Reuel says to his daughters: and where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread. Hospitality in the ancient Near East was not merely courtesy but covenant — to invite someone to eat was to extend protection and welcome. Reuel, having heard what Moses did, extends this welcome without hesitation. Hebrews 13:2 would later say: do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for some have entertained angels without knowing it. Reuel does not know he is welcoming the man who will later become his son-in-law and the liberator of an entire nation. He acts on the information he has: a stranger did a good thing for his daughters. That is enough. The table where Moses will eat bread with Jethro's family is the beginning of a relationship that will produce both a marriage and, in Exodus 18, one of the most important pieces of leadership counsel in Scripture.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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