Chapter 65 of 1163

EXODUS 18

Balance. Moses experienced some exciting things after leaving Egypt, but now he returns to the everyday duties of life. God balances our lives and gives us enough burdens to keep us humble and enough blessings to keep us happy. Moses returned to his family, told them all that God had done, and then worshiped the Lord with them.

Counsel. Sometimes an outsider can see things more clearly than those who are doing the work, and we must always be open to counsel (Prov. 12:15; 13:10). Moses was trying to do all the work himself, and he was not making a distinction between major matters and minor problems. He needed assistants, and he needed priorities. Note that Jethro expected Moses to seek God’s will in the matter (v. 23). What seems like good counsel from men might be bad counsel in God’s sight, so we must always ask for God’s directions (Acts 27:9–14).

Leadership. Verse 21 describes the kind of leaders God needs, people characterized by ability, the fear of God, honesty, and a hatred for covetousness. (See Acts 6:3 for additional leadership qualities.) Moses was a great man, but he could not do the job alone. God may not call you to be a leader, but He may want you to help a leader do a better job.

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