Don’t be controlled by love for money. Be happy with what you have. God has said,“ I will never leave you. I will never desert you.”( Deuteronomy 31:6)
Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to his father- in- law. So Jethro welcomed herand her two sons. One son was named Gershom. That’s because Moses had said,“ I’m an outsider in a strange land.”The other was named Eliezer. That’s because Moses had said,“ My father’s God helped me. He saved me from Pharaoh’s sword.”Moses’ father- in- law Jethro came to Moses in the desert. Moses’ sons and wife came with Jethro. Moses was camped near the mountain of God.Jethro had sent a message to him. It said,“ I, your father- in- law Jethro, am coming to you. I’m bringing your wife and her two sons.”
“ I’ve been with you for 20 years now. The little ones of your sheep and goats were not dead when they were born. I haven’t eaten rams from your flocks.I didn’t bring you animals torn apart by wild beasts. I made up for the loss myself. Also, you made me pay for anything stolen by day or night.And what was my life like? The heat burned me in the daytime. And it was so cold at night that I froze. I couldn’t sleep.
I’m not saying this because I need anything. I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me.I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough.
So Moses got his wife and sons. He put them on a donkey. Together they started back to Egypt. And he took the walking stick in his hand. It was the stick God would use in a powerful way.The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,“ When you return to Egypt, do all the amazing things I have given you the power to do. Do them in the sight of Pharaoh. But I will make him stubborn. He will not let the people go.Then say to Pharaoh,‘ The Lord says,“ Israel is like an oldest son to me.I told you,‘ Let my son go. Then he will be able to worship me.’ But you refused to let him go. So I will kill your oldest son.” ’ ”On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped for the night. There the Lord met him and was about to kill him.But Zipporah got a knife made out of flint. She circumcised her son with it. Then she touched Moses’ feet with the skin she had cut off.“ Surely, you are a husband who has forced me to spill my son’s blood,” she said.
