Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian, is a relatively
enigmatic figure in this story. Does he
know the same Lord as Moses? It would be
odd for there to be a priest of Yahweh at Midian at this time since there was
no priesthood and the people all lived in Goshen until this point and Moses’
son’s name refers to alien status. We
have to assume that this story was a witness to the God of Moses and the
Israelites to Jethro. As he hears the
story he offers praise to God and then brings offerings and sacrifices and then
he, Moses, Aaron and the elders share what would seem to be a covenant meal in
the presence of Yahweh. The Midianites
do not become allies or Yahweh worshippers because of this incident but there
is no denying that this priest knew something of Moses’ God.
No one believed until they saw Jesus for themselves. Resurrection from the dead wasn’t expected
and it wasn’t believable for anyone. It
wasn’t anyone’s conclusion to seeing an empty tomb. Jesus rebuked them for unbelief and hardness
of heart concerning the resurrection.
Was that fair? Yesterday’s Gospel
reading tells us that the disciples professed to believe based on Jesus’
knowledge of the questions in their hearts and minds, so it was indeed fair to
rebuke them for failing to believe when they had stated that they did
believe. The problem was they still
hadn’t understood, the reality of resurrection was so foreign, so unimaginable,
that they could not understand until after it happened. Even bringing Lazarus back from the dead
wasn’t enough, they believed that a living Jesus could do anything but the one
they saw on the cross, beaten and bloody and dead, who was there to bring Him
back? He promised presence as well, the
power that worked through Him would be in them, providing signs that their
message was true and they were sent by Him.
God created all that is and pronounced it good and yet here
we are told to beware of the world He created.
It is not creation that is the problem, it is the desire in our hearts
that is the problem. We are so
captivated by the things of earth that we lose our desire for Him. That was the first sin, desiring something
other than God and seeking fulfillment of that desire apart from Him. It is important that God do miracles and
signs so that we can have a larger vision of Him. We need to recall that as wonderful as this
creation may be there is still something more marvelous, more to be desired,
fellowship with Him, and the resurrection of Jesus points to that time and
place where we will share in that fellowship.
This life is to be lived with one eye and our whole hearts fixed on the
hope of that life in God’s kingdom. Belief
is not an optional thing in this life, we are to walk by faith and not by sight.
A mighty fortress is
our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
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