Exosus 18:7-12

The passage in relation to the context of the previous chapters shows polar opposites of what putting one’s faith in God means. Jethro, after hearing about the power and the salvation of the Lord, when he rescued the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and sustained them on the journey thus far, is quick to put his full trust and faith in the God of Israel. The Israelites themselves, on the other hand, have been hardened and discouraged, from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt, and even though they profess a belief in the God of their fathers, they do not have a childlike faith.

In chapter 14, even after witnessing the Lord sending the plagues on the Egyptians, saving them from the Angel of Death, and fulfilling His promise to rescue them from Egypt, their hearts melt with fear the instant they see pharaoh and his chariots flanking them against the Red Sea. They profess this fear and lack of faith to Moses in verses 11-12 of 14, as well as verse 3 of chapter 16 and 17, with the repeated complaint of: “Why have brought us out of Egypt to let us die in the wilderness?” Even though the Lord was faithful to deliver them from every dilemma the Israelites encountered on the journey to Mt. Sinai, the people continuously doubted. After the Lord parted the Red Sea and drown the Egyptians in the sight of all the people, the Israelites were easily discouraged with the fear of lack of water. The Lord is quick to save them by leading them to 12 springs of water and seventy date palms. However, this was not a sufficient enough miracle for the Israelites, because immediately after this event the Israelites grumble from lack of food. The Lord saves the day again, by providing manna from heaven by morning and meat by twilight. Unfortunately, this miracle only last until they run out of water again, but as before, the Lord is quick to help them.

This continual cycle of disbelief is what enhances Jethro’s conversion, and makes it more powerful. Jethro was only given a verbal story of what God did for the Israelites, as they repeated failed to rest in God’s power, and that tale was enough to convince him that the Lord was more powerful than any of the other man-made gods, including the gods he was a priest of. The God of the Israelites’ ancestors had been their God since the days of Abraham, and they had no doubt been told the many stories of the faith of their ancestors, like Abraham and Jacob, but even though they knew Him, they failed to acknowledge Him for what He was. Jethro, most if not all of his life, had been trained to be an expert in the ways of his gods, and until Moses crashed into his life, had probably never heard of the God of the Israelites. Whatever way Moses told him the stories of the Lord’s faithfulness, was convincing enough for Jethro to reject the beliefs of his childhood and his ancestors, and walk by faith not sight.

This passage not only demonstrates