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So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

We need to be careful what we promise in God’s presence don’t you think? There is a clear warning in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7:

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

2 Do not be quick with your mouth,

    do not be hasty in your heart

    to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven

    and you are on earth,

    so let your words be few.

3 A dream comes when there are many cares,

    and many words mark the speech of a fool.

4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfil it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.

Of course, if you have made a rash promise, it’s not too late to start to fulfil it from today – and to look for God’s help in doing so. The truth is, we are unable to do anything God requires of us except by His strength.

The Israelites said, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” But they couldn’t. It is only under the terms of the new covenant that the required obedience is made possible:

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

    after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

    and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33

Thought: The Spirit of God will equip us to do what the Word of God tells us we ought to do.

Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

If verse 4 looks over its shoulder at the past, to what God did, verses 5,6 look forward to the future. In a nutshell, the Israelites were being called to trust and obey. God gave promises for their faith and commands for their obedience. When you think about it, this is the pattern of salvation we have experienced: We are delivered from a power greater than ourselves, and brought into a life of believing God’s Word and doing His will.

It is important to note that the children of Israel were not saved by obedience (works), but God saved them and called them to obey. As they did so, they would stand out as a distinctive people in the world.

‘What was true of the ‘old’ covenant is true of the ‘new’, and we enter on exactly the same basis of grace and continue in exactly the same obedience of faith.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, p.197.

Again, Motyer helpfully writes:

‘The significant if with which verse 5 opens relates not to covenant status but to covenant enjoyment. Status comes by the acts of God; enjoyment by the responsive commitment of obedience. Obedience is not our part in a two-sided bargain, but our grateful response to what the Lord has unilaterally decided and done…The hallmark of the genuineness of the people of God is that they possess, listen to and obey the word of God’ (p.200).

“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Verses 4-6 look back to the past and forward to the future. This fourth verse is very much about what God has done, and in a few words it summarises Exodus chapters 6-19.

Unlike Jethro, about whom we have just been reading in chapter 18, the Israelites had not heard about the Lord’s deeds second-hand, but they were personal witnesses: “You yourselves have seen…”

‘The people had experienced the watchful and supportive guardianship of one so infinitely stronger and more able than themselves, and now they found that that they had been welcomed into his presence and accepted into intimacy with him, not by their own efforts or merits, but because I…brought you to myself…his divinity is expressed in sovereign control and direction of earthly events. Egypt, a superpower of the day, was utterly without power against the will and visitations of the God of Israel.” Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, pp.197/198.

A ‘superpower’ proved super-powerless in the face of God’s saving action. This is not the only place in the Bible where we see such a reality. Let’s be encouraged that He can do it again.

“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Both under the Old Covenant, between God and Israel, and in the New Covenant, between Christ and the church, the central relationship is with God Himself. We are called To Him – to be with Him, in our daily lives now, and ultimately to see His face in glory. But the relationship (“eternal life”) begins the moment someone comes to Christ:

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

This now becomes the priority relationship, and it shapes every other. For example, if believers are facing marriage problems say, a fundamental question to be addressed is: ‘What does God have to say about this?’ ‘How should my relationship with Him dictate how I act in these circumstances?’ How can (and will) my faith inform my response?’

The moral chaos Paul describes in the second half of Romans 1 (v.18ff.) has come about because of a lack of a proper relationship with God (21-23), who has been given up for other gods. It is the rejection of the true knowledge of God that lies atop the slippery downward moral slide.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote eloquently about how vital the knowledge of God is for the flourishing of society:

“Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

PRAYER: Lord God, thank you that by your sheer grace and mercy you have brought me to yourself. Help me to pursue you passionately, prioritising this most important relationship of all. Like Paul, I want to know you (more), and I pray that many others will also come to know you. How infinitely precious is this relationship.

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on that very day – they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:

I note also, at the end of verse 6: These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’

Sadly, it has been known for a preacher to lift someone else’s sermons wholesale, from the internet, and pass them off as their own. It’s called ‘plagiarism’, and only in the last month or two, I have heard of people being fired for it. The approach obviously lacks integrity. It is a form of dishonesty, and it will also fall short on power. You can’t borrow someone else’s anointing.

I want to say, though, that I sympathise. I understand the temptation. You’re trying to do 101 things and the time for sermon prep gets squeezed out. Or maybe you’re just feeling ‘dry.’ There may be all manner of reasons/excuses a man or woman brings into play to justify their sermonic pilfering. Once, when I was new into the ministry, I heard a sermon I thought was so good, I felt I had to preach it to my congregation. So I took notes from the cassette tape I was listening to, and pretty much gave it the next Sunday, apart from the odd tweak. I have lived with the regret of that for 40 odd years, and I try to be conscientious about attributing material I may incorporate into sermons from other sources. But I can’t condemn plagiarism without confessing my own sin. The truth is, I didn’t see it as a sin at the time, although I know my conscience was not 100% happy.

Therefore, I want to say, ‘Preacher, get up that mountain and hear from God for yourself!” Your congregation would rather listen to ten simple, authentic words you heard in the presence of God, than several thousand from another preacher (who may or may not have heard from the Lord). Let God speak to your heart and the words you speak from Him are likely to move the hearts of the people.

Remember to go and talk to God about men before you talk to men about God. Bring something fresh from being with the Lord.

And churches/congregations…pitch your tent “in front of the mountain” (2). Position yourselves to meet with God.Never lose sight of how you can affect the power of the preaching in your church just by your prayers. ‘Don’t just stand there, pray something!’ (Ronald Dunn).

But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people at all times, but let them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.’

Before moving on from this chapter, I want to highlight the important principle of delegation. No-one has big enough shoulders to be able to carry all the leadership responsibility alone. The pattern of shared leadership is evident in the New Testament. We also see there, as here, the importance of character in the appointment of leaders (elders/deacons). It’s not merely about ability to perform, but who they are as people. Yes, they must be “capable”, but they also have to be ‘trustworthy”.

In Acts  6:1-7 we see how the church further prospered when the apostles brought others into leadership, and they were able to continue with their primary roles.

“Authentic leadership is about leading from the core of who we are to inspire each of us to our best contribution toward a shared mission.”Henna Inam

Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people at all times, but let them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.’

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

Someone said, ‘God gave us two ears and one mouth, and that should tell us something!’

Also it’s been said He gave us a mouth that closes and ears that don’t, and perhaps there’s more than a hint there.

James writes these words: ‘My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’ (Jas.1:19).

Moses, the great leader, listened to his father-in-law (a new convert, as we have seen). But then we know he was also a very humble man, and humility is teachable. It knows it has so much to learn.

Although it takes time, and possibly a little effort, we should be willing to listen to people: even those we disagree with; or those we don’t like or who don’t like us. ‘Every day is a school day’ and we have much to learn.

Jethro had wisdom and insight to share, and it was a good thing for Israel that Moses was open to receive it.

It was a good thing for Moses too!! It probably enabled him to burn on rather than burn out.

(“Emma felt that she could not now show greater kindness than in listening.”― Jane Austen)

Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

I heard an interview in which someone was honest enough to say, ‘When you’re frightened you can stop listening, because you’re afraid of what you might hear if you do listen.’ She admitted that this had been her story for a number of years, until she finally faced reality.

There are times when people need to be made to face the facts. I’ve heard it said that ‘facts are your friends.’ The problem is they don’t always wear a friendly face. But we need those around us who are honest enough to tell us the truth in love (and note that Jethro spoke out of loving concern for Moses and the whole Israelite community, v18). He wanted to be constructively helpful.

It takes courage, grace and skill to deliver a rebuke well. It also takes a whole lot of humility to listen, sift what is said, and make necessary adjustments. I remember Gordon Macdonald saying that even in the most unjust criticism there will be something we can learn; something to be taken away.

As a friend of mine has often said, ‘We impoverish ourselves if we refuse feedback.’

“An open rebuke is better than hidden love!

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy”

(Prov.27:5,6 New Living Translation).

PRAYER: Lord, give me courage (and wisdom) to point out what is wrong when it is necessary; and give me the humility to be told I’m in the wrong when I am. Even when I’m not, may I be so teachable that I learn from the rebuke.

The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood round him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand round you from morning till evening?’

15 Moses answered him, ‘Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.’

It often takes an objective observer to see what is going wrong in a situation, and maybe also to advise on necessary steps to rectify things. Jethro acted as an unsolicited, but extremely valuable ‘consultant’ to his son-in-law. He was newly converted; a freshly minted member of the community, and almost immediately he began to make a difference. You don’t have to be a Christian for a long, long time before you can start to offer meaningful service. Everyone has a contribution to make. The gifts and talents of each one are important and needed, and every person in the church should have the opportunity to use their gifts. (I remember someone observing that a redundant member of the body of Christ may become a ‘grumbling appendix’!)

See the humility Moses showed to listen to this new believer (who was also his father-in-law) and adjust his lifestyle accordingly.

Moses’ ministry entailed helping people to know and do God’s Word, and Jethro’s counsel was aimed at enabling him to fulfil his call in the best and most efficient way possible. The daily life of Israel was to be ordered according to God’s revealed truth. Alec Motyer writes that: ‘…18:13-22 brought them to the point where they learned that the supreme obligation of the Lord’s redeemed is to order their lives by the Lord’s revealed truth.’

Then he adds: ‘It was at this central point that Jethro, the newly converted and welcomed Gentile, played a deeply significant part within Israel. His was a full, practising membership – no second-class citizen or merely officially tolerated entrant, but a fellow-member, who could presumably, had he so chosen (cf.Num.10:29-32) lived on in full fellowship, among Israel.’ ‘The message of Exodus’, p.171.

PRAYER: Teach me, Lord, to value and welcome the contributions of all the members of the church; enable me to be open to all you may want to say and do through others. Help me to not  feel threatened by, or jealous of, the gifts you give people, but recognise my need of everyone you bring into your church