11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.
On the testimony of Moses his father-in-law came to a greater understanding of the power of the Lord. We don’t know if he came to faith, but it seems that he did. It could be that he was a believer for a long time and now came to understand that the Lord was greater than other gods. Perhaps he came to understand that He was the only true God. We don’t have a newspaper interview where a sharp reporter drilled down deep into his theology. We don’t have a position paper on his theological understanding. We do have this record of his faithful support of Moses and Moses’ leadership. His actions speak loudly of his faith. It is important for us to get the same lesson that Jethro got. He learned that the Lord is greater! In our world that lacks the political ability to make a decision, we need to make decisions. One of the most important is to recognize that the Lord is the only God. There might be many gods, but only one Supreme God. The other gods are just demonic manifestations of half-truths. They are man’s deluded incarnations of fallible human traits pushed to a slightly higher level. Not so high as to force us to change, but just enough so that we feel good about ourselves. For if we realized that there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, eternal God, we would be in trouble. That would mean that we don’t get to set the standard for what it means to live a good life, and that we are accountable to Him. Jethro heard about the judgments the Lord brought against the Egyptians. He heard about the grace extended to the Israelites. When we hear, we must respond as Jethro did. How will you respond to the Lord’s work in your world?
The Arnold Journey 