COC 25 Exodus 18

Exodus 18

This morning we’ll cover all of Exodus 18. This chapter is a unity because it all involves, Jethro, but it divides neatly into two sections with two different themes. Both sections are very interesting and very practical for us.

First, READ Exodus 18:1-12. We first met Moses father-in-law back in chapter 2, where he was called by the name Reuel. Moses was fleeing from Egypt, and helped Jethro’s daughters, and was invited to stay with them, and ended up marrying Jethro’s daughter Zipporah.

Apparently when Moses went into Egypt to face Pharaoh, he sent his wife and sons back to stay with their father in Midian. But the news has spread – news that the God of the Hebrews is doing amazing things for His people, news that Israel has come out of Egypt. So Jethro brings Zipporah and Gershom and Eliezer so that the family can be reunited with Moses. And presumably from this point forward Moses family traveled with him.

Verses 7 seems to indicate that Moses and Jethro are on good terms with one another, and that this is a happy reunion. Verse 8 recounts how Moses shared with his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done. I want to come back to verse 8 in a moment, but for now let’s go on into verse 9.

“Jethro rejoiced” – these are words of delight. Jethro was delighted about the goodness of Yahweh to Israel. And in verse 10 Jethro said “Blessed be Yahweh.” He is saying “Praise be to Yahweh.” Or “Yahweh deserves my praise.” That is a pretty remarkable thing for a Midianite (pagan) priest to say. And in verse 11 he says Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods. It was proven when they tried to take Him on – when they tried to oppress God’s people. Yahweh is the great God. And in verse 12 he demonstrates even more clearly his commitment to this: bring an offering and sacrifices for God, and then eating a fellowship meal before God together with Israel’s elders.

I will admit that we aren’t told everything about Jethro’s heart. I will admit that we don’t know exactly what he meant with his offering and sacrifices here. But this evidence of conversion is just about as clear as anything you’re going to find in the Old Testament. He’s excited about what God has done; He knows that God deserves His praise; it knows that it isn’t just any God but Yahweh, the God of Israel; He knows the other gods are nothing compared to Yahweh; he brings offerings and sacrifices and has a fellowship meal with the leaders of Yahweh’s people! Surely we can appropriately conclude that Jethro got saved.

Now go back and READ Exodus 18:8. Keep a hand in Exodus 18, but turn back to Genesis 47. READ Genesis 47:7-10.

In these two passages, Jacob and Moses each had opportunities to speak before sympathetic Gentile leaders, Gentile leaders who had seen some evidence of the working of God. That Pharaoh had seen it through Joseph; and of course Jethro has heard about it through Moses and others. Both Moses and Jacob have been through very difficult things. But notice that Jacob doesn’t mention Yahweh, the true God, or anything Yahweh has done. This is just a summary, I realize – but the inspired summary of Jacob’s speech doesn’t mention anything about God. Moses, on the other hand, talks about the fame of Yahweh.

This is surely an important component in the conversion of Jethro. When He had the opportunity, Moses did everything He could to spread the fame of the true God. This is our church mission statement: we are living for the fame of the true God. He told Jethro all about the greatness of the true God.
We should say: “God is amazing, and I want everyone to know how amazing God is. And if I get any opportunity I’m going to tell them.”
But now notice, both Jacob and Moses talked about life’s struggles. Jacob said “the years of my life have been unpleasant.” Moses told his father in law all the hardship that had befallen them. They both talk about life’s struggles. So I am not suggesting that Christians should pretend that life is all peaches and cream, and we never stop smiling. No, no. Being fake will not help spread God’s fame. Life is hard – it’s hard because of sin and the consequences of sin. Both Jacob and Moses talked about life’s struggles; but that’s all Jacob talked about.
Moses took life’s troubles and used them as a platform for explaining the greatness of God. He showed what God had been doing in and through the hard things. And Jethro got saved!
What a great challenge for us today. In difficult times in our country, when we talk to nonChristians, do we sound more like Jacob or Moses?
Do we have a passion to spread the fame of God, or are we content to grumble with everyone else about what’s wrong with the world?
This text suggests a simple way to start: Moses talked about what God had done through the hardship. You can do the same thing: share with others what God is doing in your life through hardship. Point them to Him and His greatness.
Faithful followers of Christ glorify God by knowing His unique greatness, valuing that above all else, and living to make His unique greatness known to others. That’s what Moses did; and a pagan priest was saved as a result. Praise the Lord!

TRANSITION: READ Exodus 18:13-27

Maybe God inspired this section of Exodus just to help us understand some of the structure in Israel that will help us understand other parts of the Pentateuch later on. But it surely seems that it is appropriate for us to draw out some principles here that apply for us as the people of God in local churches today.

Certainly there are some major differences between Exodus 18 and a local church. We’re dealing with the nation of Israel, not a New Testament church. Moses was a prophet who was receiving direct personal revelation from God. So there are some major differences. But there are also some significant parallels and principles.

1. There is a need for organization among God’s people. Both for Israel and the church, God indicated the need for some organization. The New Testament talks about offices and qualifications and votes and procedures. It doesn’t say a lot about that, but it does say some things. I think we all wish ministry could be totally organic; we could just do whatever needs to be done and not every have to worry about formally organizing anything. The reason we want that is because we have seen bureaucracy become a cumbersome mess so many times. The organization becomes more important than the people. We have to be careful to see what kinds of organization Scripture indicates we should have, and implement those things for God’s sake and for the sake of people, not vice versa. So there is a need for organization, so that ministry can be done efficiently and effectively.

2. Verse 20 indicates that Moses needed to focus on teaching, both teaching what God had said, and teaching what that meant for their walk and their work – how they lived. Instead of being the one answer man for each individual, Moses needed to be teaching the Word of God, teaching the principles that could be applied by all the people. In a similar way, the New Testament says that there are supposed to be men who are appointed to the office of elder, and those men must be able to teach, and certain of those men are supposed to work hard at preaching and teaching (I Timothy 5:18). The Bible uses the word preach, which means to be a herald, to proclaim a message. God’s people now need what God’s people needed then – leaders who work hard at teaching and preaching the Word of God. But Moses didn’t have time to do that, because he was spending all of his time judging. This leads us to number 3.

3. The leaders of God’s people must have their ministry priorities in order. Was it wrong for Moses to judge? Not at all. The problem was the priority that had been given to that, the proportion of his time that had to be spent on that. This is an obvious parallel to Acts 6, where the leaders of the first church in Jerusalem realized that they were spending a disproportionate amount of time distributing food. It was good for them to distribute food, but not when it kept them from devoting themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). Pastors are expected to do lots of things – and that isn’t bad. The problem is that those things can easily get way out of proportion.

I’ve read this to you before, but someone wrote this facetious want-ad for a pastor:

Applicant must offer experience as shop worker, office manager, educator, artist, salesman, diplomat, writer, theologian, politician, Boy Scout leader, children’s worker, minor league athlete, psychologist, vocational counselor, funeral director, wedding consultant, master of ceremonies, circus clown, missionary, social worker. Must know all about problems of birth, marriage, and death; also conversant with the latest theories and practices in areas like pediatrics, economics, and nuclear science. Must hold firm views on every topic, but be careful not to upset people who disagree. Must be forthright but flexible; should have outgoing, friendly disposition at all times; should be captivating speaker and intent listener. Education must be beyond Ph.D. requirements, but always concealed in homespun modesty. Able to sound brilliant at times, but never sounds condescending. Must be willing to work long hours; subject to call any time day or night. Will spend at least 25 hours preparing sermons, and 10 additional hours reading books and magazines to stay current. 10 hours should be spent in evangelism, 10 hours in counselling. Remaining free time should be spent answering correspondence, taking care of all of the church business, going to meetings, visiting shut-ins, etc. Must spend ample time with family. No overtime pay.

Frankly, I love the fact that pastoring is full of variety and adventure. I am not complaining. But there is a temptation for those other things to become the main things. And what should be the main things get pushed to the side. By God’s grace, he used Jethro to help Moses see this. By God’s grace the leaders in the early church discerned that this was happening.

