Moses Takes Advice And - Exodus 18:17-18

 

“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him. “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.” Exodus 18:17‭-‬18 CSB

Humble Listening

Believers take advice from godly people. That is the norm. Or it should be anyway. 

Knowing the difference between good, godly advice and rotten, stinking, destructive counsel takes wisdom. I’ve listened to both kinds in my life. I’ve been blessed or paid the price. 

How can I position myself to recognize good advice when it comes? And how can live a life where I’m not so full of myself when the advice comes that I actually take it?

This passage in Exodus shows Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, giving him advice, advice he sorely needed. 

Now let’s think about this: Moses was a leader of an estimated 2 million (or so) people counting men, women, and children. He led this huge group of people out from underneath the tyrannical hand of a Pharaoh who was held up by His people to be divine. Through a series of miracles from God which ruined Egypt, the people were delivered without a single act of violence (done by the people). There is no historical equivalent that I am aware of. 

At the end, the Egyptian people wanted to please the Hebrews so much that they loaded them down with gold and other valuables. The scripture says that in this way, the people of God plundered Egypt. 

Moses led these people. The (now rich) grumbling people followed. 

Father In-law Advice

And Moses, remember, is used to talking to the LORD, Yahweh. When Moses has a question, he goes right to the LORD. And God patiently answers. 

Nothing quite like this has ever happened before. In some ways, Moses is the most powerful man who has ever lived up to this point. He should be all full of himself, right? But he rarely acts like it’s his power. And when the wandering grumblers complain, he takes it to God. 

And now his sheepherding, non-Hebrew, father-in-law comes with advice. I could see him getting his back up over this. 

Yet Moses never treats Jethro with anything but respect. 

As Jethro spends the day with ,Moses, he tells him that he is working too hard. He tells Moses that he is going to wear himself out and everybody around him. He tells him to start delegating some of the responsibility for deciding things over to the trusted leaders in the camp. 

And Moses listens. 

He doesn’t say, “I can’t listen to you. You don’t even belong here.” He doesn’t act like he is some great guy who is in charge of 2 million people and can’t listen to a sheepherding Midianite. 

No, he listens!

This is in stark contrast to the way Pharaoh treated Moses just a few weeks before. 

Pharaoh acted as he pleased as God wasted him, his land, and his people to complete ruin. 

Moses isn’t like that; he is humble; he takes the action that Jethro suggests. 

Evaluate the Source

Of course, this doesn’t mean we should take advice from just anyone. There are good reasons to not listen to some kinds of advice. 

See, Jethro shows his advice is coming from a place of respect for Moses and God. 

Verses 9-11 says: 

Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. “Praise the Lord ,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.” 

Notice, Jethro is not bashing Moses’s God-given position nor is he critical of God.

And Jethro is not giving advice about how to worship, nor other things that aren’t his to criticize. He keeps to a very helpful suggestion that benefits all of them.  

And as an aside, when I’m giving advice, I must be aware of my relationship with that person. Do I have any business saying my piece in this situation. We can cause damage by given unwanted advice. I’ve hurt people when I’ve gotten this wrong. 

This takes discernment. I get discernment from walking in the light and bathing in the truth. Not by jumping in to show how smart I am when I see what I think is a failing in someone. 

Godly people take godly advice. That’s who I am in Christ. And godly people use discernment when giving it. 

If Moses who had numerous conversations with God could take godly advice from a man, then, I, a born-again child of God certainly can too. May I have the humility to hear it when it comes.

Lord, I need your wisdom. Teach me to walk in the light so that I can hear godly advice. Give me the grace to be humble and listen. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.