For the Birds: A Witness from Outside the Camp

Yitro | יתרו | "Jethro"                                                                  02.07.26

Torah: Exodus 18:1 - 20:26 

Prophets: Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, 9:6-7

Brit Hadasha: Matthew 6:1 - 8:1, 15:1-11, 19:16-30; Acts 6:1-7; Romans 2:17-29, 7:7-12, 13:8-10; Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 12:18-29; James 2:8-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10

Praise Reports: Thankful for Dylan to be back home and safe & sound.  Peabody sold his skid steer and that was a blessing.  Johnathan is following in my footsteps and has his pre-license to sell insurance and has a very good job lined up.  I’m just very thankful today.  Thankful for Chad, and all my family.  Our health, homes, water, heat, electricity, jobs and cars, and all the little things that we have taken for granted. 

Who else wants to give God thanks today for what He has done for you?

Prayer Requests: continued prayers for the lost.

·       Kip, my mom, Steve’s daughter Wendy

·       All our boys & families

·       Families to be reconciled: Steve with Vicki, Ken with Zachariah, and all Ken’s children.

·       Steve and Pat – health for both.  Continued prayers for Pat’s pain relief, bronchitis and dehydration.

·       Bill – healed of alpha gal, and all healing (kidney stone recently), hernia surgery recovery

·       Kathy – no pain

·       Kathy’s brother no parasites, no Parkinson’s (Larry Springdale)Kathy’s sister – no cholesterol issues

·       Pray that Ken & Kathy get in their house asap!

·       NYC and our country; pray for an awakening to Yah and an awakening to the lies.

·       More people to see the joy in Sabbath and doing Bible things in Bible ways

·       Raylee, daughter of Chad & Misty (12-13 year old daughter, facing heart failure, 6^th open heart surgery) – update:  Open heart surgery on Tuesday.

·       Amanda Carter, Breast Cancer

·       My uncle, Larry Bowman, melanoma.  Counting on a miracle healing. 

WORSHIP

·       Ma Tovu

·       Blow the Shofar

·       Shabbat Shalom

·       Hineh Ma Tov

·       Open the Eyes of My Heart

·       God I’m Just Grateful

·       So Be It

TEACHING

This week’s Torah portion is named Jethro.

And that alone should slow us down.

Because Jethro is not an Israelite. He’s not Jewish. He’s not part of the covenant people.

He’s a Midianite priest – an outsider.

And yet, this portion is named after him.

That tells us something right away about how God works. God is not threatened by outsiders.  God is not limited to ethnicity.  God is not limited to using only who we expect. And sometimes the people who help shape Israel’s story don’t look like Israel at all.

Jethro isn’t just a background character. He’s a key figure in Israel’s formation. And even more than that, God uses him to establish pattern.  A pattern that echoes all the way from Exodus… to Sinai… to Messiah… and straight into our future.

So let’s pay attention.

A salvation heard… and a feast prepared

When we open this portion in Exodus 18, Jethro is reintroduced to us. He has heard about the great and miraculous salvation of Israel. He’s heard what Yahweh did in Egypt, and how He delivered him out, and through the red sea, and into freedom. He’s heard about deliverance, about power, about rescue.

So what does he do?

He brings Zipporah, Moses’ wife, and their sons to meet Moses. He hears the story in full. And then Scripture tells us something very specific.

Exodus 18:11–12

“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods… And Jethro took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.”

Jethro rejoices. He blesses Yahweh. He offers sacrifice. And then they break bread. They have a feast before God.

Salvation. Calling on the Name. Sacrifice. A meal.

And if that feels familiar… it should.

Because this is not the first time we’ve seen this exact sequence with Jethro.

So let’s rewind.  Go back to the well.

When we’re first introduced to Jethro back in Exodus 2, Moses is a fugitive.  He is in hiding. He’s running for his life.  And he ends up at a well.

Jethro’s daughters are there. They are oppressed. They’re being harassed. They’re driven away.

And Moses steps in to save them. He rescues them in their moment of trouble.

The daughters go home and tell their father what happened. They tell him about this man who saved them. And what does Jethro do?

