“But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gains—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”
~ Exodus 18:21
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever pulled a Jethro? Have you ever delegated? Delegating is asking another guy, gal or kid to do what you have been doing because you believe that the guy, gal or kid will do just as well at doing what you have been doing. Delegating is not asking another guy, gal or kid to do something that you do not like doing or do not want to do. Any guy, gal or kid who God has hardwired with an administration gift knows how to delegate. God hardwired both your grandmaa and grandpaa with the administration gift. A guy or gal who God has hardwired with the administration gift gets his or her value out of the successes that the guys and/or gals were able to accomplish who he or she had been tasked the responsibility to supervise.
Moses headed for the Midian Desert when he had to run for his life after killing an Egyptian guy. Jethro lived over 3400 years ago. Jethro was the priest of Midian. Jethro befriended Moses. Jethro had a daughter whose name was Zipporah. Moses got to know Zipporah. Zipporah became Moses’ wife. Moses and Zipporah had two boys. Moses named his first boy Gershom. The name Gershom means ‘I have become an alien in a foreign land’. Moses named his second boy Eliezer. The name Eliezer means ‘My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh’. One day while Moses was herding his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses saw a bush burning. The burning bush was God’s way of getting Moses’ attention for a task that He wanted him to do. When Moses left where the Midian Desert is located to return to Egypt after spending forty years caring for sheep, Moses took with him Zipporah and their two kids. Moses once he was back in Egypt began the task that God had assigned him to do which was being His contact guy with the Egyptian Pharaoh. God expected Moses to lean on the Egyptian Pharaoh to get the Pharaoh to let His specially chosen guys, gals and kids – the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids, leave Goshen, Egypt to make the exodus to the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their extended families would always have to live in as their very own land. When Moses – and God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids, arrived at the mountain of God – which probably was Mount Sinai, Moses sent Zipporah and their two kids to the Midian Desert to let his father-in-law know that the mission was unfolding that God had sent him back to Egypt to do. Exodus 18 recounts what took place when Jethro joined Moses at the camp where God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids had set up – which was probably at the base of Mount Sinai. When Jethro arrived at the camp with his daughter and his two grandkids, Moses caught his father-in-law up on everything that had taken place. Moses had a real story to tell. Moses witnessed God put a big time hit on the guys, gals and kids who lived in Egypt – using ten very different plagues to do it. Moses witnessed a wide path miraculously opening up through the Red Sea through which he led God’s specially guys, gals and kid but when the Egyptian people group’s army started going through the same wide path, the path closed over the soldiers – drowning the Egyptian soldiers who were trying to catch up with them. Jethro was impressed. Jethro gave God the credit. Your grandpaa thinks that Jethro was a real good guy – that Jethro gave Moses a break when Moses really needed a break.
The day after Jethro arrived where God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids had set up camp, Moses had to excuse himself from spending time with his father-in-law so that he could judge and settle disputes between guys and/or gals. Your grandpaa does not know how many Israelite people group guys, gals and kids were in the camp that they had set up near the mountain of God but . . . your grandpaa thinks that there were well over two million Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids camping together. Ask your dad and/or ma to help you get your arms around what two million of something is like. Do you always get along with other kids? There were times when one of God’s specially chosen guys and/or gals did not get along with another guy and/or gal. Moses was the guy who had to decide – as a judge, which guy and/or gal was in the right and which guy and/or gal was in the wrong. As the one and only judge, Moses was always having to make calls between guys or gals. It is wearing to be the guy or gal who has to always be the guy or gal to make all the decisions – especially between guys or gals. It does not tire your grandpaa out to work on this computer all day long writing letters or doing reports but when your grandpaa spends most of his day talking with guys and gals, your grandpaa really is tired by the end of the day. Jethro saw that it was really wearing on his son-in-law – Moses, of being the only one who was judging disputes between guys and/or gals. Jethro told his son-in-law that what he was doing was very admirable but . . . Jethro suggested to his son-in-law that he might do what verse 21 says, “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gains—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice. Moses trained guys who he chose to be judges. Jethro helped his son-in-law – Moses, to know how to delegate the responsibilities to other capable guys to do what Moses once thought that he alone had to do. It is easy not to delegate to a guy or gal something that needs to get done when you know that you probably can do what needs to be done better and faster than what the guy or gal who you are asking to do it will do it but it is good to pull a Jethro as pulling a Jethro shows that you really do trust in the gift and ability of another guy or gal. Do you know what the hardwired gift is that God has given you? God will expect you to use your hardwired gift.
Exodus 18 (330)