E
X O D U S
CHAP. XVIII.
This
chapter is concerning Moses himself, and the affairs of his own family. I.
Jethro his father-in-law brings to him his wife and children, ver. 1-6. II.
Moses entertains his father-in-law with great respect (ver. 7), with good
discourse (ver. 8-11), with a sacrifice and a feast, ver. 12. III. Jethro
advises him about the management of his business as a judge in
Israel, to take inferior judges
in to his assistance (ver. 13-23), and Moses, after some time, takes his
counsel (ver. 24-26), and so they part, ver. 27.
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Jethro's
Visit to Moses.
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B.
C. 1491.
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1 When Jethro, the priest
of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and
for Israel his people, and that the LORD
had brought Israel out of Egypt; 2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in
law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3 And
her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I
have been an alien in a strange land: 4 And the name of the other was
Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and
delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: 5 And Jethro, Moses'
father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness,
where he encamped at the mount of God: 6 And he said unto Moses, I
thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons
with her.
This incident may very well be allowed to have happened as it is placed here,
before the giving of the law, and not, as some place it, in connection with
what is recorded, Num. x. 11, 29, &c. Sacrifices were offered before; in
these mentioned here (v. 12) it is observable that Jethro is
said to take them, not Aaron. And as to Jethro's advising Moses to
constitute judges under him, though it is intimate (v. 13) that the
occasion of his giving that advice was on the morrow, yet it does not
follow but that Moses's settlement of that affair might be some time after,
when the law was given, as it is placed, Deut. i. 9. It is plain that Jethro
himself would not have him make this alteration in the government till he had
received instructions from God about it (v. 23), which he did not till
some time after. Jethro comes,
I. To congratulate the happiness of Israel, and particularly the honour of
Moses his son-in-law; and now Jethro thinks himself well paid for all the
kindness he had shown to Moses in his distress, and his daughter better
matched than he could have expected. Jethro could not but hear what all the
country rang of, the glorious appearances of God for his people Israel (v.
1); and he comes to enquire, and inform himself more fully thereof (see Ps.
cxi. 2), and to rejoice with them as one that had a true respect both for them
and for their God. Though he, as a Midianite, was not to share with them in
the promised land, yet he shared with them in the joy of their deliverance. We
may thus make the comforts of others our own, by taking pleasure, as God does,
in the prosperity of the righteous.
II. To bring Moses's wife and children to him. It seems, he had sent them
back, probably from the inn where his wife's aversion to the circumcision of
her son had like to have cost him his life (ch. iv. 25); fearing lest
they should prove a further hindrance, he sent them home to his father-in-law.
He foresaw what discouragements he was likely to meet with in the court of
Pharaoh, and therefore would not take any with him in his own family. He was
of that tribe that said to his father, I have not known him, when
service was to be done for God, Deut. xxxiii. 9. Thus Christ's disciples, when
they were to go upon an expedition not much unlike that of Moses, were to
forsake wife and children, Matt. xix. 29. But though there might be
reason for the separation that was between Moses and his wife for a time, yet
they must come together again, as soon as ever they could with any
convenience. It is the law of the relation. You husbands, dwell with your
wives, 1 Pet. iii. 7. Jethro, we may suppose, was glad of his daughter's
company, and fond of her children, yet he would not keep her from her husband,
nor them from their father, v. 5, 6. Moses must have his family with
him, that while he ruled the church of God he might set a good example of
prudence in family-government, 1 Tim. iii. 5. Moses had now a great deal both
of honour and care put upon him, and it was fit that his wife should be with
him to share with him in both. Notice is taken of the significant names of his
two sons. 1. The eldest was called Gershom (v. 3), a
stranger, Moses designing thereby, not only a memorial of his own
condition, but a memorandum to his son of his condition also: for we are all
strangers upon earth, as all our fathers were. Moses had a great uncle almost
of the same name, Gershon, a stranger; for though he was born in Canaan
(Gen. xlvi. 11), yet even there the patriarchs confessed themselves strangers.
2. The other he called Eliezer (v. 4), My God a help, as
we translate it; it looks back to his deliverance from Pharaoh, when he made
his escape, after the slaying of the Egyptian; but, if this was (as some
think) the son that was circumcised at the inn as he was going, I would rather
translate it so as to look forward, which the original will bear, The Lord
is my help, and will deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh, which he had
reason to expect would be drawn against him when he was going to fetch Israel
out of bondage. Note, When we are undertaking any difficult service for God
and our generation, it is good for us to encourage ourselves in God as our
help: he that has delivered does and will deliver.