He says, “Where is he?” He calls for their savior to come. He brings him into his home. They break bread. They share a meal.

And then something happens that in hindsight is so amazing.

After the salvation…After the calling…After the meal…

The saved is joined to the savior in matrimony.

Zipporah is given to Moses as his bride.

Don’t forget that…. Please hold that thought for just one moment.

Because now let’s go back to our portion.

Sinai: the same pattern again

Jethro hears of another great salvation. Not of a few daughters this time — but of an entire people.

He blesses Yahweh. He sacrifices. There is a feast before God.

And then Israel arrives at Sinai.

And what happens there?

Israel stands at the foot of the mountain and says:

“All that the LORD has spoken, we will do.” Exodus 19:8

This is not just obedience language. This is covenant language. This is betrothal language.

The saved is being joined to their Savior.

The pattern repeats.

Salvation. Calling on the Name. Sacrifice. A meal. And then covenant union.

And here’s the part that should humble us:

God establishes this pattern through a non-Jew.

A Midianite priest helps frame one of the most important covenant moments in Israel’s history.

God is not insecure about where truth comes from when He’s the one orchestrating it.

And the pattern doesn’t stop there

Because the same rhythm echoes forward.

Yeshua comes. He suffers. He dies. He rises again.

Another great salvation.

And one day soon, the cry will go up again:

Bo Yeshua. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

There will be a feast.

There will be rejoicing.

There will be covenant fulfillment.

And once again— the saved will marry the Savior.

Revelation calls it the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

This isn’t coincidence. This is covenant rhythm.

God writes history with repetition so we don’t miss it as he is whispering the end from the beginning.

Then we get to Exodus 19:4.

“I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”

That line stopped me this week. And I’ll tell you why.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time just sitting and watching my birds. I love birds. I could watch them for hours.

And when I read that verse, I thought, Of course God chose a bird.

Because Scripture is full of them.

The Spirit hovers like a bird over the waters at creation. The Spirit descends like a dove at Yeshua’s baptism. Birds mark the shift from death to life in the story of the ark. Elijah is fed by ravens. Yeshua talks about sparrows being seen and cared for by the Father.

I think God must love birds too.

And here, He chooses the eagle.  And not accidentally.

So I began to study the eagle and their pattern of behavior. 

Eagles don’t parent the way most birds do. Most birds push their young out and let them fall. But eagles do something different.

An eagle stirs up the nest. It makes it uncomfortable.  It removes the padding.

And then it flies underneath the eaglet.

So when the young one falls, it doesn’t crash.  It’s caught.

The eaglet learns to fly without ever being abandoned.

And that matters. Because here’s the translation for us:

God does not remove discomfort to keep us safe. He positions Himself underneath us so the fall never destroys us.

That wilderness shaking? That instability? That season where everything feels unsettled?

That’s not rejection. That’s training.

And then Scripture says something else.

“I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”

Not just out of Egypt. Not just away from danger. To Himself.

God didn’t rescue Israel just to park them somewhere safe.  He rescued them for intimacy.

Deliverance was not the destination.  Relationship was.

Eagles and altitude

Isaiah says:

“Those who wait on the LORD will mount up with wings like eagles.”

That verse is often quoted like it means escape. But eagles don’t escape storms.

They rise above them. They let the wind do the lifting.

So this promise isn’t about avoiding hardship. It’s about perspective.

And the Scriptures teach exactly this.  Noah wasn’t removed from the flood.  He floated above it.  Daniel wasn’t removed from the lion’s den. He was protected in it.  The three Hebrew boys didn’t avoid the fire.  He was there with them in it. 

Those who wait on the Lord aren’t just strengthened to survive chaos. They’re strengthened to see from Heaven’s vantage point.

That’s why wilderness people often carry clarity others don’t.

They’ve flown higher.

Wings mean covering.

Tonight was we were driving home, Dylan mentioned atonement.  Then it hit me.  In Hebrew thought, wings — kanaph — are about more than flight.  They are a covering. 

They mean protection. Authority. Covenant.

It’s why Ruth asks Boaz to spread his wing over her. It’s why the psalms talk about refuge under His wings.

