Exodus 18:1-27 Study Guide: Jethro's Advice

Community Group Study Guide — Jethro’s Advice
Exodus 18:1-27

Study Information:
So far the journey in the wilderness had been exhausting and filled with hardship and grumbling, but our passage gives us a hint of respite for Moses and the people of God in the form of a family reunion and life saving leadership lessons for Moses. In our scripture passage we learn about the joy of sharing what God has done and the need we have for leadership to be shared with godly and faithful leaders who are called to serve. We see Christ in our text in how he is the one who accomplished deliverance for the people of God and in how he calls his followers to lead and be part of his mission of redemption.  

Family Reunion
Exodus 18:1-12
Moses had a homecoming with his return to the wilderness. We find the people of God encamped at the “mountain of God” which was the same place where God first called Moses to his mission to free Israel (Exodus 3:1). The wilderness was close to Moses’s adopted home and an area he shepherded for 40 years. Moses was greeted by his family including his wife, two sons and his father in law Jethro. We do not know when, but at some point in Egypt Moses sent his wife and children home, and this homecoming included a heart felt, tear filled reunion descried (Exodus 18:2-7). Naturally, Zipporah and Jethro asked Moses “how’d it go?” and the overwhelming response was “God delivered us!” The word delivered appears 5 times in our text and is the clear theme of how Moses recounted the Exodus events (Exodus 18:8). The result of sharing the message of redemption was Jethro’s joy and a confession of faith that God was greater than all other gods.

If you’re a follower of Jesus the key message of your story is also the theme of deliverance. You have been delivered out of the domain of darkness and to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13-14). You have been ransomed from your sins and saved to put off the old self and walk in new life. Whether you were raised in the church or not, or if your testimony is “exciting” or “boring,” you have been delivered. We often feel hesitant to share what Jesus has done in our lives because of fear of judgment or persecution, but notice the response of Jethro, “Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done… (Exodus 18:9).” You ma not be able to control how people receive the news of God’s deliverance but we can be people who share about it and tell all of what he has done and with that some people will rejoice. 

Heavy Burdens
Exodus 18:13-27
The family reunion with Jethro was also providential because Moses was on a crash course with burnout. Our passage tells us that Moses’s leadership patterns were “too heavy for him.” Moses would sit alone on “normal days” and judge the people from morning to evening settling disputes for them (Exodus 18:13-18). Moses was called to teach them God’s ways and statutes, but he went about it in a way that would quickly wear him out. Remember the last few chapters in Exodus and who Moses was settling disputes for! These people were characterized as grumbling, complaining and quarreling with Moses, Aaron and God. Not only that, but he was the sole person hearing disputes for a population that numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Moses had an important job to do, who else could let people know the statutes of God?! Yet, Jethro saw what Moses couldn’t see, that Moses was on a crash course to wearing himself out. Just like in Exodus 17:8-16 when Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms to keep the staff raised, so too he needs godly and faithful leaders to share the burden of leading the people of God. 

Jethro gave Moses three pieces of leadership advice. 
First, warn the people about God’s statutes (Exodus 18:20). Essentially, Moses was to keep the main thing the main thing, he was to focus on teaching the people about who God is and what God required. At this place and time, no one else could do that, and getting caught up in settling disputes was a distraction to this mission. 

Second, share the load with other godly leaders (Exodus 18:21). When the burden is too big to bear, share the load with others whom you can trust. The English text uses the word “able men” which is the Hebrew word for “worthy” used in places like the book of Ruth for Boaz and Ruth, and Proverbs 31:10 for “excellent.” It is a word loaded with meaning in the original language but somewhat obscured in our english translation. These people were to be faithful, upright and sacrificial. 

What does this kind of leader look like? First they are to fear God. Implied in this is that they do not fear men and their heart desire to do what is right in the eyes of God. Second, they are to hate bribes. They are not influenced by money, approval or worldly gain to sway their decision making. Finally, they are trustworthy. These are leaders who are faithful and dependable. Moses was to set up these men to focus on groups of 100s, 50s or 10s and thus all the people would be covered and shepherded. 

Finally, Moses was to handle the hard stuff (Exodus 18:22). Anything that was beyond the wisdom of the leadership team was to be handled by Moses directly. 

Passages like this influence how we lead at West Hills, with shared leadership among a group of elders and the desire we have to delegate ministry to men and women in the church where they can serve, lead and help others grow in the faith. This is what Jesus did and what the New Testament teaches. Think about how crazy it is that Jesus handed over leadership to the 11 disciples and then to the early church! He empowered godly, spiritually mature Christians to love and serve others and then the good news of what Jesus did for us and our salvations saturated the ends of the earth. Likewise, Paul talks about the church as a body being built up in love with apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). The reason is that the mission is too big for any one person to handle alone. If you are inclined to think you can handle all that life or work or ministry throws at you on your own you will burn out and not be able to endure (Exodus 18:23). We are designed by God to need other trustworthy and capable people in our lives especially as we lead and serve in community. Moses had unintentionally made it about him and his role and calling, but passages like this remind us that the church does not depend on one person, it depends on Jesus. 

At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week? 

Discussion Questions:
Read Exodus 18:1-27

What was Moses’s homecoming like and how did people react to the story of God’s deliverance? Look specifically at Exodus 18:8-12. 

Jethro warned Moses about how his leadership practices would put him into a position of exhaustion and that they were too heavy for him. What are some of the reasons he couldn’t be the sole person settling disputes?

Describe the kind of person Moses was to appoint to a position of leadership? How did this free Moses to focus on what he was called to?

Have you seen churches or organizations unintentionally center around one person? What are some of the strengths and disadvantages of that? 

How can you be part of God’s mission to share of his deliverance and to help others grow in their faith this week?