As far back as the days of Abraham, God had promised that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). In today’s passage, we see an example of that, as Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, comes to understand that the Lord is greater than all gods.

And this was not easy for him to admit. After all, verse 1 tells us that he was a priest, someone who thus offered sacrifices and performed rituals for one or more pagan gods. For him to admit that Moses’ God was more powerful than any of them was to acknowledge that his whole life’s work had been one big mistake. He had placed his bet and his team had lost.

So, how did he come to such a radical change of mind? Well, in the first place, he had formed a relationship with a believer – Moses. Now, Moses had made a good first impression on Jethro by defending Jethro’s daughters from some local shepherds who had been harassing them (Exodus 2:17). Over time, the two became so close that Moses married one of Jethro’s daughters.

But Jethro needed more than just a relationship with a believer. He also needed to hear about the mighty acts of God – in his case, how God had miraculously saved Moses and all the people of Israel from one of the mightiest armies in the world at the time. And in verse 8, we learn that Moses, this believer that Jethro trusted and respected, was the one who testified to the great work God had done for all the Israelites.

So, what can this teach us about our own efforts at evangelism? We see the importance of relationships – just as Jethro trusted and respected Moses, so we must get close to people, letting them see Christ in us before we can expect them to listen to us. But once we have earned the right to be heard, we must speak, telling the truth about God and testifying to the way He has saved us from our sins.

If Jethro, the pagan priest, could offer sacrifices to the One True God (v. 12), anyone can change. Will we do our part as Moses did, drawing close to those who need to know Christ or know Him better, so we can show and share His truth with them?

Exodus 18:1-12 (ESV)

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home,
3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land”),
4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”).
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,”
7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.
8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”
12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.