Jethro's Arrival (Ex. 18:7-8)

5/31/2008 10:01 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time           Focus:  Jethro’s arrival

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Exodus 18:7-8

          Message of the verses:  “7  Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.  8  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 befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them.”

            As I have seen in the book of Genesis greetings and hospitality are very important to the people of the Middle East, and so it was with Moses when he greeted his father-in-law Jethro whom he had not seen for a long time.  Moses took Jethro into his tent and brought him up to date on all of the things that the Lord had done for Israel, not what Moses did, but what the Lord had done.  Moses gave glory to the Lord for seeing them through the hardships that they had gone through during their journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would suppose that hospitality is not as important in the US as it was in the Middle East at the time of the writing of the book of Exodus.  Hospitality is something that I surely need to get better at, especially with the household of God.

            This section also makes me think of how it will be in heaven, especially after the Rapture of the Church, when those who are alive are transported to heaven to be with the Lord and to see all of the old friends who have gone before them.  I would think that the most important reunion though would be to meet and to greet the Lord Jesus Christ as the song that the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings “I Want To See Jesus.”  That will be the best day of all for believers in Jesus Christ and that will be the best reunion of all.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To begin to learn to pray like Epaphras as seen in Col. 4:12; To walk with the Lord and have Him guide my path like Proverbs 3:5-6 describe; To learn contentment through the struggles of life like Paul writes about in Phil. 4:11; To be yoked with the Lord Jesus like He spoke of in Matthew 11:28-30; and to trust the Lord to see me from falling into temptation as written about in 1 Cor. 10:13.

Memory verse for the week:                                   Col. 4:12

12.    Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and assured in all the will of God. 

5/31/2008 10:33 AM