ao:eng_webu
Exodus 18
1Now Jethro, of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away,
3and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”.
4The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.”
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with Moses’ sons and his wife to Moses into where he was encamped, at the of God.
6He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you with your wife, and her two sons with her.”
7Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods because of the way that they treated people arrogantly.”
12Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a and sacrifices for God. Aaron came with all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.
14When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?”
15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
16When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.”
17Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good.
18You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone.
19Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
20You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
22Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you.
23If you will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”
24So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
25Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
Slow reading
Read Exodus 18 three times
Guided passes through short verse groups: read it whole, watch the words, then pray it back. Phrases to stop on along the way, with deeper explanation held back until you have read the verses yourself.
Ask about this chapter
Have a question about Exodus 18?
Ask anything about this chapter. Every answer names the verses it rests on and links straight to them, highlighted in the reader.
Study together
Questions on Exodus 18
Every comment is tied to a place in the text: a verse, a span of verses, or one section of the study. Ask what you do not understand, and answer others from Scripture.
Sign in to ask a question or answer one. Reading always stays open to everyone.
Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Does God provide for my needs?
Scripture says yes, and it is careful about the word need. God promises to supply what his people need, often daily rather than in advance, and he does not promise surplus, comfort or the removal of hard seasons. Paul, who wrote that God will supply every need, also wrote that he had learned to be hungry.
What does the Bible say about worry?
Jesus forbids worry about food, drink and clothing, and he argues rather than scolds: your Father knows what you need, he feeds the birds, worry adds nothing to your life. Scripture then gives the worrier something to do, prayer with thanksgiving and casting the burden on God, and it limits the horizon to one day at a time.
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
The fear of the LORD is not terror of an unpredictable God. It is the reverence of a creature who has rightly understood who God is, holy, sovereign and near, and who therefore takes him seriously in every decision. Proverbs calls it the beginning of knowledge, because a person who has not reckoned with God has not yet begun to understand anything rightly.