Exodus 18:24-27

Moses allowed the people to nominate wise, respected men from their tribes whom he appointed as judges (Exodus 18:25; cf. Deuteronomy 1:12-18). These men handled the routine disputes of the Israelites, and this kept Moses free to resolve the major problems.

Jethro returned to his native land (Exodus 18:27), but he visited Moses and his daughter and grandchildren again (cf. Numbers 10:29), perhaps often during the following 40 years.

"In times of great crises God always provided men to lead the way to deliverance. Moses is an eloquent example of this very fact. The hand of God providentially prepared this man for this very moment. He was cognizant of Egyptian manners and was therefore able to articulate demands before the King of Egypt. Moses had been trained in military matters and was therefore capable of organizing this large mass of people for movement across the deserts. His training in Egypt had given him the ability to write and therefore provided a means by which these accounts would be recorded for eternity. Forty years of desert experience had given Moses the know-how of travel in these areas as well as the kind of preparation that would be needed to survive the desert heat. All of this a mere accident of history? No indeed. The history before us is a supreme example of God’s sovereign ability to accomplish His purposes for His people. Those who belong to Him have every reason to be confident that that which God has promised He will perform." [Note: Davis, pp. 189-90.]

"The present narrative has many parallels with the accounts in Genesis 14, 15. Just as Melchizedek the priest of Salem (salem) met Abraham bearing gifts as he returned from the battle with Amraphel (Genesis 14:18-20), so Jethro the Midianite priest came out with Moses’ wife and sons to offer peace (salom, Exodus 18:7; NIV ’they greeted each other’) as he returned from the battle with the Amalekites. . . . The purpose of these parallels appears to be to cast Jethro as another Melchizedek, the paradigm of the righteous Gentile. It is important that Jethro have such credentials because he plays a major role in this chapter, instructing Moses, the lawgiver himself, how to carry out the administration of God’s Law to Israel. Thus, just as Abraham was met by Melchizedek the priest (Genesis 14) before God made a covenant with him in Genesis 15, so Moses is met by Jethro the priest (Exodus 18) before God makes a covenant with him at Sinai (Exodus 19)." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., pp. 280-81.]