Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 124
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
17:15–18:16
scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase
the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar there and
named it Y
ahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”). He said,
“They have raised their fist against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord
will be at war with Amalek generation after generation.”
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything
God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially
about how the Lord had rescued them from Egypt.
Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to
Jethro, who had taken them in. (Moses’ first son was named Gershom,
for Moses had said when the boy was born, “I have been a foreigner in
a foreign land.” His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said,
“The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword
of Pharaoh.”) Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the
wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God.
Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law,
am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”
So Moses went out to meet his f ather-in-law. He bowed low and kissed
him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’
tent. Moses told his f ather-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships
they had experienced along the way and how the Lord had rescued his
people from all their troubles. Jethro was delighted when he heard about
all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from
the hand of the Egyptians.
“Praise the Lord,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand
of Egypt! I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because
he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.”
Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in
a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.
The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against
each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people,
he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying
to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till
evening?”
Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from
God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles
