Exodus 17:15

The Bible says in Exodus 17:15-16, “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” The Amalekites were Arabian peoples who came from the lineage of Esau. The great sin of the Amalekites was that they opposed Israel when Israel was on their way into the promised-land. God had a plan for the nation of Israel, and whoever tried to oppose that plan was in effect opposing God. When we look closely at the Bible, it is clear that whoever opposes the nation of Israel is in big trouble with God, because God loves Israel, and God has a plan for Israel that will be established. The reason for this is that God made a promise to Abraham, a very important promise, and God will always keep that promise, just like God keeps all of His promises. Even the salvation by faith in Jesus Christ that we enjoy today is closely related to the promise made to Abraham. God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

The Bible says in Exodus 18:1-4, “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; Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 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; 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.” It is interesting to note the meanings of the names that Moses gave to his two sons. One of the names describes an important truth about every believer and their condition on this earth. The other name tells us an important truth about God. “Gershom,” the first son’s name, means “stranger.” The word that is translated “alien” means literally “stranger.” Moses recognized that he was a stranger in a strange land. In a spiritual way every believer is a stranger in a strange land just by believing in the Lord Jesus and living on this earth. If you believe in Jesus, do not try and become too comfortable with this world, and do not expect to be fully accepted. Jesus said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus also said in John 15:19, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” And we are told in First John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” A Christian must remember that he or she is a stranger in this world, and be very careful about his or her attitude in regards to the activities and entertainments that the people of this world get involved with. That is why we are reminded in First John 2:15-17, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Moses’ second son was named Eliezer, which means “God is help,” or as it says in Exodus 18:4 God is “mine help.” Because of my relationship to Jesus Christ, I might be a stranger in this world, an outcast from the world’s system, and sometimes hated. But with the all-powerful, eternal God as my helper, I will be just fine. It says in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” As the Psalmist said in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

The Bible says in Exodus 18:5-12, “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: And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. 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. 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. 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. 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. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. 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.”

Evidently when Moses went to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses left his wife and two sons with Jethro, Moses’ father in law. Now Moses was being re-united with his family. It is interesting to note that Moses was very respectful to his father in law, who was also his elder. It says in Exodus 18:7, “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.” Just as we would expect, Moses told Jethro all that had happened to the children of Israel and what the Lord did for them in delivering them from Pharaoh. In other words Moses simply told the truth about what God had done for him. It says in Exodus 18:8, “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.” That is exactly what witnessing is: telling someone what Jesus has done for you.

Jethro had the correct response when he heard Moses’ witness about God. Jethro said in Exodus 18:10-11, “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. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.” Of course, Jethro was not an Israelite. Jethro was a Midianite. The Midianites were descendants through Keturah and Abraham. From a spiritual standpoint the important thing to notice is that the Midianites did not come through the lineage of the promise. They did not come through Abraham and Sarah. The Midianites are therefore the children of the flesh, and not the children of the promise. They represent that which does not please God. Throughout most of the Old Testament the Midianites are shown to be the enemies of the people of God. As it says in Second Corinthians 6:14, “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness?” In spite of all this, Moses’ wife was a Midianite, and Jethro, who was obviously a true believer, was a Midianite. Anyone can be saved no matter what is their history or their background or their circumstances. That is because the Lord loves everyone, and Jesus died for everyone. We never know whose heart Jesus will touch next.

In addition to the fact that Moses lived and worked with Jethro for forty years on the backside of the desert before Moses became leader of the children of Israel, Jethro contributed some very important advice and counsel to Moses. The Bible says in Exodus 18:13-23, “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. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 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. And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt 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: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.”

It is a good thing that Moses had respect for his father in law, Jethro, because Jethro had some very good advice to give to Moses. Sometimes someone else can evaluate your situation more objectively than you can yourself. Moses’ problem was that he was simply trying to do too much. Jethro saw that Moses needed to assign some of the tasks to others to accomplish. Doing the work of the Lord is meant to be a team effort: not the effort of one person. Jethro said in Exodus 18:18, “Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.”

In the advice that Jethro gave to Moses, there were three specific tasks for Moses to perform. Those tasks are found in Exodus 18:20-22 where Jethro said, “Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt 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.” Moses had three tasks: 1. To pray for the people, 2. To teach the people, 3. To choose other leaders to help in the work.

It is important to notice the qualifications that these men needed to have to be leaders with Moses. First they had to be “able men.” An “able” man is a person who had demonstrated the strength and ability to get things done. It makes no sense to choose a spiritual person if they have no knowledge for getting things done. The second qualification for being a leader is to “fear God.” A person who fears God is mindful of God in his or her actions. A person who fears God is related to God and wants to do God’s will. The leaders had to be “men of truth.” A truthful person is a very valuable person. We all want to do business with those who are truthful, and we want to stay away from liars. The last qualification for these who are to be leaders and judges of others is that they be persons who are “hating covetousness.” A covetous person would be easily corrupted and would make their decisions based upon what they can gain, and that would result in a corruption of justice.

We have a perfect description of the characteristics needed in good leaders. Unfortunately, many of our leaders have the opposite traits. Many of our leaders are 1. Incapable because they are career politicians and do not have to demonstrate that they can get things done in the real world. 2. Show no respect or reverence for God. 3. Are dishonest. 4. Are bought off and are therefore corrupt because they are covetous. To become proper leaders they need to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus.

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