Exodus 18:1-4 – Let’s honor God in our family

In Exodus 17, the battle the Israelites had with the Amalekites teaches us about spiritual warfare and the need to persevere in earnest prayer in our spiritual journey. Without a doubt, the enemy of our soul is always seeking to disrupt our walk with God. That explains why we constantly have to battle external trials and inward temptation. Undoubtedly, the root cause can almost always be traced to the devil. For we are not battling against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and wicked forces in the unseen realm. That’s why we need to constantly engage in persevering and earnest prayer. As we come to Exodus 18, we will learn about other aspects of Christian responsibilities which we must discharge. We need to raise our family and we also need to be witnesses to testify of the goodness of God.  

In Exodus 4, we were given a brief introduction to Moses’ own family, when he came to seek Jethro, his father-in-law, out of respect and sought his permission to go back to his own people in Egypt. Now we are told that Jethro came to him with his wife and two sons. We have no clue as to when or why his wife and children went back to his father-in-law. But we can guess that along the way, he could have sent them back to Jethro for safekeeping. It could also be when they were near Horeb, a place located near to where Jethro was staying, he sent them to visit and stay with his father-in-law for a while. Meanwhile Jethro, having heard of the things that God had done for Moses and his people, probably was curious and wanted to hear more about the things that had taken place in his son-in-law’s life. So besides sending his wife, Zipporah and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer back to Moses, he seized the opportunity to visit him.

Here we are given the meaning to the names of his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The names a father gives to his children will reveal the history and the circumstances surrounding the birth of his offspring. It would of course also reveal to us the desire and wish of a parent for the child through the name that was given to them. When Gershom, his first son was born, he was away from his own family in Egypt. He was a foreigner in Median, an alien land to him. So, he named his first son, Gershom, meaning exile or alien. He named his second son, Eliezer, meaning God has helped. He called him by this name because he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” The names of his two sons tell the story of his life. Whatever we can make out of these names, we know that Moses’ life and family testify to the work of God in his life.  

God played a key role in Moses’ life and everything that happened to him bear a mark of God’s work in his life. These four verses reveal the important role family members can be to our ministry. We should serve God as a family as far as possible. It will be irresponsible for us to pursue ministry without considering our family. A home well- ordered serves as a better testimony to the grace of God. We must not neglect our family and use serving God as an excuse for neglect. To all heads of family, remember family life is a divine calling. We must lead it well for the glory of God!