After leaving Mitzrayim, Moshe became king in Ethiopia where he riled successfully for 40 years. When the infant son of the previous king became old enough to reign, Moshe went to the land of Midyan.
There lived Yisro, a pagan priest greatly respected by his people. He worshiped idols of stone and wood and led all his countrymen in this religion.
Rejects Paganism
But Yisro was a clever and analytical thinker, and he soon came to the conclusion that his worship of these idols was futile and foolish. They were not really gods, he saw, and so he called his people together and told them that he was too old to lead them. “Choose a younger and stronger man, and allow me to retire in my remaining years.”
But the people understood Yisro’s real reason for wishing to step down and they grew angry. They put a curse on anyone who helped his family. Yisro’s daughters were forced to take over as his shepherds.
The people of Midyan made it difficult for the girls to water their flocks each time they came to the wells.
It was at just such a moment that Moshe arrived. He felt sorry for the girls and came forward to help them.
And the Almighty looked down and saw what he had done. “Because he had pity on strange girls, he shall now be called the servant of the Lord, and the people of the world shall know that My servants are good to all and that their mercies are on all the creatures of the Lord.”
Prison
The daughters of Yisro rushed home to their father and told their father about the Egyptian man who saved them from the shepherds.
Yisro told them to invite the man in.
“I am a Hebrew and I come from Egypt,” said Moshe and then told Yisro all that had befallen him in both Egypt and Ethiopia.
Yisro listened carefully to all that Moshe told him and thought to himself:
“Can this be? Can a man who has comfort and wealth give it all up for principle and ideals? I cannot believe such a thing. Surely, there was some evil action that he did in Ethiopia and, because of this, he had fled. I will have him thrown into prison until the Egyptians come and send for him.”
Moshe was thrown in Yisro’s prison and remained there for 10 years. He surely would have perished if the eldest daughter, Tzipporah, had not fed him every day.
When ten years had passed, she approached her father and reminded him of the man he had sent to the pit.
Yisro was astonished to find that Moshe was still alive and, not knowing, that Tzipporah had fed him, took his “miraculous” survival to be a sign that Moshe was a true man of G-d.
He ordered his servants to take Moshe out of the pit, bathe him and give him fresh clothing.
The Wondrous Staff
Moshe now lived in the house of Yisro, where the latter was continually amazed at the wisdom of his guest. Tzipporah, meanwhile, continued to love the stranger.
Tzipporah was well known among the people of the region. She was a beautiful woman with a fine and noble character. All the princes of the region desired her for a wife, and they all came to Yisro to ask for her hand in marriage. Yisro had the same answer for each:
“In my garden there is a wondrous staff. If you succeed in pulling it from the ground and bringing it here, you may have my daughter as a wife.”