So when God says, “I bore you on eagles’ wings,” He’s saying: You were not exposed. You were not unclaimed. You were covered.

Just as we are covered by His atonement.  By His blood. By His wings.

The Chiasm at Sinai

There was one more thing that literally jumped off the page at me this week.  Exodus 19:8–9.

The people speak. Moses carries their words to God. God speaks. Moses carries God’s words back.

And the center — the point — is this:

“Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”

That answers a massive question. How does an invisible God establish permanent trust with visible people?

God’s answer: I will come down. I will speak audibly. I will veil Myself. I will establish mediated authority.

This isn’t about Moses’ ego. It’s about belief that lasts after the moment.

“Believe you forever.”

Not temporary awe. But enduring faith.  And the cloud is so much more than a cloud.  It’s also a shadow.

Why the thick cloud matters

First of all, that thick cloud is mercy.

God doesn’t appear filtered because He’s distant, but because His holiness would consume them.

The cloud tell us:  “I am here — and I am protecting you from Myself.”

This pattern shows up again and again.

The Tabernacle. The Temple. And ultimately, Messiah — veiled in flesh.

And notice this: God emphasizes hearing, not seeing. Faith is formed by voice, not spectacle.

Faith comes by hearing…

Before commandments are given, authority is established.  Relationship comes before regulation.  And Moses repeating the people’s words back to God isn’t redundant.

It seals the covenant rhythm.

God hears the people. The people hear God. A mediator stands between.

That’s not accidental. That’s prophetic.

So what’s our takeaway from this portion?

Sinai wasn’t just historical. It was formational.

And it asks every generation the same question:

Will you trust God only when He feels loud —or will you believe Him forever?

Because I believe the day is coming sooner rather than later, where we will be faced with a choice.

Since we met last, we have probably all experienced:  no power.  No warm food.  No hot showers. 

If you’re like me, I really didn’t handle it very well.  I went in expectant.  Ready for the test.  To be like a pioneer.  But I quickly failed.  I am a spoiled little brat.  In addition to looking in the mirror.  I also looked around, not just my neighbors, but the public as a whole.

I’ve seen a lot of grace. People praying for the linemen. People delivering groceries, hot meals, generators. People opening their homes and helping others find warm places to stay. I’ve seen Jesus demonstrated in a lot of people.

And I’ve also seen the opposite. Entitlement. Accusations. Anger. Meanness.

And it should cause all of us to pause and look in the mirror — not to point fingers — but to ask ourselves:

How did I respond when I was uncomfortable?

For most of us, this was a few days. Some longer. But still… this was inconvenience, not survival.

That’s what keeps bringing me back to Scripture.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He was displeased with how they responded when they lacked water. They complained.

“Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” (Exodus 17:2)

When they lacked food — even before they were truly starving — they complained again. And God said plainly that He was testing them.

“I will rain down bread from heaven for you… In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.” (Exodus 16:4)

The test wasn’t just hunger.  It was trust.

Would they trust Him daily? Would they resist hoarding?

Would they obey even when provision didn’t make sense?

Would they rest on the Sabbath believing God would provide enough?

And it took them a while to learn.

Scripture warns us that there is another season of testing and tribulation coming. And in His mercy, God often allows smaller tests before bigger ones — not to destroy us, but to prepare us. 

Even this week, we are reminded in this portion, and again with the birds,

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Matthew 6

Preparation matters to God. Examples matter. History matters.  Our responses matter.

Buying and selling includes food. Provision includes electricity. Trust will be tested again.

Honestly ask yourself — not in fear, but in humility — who or what you are trusting when comfort is stripped away.

Because sometimes we don’t realize how much we rely on systems… until they flicker off.

These things happened to them in the wilderness as a test.  These things are happening to us as a test.

Even when the cloud remains. Even when the wind lifts you higher than you’re comfortable with. Even when the nest is stirred.

Will you trust God only when He feels loud —or will you believe Him forever?

Because the same God who brought Israel out - is the God who brings us to Himself.

On wings. Under covering. Into covenant.

Amen.