And it is important for you to keep this in mind. There are an endless number of ministry things that your pastor could do – but you ought to insist that your pastor make the main things the main things, and do whatever you can to help me keep the main things the main things. We will not be a healthy church if the pastor is not able to make a priority of prayer and working hard and preaching and teaching. This leads to number 4:

4. Now Exodus 18 and Acts 6 indicate that you help guard the priorities of the leadership by providing help for them. In both Exodus 18 and Acts 6, they chose qualified men to help. In the New Testament these men have a God-given title: deacons. And God gave the qualifications: READ Exodus 18:21. Men who think big, biblical thoughts about God, love His truth, and are trustworthy. Of course in the New Testament I Timothy 3 gives God’s qualifications for the office of deacon. These men come alongside and help, and they help with the particular goal of freeing the elders to make the main things the main things.

This helping is not limited to men. We see that men are given the responsibility for the public preaching and teaching, and the overall oversight. But in the NT we see women playing a number of key roles in ministry, and I Timothy 3 describes qualifications for deacons wives. I believe that is because a man and his wife form a team, and you can call him a deacon and her a deaconess if you want, that doesn’t bother me. The point is that together the two of them come alongside the elders and help. So the principle is that you help guard the priorities of the leadership by providing help for them, with qualified men and women.

We can’t ignore the camel in the tent, the elephant in the room, or whatever you want to call it. Our church has no deacons. Why? We need godly couples who are willing and able and eager to do it. I do not believe we should be content to go on indefinitely without deacons, because the office of deacon is part of God’s plan for His church. It’s part of God’s plan to keep the elders focused on the main things, so that the church is healthy. For that reason, deacons are an important part of a healthy church. We should pray for godly couples to be willing and able and eager to do it. Honestly, I’m praying that God will use this in the hearts of some of you today.

After talking about Moses and his witness to his father-in-law, please take the canvassing handout that was in your worship guide…

Stuart calls this “the story of the conversion of a relative, Moses’ father-in-law, a development with personal meaning for many people since almost every believer can name a family member, close or distant, that he or she wants to come to faith.”

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law,

Called “Reuel” in chapter 2, when Moses flees from Egypt, helps Jethro’s daughters, is invited to stay with Jethro, and ends up marrying his daughter Zipporah.

heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Clearly the news of what God has done is spreading.

2 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Moses' wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away,

Apparently when Moses went into Egypt to face Pharaoh, he sent his wife and sons back to stay with her father in Midian.

3 and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." 4 The other was named Eliezer, for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." 5 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God.

Mount of God will be dealt with in chapter 19.

6 He sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her." 7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them.

Verses 7-8 seem to indicate that Moses and Jethro were on good terms with one another, suggesting that the parting from his wife and children was probably not an angry separation, but done out of necessity because Moses was going into a dangerous situation in Egypt. So presumably he was reunited with his family here and from now on they traveled with him.
The importance of verse 8 is highlighted by contrasting it with Gen. 47:9. Here Jacob and Moses both had opportunities to speak before sympathetic Gentiles, Gentiles who had seen some evidence of the working of God. Both Moses and Jacob have been through very difficult things. Jacob doesn’t mention Yahweh, the true God, or anything Yahweh has done. Moses talks about the fame of Yahweh. Jacob talks about life’s struggles; Moses talks about God the deliverer.

This is surely an important part of Jethro’s conversion. And what an interesting challenge for us today: in difficult times in our country, when we talk to nonChristians, do we sound more like Jacob or Moses?
Note how it specifically tells us that Moses didn’t gloss over the hard things – it doesn’t do any good to pretend as if life is all peaches and cream for Christians. That’s not the point. But Moses emphasized what God had done in and through the hard things.
“I have made the word of God complicated. I have taken the Psalms – ‘I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations’ (Psalm 89:1) – and rendered them inert. One can do that in at least two ways: Regard them as prophetic ecstasy; regard them as bygone liturgical recitations. A day is coming when we will groan at how simple this all was: You do not tell you love in private how awesome he is, and then act embarrassed about him in public. This would not be called discretion but betrayal. And yet I have called discretion my public silences about God, and have spun Byzantine rules for the when, where, and how of it, until my sledge has bogged down in the mud and I hardly speak of God at all. No wonder Jesus loves children best.” (Andree Seu, “Silent Betrayal,” World January 31, 2009)

9 Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 So Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people." 12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law before God.

