Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
Jethro continued his testimony by declaring that he knew that the LORD is greater than all gods. That is a powerful statement. I have witnessed people who walk around with signs claiming “Jesus is Lord”. Yet they behave themselves as if “a” Jesus is lord, but they do not believe in an authoritative, exclusive God. If a person can manipulate their god into their image, that is not the true God. The true God is greater than all gods. He is greater than I am. I cannot mould Him into what I think He is. I need to look at what He has declared about Himself and accept that and if I do, I will submit to Him.
Jethro also recognized that the thing that people are proud of, is nothing compared to Who God is. Pharaoh had assumed he was the greatest. His magicians assumed they could create things that did not exist. God destroyed all the hype in Egypt. Egypt was stripped of all its assumed majesty.
In verse 12 we see that Jethro understood the significance of true sacrifice. He did not want to sacrifice to some false god. He had enough understanding of Who God is that he wanted to sacrifice to this true God. Aaron came and joined in with this true worship of God. True worship with the true God is not Christians entering into some imaginary ideas of others. True worship is true saints helping others to be careful that they can actually worship the true God. Aaron and the others were there to worship the true God. They were not there to explore an open ended idea.
In verse 13 God gave Jethro an opportunity to observe a day in the life of Moses. Moses was a busy man. The people had many needs and the good news is that they saw the importance of coming to Moses to help them to deal with their needs. The problem was that Moses was not really capable of meeting the needs of the people.
Jethro could see what was happening, even though Moses and Aaron did not. Sometimes we can become so involved in things that we miss out on what God wants of us. We are only human. The Lord Jesus Christ dealt with many people while He was on earth. They kept Him busy from morning til evening. As God He could handle all of that. As Man He needed time away from the people. He found time to be with His Father regularly.
As people, in particular those of us who are in ministry, we need time away from people and with the Lord. We are not capable of doing all that Jesus did. Since May of this year the Lord has been showing me the need to take more time away from the busyness of life. He has forced me to see this by putting me in the hospital several times since then. Unlike the time of Moses, we do not have multiple people to fall back on at this time. God has a plan and it is important to listen to Him.
Jethro counselled Moses to choose out some good men who could help him in his leadership role. He needed to be in charge, but not every situation was one he needed to personally address. God could raise up other men who could counsel the people in some of their less pressing needs. Of course every need of man needs to be addressed by God through His Word.
Those whom He calls into leadership need to be men who have a close walk with Him. We do not need counselling manuals. We do not need self-help guides.
There was a man named James Dobson who developed a work based on secular psychology. He claimed to be a “Christian psychologist”, but his brand of Christianity was greatly lacking. He was of a more conservative nature, but still a well-defined New Evangelical. Many people put far too much trust in him because he would reference the Bible in his talks. He would reference the Bible, but he was not a sound expositor of the Word of God.
God raises up godly men to help others to see things from His perspective. A God-ordained man will not pull a verse out of its context to fit a need. He will honour the Word of God and give sound counsel. It may not be appreciated but it will be the truth. Every person needs to see the importance of knowing the true God and trusting in Him for all their needs.
Jethro gave Moses some wise counsel. We will see later on that the LORD gave Moses the same counsel. As we have mentioned, that is key. Men might give us counsel. We need to be sure that the counsel we accept is built upon the Word of God.
Today is the Lord’s day, It is another opportunity to attend a true local church where you can be encouraged and challenged from the Word of the LORD. You need Truth in your life. Build your life on the Lord and you will know His peace and blessing.
Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Pastor Bartel
