WISE ADVICE

JETHRO AND MOSES

Read Exodus 18:1–27

     "The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you."   Exodus 18:18b–19a NIV

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     When Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt, he sent word to him: "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons." (18:6) As Jethro settled in, he quickly noted that Moses was trying to do everything himself.

     If this man was going to keep going, Jethro observed, he would need help. His advice was to seek out capable, godly men to judge the simple matters, who would then bring the difficult cases to Moses. He said, " If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." (18:23)

     Just like Moses, we often think we have to do everything ourselves. It is important, not only for our own benefit, but also our children's, to give them age appropriate responsibilities.

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     Lord, help me to learn to delegate responsibility and to train my "child in the way he should go, so that when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

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     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.    Exodus 18:8 NIV