(I want to listen to this sermon)

Ex.18:1-27

Crisis after crisis! As we've been looking at Moses' life over recent weeks that is the impression we have. One crisis after another. We can learn a lot from crises but much of the time our lives are more banal. Yes, crises do come our way but they tend to punctuate our lives only from time to time while for the rest of the time life just seems to chug rather quietly along.

When we were missionaries with AWM we were given a "Crisis Manual" which we were all expected to read. This really did not seem terribly important living in a village in the South of France. I guess, however, that it became suddenly a whole lot more important to colleagues during the crises that we have come to call, the Arab Spring. Then, I imagine, the procedures to be followed etc. would have taken on a relevance that they simply didn't have previously.

I wonder whether you treat the Bible as something of a crisis manual – helpful when great problems come along but not really all that useful or necessary in ordinary times. We might indeed be tempted to ask the question as we read through chapter after chapter of exciting challenging events in Moses' life "Does the Bible have anything to say about the ordinariness of life?"

Well Exodus 18 gives us some answers.

Chapter 18 functions as a bridge between the exciting and stressful events of the deliverance from Egypt and the giving of the Law at Sinai. The giving of that Law will dominate chs.19+20 with the unfolding of its regulations being the major theme of the last 20 chapters of the Book of Exodus.

Chapter 18 is not marked by any particular crisis at all – oh yes there are problems that need to be resolved but there really is nothing of major proportions that threatens the very survival of the nation as there has been in the preceding chapters.

Chapter 18 is an oasis of calm, the type of calm that so many of us enjoy.

The events of the chapter appear to be so very ordinary that we might be tempted to jump over them to look for something more exciting, more dramatic. That would however be a mistake as the subjects that are dealt with here in the calm are subjects that are relevant to us in our everyday lives.

The themes that are touched upon are:

1.       Family reunions

2.       Sharing one's faith

3.       Giving and accepting advice

4.       The qualities to look for in our leaders

Maybe you can identify other themes too.

All is calm as ch.18 begins. The battle with Amalek is over. There don't appear to be any problems of food or water to drink. And a family reunion is about to take place.

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, has heard something of what God had done for Moses and the people of Israel and so comes to meet him. The news has spread rapidly across the wilderness probably by means of the various caravan trains that criss-crossed the region. And what news it was! Mighty Egypt had been humbled and much of its army destroyed at the Red Sea. A large group of slaves had left the country under the leadership of a man called Moses. This could only be because their God was acting on their behalf!

How impressed and excited Jethro must have been as he heard this news being gossiped about! He decided to go and see Moses himself and he would take Moses' wife Zipporah along with her two sons to meet him.

It's the first time that we learn that Moses had sent his wife and two young sons back to her father for safety. We don't know exactly when he had done this – some have suggested that he sent her home after the incident recorded in ch.4. – others have suggested that as the crisis was deepening in Egypt with the unfurling of the plagues Moses moved his family away to safety. We don't know for certain but we do know now that his family was brought back to him!

We learn at the same time the name of his second son – Eliezer or "God helps" or "My God is help". Eliezer's name was a reminder to Moses' of his first flight from Egypt when Pharaoh sought to kill him but he got away safely. Now seeing his son again he must have thought of a double-fulfilment – the LORD had delivered and his people all over again from another hostile Pharaoh!

As Jethro and his little group are nearing the camp of the Israelites he sends a servant ahead with a message which is recorded in v.6:

"I, your father–in–law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,"

Although Moses is now the leader of the nation he doesn't stand on ceremony but quickly goes off to meet his father-in-law. There follow the usual niceties of social conduct. Conforming to the culture of the day Moses greets Jethro with honour and respect. And just as we do so often as we meet they mutually enquire of one another just how things are with them.

With the initial greetings exchanged Moses brings Jethro to his tent where they will converse more leisurely together.

What the LORD had done for His people is the main subject of conversation as Moses shares with Jethro.

We should note just how important this subject is in this chapter. Already in the opening verse we read:

18:1 "Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father–in–law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt."

Now Moses doubtless goes into more detail:

18:6 "Then Moses told his father–in–law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them."

How easily Moses shares with his father-in-law about the things that really matter! His emphasis is not placed upon what he has done – how easily we talk about ourselves as though we were the major players but Moses report puts the LORD God right in the centre of the picture. What was important was what the LORD had done. It had been the LORD who had overcome Pharaoh. It had been the LORD who had provided for them and who had delivered them from all the difficulties and hardships they had encountered along the way.

The things that Jethro had heard on the grapevine were confirmed – the LORD had indeed done great things on behalf of His people!

