STRENGTH TO ZION

 Jethro…

 Exodus 18:1-20:23

Isaiah 6:1-7:6 & 9:5-6

Mathew 5:17-32

1 Peter 2: 4-10

God is always looking for common sense from his people, but God’s common sense isn’t to be confused with the common sense of man.  Even God’s common sense is holy!  Therefore, be entirely grateful when he sends someone to you who carries the more important burdens that demand your attention than the ones you’ve been focusing on.  Thank God for those who are “in-laws” — in alignment with God’s commandments, many times before it has even been revealed to you what his instructions are!

What’s practical?

How can we blame Moses for not realizing what he was doing?  True, he had all of the people putting the weight of their burdens on his shoulders, but what other solution was there?  How could he trust that God had appointed others to give guidance and wisdom, and would the wisdom of the others match that which God was expecting for his people?

There was no way of knowing whether or not Jethro was right.  What he said was true, and his way of governing seemed completely practical, but how can a person determine when a worldly practice is still a Godly practice?

What’s logical?

Sometimes we can not rely on our own thoughts.  We must have an outside opinion to steer us in the right direction.  There are actually times when we can not trust ourselves and it is necessary to trust someone else.  In fact, it is necessary for us to trust someone else’s thoughts over our own because we are not always thinking clearly.

Moses realized that the advice that Jethro gave was the logical answer, not only because he was a practical man and because he had taken Moses in when he had nowhere else to go, but also because what Jethro was actually doing was logical.  Jethro was bringing Moses’ family back to him and the very real presence of his family demonstrated to Moses that there were things he had overlooked because he had become overly taxed.

What’s applicable?

There is never anything wrong with putting God’s business above our own, in fact it is mandatory.  But we are not to become confused about what that means.  The aspect of God’s business that demands primary attention is the one-on-one fellowship time that we have with him.  Nothing should take the place of the time that we spend with God in prayer, study, and meditation.  But the time that we spend with God is not the same as the time that we spend at the church, with the body of believers, or in the synagogue.  The two are completely separate jobs.  One is preserving the relationship that one has with God while the other is managing God’s affairs.  One is personal, the other is business.

Jethro demonstrated to Moses that he was confusing his responsibilities with his relationships.  He was reminding Moses that in order for Moses to apply God’s principals to his life, he actually had to have a life in which to apply them.  In other words, Moses was becoming neglectful of his own life.  Jethro was actually giving Moses a wonderful life lesson that God would test him on later.  God’s business will always demand a replacement eventually, but no one can replace you in the relationships you build with God and with the others whose care you are responsible for in your own household.

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Weekly Reading for 2/13/10

Ordinances

Exodus 21:1-21:18

Jeremiah 34:8-22 & 33:25-26

II Kings 11:17-12:17

Mathew 5:17-32

II Corinthians 6:14-18

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 12:39 am and is filed under Jethro.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.