Yisro

After he heard all that happened to the Jewish people on the way out of Egypt, Yisro takes Moshe's wife and two children and joins Moshe in the desert. The Torah makes a point of telling us the names of Moshe's children and why they were so named. שם האחד גרשם כי אמר גר הייתי בארץ נכריה, the name of one was Gershom, for he had said, I was a sojourner in a strange land. ושם האחד אליעזר כי אלקי אבי בעזרי ויצליני מחרב פרעה, and the name of the other was Eliezer for the G-d of my father came to my aid and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.

The sequence chronologically, however, is the reverse. He was saved from the sword of Pharaoh before he went to Midian to live as a sojourner. Why, then, did he name his first child Gershom to commemorate his living as a sojourner and his second child Eliezer to commemorate getting saved from the sword of Pharaoh? It should have been just the opposite?

Reb Moshe Feinstein explains that someone as talented as Moshe could easily have integrated himself into the culture of Midian and risen to the higher echelons of society. In essence, he would thereby be trading Pharaoh's palace for one in Midian. What, then, would have been the point of Hashem saving him from the sword of Pharaoh? Moshe's task was to remain true to the Jewish people and eventually to lead them. Moshe, who had this clarity of thought, named his first son Gershom, to give thanks to Hashem for giving him the strength to realize that he's just a sojourner in Midian.

The Chafetz Chaim gives a similar answer and says that Moshe was living in the house of Yisro, who at that time wasn't Jewish yet and was surrounded by all kinds of things that weren't conducive for the Jewish home, so Moshe named his first son Gershom to remind himself and his family that our time here on this world is transient. When we arrive on this world until we go to the next world, it is like we are traveling through a foreign land. Therefore, don't get too comfortable where you are and don't learn from the people around you because we're just traveling and leaving soon.

The Chafetz Chaim uses a parable to explain. A man traveled to the fair with the hopes of being able to do big business. The fact that he had to leave his family and travel far for many months didn't trouble him for he knew that he would be able to make enough money to support his family for years to come. Imagine this man is at the fair, doing big business, when one of his friends comes up to him and says, “hey, let's get out of here and go party”. His reaction would be, “are you crazy? I spent months traveling; I left my family; do you think I’m going to go waste my time when I’m here? I'm going to use every second to attain my goal and not waste a second!”

This says the Chafetz Chaim is how our soul feels on this world. It came down from a special place in heaven for a short time, just to acquire Torah and good deeds. However, the Yetzer Hara tries to get us to waste time on nothingness. We have to be like the merchant and tell him “are you nuts?! I'm not going to waste my time!”

The של”ה הקדוש  explains that the name עם הארץ that normally associate with someone who is unlearned, is really referring to one who makes this world as his primary residence as opposed to one who sees this world as just a means to get to the next one. In a similar vein, רב חיים שמואלביץ  explains that a בן עוה”ב is someone who, even when he's here, realizes that it’s just temporary and his real home is in Olam Habah. This is what Moshe was trying to teach us. By naming his first son Gershom, he demonstrates that we always must view ourselves as outsiders; we don't really belong here and our goal is to be like the merchant and not waste any time that will take us away from our true purpose!