The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 83

these things?" But a. far different spirit possessed him. In this, Jethro showed his freedom from a. ver)'. comm?n litt~eness of na~ure. .2. As an act of personal friendship. A large part of the JOY of hfe spnngs from fnendsh1p. We see fnendship at its best in the case of those who are thrown much into each other's society, and who cherish for each other, under the conditions which most of all reveal and test character, a cordial respect and esteem. " Friendship," says Cicero, "is nothing else than a perfect con- currence on a.II subjects Divine a.nd human, accompanied by a feeling of kindness and attachment, and l am not sure that any better boon than this, with the exception of wisdom, could be conferred on man by the immortal Gods." The bond of attachment thus created between good men makes association a pleasure, and, of necessity, causes pain at parting. While separation lasts, longings do not cease to be felt for a renewal of the prized intercourse, and when, after years of severance, an opening for such renewal of intercourse is presented, the opportunity is eagerly and joyfully embraced. Such friendship may be presumed to have existed between Jethro and Moses. The two had lived in close intimacy for the space of forty years. According to the text, Moses was Jethro's son-in-law; according to the more probable view, his brother-in-law. Jethro, with his stores of practical wisdom, his desert courtesy, and his evidently sincere piety, was a man whom Moses would early learn to respect, and with whom he would find it pleasant and profitable to associate; and the Midi- anitish priest, in turn, would never weary of the companionship of Moses, whose learning was so ripe, whose spirit was so excellent, whose early life had been spent under such different conditions from his own, and who had consequently so much to tell, which he (Jethro) wc;-.J!d delight to hear. This intercourse had been suddenly broken up by Moses' determination to return to Egypt (eh. iv. 18); but an opportunity now presented itself of renewing it, and of this Jethro gladly availed himself. 3. Desirous of hearing 11Wre perfectly of the wonderful works of God. This, as is appareut from the sequel (ver. 8), was another motive of Jethro's visit. He had come to be more fully and exactly instructed in the wonders which God had wrought" for Moses, and for Israel, his people" (ver. 1). Something of these "mighty acts" he had heard from current report, but what he had heard only whetted his appetite to hear more. It is tb.e mark of the good man that he earnestly desires to grow in the knowledge of God and of his ways. 4. With the intentim of restoring to Moses his wife and two sons (vers. 2-6). In taking this earliest opportunity of bringing Zipporah and her two sons to Moses, Jethro acted rightly. A wife's proper place is with her husband. Sons, again, in view of the special responsibility resting on the father in connection with their proper up-bringing, should be as much as possible under direct paternal influence. The kingdom of God, doubtless, is to be more to us than father, or mother, or wife, or child; and should its interests imperatively demand separation, this must be sub- mitted to (Matt. viii. 21, 22): but relationships are not thereby dissolved, and the active discharge of the duties connected with them should be resumed at the earliest opportunity. For the sake of Moses himself, reunion was desirable. He was not a man who spurned the joys of domestic existence, but, like Peter, led about a wife (cf. Num. xii. 1; 1 Cor. ix. 5). It would contribute to his happiness to have his family beside him. Attention is anew called to the significant names of his sons (vers. 3, 4). These noteworthy names would be perpetual reminders to Moses of the lessons of his stay in Midian. The one spoke of human weakness, the other of Divine aid. If the one embalmed the memory of his heart-loneliness in a strange land, the other told of how God had been his help even there. The one recalled trials, the other mercies. While in both was embodied a memorial of the heart-discipline, of the solitary com- munion with God, of the lonely days and nights of prayer, watching, and spiritual meditation, which had helped so largely during the forty years of that weary but precious exile, to make him the man he was. II. JE'l'HRO AND MusES (vers. 7-13). 'l'he visit here desC"ribeJ is a moue! of brutherly aud relicrious intercourse. Christians would do well to stuuy a.nu imitate it. Observe- !. 'l'he ~ourtesy of tl,eir greeting (ver. 7). 'l'he two men stood ou a very dilfereut moral aud intellectual level, but, iu their exchanges of civility, Jethro is treated as the SLtperiur, and is received by Moses with every outward demonstration uf respect. As un Jethru's siJe there is no trace of mortification or jealousy at fiuiling Moses, uu~c t\,c kee1,>er uf hi~ ~hcep, iu su exalted a position, so, on the siJc of Muses uuw Israel', ,lelil'ercr allJ \e!'tuer, 86 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [cH, xvm. 1-13.