Family Ties

Family Ties
Words of Faith 12-2-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Exodus 18
Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
[2] After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her [3] and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land"; [4] and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."
[5] Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God. [6] Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
[7] So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. [8] Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
[9] Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. [10] He said, "Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. [11] Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." [12] Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.

Fathers-in-law are generally difficult to impress. Perhaps that is one of the duties of being a father-in-law. Nevertheless, Moses had impressed his father-in-law, Reuel (also called Jethro) by defending his daughter Zipporah and her sisters from shepherds that were harassing them. Moses then married Zipporah and had two sons with her as he continued to serve as a simple shepherd in the family of Jethro (also called Reuel).
But Moses had left the house of Jethro to go lead the Exodus. Jethro blessed the endeavor, but then Moses sent his family back to be with Jethro. This could not have been very impressive to the father-in-law. ("What do you mean you are sending my daughter back home with two kids so you can go liberate some people in Egypt?”)
The reuniting of this family was significant in many respects.
For one, this reunion emphasized that the call of God is not intended to tear families apart. Separation may occur for a time, but this is not the long-term plan of God. Moses was away from his family out of necessity, but now they were back together. It was undoubtedly a dangerous process that Moses entered into communicating with Pharaoh.
This was also a time in which Jethro would solidify his faith. Jethro had been a "priest of Midian," revering many gods. This meeting between Moses and Jethro was marked by gestures of respect, such as bowing and kissing as they greeted each other.
When Moses conveyed the exciting events and spectacular deliverance they had experienced, this made a huge difference. The weight of this testimony confirmed in Jethro the truth he had suspected, that the LORD, the God of Israel, is greater than all other gods. Convinced of Yahweh's superiority, Jethro offered sacrifices to show his respect and commitment to the Lord God.
From time to time, I meet someone who insists that the Lord has called them to do something or go somewhere that requires tearing their family apart. Such a person might cite the verse, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:35-37).
While Jesus did teach that our love for the Lord must be foremost, it is clear in the witness of Scripture that loving the Lord will be manifested in a life of fidelity. Keeping marriage vows and family ties is a supreme expression of human love. Here we see that even a ministry work as enormous as the Exodus-- moving more than a million people out of slavery and into the desert-- did not require that Moses would lose his family. If we determine that the call of God requires us o lose our family, we are almost certainly working in our own flesh rather than in the Spirit.
Of course, there are times when a family will abandon a person following the call of the Lord, but we must not cop with such a possibility. Every effort must be made to preserve our first responsibility and calling.
How are your family ties? Someone once noted that most marriages do not crash because of a "blowout" but because of a slow leak. Sometimes we get so involved in ministry or the work of the Lord that we neglect our first calling. The same is probably true in most other family relationships.

Father, keep me focused on You and working in the power of Your Spirit. Help me to walk out my calling in fidelity and commitment to my family. Keep my family ties strong even as I seek to minister in Your Spirit in response to Your calling. In Jesus’ name.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.