7 And Moses went out to
meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each
other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. 8 And
Moses told his father in law all that the LORD
had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all
the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD
delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which
the LORD
had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the
Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD,
who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand
of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the
Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD
is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he
was above them. 12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a
burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of
Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
Observe here, I. The kind greeting that took place between Moses and his
father-in-law, v. 7. Though Moses was a prophet of the Lord, a great
prophet, and king in Jeshurun, yet he showed a very humble respect to his
father-in-law. However God in his providence is pleased to advance us, we must
make conscience of giving honour to whom honour is due, and never look with
disdain upon our poor relations. Those that stand high in the favour of God
are not thereby discharged from the duty they owe to men, nor will that
justify them in a stately haughty carriage. Moses went out to meet Jethro, did
homage to him, and kissed him. Religion does not destroy good manners. They
asked each other of their welfare. Even the kind How-do-you-do's that pass
between them are taken notice of, as the expressions and improvements of
mutual love and friendship.
II. The narrative that Moses gave his father-in-law of the great things God
had done for Israel, v. 8. This was one thing Jethro came for, to know
more fully and particularly what he had heard the general report of. Note,
Conversation concerning God's wondrous works is profitable
conversation; it is good, and to the use of edifying, Ps. cv. 2.
Compare Ps. cxlv. 11, 12. Asking and telling news, and discoursing of it, are
not only an allowable entertainment of conversation, but are capable of being
tuned to a very good account, by taking notice of God's providence, and the
operations and tendencies of that providence, in all occurrences.
III. The impressions this narrative made upon Jethro. 1. He congratulated
God's Israel: Jethro rejoiced, v. 9. He not only rejoiced in the
honour done to his son-in-law, but in all the goodness done to Israel, v.
9. Note, Public blessings are the joy of public spirits. While the Israelites
were themselves murmuring, notwithstanding all God's goodness to them, here
was a Midianite rejoicing. This was not the only time that the faith of the
Gentiles shamed the unbelief of the Jews; see Matt. viii. 10. Standers-by were
more affected with the favours God had shown to Israel than those were that
received them. 2. He gave the glory to Israel's God (v. 10): "Blessed
be Jehovah" (for by that name he is now known), "who hath
delivered you, Moses and Aaron, out of the hand of Pharaoh, so that
though he designed your death he could not effect it, and by your ministry has
delivered the people." Note, Whatever we have the joy of God must
have the praise of. 3. His faith was hereby confirmed, and he took this
occasion to make a solemn profession of it: Now know I that Jehovah is
greater than all gods, v. 11. Observe, (1.) The matter of his
faith: that the God of Israel is greater than all pretenders, all false and
counterfeit-deities, that usurp divine honours; he silences them, subdues
them, and is too hard for them all, and therefore is himself the only living
and true God. He is also higher than all princes and potentates (who are
called gods), and has both an incontestable authority over them and an
irresistible power to control and over-rule them; he manages them all as he
pleases, and gets honour upon them, how great soever they are. (2.) The
confirmation and improvement of his faith: Now know I; he knew it
before, but now he knew it better; his faith great up to a full assurance,
upon this fresh evidence. Those obstinately shut their eyes against the
clearest light who do not know that the Lord is greater than all gods.
(3.) The ground and reason upon which he built it: For wherein they dealt
proudly, the magicians, and the idols which the Egyptians worshipped, or
Pharaoh and his grandees (they both opposed God and set up in competition with
him), he was above them. The magicians were baffled, the idols shaken,
Pharaoh humbled, his powers broken, and, in spite of all their confederacies,
God's Israel was rescued out of their hands. Note, Sooner or later, God will
show himself above those that by their proud dealings contest with him. He
that exalts himself against God shall be abased.
IV. The expressions of their joy and thankfulness. They had communion with
each other both in a feast and in a sacrifice, v. 12. Jethro, being
hearty in Israel's interests, was cheerfully admitted though a Midianite, into
fellowship with Moses and the elders of Israel, forasmuch as he also was a
son of Abraham, though of a younger house. 1. They joined in a sacrifice
of thanksgiving: Jethro took burnt offerings for God, and probably
offered them himself, for he was a priest in Midian, and a worshipper of the
true God, and the priesthood was not yet settled in Israel. Note, Mutual
friendship is sanctified by joint-worship. It is a very good thing for
relations and friends, when they come together, to join in the spiritual
sacrifice of prayer and praise, as those that meet in Christ the centre of
unity. 2. They joined in a feast of rejoicing, a feast upon the sacrifice.
