My mother and father in-law are some of the greatest people
in the world, but I believe my wife’s in-laws are even greater. If you don’t get that now, I hope you will get
it later.
Maybe you have heard lots of the in-law jokes, or maybe you
have experienced some of the bad or rough issues that people have talked about
with their in-laws. It might be those
meddling mother in-laws or controlling father in-laws. Or maybe every time they come to visit it
simply is not a good experience. Not me
(and I love my in-laws).
The Bible talks about in-laws, and one of those places that
it does is when Moses, the leader of God’s people wondering in the wilderness,
was visited by his father in-law, Jethro.
Exodus gives us insight into the fact that Moses’ wife was from a
different nation than Moses was, but her dad was a very wise man that supported
his daughter and her family.
As we come to Exodus 18 Moses’s wife and two sons come home
escorted by her father. While there
Moses and Jethro talked a great deal, and Jethro noticed some things that
weren’t going well. He saw that the
people were bombarding Moses every day and zapping his effectiveness and
energy. Here is what Jethro said:
Exodus 18:17-20 NLT
“This is not
good!” Moses’ father-in-law
exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people,
too. This job is too heavy a burden for
you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me
give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s
representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach
them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.
What Jethro had to say wasn’t easy for Moses to hear. This had become commonplace day in and day
out as Moses served the people and did what God had called him to do. But the truth of what Jethro shared was so
needed. Moses wasn’t going to make it
much longer. He was tired.
If he listened to his father in-law, things would get much
better. Moses would be able to
accomplish much more and help the people even more. There are times we want to keep doing what we
are doing or not listen to what some people are saying. Yet if we listen, if we learn and if we
change, great things will happen. It
takes humility and honoring the wise people around us to really hear what God
has to say.
Good leaders listen.
Good leaders take criticism. Good
leaders are willing to make changes to help the people he or she is
leading. Moses was a good leader.
Exodus 18:24 NLT
Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice
and followed his suggestions.
Yes. Moses
listened. He responded with grace and
with wisdom. Things got better. But Moses didn’t think things were bad or
even wrong. He needed to hear what his
father in-law had to say.
You and I have to chose wisely who we listen to. There are people who want our attention and
who will destroy our lives and our ability to lead. Yet there are other people we must listen to. Sometimes those people aren’t easy to listen
to or aren’t the people we expect to hear from.
God will use all different kinds of people to speak into our lives.
Things changed as Moses listened. Things got stronger. I close with one last verse about something
that needed to happen for things to continue to get even better.
Exodus 18:27 NLT
Soon after
this, Moses said good-bye to his
father-in-law, who returned to
his own land.
That isn’t a commentary on my in-laws coming to visit. Go ahead and live life as God gives you the
opportunity. Listen to the people that
God puts around you and sift their words through the truth of Scripture and
through the wisdom of other godly people.
Keep on living and from time to time listen to the wisdom of the
in-laws.
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