July 1, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for July 21
Moses' humility increased his leadership skills
___Genesis 6:5-9, 12-14, 22; 7:1-3, 5; 8:1; Hebrews 11:7
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___
___When Moses fled to Midian after killing the Egyptian, he met and married Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, priest of Midian (Exodus 2:21). When Moses went back to Egypt to deliver his people from Pharaoh, Zipporah and his sons went with him. At some point, Moses sent his wife and sons back. We are not told when or why.
___This study begins with Jethro bringing Zipporah and her two sons back to Moses in the desert. The burden of leading the quarrelsome, grumbling people of Israel lay heavily on Moses at this time. He must have been glad to see his father-in-law, for he told him of all the things God had done for them.
___Jethro recognized the hand of God in all that had happened and joined in a ceremony of worship and sacrifice with Aaron and the elders of Israel. Following this ceremony, Jethro gave wise counsel to Moses concerning the administration of justice (18:13-24).
___Attempting the impossible
___The day after the ceremony, Moses took up his role of judge for his people (v. 13). The throngs of people stood before Moses all day waiting to be heard.
___Jethro observed the spectacle, then asked Moses some probing questions: “What are you doing? Why are you alone acting as judge” (v. 14)? Moses answered simply, “Because they come to me to seek God’s will” (v. 15). Moses took his role as judge seriously, for he he listened to disputes, decided who was right and informed the people of God’s decrees and laws (v. 16).
___Jethro spoke out of concern for Moses and for the good of the people when he told Moses that what he was doing was not good, that he would wear out himself and the people who came to him (vv. 17-18). He said the job was too big for one man, even if the man was Moses.
___A father-in-law’s wise counsel
___Jethro affirmed Moses by saying he must, indeed, be the people’s representative before God. He said Moses should continue to teach the people what God expected of them (v. 20). However, he said, Moses must choose representatives who could share the responsibilities for judging. These men were to be capable, god-fearing and trustworthy. They were to handle the simple disputes. The difficult cases they would bring to Moses. In so doing, Moses would be able to bear the strain of the responsibility and the people would still receive appropriate justice. Jethro indicated the counsel he gave to Moses was from God (v. 25).
___Moses follows Jethro’s
advice
___Moses showed his true character in his willingness to follow the advice he received. Moses, raised in the courts of Pharaoh, chosen by God to deliver his people, could have ignored his father-in-law. He could have felt he knew better what should be done, but he did not react that way. He listened to Jethro and followed his advice.
___He chose the kind of men Jethro suggested. He assigned them responsibilities over appropriate-sized groups. In so doing, he recognized both the judges and the people would better served if the scope of each one’s responsibility was reasonable. They were given authority to make decisions on all but the most difficult cases. Those cases were brought to Moses.
___Moses, man of humility
___Moses was not arrogant and proud. He saw wisdom in Jethro’s words and he showed strength and humility in changing the way he governed the people. His leadership would be challenged often in the course of his life. Even Aaron and Miriam, his own brother and sister, would challenge him.
___However, the writer of Numbers gives testimony that Moses possessed humility. Moses was said to be “more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (v. 3).
___Faith: The hallmark of Moses
___Moses, like Noah from last week, is mentioned in the roll call of the faithful in Hebrews 11. The writer of Hebrews attributes Moses’s faith with his refusing to be known as Pharaoh’s son (v. 24). Because of his faith, Moses chose rather to be ill treated along with the people of God. His faith enabled him to endure disgrace, counting faithfulness to the Lord of more value than the treasures of Egypt (v. 26). His faith enabled him to leave Egypt (v. 27). By faith, he observed the Passover, thus sparing the firstborn children of Israel (v. 28).
___Faith and humility
___We can learn from Moses. He had every opportunity to boast and to follow in the ways he must have learned growing up in the house of Pharaoh. Instead, he remembered he was born a Hebrew and followed the faith of his fathers as he led the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. He listened to the counsel of wise Jethro and shared the responsibilities of leadership instead of drawing all of it to himself. In so doing, he demonstrated humility and strength. Our prayer should be: Lord, teach me to walk humbly before you and with all mankind.
___Questions for discussion
___
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