Moses, upon this occasion, invited his relations and friends to an
entertainment in his own tent, a laudable usage among friends, and which
Christ himself, not only warranted, but recommended, by his acceptance of such
invitations. This was a temperate feast: They did eat bread; this
bread, we may suppose, was manna. Jethro must see and taste that bread from
heaven, and, though a Gentile, is as welcome to it as any Israelite; the
Gentiles still are so to Christ the bread of life. It was a feast kept after a
godly sort: They did eat bread before God, soberly, thankfully, in the
fear of God; and their table-talk was such as became saints. Thus we must eat
and drink to the glory of God, behaving ourselves at our tables as those who
believe that God's eye is upon us.
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Jethro's
Advice to Moses.
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B.
C. 1491.
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13 And it came to pass on
the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses
from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses' father in
law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that
thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people
stand by thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his
father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and
another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his
laws. 17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that
thou doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both
thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too
heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. 19
Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with
thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes
unto God: 20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and
shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must
do. 21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men,
such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such
over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds,
rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22 And let them judge the
people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they
shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be
easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou
shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in
peace. 24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law,
and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses 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. 26 And they
judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but
every small matter they judged themselves. 27 And Moses let his
father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Here is, I. The great zeal and industry of Moses as a magistrate.
1. Having been employed to redeem Israel out of the house of bondage, herein
he is a further type of Christ, that he is employed as a lawgiver and a judge
among them. (1.) He was to answer enquiries, to acquaint them with the will of
God in doubtful cases, and to explain the laws of God that were already given
them, concerning the sabbath, the man, &c., beside the laws of nature,
relating both to piety and equity, v. 15. They came to enquire of
God; and happy it was for them that they had such an oracle to consult: we
are ready to wish, many a time, that we had some such certain way of knowing
God's mind when we are at a loss what to do. Moses was faithful both to him
that appointed him and to those that consulted him, and made them know the
statutes of God and his laws, v. 16. His business was, not to make
laws, but to make known God's laws; his place was but that of a servant. (2.)
He was to decide controversies, and determine matters in variance, judging
between a man and his fellow, v. 16. And, if the people were as
quarrelsome one with another as they were with God, no doubt he had a great
many causes brought before him, and the more because their trials put them to
no expense, nor was the law costly to them. When a quarrel happened in Egypt,
and Moses would have reconciled the contenders, they asked, Who made thee a
prince and a judge? But now it was past dispute that God had made him one;
and they humbly attend him whom they had then proudly rejected.
2. Such was the business Moses was called to, and it appears that he did it,
(1.) With great consideration, which, some think, is intimated in his posture:
he sat to judge (v. 13), composed and sedate. (2.) With great
condescension to the people, who stood by him, v. 14. He was
very easy of access; the meanest Israelite was welcome himself to bring his
cause before him. (3.) With great constancy and closeness of application. [1.]
Though Jethro, his father-in-law, was with him, which might have given him a
good pretence for a vacation (he might have adjourned the court for that day,
or at least have shortened it), yet he sat, even the next day after his
coming, from morning till evening. Note, Necessary business must always
take place of ceremonious attentions. It is too great a compliment to our
friends to prefer the enjoyment of their company before our duty to God, which
ought to be done, while yet the other is not left undone. [2.] Though Moses
was advanced to great honour, yet he did not therefore take his case and throw
upon others the burden of care and business; no, he thought his preferment,
instead of discharging him from service, made it more obligatory upon him.
Those think of themselves above what is meet who think it below them to do
good. It is the honour even of angels themselves to be serviceable. [3.]
Though the people had been provoking to him, and were ready to stone him (ch.
xvii. 4), yet still he made himself the servant of all. Note, Though others
fail in their duty to us, yet we must not therefore neglect ours to them. [4.]
Though he was an old man, yet he kept to his business from morning to night,
and made it his meat and drink to do it. God had given him great strength both
of body and mind, which enabled him to go through a great deal of work with
ease and pleasure; and, for the encouragement of others to spend and be spent
in the service of God, it proved that after all his labours his natural force
was not diminished. Those that wait on the Lord and his service shall renew
their strength.
II. The great prudence and consideration of Jethro as a friend.
1. He disliked the method that Moses took, and was so free with him as to tell
him so, v. 14, 17, 18. He thought it was too much business for Moses to
undertake alone, that it would be a prejudice to his health and too great a
fatigue to him, and also that it would make the administration of justice
tiresome to the people; and therefore he tells him plainly, It is not good.
