Coromandel Baptist Church

Sunday 28 June 2009 Exodus 18:1-27; Ephesians 4:1-16

Nations are Blessed and Moses is Helped

In Exodus 18 we read of Jethro’s profession of faith and his wise counsel to Moses. Jethro was Moses’ father in law and a priest of Midian, who came to understand that the Lord alone is God. We also see the way in which the Lord equipped his people so that the burden for their care did not rest solely on Moses. For ourselves we find the same principles are repeated. Saving faith is not in a ‘god’ generally, but the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, who has revealed himself in his words and deeds by saving us. In our day of pluralistic and syncretistic religion, the proclamation of the gospel defines who God is and how we come to know him, over and against who we might like god to be and how we think we might know him (or her, or them, or it!). Likewise, God equips his family with the gifts needed to walk in wisdom so that the community of his people is sustained by the word, rather than merely ‘case by case’ care.

Exodus 18:1 indicates that Jethro had been following events from a distance. He heard of God’s works for Israel in redeeming them from the midst of Egypt. This action was extraordinary. This is made plain in the Old Testament testimony about the event (e.g. Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 6:21; 7:8-9; etc.), and it made its impact on Jethro. He brought Moses’ wife and family to meet Moses who tells them about all the events by which God had brought them freedom and how he had delivered them (Ex. 18:2-8). We are not told why the family had returned to be with Jethro, so speculation is best avoided. However, it is plain that there was now a significant reunion of the family under the joyful news of the deliverance of Israel. They come to meet Moses at ‘the mount of God’ (Ex. 18:5), and this is in fact the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise God made to Moses in Exodus 3:12. The sign that God would be with Moses was that he would come back to worship on this mountain, and in this chapter the worship begins, being led by Jethro in this instance.

Jethro hears the news of God’s great and gracious ways and he professes faith in the Lord as the true God (Ex. 18:9-12), offering a sacrifice in thanksgiving to God. We know that the original Midian from whom the tribe was named was a descendant of Abraham, albeit by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). However, he and his family would have known of the covenant promises made to Abraham, and it is likely that Moses sought refuge among them at the time of his flight from Egypt (at age 40) because of some affinity with his own people. Despite this, Jethro had not truly come to know the God of Israel personally, but now he does so (Ex. 18:11a). The theme of ‘knowing God’ is a reiterated one in the narrative, upon which we have commented previously.

What must not be missed in this revelation is that he comes to know God through his saving acts. As Exodus 18:1, 8, 9 and 10 make plain the issue is not that God has done mighty deeds, but that he has done them on behalf of his people, and against the other so called ‘gods’ who had acted arrogantly in enslaving Israel (Ex. 8:11). God’s mighty deeds (e.g. in sustaining the whole universe!) are ignored by the general populous of the world every day. But if any one comes to faith it is because they have seen and come to know his mighty deeds (i.e. the might of love and grace) in redemption. We are not left to define god for ourselves. He has revealed himself as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has loved us and who has given his Son for us. It is only in and through this redeeming action that we come to know him as he is ( cf. 1 John 4:10ff.). In this confession of faith Jethro stands both as the ‘first fruits’ of God’s blessing of the nations as promised to Abraham by covenant oath. In him we see the obedience of faith among the nations and in some ways his actions and confession stand in contrast to the disobedience and unbelief of God’s own chosen people.

In the second half of the chapter we are given an insight into the daily life of Moses, who was shepherding Israel with the word, wisdom and teaching of God. The people would come, all day, every day ‘to enquire of the Lord’ (Ex. 18:13-16). The people’s disputes as well as other issues would have been brought to Moses in this way, who is shown to be a servant of God’s word (Ex. 18:16b, 20). In this portrayal we see the nation being brought into some sense of order and submission to the rule of God, but on a ‘case by case’ basis. The problem is that the responsibility for this is Moses’ alone. Jethro sees that it is not good and that Moses will be soon worn out, so he instructs him about another approach (Ex. 18:17-23), which is successfully enacted (Ex. 18:24-27). This shared responsibility amongst godly leaders in Israel effectively relieved Moses of the overwhelming numbers and freed him to concentrate on the most important matters. It is clear that this shepherding ministry was based on and flowed out of the revealed will and word of God. In this way, Moses was acting as a truly wise leader. In the Old Testament there is now wisdom except it be in the fear of God according to his word (cf. Ps. 111:10).