The Unexpected Equipper - Exodus 18

Good morning to you, and we want to welcome you to faith Bible Church today And if it's your first time visiting us today, we want to make sure you

Have a good welcome and we thank the Lord that you've come out today to worship him

The announcements for the week are I think most of us know we still have the men's Bible study this coming

Saturday at 330 and this afternoon at 6 o 'clock we have a prayer time

We would invite you to that and then our regular services both at 930 on Sunday and 11 today we're glad to see you here and So with that we will just open with the word of prayer

Thank you. Heavenly Father for the blessings that you Give to us through the week

We thank you Heavenly Father for the word that you have given to us to direct us in this life

We do thank you Lord for life and health For both physical and spiritual life

Lord that you have given We thank you for the great plan of salvation Lord that you have prepared that we might have fellowship with you

We pray for each individual that comes here today We pray that we might go out saying that's been good to be in the house of the

Lord We pray Heavenly Father. You would speak to each one of our hearts through the music and through the message

And we'll thank you for that Lord and pray in Jesus name. Amen David okay.

All right. Let's stand and sing to our Lord Good morning Scripture reading this morning is from the book of Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34

Jeremiah 31 31 through 34

Behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah Not according to the covenant that I've made with their fathers in the day

That I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt my covenant

Which they broke though. I was a husband to them says the Lord But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the

Lord and I will put my law in their minds and Write it on their hearts and I will be their

God and they shall be my people No more shall each no more shall every man

Teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying know the Lord For they all shall know me

From the least of them To the greatest of them says the Lord or I will forgive their iniquity and their sin

I will remember no more May the Lord add his blessing to the reading and hearing of his holy word

Thank you all for singing and please be seated at this time, please turn with me to the book of Exodus chapter 18 the book of Exodus chapter 18 and Jethro the priest of Midian Moses's father -in -law heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people

That the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt Then Jethro Moses's father -in -law took

Zipporah Moses's wife after he had sent her back and with her two sons of whom the name of one was

Gershom For he said I have been a stranger in a foreign land and the name of the other was

Eliezer and he said the God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh and Jethro Moses's father -in -law came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God Now he had said to Moses I your father -in -law

Jethro am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her so Moses went out to meet his father -in -law bowed down and kissed him and they asked each other about their well -being and they went into the tent and Moses told his father -in -law all that the

Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake all the hardship that had

Come upon them on the way and how the Lord had delivered them then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the

Lord had done for Israel whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians and Jethro said blessed be the

Lord who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and who has

Delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians Now, I know that the

Lord is greater than all the gods for in the very thing in which they had behaved proudly

He was above them Then Jethro Moses father -in -law took a burnt offering other sacrifices to offer to God and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses father -in -law before God and So it was on the next day that Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening

So when Moses father -in -law saw all that he did for the people What is this thing that you are doing for the people why do you alone sit and all the people stand before you from morning till evening and Moses said to his father -in -law

Because the people come to me to inquire of God when they have a difficulty they come to me and I judge between one and another and I make known to the statutes of God and his laws

So Moses father -in -law said to the said to him the thing that you do is not good

Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out for this thing is too much for you

You are not able to perform it by yourself Listen now to my voice I will give you counsel and God will be with you stand before God for the people so that you may bring the difficulties to God and You shall teach them statutes and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and work and the work they must do

Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men such as fear

God man of truth hating covetousness and peep and place such over them to be rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds rulers of fifties and rulers of tens and Let them judge the people at all times then it will be that every great matter

They shall bring to you but every small matter they themselves will shall judge so it will be easier for you and they will bear the burden with you if You do this thing and God so commands you then you will be able to endure and all this people will also

Go to their place in peace So Moses heeded the voice of his father -in -law and did all that he had said

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 rulers of tens

So they judged the people at all times the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves

Then Moses let his father -in -law depart and he went his way to his own land.

This is the word of the Lord Let us pray Father we are thankful that you are a

God Who delivers his people from the enslavement of sin?

