1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I your father-in-law Jethro am come unto you, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. (And this, no less, from a Midianite Priest from what is now Saudi Arabia. Emphasis mine.)
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that you do for the people? Why sit yourself alone, and all the people stand by you from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that you do is not good. 18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you: for this thing is too heavy for thee; you are not able to perform it yourself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give you counsel, and God shall be with you: Be you for the people to God-ward, that you may bring the causes unto God: 20 And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and shall show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22 And let them judge the people at all seasons:
and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto you, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for yourself, and they shall bear the burden with you.
23 If you shall do this thing, and God command you so, then you shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. 27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I your father-in-law Jethro am come unto you, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. (And this, no less, from a Midianite Priest from what is now Saudi Arabia. Emphasis mine.)
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that you do for the people? Why sit yourself alone, and all the people stand by you from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that you do is not good. 18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you: for this thing is too heavy for thee; you are not able to perform it yourself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give you counsel, and God shall be with you: Be you for the people to God-ward, that you may bring the causes unto God: 20 And you shall teach them ordinances and laws, and shall show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22 And let them judge the people at all seasons:
and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto you, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for yourself, and they shall bear the burden with you.
23 If you shall do this thing, and God command you so, then you shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. 27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Why should Christians participate in the things of this world? Aren't Christians supposed to abstain from getting involved in the politics or 'affairs of this world'?
What would Jesus say about this? Did he not command us to separate ourselves and not 'love the world'?
Besides, isn't Exodus in the Old Testament? Isn't the Old Testament stuff 'nailed to the cross' and 'done away'?
I'm here to say 'NO!' and I have Jesus' own words to back me up. Notice Luke 16:31 'And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.'
This is the last verse of Jesus' famous parable of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus'. Many so-called 'Christians' have erroneously been taught that this is no parable but a play-by-play tour of Hell, but instead, it is all about this verse 31. It is Jesus substantiating and validating the Old Testament scriptures, which were the only scriptures available at the time.
Here he tells us if we don't believe the Old Testament (Moses and the Prophets), we won't believe the One who permanently rose from the dead: Jesus.
That means Exodus 18:21 is valid and applicable today as well. Please especially, think about verse 21.
So, here's the story recorded in Exodus 18:
What would Jesus say about this? Did he not command us to separate ourselves and not 'love the world'?
Besides, isn't Exodus in the Old Testament? Isn't the Old Testament stuff 'nailed to the cross' and 'done away'?
I'm here to say 'NO!' and I have Jesus' own words to back me up. Notice Luke 16:31 'And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.'
This is the last verse of Jesus' famous parable of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus'. Many so-called 'Christians' have erroneously been taught that this is no parable but a play-by-play tour of Hell, but instead, it is all about this verse 31. It is Jesus substantiating and validating the Old Testament scriptures, which were the only scriptures available at the time.
Here he tells us if we don't believe the Old Testament (Moses and the Prophets), we won't believe the One who permanently rose from the dead: Jesus.
That means Exodus 18:21 is valid and applicable today as well. Please especially, think about verse 21.
So, here's the story recorded in Exodus 18:
This was the way true governance began for mankind, and especially the US, for our founding fathers based our constitution on the Bible. This is the way to elect (or select) those who will rule over us. They must fit all four criteria to be worthy to rule:
1) They must be capable of handling the job
2) They must be such as fear God
3) They must love truth
4) They must hate covetousness (greed)
If they do not match all four, we should reject them as unworthy. How many in our current administration meet all four of these criteria?
Voting is obeying God and his word. Otherwise, we let the heathen, God-haters, baby killers, greedy scoundrels and deviates select who will rule us. No wonder we are in such a mess today. Let's get back to God and obey his word.
To not vote would be like Moses, telling his father-in-law: 'I just don't care anymore. Let the perverse rule the people, I don't care. I quit. Let chaos reign; who cares? Come what may, I'm out!' But, thank God, Moses listened and obeyed.
Rebellion is an attitude God hates. (See 1 Samuel 15:23) Let's obey his word instead and go vote.
1) They must be capable of handling the job
2) They must be such as fear God
3) They must love truth
4) They must hate covetousness (greed)
If they do not match all four, we should reject them as unworthy. How many in our current administration meet all four of these criteria?
Voting is obeying God and his word. Otherwise, we let the heathen, God-haters, baby killers, greedy scoundrels and deviates select who will rule us. No wonder we are in such a mess today. Let's get back to God and obey his word.
To not vote would be like Moses, telling his father-in-law: 'I just don't care anymore. Let the perverse rule the people, I don't care. I quit. Let chaos reign; who cares? Come what may, I'm out!' But, thank God, Moses listened and obeyed.
Rebellion is an attitude God hates. (See 1 Samuel 15:23) Let's obey his word instead and go vote.