As Jethro listens he is moved to praise and thanksgiving. He focuses on exactly the same thing that Moses had focused upon – the LORD!

18:9 "And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians."

For the third time in this chapter the LORD's victory over the Egyptians is celebrated as He delivered His people from Egypt!

But in case we still haven't got the point Jethro's words of praise are recorded for us in the following verses:

18:10 "Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”"

Can anyone who reads this chapter attentively be left in any doubt about how the Israelites came to enjoy their freedom from slavery in Egypt? No of course not. No-one has made any attempt to detract from the central truth that it was the LORD!

And maybe this was the moment that Jethro, the priest of Midian, was converted! If it was this should encourage us to share what great things the LORD has done for us!

At the very least the sharing of what the LORD had done for Israel served to bring Jethro into a deeper assurance of the truth. We should not neglect the importance of this. Sharing with other believers what the LORD has done for us as we give Him the glory may well be used by the LORD to bring others to a firmer grasp of the truth for themselves!

Celebrations follow! "Religion never was designed to make our pleasures less." Sacrifices are offered to glorify this great God and wholesome fellowship takes place as the elders of the Israelites share in this family reunion which is placed very much in the presence of the LORD.

The people of Israel had only recently come out of Egypt but it didn't take them long to start having disputes and contentions amongst themselves. We're not told the nature of the disputes that existed between various individuals just that they existed and in quite some quantity.

The Law of God had not yet been given and there was need to find a way to resolve these disputes. The task fell to Moses as God's representative to the people as well as their leader.

Moses had obviously set aside the next day as a day on which at least some of these disputes were to be resolved.

We should take note that great deliverances do not necessarily lead to the eradication of all issues. And in our day, just because a person is saved or has benefited from some gracious intervention by the LORD in his/her life doesn't mean that all disputes with others will automatically disappear. The apostle Paul had to warn the Christians at Corinth about the inappropriateness of Christians going quickly to law to resolve their own minor disputes - and they would only consider going to law if such disputes already existed.

So Moses sits in council all day long and the people stand around waiting for their cases to be dealt with.

Jethro looks on and is critical. He asks Moses for an explanation of the way in which he is proceeding.

Now Moses was a great leader. He had, under the LORD, just led his people out of Egyptian captivity and he had successfully negotiated a number of crises again under the LORD. How would he respond to the questioning that implied criticism and then to the open criticism of what he was now doing?

I don't know about you but I don't find it easy to listen to criticism and for Moses all was going well.

But Moses demonstrates the meekness for which he rightly famous. He explains his actions but is not defensive about it. Jethro's suggestions are not put in a way that is designed to crush his spirits but in a way that is designed to promote the best interests both of Moses and of the people he represents.

Moses is the spiritual leader and Jethro is maybe only a new convert but Moses will listen and pay heed if the advice is good advice.

There are lessons for us:

·         Be ready to offer advice – when God is directing us for the well-being of others – Jethro has no axe to grind as he isn't planning to stay long with the Israelites!

·         Be ready to accept advice – weighing the merits of the advice according the quality of the advice itself and not according to the status of the one offering the advice.

·         Be ready to recognise that criticism of the way we have done something is not to be personalised as criticism of who we are.

Following on from the advice Moses did appoint a certain number of men who would be able to help both him and the people in their lives. Particular attention is given to the qualities that such men should have.

If we would be made useful to the people of God at whatever point that may be then we should ourselves aim to become characterised by similar qualities.

The men appointed were to be:

·         able people;

·         from amongst the people – fully associated with them and their best interests – they were involved;

·         God-fearing men;

·         trustworthy;

·         those who hated bribes – self-interest would not be what drove them.

The church today needs such people. We find similar lists of criteria for acceptable service recorded for us in the NT. In Acts 6 deacons were to be appointed so that the apostles could concentrate upon the ministry of the word and on prayer. These deacons were to be: of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. The first named was Stephen about whom we also read that he was full of faith.

In the pastoral letters we find the qualifications listed for service in the Lord's church – elders and deacons.

We also find instructions to husbands, wives, old men, young men, old women and younger women and character is at the foundation of it all.

Would you be useful in Christ's church? Then first you must be a converted man or woman for without conversion you will never able to fulfil the criteria. But even as a converted man or woman you do not have the necessary criteria either – you need to grow in grace, you need to grow in wisdom, etc. If Moses who knew such intimacy with God needed to hear and respond to advice then so do you – that advice comes in plenty in the pages of the Bible. Pages which when rightly read and understood will take you out of the centre of the picture and put God there, the Triune God, the God who is revealed supremely to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen