Exodus - Living as God’s People: Week 12

Written By Hayley Lotter

Opening Prayer:

Lord God,

You didn’t rescue Your people to walk alone.
Your story is the story of Your love being extended to all people, in all times, and places.
We are people You have called to be carriers of Your love to the world.
In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Key Scripture:

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.

9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Exodus 18

Sermon Summary:

We need each other. We can’t do it all alone. The Israelites have (slowly) been learning that they need to rely on God, to seek Him before all else. They have been learning to work together in partnership with God. Today, Moses learns a valuable lesson about working well with each other.

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, is a Midianite priest. Not an Israelite; he’s from a different people group. But he has heard the good news about Yahweh, about the God of the Israelites, who has rescued His people from slavery in Egypt. And he had heard about this good news through his son-in-law Moses, who had told him of all that God had done.

Moses is trying to do everything himself, feeling that, as the leader, he must make every decision, sort out every disagreement, be the first and final word on every issue that the Israelites are faced with. He’s trying to do too much – more than one person can do, however talented they are.

Jethro turns and blesses Moses and the Israelites with his wisdom. The work is too heavy for you, Jethro says to Moses. Yes, there are some crucial things that only you as the leader can do. But there is so much that others can do instead. Just like the battle against the Amalekites, when Moses was too weak and tired to keep his arms raised throughout the fight, and needed others to hold his arms up, Moses can’t do it alone. He needs others to aid him.

Split the work up, Jethro suggests. Delegate. Get other leaders – wise, trustworthy people – to take some of the responsibility upon their shoulders.

God didn’t rescue His people to walk alone. Here we see the story of God extended to other people, and those people blessing Israel with their experience and wisdom. God calls us to a life of interdependence with one another. God is inclusive, not exclusive. His purpose in calling the Israelites to be His people was so that through them, He could bless all the nations of the world. Our story is not just for our benefit but to benefit the whole world, and is therefore a story we need to share with others. When we tell stories about what God has done in our lives, we draw others to Him.

Questions to Consider:

  • What did you think of Jethro? How would you describe him?

  • Why do you think Jethro believed in God? Do you think other Midianites might have as well? Why or why not?

  • Why did Moses try and do everything? Why might he have been reluctant to let others get involved?

  • What was the solution Jethro shared with Moses?

  • What qualities did Jethro tell Moses to look for in a leader? How do these qualities compare to what we look for in leaders today?

  • When have you heard from God through someone else? How did they hear from God?

  • Why do we find it hard to tell others about our needs/weaknesses?

  • God calls us to a life of interdependence with one another. How does your life illustrate the truth of this?

Response:

Practice dependence - who could help you this week? Who could you help?

Additional Resources:

Further Study Resources:

Find the full sermon recording here
For a printable version of this guide click here

Hayley Lotter
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Exodus - Living as God’s People: Week 11