Moses told Jethro that he (Moses) wanted to go back and see how his people in Egypt were doing. A similar language was used to describe his first mission, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. (Ex 2:11). Indirectly, Moses told Jethro, “I’m going to complete what I started.” The Lord will complete what He has started concerning your life.
Jethro gave his blessing to Moses. As a spiritual man, Jethro discerned the calling of Moses rightly and released him. He might have known that the hand of the Lord was on Moses and that his days in the wilderness would end one day. Both Moses and Jethro acted in the right way, and the Lord used each one to bring deliverance to His people.
“So, Moses went and returned to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, ‘Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt and see whether they are still alive.’ And Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’” (Ex 4:18). When Moses saw the burning bush on Mount Horeb, he did not know it would be a significant turning point in his life. Out of curiosity, he turned aside to see the rare sight of fire burning in the bush without consuming its leaves. Out of the burning bush, the Lord commissioned Moses to go and liberate the Hebrew enslaved people. This was an assignment he had failed 40years earlier, yet the Lord sent Moses back to Egypt.
How should we respond to God’s mission and still act responsibly with our earthly supervisor? Jethro was both Moses’ father-in-law and his boss; Moses was an undershepherd over Jethro’s flock. We can see that Moses did not presume to jump onto his mission immediately after having had an out-of-this-world experience with God. He understood his responsibility to Jethro and asked permission from him, and Jethro allowed him to go in peace. Moses didn’t start his ministry without asking consent from Jethro. He had just met God, but he still went back and sought permission from Jethro before fulfilling God’s mandate for his life. We must act like Moses; we must seek agreement from our earthly bosses to do the heavenly assignment.
