Friday – Exodus 18 – Jethro Saves the Day

Evidently Moses had sent his family back to Midian back when things got rough in Egypt. Then, after the deliverance had been accomplished, Moses' father-in­ law heard of it and brought Moses' family to meet him. So, Moses and the nation met Jethro's little party at the mount of God in the wilderness. It was a grand reunion. Jethro the priest worshipped God joyfully that day (Exodus18:11). And, all the VIPs of Israel had a celebration feast with Moses and Jethro.

When Moses returned to his usual routine, Jethro was able to observe Moses' leadership style.  Jethro was not impressed. Instead of commending him for his success and diligence, he warned Moses that if he didn't learn to delegate some of his responsibilities to others, it would bring about his demise (Exodus 18:17- 18).

As a wise tool in God's hand he advised the man of God to prioritize, organize and deputize. He told him to set others over the people to handle most of these matters so that he could limit his cases to only the most severe problems. Essentially Jethro counseled Moses to ask God if a new arrangement might not be more conducive to the preservation of his own spiritual, physical, emotional and domestic health.  Jethro saw that Israel would ultimately benefit from having a more balanced leader (Exodus 18:23).