Jethro, a Practical Counselor

GOLDEN TEXT: “And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.” —Exodus 18:9

EXODUS 18:13-24

JETHRO was the father of Zipporah, Moses’ wife. He was a priest of Midian. Moses spent the forty years of his exile from Egypt with Jethro, and naturally would be very well acquainted with him, and apparently favorably so, for he was quite willing to be guided by his advice in the matter referred to in our lesson; namely, to divide the responsibility of judging the people of Israel with subordinates.

Jethro was not a worshiper of Jehovah, the God of Israel; although there is little doubt that Moses must have told his father-in-law much about the true God during the forty years he lived with him and tended his flocks. This would be bound to have a salutary effect on Jethro’s religious thinking. Thus he was prepared to be convinced by the miraculous manner in which Jehovah delivered his people from Egyptian bondage and cared for them in the wilderness.

Our Golden Text expresses Jethro’s delight in having observed the goodness of the Lord toward his chosen people. To this he added, “Now I know that the Lord [Jehovah] is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.” Jethro then offered sacrifice to the Lord; and Aaron and all the elders of Israel ate bread with him, indicating their acceptance of his expressions of faith in Jehovah.

It was natural that Jethro should have Moses’ best interests at heart, and would be concerned over the burden of service which his son-in-law had undertaken; and he did not hesitate to counsel Moses in what he thought would be the best thing to do under the circumstances. Moses, the meekest man in all the earth, was ready and willing to take the advice.

Jethro’s attitude toward Moses is quite in contrast with Miriam’s, which was noted in last week’s lesson. Miriam attempted to judge her brother’s motives, hinting that he had selfishly arrogated to himself authority as a teacher and leader which really did not properly belong to him. Temporary jealousy was the motive for this false accusation.

Jethro, on the other hand, was simply concerned over the fact that his son-in-law was working too hard. He accused Moses of nothing, but simply counseled him to lighten his burden by sharing it with others. Jethro recognized the responsibility the Lord had placed upon Moses, and his wise counsel to him took this into consideration. Moses was not to relinquish his responsibility and authority, for all the important matters were still to be brought to him.

One of the important practical aspects of this lesson is the wholesome example set by Moses in his willingness to accept and act upon the advice given to him by his father-in-law. He did this in a spirit of meekness which is seldom equaled in the lives of the Lord’s people. It is a true evidence of Moses’ meekness, and one of the characteristics of his life which made him truly great.

And in this experience we see a genuine display of meekness, for meekness is teachableness. Selfish, worldly minds think of meekness as being a display of weakness. Many in the position of Moses would consider it too humiliating to take the advice of one’s father-in-law. To minds like these, self-sufficiency is looked upon as the evidence of true greatness.

But this is not the proper viewpoint for the Lord’s people. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) To “inherit the earth” as mentioned in this Beatitude means to be a joint-heir with Jesus in the kingdom work of restoring mankind to the earthly dominion forfeited by father Adam through his transgression of divine law. This work will involve the instruction of mankind in the ways of truth and righteousness.

One of the qualifications for participating in this future work of instructing and ruling the world is teachableness. One cannot be a true teacher of others unless he is willing himself to be taught. Thus we see how important is the grace of meekness. Any time we discover ourselves resisting instructions and suggestions, imagining that we are beyond the need of help from others, we should recall the example of Moses.

Besides, we should not be unwilling to learn from even the humblest servants of the Lord. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, yet he was willing to heed the counsel of his father-in-law, a priest of Midian, who probably, by comparison with Moses, was inferior both in intellect and education. But he had good advice to offer, and Moses was glad to accept it.

QUESTIONS

Who was Jethro, and did he worship Israel’s God?

What advice did Jethro offer Moses, and what did Moses do about it?

What practical lesson is there in this for us?

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