The word at the beginning of verse 9 are words of delight – “Jethro was delighted.”
The NIV renders the beginning of verse 10 “Praise be to the Lord,” and I think that helps us capture what Jethro is saying: I am giving praise to Yahweh (this is a priest of the Midianites!).
This certainly seems like conversion: the recognition of Yahweh as the one true God; the recognition that He has the right to my life, expressed in the offerings and sacrifices given to God.
BKC “Jethro’s true spiritual condition is not explicitly stated.”
Stuart argues strongly that Jethro was converted, and that here we see as clearly as possible someone turning to the Lord as best they know (413). He notes that though there haven’t been instructions about sacrifices given yet, ever since Ada, & Eve is has seemed that people understood the importance of sacrifice, a substitute so that they might live. And they also seemed to have some sense that a sacrifice had to do with forgiveness, an appeal for acceptance before God. So however much Jethro understands, what He says about Yahweh, his desire to sacrifice to Yahweh, and his desire to eat a fellowship meal before Yahweh with the leaders of Israel all suggest that this man was genuinely converted.

13 It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 Now when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?" 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

Deut. 34:10, Moses as a great and unique prophet, so there was something special going on here.

16 "When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws." 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 "You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 "Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people's representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,

Nothing in the NT suggests that pastors are supposed to be the people’s “representative before God” (like Catholic priest or saint)

20 then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21 "Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 22 "Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 "If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace." 24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 26 They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge. 27 Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

Stuart notes that the problem wasn’t what Moses was doing; it was the proportion of his time that he was spending on it by trying to do it all by himself.
Not any men were acceptable for these positions (i.e., willingness wasn’t sufficient), but they were supposed to be examined for certain qualifications. The qualifications here show that these men had to be men of God, men of the word, and trustworthy men.
Deut. 1:9-10 seem to clearly indicate that this delegation actually happened after the giving of the law, so BKC suggests that this was added here to tell the rest of the story, though chronologically it happened later.
This shows us that ministry takes organization. We wish it could be totally organic; we could just do whatever needs to be done and not every have to worry about formally organizing anything. The reason we want that is because we have seen bureaucracy become a cumbersome mess so many times. The organization becomes more important than the people. This leads some people to abandon organization all together, which is foolish and unbiblical. The right answer is to try to see what kinds of organization Scripture indicates we should have, and implement those things for God’s sake and for the sake of people, not vice versa.
In one sense, it is not fair to compare Moses’ situation here with that of a pastor. Moses’ job was exponentially more difficult. It is also not a fair comparison because Moses was receiving revelation directly from God to pass along to the people. But the basic leadership principles here, the basic model here, is reflected in the New Testament teaching about a pastor and a local church.

o The elders are responsible for the teaching (v.20). The Biblical principles form the foundation for all of the ministry, all of the decision making, all of the discipleship. And the pastor lays that foundation as He teaches the Bible. The NT uses the word “herald,” the pastor is a proclaimer who brings the King’s message.

o The elders are responsible for the big matters, the big issues. Several NT words communicate that concept. There are some difference in the NT – NT elders don’t receive direct communication from God; and the people in the congregation in the NT play a role in decision making. But the elders are ultimately responsible before God for the big decisions, the big issues.

o Other men must come alongside the elders. In the New Testament we call them deacons. Acts 6 sets that pattern for us, I Timothy 3 gives their qualifications. There are very clear similarities between Exodus 18 and Acts 6.

o This helping is not limited to men. We see that men are given the responsibility for the public preaching and teaching, and the overall oversight. But in the NT we see women playing a number of key roles in ministry, and it’s possible that I Timothy 3 is even describing a role of deaconess.