Transition Sermons
Sermon 4 of 4 "The Wisdom"
Exodus 18:1-27 (Page 63)
March 30th 2008
As we are looking at the topic of transition we began by looking
at the story of the grumbling at the water, from there we looked at the
grumbling about the manna last week we looked at how the people handled the war
and how the battle looks different when you are in the middle of it. This week
we are going to conclude our series by looking at Moses gaining some wisdom and
how that impacted his life and the nation as a whole.
As we begin today I wanted to share a few stories relating to
advice:
We begin with one that is a little pointed.
A young minister, desirous of improving his preaching
ability, wrote a letter to an elderly minister asking, "How may I
improve my style?" The old gentleman, knowing something of the young
man's pulpit eccentricities, wrote back: "Dear-ah!-brother-ah!
When-ah!-you-ah!-go-ah!-to preach-ah, take-ah, care-ah, you-ah, do
not-ah, say,-ah-ah-ah-ah! Yours, ah, Jacob-ah Gruber-ah." - Leewin B.
Williams
This quote by Lord Chesterfield is pretty profound as it speaks
of our resistance to advice.
"Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it the
most, like it the least." - Lord Chesterfield
The next quote speaks of the foolishness of not seeking counsel.
"No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another
good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes
no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a
fool for a master. - Ben Jonson
Benjamin Franklin made this statement:
"He that won't be counseled can't be helped." - Benjamin
Franklin
Samuel Coleridge spoke of the importance of how advice is given.
"Advice is like snow, the softer it falls, the longer it
dwells and the deeper it sinks into the mind." - Samuel Coleridge
The last one today speaks of the need for words and actions to
go together.
"He that gives good advice builds with one hand; he that
gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good
admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the
other." - Francis Bacon
Today we are going to read of Moses being given advice. Now this
account strikes me as a little odd since who had been directing Moses up to
this point? Who was his counselor? And who had appointed him as leader of this
group?
The first part of today’s text speaks of the relationship that
Moses and Jethro have. Let’s read Exodus 18:1-12 (page 63).
We start with a basic summary of what is going on.
EX 18:1
Now Jethro, the priest of
Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for
Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out
of Egypt.
EX 18:2
After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro
received her 3 and her two
sons.
One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have
become an alien in a foreign land";
4
and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my
helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."
EX 18:5
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came
to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God.
6 Jethro had sent word to
him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and
her two sons."
EX 18:7 So
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him.
They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
8 Moses told his father-in-law
about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for
Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and
how the LORD had saved them.
EX 18:9
Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done
for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10 He said, "Praise be to the LORD,
who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who
rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is
greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated
Israel arrogantly." 12 Then
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other
sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat
bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.
Then Jethro notices something.
EX 18:13
The next day Moses took
his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him
from morning till evening. 14
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he
said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit
as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till
evening?"
Did this make sense to him?
So how does Moses respond?
EX 18:15
Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will.
16 Whenever they have a
dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and
inform them of God's decrees and laws."
The assumption by Moses is that he is the only one
able to lead.
He alone has the connection to God that is necessary.
So how does Jethro respond?
EX 18:17
Moses' father-in-law
replied, "What you are doing is not good. 18
You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The
work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
19 Listen now to me and I will give
you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's
representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
That is his key job!
20
Teach them the decrees and
laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.
21 But select capable men
from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate
dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds,
fifties and tens. 22 Have
them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring
every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide
themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it
with you.
What is the intended result?
23
If you do this and God so
commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people
will go home satisfied."
How does Moses respond to the counsel of his Father in
Law?
EX 18:24
Moses listened to his
father-in-law and did everything he said. 25
He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the
people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
26 They served as judges for the
people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the
simple ones they decided themselves. EX 18:27
Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his
own country.
Moses learned a valuable message from this visit. He learned
that his perspective was not the only perspective. This account shows how to
give and receive advice. Jethro knew who he was talking to and Moses knew that
that Jethro had spiritual wisdom and experience in leadership. Jethro spoke
kindly and directly to Moses and Moses listened and was not threatened by the
advice of Jethro.
The change needed to be made. Moses was becoming ineffective and
the people’s needs were not being met. Can you imagine how frustrating it would
have been for the people to wait for a time to speak to Moses to solve your
problems? One man to lead the whole nation is not a good idea. And Moses would
be overwhelmed with the workload. He was unable to meet the need but because he
was in the center of the problem he could not get perspective enough to find a
solution.
Also, he did not ask God so God did not give the counsel that
Moses needed. And from this Moses learns to trust in the spiritual abilities of
others. He begins to see himself as part of a team of leaders and that was
better for everyone.
For us: Who gives you counsel when you are in transition?
What spiritual advice do you receive?
How do you take criticism?
How do you give criticism?
Over the last few weeks we have been asking how are you dealing
with the transitions in your life? What do you tend to complain about? What
concerns are on your mind? Who’s perspective are you seeking and trusting, and
how does that make a difference to you?
Today we conclude by asking who do you go to for advice?
God is active in leading you through transition. He knows where
you need to be going and he knows how to get you there but you must seek
directions because the course can get too confusing to navigate it on your own.
God has the perspective that is needed, and you need his advice.
I intended this series to assist us in understanding some of the
aspects of growing from a small church to a medium church and as we conclude we
need to remember to not seek the wisdom of the world but to seek God’s counsel,
and the Promised Land will not be far off.
God wants us to grow and He tends to wait until we are ready.
Are you ready?
vernonchurchofchrist@telus.net