Jethro: Don't Wear Yourself Out

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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In-laws are favorite targets of some jokes. If you are fortunate enough to have good in-laws, count yourself blessed. My wife and I both have enjoyed wonderful relationships with our in-laws during our 24 years of marriage.

One of the commonly reported problems with in-laws is that they don’t always mind their own business. When a husband and wife come together to form a new family they leave mother and father and cleave to one another. They are now on their own.

But sometimes the apron strings are not cut soon enough by the parents and this can lead to problems. Instead of watching from a distance, some parents and in-laws interject their advice at times when it is neither requested nor welcomed.

Fortunately I believe that even in these cases the parents really mean to do what is best for their children. But still this advice can sometimes fall on deaf ears.

Moses faced a situation with his father-in-law, Jethro, who had come back to see how things were going. When he observed the work load that Moses was subjecting himself to, Jethro offered some excellent advice. “Don’t wear yourself out!”

Thankfully, Moses saw the benefit of this advice and put his father-in-law’s advice to work right away. This reading is from Exodus 18:13-27.

And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

So Moses' father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 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. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.

Friends, we benefit from watching successful people. We learn from their failures as well as their successes. And also we can benefit from the perspective of someone who cares about our situation. A different point of view can yield a totally different solution.

As Christians who care for one another, we should always be open to suggestions on how we can live better and do better. Moses could have used his position of authority to reject the advice of his father-in-law. But instead he considered this wise counsel and quickly put it to work.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we always be open to advice freely given. May we consider that others are interested in helping our lives to be better.

Our thought for the day: “Behind every successful man stands a very surprised mother-in-law.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.