What is the meaning of Exodus 2:21? Moses agreed to stay with the man • Moses had fled Egypt (Exodus 2:15) and was essentially a refugee. By choosing to stay with Reuel (also called Jethro, Exodus 3:1), he accepted the Lord’s provision of safety and community in Midian—showing God’s quiet guidance long before the burning bush (Acts 7:29). • Staying meant entering household life rather than remaining a wanderer. Similar covenant-like commitments appear in 1 Samuel 18:3 (Jonathan and David) and Ruth 1:16 (Ruth to Naomi). • Shepherd life under Reuel prepared Moses for leading Israel; tending another man’s flock (Exodus 3:1) foreshadowed tending God’s flock in the wilderness (Psalm 78:70-72). and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage • Reuel’s gift of Zipporah signified full acceptance of Moses into the family, paralleling Genesis 2:22 where God presents Eve to Adam—a divinely sanctioned union. • The marriage established Moses in Midian for “about forty years” (Acts 7:30), during which time his character was refined in humility (Numbers 12:3). • Zipporah later acted decisively to circumcise their son (Exodus 4:24-26), underscoring how this union furthered God’s covenant purposes. • Through their son Gershom (“I have been a stranger in a foreign land,” Exodus 2:22), the marriage memorialized Moses’ sojourning and God’s faithful oversight (Hebrews 11:13). summary Exodus 2:21 shows God guiding Moses from flight to family, from isolation to covenant community. By choosing to stay with Reuel and receiving Zipporah as wife, Moses stepped into a season of hidden preparation. The verse reveals God’s providential care, the value of faithful relationships, and the quiet shaping of a leader who would soon confront Pharaoh and shepherd Israel to freedom. |
    |