Moses also had a reunion with his father-in-law, Jethro (also known as Reuel). Moses had deep respect for Jethro, who was a shepherd, but who was also a priest of Yahweh. Jethro had already learnt what Yahweh had done for Israel. (It showed that the news had travelled far and wide!) But now, as Moses told him more details, Jethro praised Yahweh even more. He offered sacrifices to God and he also hosted a thanksgiving meal to God with Moses and the elders of Israel.

So we see that Jethro was a worshipper of Yahweh. There were others besides the Israelites who worship the true God. Their knowledge of God was also based on Yahweh’s revelation of Himself and His historical actions.

After this, Jethro visited the Israelite camp. The Israelites were not always on the move. Sometimes, God had them camp at a certain location for a period of time. Jethro observed the daily life in the camp and he saw the Israelites go to Moses for help in both spiritual matters and ordinary matters like disputes among the people. Moses was busy settling these issues from morning till evening. Moses was serving as the people’s mediator (the go-between for Yahweh and the people) as well as the judge (he settled disputes among the people).

As someone wise, Jethro immediately saw the problem—it was a management problem. He told Moses he would wear himself and the people out by personally handling all the issues. There just wasn’t enough time in a day to handle so many people.

Jethro was blunt—he told Moses he could not lead alone. Then he offered a solution: he first advised Moses to stick to being the people’s representative before Yahweh. Moses would continue to listen to God’s instructions regarding the people and he would bring to God the people’s needs. Moses would be the mediator (the go-between) and the intercessor (the one who intervenes on the people’s behalf, especially through prayer).

Second, for other daily matters, Jethro advised getting help from the tribal leaders. Each of the twelve tribes of Israel had tribal leaders. Jethro’s advice was to appoint them to be in charge of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. These leaders would be given the authority to settle everyday problems and disputes. In this way, they would relieve Moses of these smaller issues.

But if there was a larger issue that the tribal leaders could not resolve, then they were to consult Moses. Thus, Moses could focus on listening to God’s guidance and leading the nation, and these leaders could support the leadership burden of Moses by taking care of everyday matters.

Moses listened to his father-in-law. His advice freed Moses from handling all of the people’s issues. It also allowed the tribal leaders to be involved in the running of the nation and it allowed the people to get quicker help and resolution.

We see that God can help his people through the advice and help of other believers, particularly mature believers like Jethro. While we know we can hear from God directly through prayer and the study of Scripture, we see that God can also direct mature believers to help us in our growth journey.

In doing God’s work, there is the risk of taking on too much and thus getting ourselves exhausted. There is wisdom in delegating or dividing up the work so that each believer involved is not overwhelmed and a team working together can support each other and get the work done. We must never feel alone but know how to reach out for help.

And we must also be on the lookout for opportunities to help a fellow believer or to speak into the situation with the biblical wisdom that we have learnt.