LEARNING FROM A PAGAN PRIEST

Everyone can teach us something. Everyone…even a pagan priest!

When Jethro, a pagan priest who was Moses’ father-in-law, “heard of all that God had done”, he ventured out to the wilderness to meet Moses and hear about it first-hand. There, we read that Moses “told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done…and said ‘Blessed be the Lord…now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods…” (Exodus 18:1-11)

Let’s break down “all the good which the Lord had done” for his people up until that time and compare it to all the good which the Lord has done and is doing in our lives as Christ followers:

God sent the plagues and delivered His people from Egypt. (Exodus 3-13)
God “delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13)

God protected them as they crossed the Red Sea, and destroyed their enemy. (Exodus 14)
God protects us and destroyed the enemy!  Jesus came “that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1^st John 3:8)

God made their bitter waters sweet. (Exodus 15:22-27)
God took our bitter lives and made us new in Christ. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2^nd Corinthians 5;17)

God sent them bread from heaven. (Exodus 16)
God gave us Jesus, “the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32,33)

God provided water from the rock. (Exodus 17:1-7)
God gives us living water. Jesus said: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13,14)

God gave them victory over the Amalakites. (Exodus 17:8-16)
God gives us His victory! “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

When Jethro heard about “all the good which the Lord had done, he burst out into praise, convinced of the one tru God’s greatness. And THAT is the lesson the pagan priest teaches us by example. We, who have experienced all of God’s goodness, should do nothing less than Jethro! Let’s learn from his example, letting the awe of who God is motivate us to spontaneous praise to our Lord who Jethro discovered is “greater than all the gods”!