OT: The Book of Exodus, Chapter 18

Exodus 18:1-27

18:1 In the second chapter of Exodus we met Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro gave Moses a place to live in his home in Midian after Moses fled from Egypt. Word had spread all the way into Midian about all that God was doing for the children of Israel.

18:2-4 Jethro had allowed Moses and Zipporah (Jethro's daughter and Moses' wife) to leave Midian and set out on this seemingly impossible journey: Moses wanted to free the children of Israel and had been told by God that he would be able to do so. Jethro believed and still believes as he brings Moses' wife and children to reunite with him.

Moses had sent Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer ahead of the group to be with Jethro in the place they were born.

• Gershom name meaning: Exile "For he [Moses] said, 'I have been a stranger in a foreign land.'"

• Eliezer name meaning: My God is Help "For he [Moses] said, 'The God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.'"

Moses loves and deeply appreciates God. His two sons are reminders to him of God's mercy and generosity. In naming his sons after the blessings of our God, Moses exemplifies to us that our love for God can and should be present in every aspect of our lives. Let each piece of the world be a reminder of His compassion.

18:5-6 Jethro and Moses' family reach him while he is encamped at the mountain of God. Jethro had sent word of their journey and so Moses was expected them.

18:7 Jethro and Moses greet each other lovingly. Moses' gratitude is apparent: he's grateful to Jethro for caring for and also bringing his family back to him. Moses is kind through-and-through. His humility and kindness is not only displayed when he's communicating with God. God fills us with the blessing of joy and it illuminates our souls.

18:8-11 Jethro and Moses catch up as Moses shares the story of his incredible journey of faith. Jethro rejoices and expresses his own awe of God. Moses' experiences are enough to convince Jethro that God is the only true Creator and all-powerful being.

18:11 God is establishing himself in the hearts, minds and souls of humanity. During this time, people were worshiping idols and kings. God wanted to provide truth to their belief system, to give them a source of true power and wisdom: Himself. God's mission is still the same. Perhaps it is rare that people in our time still worship idols, little caricatures believed to be gods... but we have our own idols. We idolize wealth and fame, vanity and control. Our idols might be different now but our degree of distraction is the same.

18:12 Jethro sacrificed to God to express his believe. Aaron, Moses and the elders of the children of Israel join Jethro in celebrating our beautiful God. Although God does not want our burnt offerings, Hosea 6:6, sacrifices are and have been a meaningful way for people to express their faith. By giving something special to God, a person places Him above something they truly love. The sacrifice provides time, space and opportunity to tangibly place Him in the center of our lives and minds.

Sacrifice is a way to deny idols. To give away something valuable is to show God that He is more important in our lives than that thing. For people of Moses' time, that meant to choicest of their livelihood. For us it can be anything that consumes a lot of our time and attention. By depriving ourselves of it, we allow our love for God to take that space.

18:13 The children of Israel have questions about life and God. The hunger of their faith is awakened and they are ravenous for truth and explanation. God has rescued them from enslavement, eliminated their enemies, provided water, fed them for years in the desolation of a desert... and they want to know more about this God who has claimed them. Moses is their leader and so naturally, thousands flock to him with their questions.

18:14 Jethro notices that Moses is spending the entirety of every day sitting with people and counseling them spiritually. He's working every minute of the day with person after person. He's faithfully and passionately and arduously serving God. It's important to realize the type of serving God's children do: we serve because we crave a way to express our love and gratitude for Him. We serve because we desire to share His promises with people because we know how His love changes lives.

8:15-16 Moses is not waking up thinking, "Ugh. Time to clock in... again." Moses is waking up with energy and passion and faith and he's zealous about pouring out all the wisdom God has given him to others...

18:17-18 At the same time, Jethro notices that Moses is on track to become overwhelmed... it is a monumental task after all. The group is filled with over 600,000 people.

18:19 Read this verse as if Jethro is speaking directly to you, his advice is paramount and the best you will ever receive: Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: "Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God."