Note, There may be over-doing even in well-doing, and therefore our zeal must
always be governed by discretion, that our good may not be evil spoken of.
Wisdom is profitable to direct, that we may neither content ourselves with
less than our duty nor over-task ourselves with that which is beyond our
strength.
2. He advised him to such a model of government as would better answer the
intention, which was, (1.) That he should reserve to himself all applications
to God (v. 19): Be thou for them to God-ward; that was an honour
in which it was not fit any other should share with him, Num. xii. 6-8. Also
whatever concerned the whole congregation in general must pass through his
hand, v. 20. But, (2.) That he should appoint judges in the several
tribes and families, who should try causes between man and man, and determine
them, which would be done with less noise, and more despatch, than in the
general assembly wherein Moses himself presided. Thus they must be governed as
a nation by a king as supreme, and inferior magistrates sent and commissioned
by him, 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14. Thus many hands would make light work, causes would
be sooner heard, and the people eased by having justice thus brought to their
tent-doors. Yet, (3.) An appeal might lie, if there were just cause for it,
from these inferior courts to Moses himself; at least if the judges were
themselves at a loss: Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, v.
22. Thus that great man would be the more serviceable by being employed only
in great matters. Note, Those whose gifts and stations are most eminent may
yet be greatly furthered in their work by the assistance of those that are
every way their inferiors, whom therefore they should not despise. The head
has need of the hands and feet, 1 Cor. xii. 21. Great men should not only
study to be useful themselves, but contrive how to make others useful,
according as their capacity is. Such is Jethro's advice, by which it appears
that though Moses excelled him in prophecy he excelled Moses in politics; yet,
3. He adds two qualifications to his counsel:-- (1.) That great care should be
taken in the choice of the persons who should be admitted into this trust (v.
21); they must be able men, &c. It was requisite that they should
be men of the very best character, [1.] For judgment and resolution--able
men, men of good sense, that understood business, and bold men, that would
not be daunted by frowns or clamours. Clear heads and stout hearts make good
judges. [2.] For piety and religion--such as fear God, as believe there
is a God above them, whose eye is upon them, to whom they are accountable, and
of whose judgment they stand in awe. Conscientious men, that dare not do a
base thing, though they could do it ever so secretly and securely. The fear of
God is that principle which will best fortify a man against all temptations to
injustice, Neh. v. 15; Gen. xlii. 18. [3.] For integrity and honesty--men
of truth, whose word one may take, and whose fidelity one may rely upon,
who would not for a world tell a lie, betray a trust, or act an insidious
part. [4.] For noble and generous contempt of worldly wealth--hating
covetousness, not only not seeking bribes nor aiming to enrich themselves,
but abhorring the thought of it; he is fit to be a magistrate, and he alone,
who despiseth the gain of oppressions, and shaketh his hands from the
holding of bribes, Isa. xxxiii. 15. (2.) That he should attend God's
direction in the case (v. 23): If thou shalt do this thing, and God
command thee so. Jethro knew that Moses had a better counsellor than he
was, and to his counsel he refers him. Note, Advice must be given with a
humble submission to the word and providence of God, which must always
overrule.
Now Moses did not despise this advice because it came from one not acquainted,
as he was, with the words of God and the visions of the Almighty; but he hearkened
to the voice of his father-in-law, v. 24. When he came to consider
the thing, he saw the reasonableness of what his father-in-law proposed and
resolved to put it in practice, which he did soon afterwards, when he had
received directions from God in the matter. Note, Those are not so wise as
they would be thought to be who think themselves too wise to be counselled;
for a wise man (one who is truly so) will hear, and will increase
learning, and not slight good counsel, though given by an inferior. Moses
did not leave the election of the magistrates to the people, who had already
done enough to prove themselves unfit for such a trust; but he chose them, and
appointed them, some for greater, others for less division, the less probably
subordinate to the greater. We have reason to value government as a very great
mercy, and to thank God for laws and magistrates, so that we are not like the
fishes of the sea, where the greater devour the less.
III. Jethro's return to his own land, v. 27. No doubt he took home with
him the improvements he had made in the knowledge of God, and communicated
them to his neighbours for their instruction. It is supposed that the Kenites
(mentioned in 1 Sam. xv. 6) were the posterity of Jethro (compare Judg. i.
16), and they are there taken under special protection, for the kindness their
ancestor here showed to Israel. The good-will shown to God's people, even in
the smallest instances, shall in no wise lose its reward, but shall be
recompensed, at furthest, in the resurrection.
Contents
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