses understood so he left his wife and sons, and went by himself. We must hold onto that we can only live through the blood covenant. No matter what other methods you use, even if you try to re-write the Bible like Jefferson, if you don’t have the blood covenant, then we cannot be saved. 

(2) Jethro's Joy

Verses 5-9 - The Israelites just won in a battle against the Amalekites and they were in a very joyful mood. During this time, someone reported to Moses that his father-in-law and family are here. Moses was very happy at this time because they just won a battle and also his family was here. Before this, Moses was not able to see his wife and family, and imagine how much he yearned for his family. So when he met his family, he greeted them with great joy and happiness. 

But at that time, we can see how Moses greeted Jethro in verse 7 - When Moses greeted his father-in-law, Jethro, he bowed down to him. We have to remember that Moses was 80-years-old at this time and we can see the humble attitude of Moses. Moses was a leader of the Israelites and performed great miracles before the Israelites. But when he heard that his father-in-law was here, he humbly greeted and bowed down to Jethro. 

Verse 8 - After Moses greeted Jethro, he reported everything that happened so far to him. Jethro was meditating on everything that just happened. I imagine this to be a picture of a young child going to his mother to see everything that has happened. To the events of the Red Sea splitting, the Egyptians dying in the Red Sea, and the manna and quail, Moses was telling Jethro everything. When Moses was reporting to Jethro, Moses was not boasting about himself. Usually when people report great things that have happened, people might boast about themselves. Moses did not boast about himself but he was boasting about what God had done for them. When Moses spoke about God, Jethro realized about God. 

Verse 9 - Jethro rejoiced with what the Lord God had done for the Israelites and Moses. Jethro was receiving grace of what the Lord God had done for them and not what Moses had done. This joy was referring to overflowing joy, not just simple joy. It was talking about overflowing with joy and the grace of God. There was no way that the Israelites could’ve escaped the Egyptians chasing after them because the Egyptians were considered one of the most powerful nations during that time. The fact that the Israelites were freed from Egypt and escaped from them, Jethro was so amazed and astounded. Jethro had great, profound feelings and great joy in his heart. When we meet God, then there is overflowing joy and happiness in our hearts. The moment we are freed from the captivity of darkness, then there is great joy and happiness in our hearts. Jethro was experiencing this. Then, naturally, Jethro made a confession. 

2. The Feast in the Wilderness

(1) Jethro's Confession

Verses 10-11 - Blessed means to not only be blessed but to kneel before God. When we experience the power of God, then we have no choice but to give praise and glory to God. Do you have these confessions to God? I pray that you will be these children of God who can give praise and glory to God. 

Verse 11 - Jethro opened his spiritual eyes and realized that the Lord God was the most powerful God. There were many gods in Midian but Jethro finally realized that the Jehovah God was the most powerful God. Because God defeated all of the gods that the Egyptians worshiped and Egypt the most powerful nation. Jethro confessed that the Lord God is the one and true God. When Jethro finally realized this and opened his spiritual eyes to see this. This was the same realization and powerful confession that Jethro made just like Simon Peter confessed in Matthew 16:16 that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jethro realized the gospel. Who was the God that Moses worshiped? God came to Moses first and the gospel is where God comes to us. And religion is where we seek after a god. There is no other religion like this. Only God can save us. God seed the Israelites out of Egypt. God has taken us out of our fate and destiny. Not only that but God continues to be with us and guiding us. Jethro said that he finally realized now. This same God is with us. The moment we realize this, then everything is finished. 

(2) The Feast in the Wilderness

Verse 12 - After Jethro had his realization, Jethro couldn’t stand still. Jethro went himself and bought forth a burnt offering. Moses didn’t do it but Jethro bought it. Jethro gave a burnt sacrifice and blood sacrifice. Jethro went before the people and gave a burnt and blood sacrifice. The burnt offering means that he offered a completely burnt offering which means that he was offering himself completely to God. A blood sacrifice means the blood of atonement. After Jethro heard the report of Moses, Jethro realized that without the blood of the atonement of God, none of that was possible. Jethro was participating in the blood of the young lamb during the passover. Jethro was letting go of his past and offering himself completely to God. Jethro let go all of his idols and gave himself completely to God. He participated in the blood sacrifice and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Moses, all of the elders, and Jethro ate bread before God. They shared bread and the meat that they gave as a sacrifice before God. This means that they were participating in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. They ate bread before God. All of the people were becoming one body with God. May we receive this blessing. Let us hold onto us who are freed and liberated. We have been freed from our fate and destiny. 

3. The Day of Deliverance

(1) From the Fate of a Lifetime

Verse 11 - The moment Jethro realized, he was freed from his fate and destiny. Do you have a problem? The moment you realize the word of God, then you will be freed. At that time, the darkness will be bound. We will be freed from all things. 

(2) From the darkness

Verse 12 - Through the blood sacrifice and the young lamb, they became one body with God. Just like we do the communion, we are becoming one body with God. 

(3) Deliverance of future generations

Judges 5:24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed is she among women in tents.” - Jael was the one who killed the commander of the Canaanite army and delivered the Israelites. Jael was actually a descendant of Jethro and because of Jethro, his descendants were blessed tremendously. They even say that Jael was one of the most blessed women in the Bible. We can see the great blessings that came upon the future descendants of Jethro. What is absolute is that we who hold onto God’s covenant, great blessings will come upon us as well. 

Conclusion

Exodus 23:14 “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year.” - This is what we must always enjoy. We must always enjoy the joy of salvation and be filled with the Holy Spirit always. We must always enjoy the fruits from heaven above. If we enjoy these three things, then great blessings will come to us.