Meditate on that. Let's analyze the verse in fragments:

• |Stand before God| God's love is our haven. We grow up and become many things in the world, daughters, friends, adults, parents, siblings, employees, leaders... but when we stand before God, all of that is peeled away. When we stand before God are simply, purely, His beloved child. When we stand before God we have His complete, focused, empathetic attention. The moments we stand before God are precious ones: devoid of distractions, filters, facades. When we stand before God we can be our complete selves, we can express, unashamedly, our every emotion. When we stand before God, we are actually being held by Him. The spotlight isn't on us, waiting for us to make a speech. The light exudes from Him into us in order to comfort us. To comfort us to the point of realizing that we do not even need to say anything. He knows. He already knows. Let Him hold you and know you. Allow yourself to receive the blessing that is just a peaceful,  intimate, compassionate moment with Him. Let Him breathe renewal, refreshment, life into you. He's done it before for you, Genesis 2:7.

• |For the people| The clearest language our God understands is love. Love on behalf of others. When we genuinely care about the well being of the souls in our lives, we present Him with the gold He really desires. Selfless prayers spring up to Him so quickly. When He can see that you zealously hope to be an instrument of compassion and justice, He immediately begins to prepares you. You benefit from your selflessness. He fixes all of the hurts and broken places within you so that you are complete and able to do amazing things on His behalf for the people around you.
• For example: Notice the difference in the following two types of prayers
• "God please give me patience. I am so frustrated by the people and circumstances in my life."

vs.

• "God please give me the patience I need to understand the people and circumstances in my life. Please give me the patience I need to fix what is broken not just for myself but for others as well. Please give me the patience I need to enable joy to fill these joyless spaces."

When you speak to God, speak His language! Allow your communication with Him to thrive. Matthew 25:40, God will say to us: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ He wants us to be our best selves not for Him... no, He's not selfish. He wants us to be our best for the benefit of His children.

• |So that you may bring| Bring to Him your concerns and burdens. Let Him deliver the relief. Let Him deliver the answers and plans. If your load is heavy, walk it right on over to Him and release it. There is nothing that you are experiencing that He cannot deal with. In fact, He's dealt with it all already, Ecclesiastes 1:9. When the load feels too heavy, surrender to Him. The moment we realize that we cannot do it alone and do not have to is the day we are free.

• |The difficulties to God| Ensure that you place your most vulnerable self before Him and no one or thing else. You are so valuable to Him. He is the One who will handle you with the delicacy your soul needs. He is the One who has the power and material and selfless desire to heal you. No one or thing else possess that ability. Only He is complete. When you need a pillar, choose Him. He will never crumble. He will never grow weary. His life is devoted to supporting you. So when you are looking for a place to rest, lay yourself down before Him, your haven. Revelation 3:12 God will make you a pillar. Part of the beauty of God's love is that it is healing and empowering. He comforts you when you need Him and then He makes you stronger. You become the pillar and He entrusts you with so much. Because He provides the strength, He enables you to do and be so much more than you ever dreamed.

18:20 Returning to Exodus, Jethro's advice to Moses is to allow God to plan and organize a system more conducive to teaching and providing God's will for such a large mass of people. God is about to establish an outline by which to live, advice from Him on how to life a joyful and productive life.

18:21 Undoutably, Jethro was placed into Moses' life by God. Jethro became a home for Moses when he was a nomad on the run from Egypt. Jethro took care of Moses' family when he was working tirelessly for the Lord, for their futures and the conditions of their world. And now Jethro provides some much needed advice: Moses you're balancing too much. Bring it to God before you become unstable.

Jethro's advice is to organize a social system in which Moses is not the sole leader. The people require more attention and more organized distribution. They need to be able to reach and communicate with leaders without standing in line of thousands, "You shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."

18:22-23 Jethro advises Moses to bring this idea to God. The effort is to make leadership more manageable and effective. Jethro's advice is lovingly and selflessly given; Jethro does not request that Moses trust his wisdom but God's. 1 Corinthians 8:2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. Be humble. Do not trust anyone, not even yourself, if they are arrogant. The wisest people are the people who admit that they have questions. They inquire. They seek out truth.

18:24 Moses heeds Jethro's advice and does indeed stand before God and bring his difficulties to God. It is likely that God planted the idea of organization in Jethro's mind and sent him to share it with Moses. God consents (to the advice He likely planted) and so...

18:25-26 ...Moses begins to choose able and faithful men and place them in positions of leadership. This enables children of Israel to efficiently receive the readily available counsel they seek.

18:27 Jethro returns to his own home. His purpose as a messenger for God fulfilled. Present yourself to God as a willing instrument of His compassionate work. You and God can change the world.