Daily Devotions
Exodus
"Israel was holiness to the LORD, the firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them, says the LORD." Jeremiah 2:3
Text: Exodus 18 : 17-20
GOOD INTENTIONS
Moses had good intentions. His reply revealed many good qualities!
1. He was obviously responsible.
2. He was wonderfully faithful.
3. He had a great sense of duty to both God and man.
4. He was unafraid of hard work..
5. He had a great sense of commitment and compassion to help others.
6. He sought to humbly reach out to people with his knowledge of God and His laws.
With these good intensions, Moses sought to fulfill what God had given him to do! He did not seem to know that there were other ways of discharging his duties.
GOOD ADVICE
Jethro must have loved this son-in-law especially. He was so unpretentious! But he sure could do with a bit of good advice.
“So Moses’ father-in-law said to him,
‘The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people
who are with you will surely wear yourselves out.
For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it
by yourself. 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. And you shall teach
them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which
they must walk and the work they must do.'”
EXODUS 18:17-20
1. The danger of being worn out
At the rate Moses was going, he would eventually suffer from a burnt-out problem. The work was just too much for one person to handle!
2. Roles clearly delineated
Jethro was not suggesting that Moses should relax or lessen his workload. By all means, he must continue to play two very vital roles:-
a) He must continue to “stand before God”.
b) He must continue to “teach them the statutes and the laws”.
Nobody else could do these areas of work more effectively than Moses!