“Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him…Midian…And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son” (Gen. 25:1-6). The Midianites were thus descendants of Abraham through Keturah.
“But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters…And when they came to Reuel, their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today?” (Ex. 2:18). One of the daughters who returned early to Reuel was Zipporah who became the wife of Moses, the man who drew their water and made possible the early return of the girls.
When we read carefully these verses, we realize that, while Moses was a direct descendant of Abraham, so was Zipporah. The great difference was that God had chosen Isaac, the offspring of Sarah, and had made no special promises to the offspring of Keturah. This choice was made continually evident by the circumcision of the males of the chosen line. Moses was in the chosen line; Zipporah was not.
Midianites not faithful to God
Having descended from Abraham, Reuel (Jethro) and his family had some knowledge of the Truth as part of their family heritage. They came from a line, however, that had greatly compromised sound practice and doctrine. This is apparent from events a few years later when Midianites joined with Moabites in hiring Balaam to curse the Israelites and afterward seduced the people to idolatry and licentiousness (Num. 22:4,6; ch. 25). It is also evidenced by Jethro (Reuel) regarding Yahweh as one of many gods (cf. Ex. 18:11).
Opposition to circumcision
Moses and Zipporah had two sons during Moses’ 40 years in the wilderness. As an Israelite, Moses should have circumcised his sons at eight days old. For some reason, this was not done to at least one of them. Perhaps the reason lay in Zipporah’s resentment of this rite which set apart the chosen descendants of Abraham from those who were of Keturah. From the narrative, it seems evident that the descendants of Abraham through this non-covenant line did not practice circumcision.
When Moses was called back to Egypt, Zipporah, along with Gershom and Eliezer, started off with him. Along the way, the Lord appeared to Moses and told him, “Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn” (Ex. 4:23). This terminology must surely have rankled Zipporah as her ancestors had also come from Abraham. Why should Israel, who were a nation of slaves, be regarded as the favored people? On a more personal level, why should Moses feel his people were so special before God that he had to risk his wife and family in this mission of deliverance?
Very quickly, another problem arose: “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him [Moses] and sought to kill him [one of his sons]. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me” (Ex. 4:24,25).
It is evident that God was wroth with Moses because he had compromised his beliefs by not circumcising his son. The issue had obviously come up between Zipporah and himself and he had given in to his wife rather than providing proper family leadership. From this point on, we hear nothing of Zipporah until she is brought to Moses, with the boys, by Jethro (Reuel). Evidently, the argument at the inn was a major crisis causing Moses to send her back home.
Zipporah returns
In Exodus 18, we read that Jethro brings Zipporah and the children back to Moses. “When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back…and came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness” (Ex. 18:1-5).
Moses was very pleased to see them all and reviewed with Jethro all that had happened. Upon learning of the mighty hand of God, Jethro became a believer declaring, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them” (v. 11).
After this declaration, Jethro offered sacrifices to God and then joined in a meal of fellowship with the elders of Israel.
The next day, Jethro gave Moses some wonderful advice regarding his judging the people. Divide the work up, he said, sharing it with “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” (v.21). Moses himself should handle only the most difficult cases and should concentrate on communication with God and general instruction of the nation.
Jethro returns to preach
“And Moses let his father-in-law depart” (v.27). Jethro wanted to go back to his home area. We may wonder why this was so after having been converted to the worship of God and having proven so valuable to Moses.
We find that Jethro evidently went home to instruct his family. In our own cases, many of us, once we learn the Truth, can hardly wait to bring the words of life to those we love. Evidently Jethro was successful in converting his family for they traveled with Israel being numbered with the tribe of Judah. As we later read, “Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel [Jethro, Reuel] the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law…come thou with us, and we will do thee good…” (Num. 10:29). A note in Judges confirms the situation: “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah” (Judg. 1:16).
The Kenites come to form an important part of Israel. Hobab’s daughter-in-law, Jael, becomes a great heroine in the slaying of Sisera (Judg. 5:23-27). Some sons of the Kenites, also known as Rechabites, evidence greater faith than most of Israel (II Kgs. 10:15). Even Jeremiah commends them for their notable example of self discipline (Jer. 35:14-19).
For 40 years, Jethro had been exposed to the Truth in his association with Moses. It took a long time, but eventually he was converted and from him came a line of faithful people.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One