You are a God who equips his people in every possible way through whatever means

Because you are sovereign God we pray that as we listen to your word that we would

Encounter your presence that we would know that you are here in Jesus name now

We had two weeks Away from Exodus and we're back and just as a reminder prior to this chapter in Exodus 17

God's people were attacked by the Amalekites right after leaving

Egypt Israel's first interaction with people outside of God's covenant community was dangerous and threatening today's text however shows the opposite Israel's interaction with an outsider who has heard of God's deliverance and He visits

Israel and actually believes in the Lord Not only that in the second half

God uses him Uses this Outsider to advise

Moses so that God's people may be well equipped to survive

So that God's people may be built up and prepared For the giving of the law in Mount Sinai and this is an important text today because We too are

God's people and we do interact with outsiders Some may be just plain hostile like the

Amalekites and this is not to say you fight with them with swords But some may actually

Be interested in hearing what the Lord has done in your life

But not only that if God willing they commit themselves trust in the

Lord Jesus Christ God may even use them to equip the church from the very start

So the main question this text asks this morning is how do

God's people? Interact with outsiders who are open to the Lord How do

God's people interact with outsiders who are open to the Lord? The first point the first 12 verses is

That God's people rely on the testimony of God's deliverance to convert the outsider

God's people rely on the testimony of God's deliverance to convert the outsiders

After defeating the Amalekites Moses gets a surprise visit from his

Midianite priest father -in -law Verse 1 tells us the background of such visit

He heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people that the

Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt the testimony of God's mighty work to free

Israel from the enslavement of Egypt Traveled all the way to Midian Right by Mount Sinai.

That's where Israel is right now Verses 2 through 4 tell us that Jethro the father -in -law brought

Moses wife and his two sons Here we learn the meaning of Moses sons names both of them here one

We learned earlier Gershom now Gershom for he said I have been a stranger in a foreign land

And the name of the other was Eliezer For he said the God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh When the narrator shares the meaning of names

He is telling us that the meanings are significant Consider Moses calling out his son's name

Gershom Home for dinner. Hey Gershom come home for dinner During his stay in Midian.

He would have been reminded that Moses is not truly with his people

He's actually away from his people and of course

Eliezer do not go there Moses would have been reminded of the

Lord who saved him From the first Pharaoh who tried to kill him earlier in Exodus These names with meanings provide a significant reminder

Names matter here after hearing the testimony of God's merciful salvation of Israel Jethro announces his arrival.

I your father -in -law Jethro am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her

Moses goes out to greet Jethro so Moses went out to meet his father -in -law bowed down and kissed him and they asked each other about their well -being and They went into the tent at this point some commentators speculate

Oh How come? Moses wife and the two sons are with the

Midianite priests. I thought they Followed him to Egypt Well, we do not know at what point

Moses and his Moses's wife and the two sons left Egypt because they did follow

Moses to Egypt in the earlier chapters of Exodus we just don't know when that happened and why it happened and Some commentators speculate that they divorced or something like that.

It's just not in the text Therefore we cannot presume or assume what happened

It's interesting to speculate but if the text is silent on it, we just cannot speak on it but for some reason

Moses wife and the two sons went back to the land of Midian and at this point when

Moses and Israel reached the land of Midian Mount Sinai the gods mountain

They heard about Moses and Israel and they came back. They came back to be reunited.

So Right after they do their formal greeting of bowing down and kissing

What does Moses do immediately after that? well verse 8 tells us that Moses shares the testimony of the

Lord delivering Israel and Moses told his father -in -law all that the

Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake and All the hardship that had come upon them on the way and how the

Lord had delivered them first Moses shares how

God dealt with Israel's slave master Pharaoh and the

Egyptians in order to free Israel once and for all

Second Moses shares the hardship they encountered in the wilderness

Running out of water running out of food facing a physical threat yet the

Lord graciously delivered them all and Provided for them in every single way and that is what

Moses was excited to share He's reunited with his family and he shares the testimony the witness the story of what the

Lord has done and What are

Jethro's responses? From verses 9 through 12. We see three different responses emotional verbal and physical

First verse 9 shares Jethro's emotional response then Jethro rejoiced

For all the good the Lord had done for Israel whom he had delivered out of the hand of the

Egyptians Upon hearing how God had graciously saved

Israel from Egypt Jethro rejoices From deep inside his heart.

There is joy He takes this news Seriously and Sut with the such a good news and the most appropriate response is that of joy?

He's rejoicing celebrating Second Jethro verbally praises

God in verses 10 to 11 Blessed be the Lord who has delivered you out of the hand of the

Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and Who has delivered the people from under the hand of the

Egyptians? Jethro praises God he celebrates

God's work God's merciful and mighty work of saving

Israel Jethro readily believes the testimony from Moses and What is the natural response to this new faith

Verse 11 tells us that Jethro acknowledges the Lord as the most high

God Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods

For in the very thing in which they behave proudly he was above them From the mouth of a pagan

Midianite priest Comes the acknowledgement that the Lord is supreme

No other gods can compete against the Lord because he is the only

One who can save as he did No other gods

Can do what the Lord has done There is no one like the

Lord This is a complete conversion of a former pagan priest and the only thing that was required was the testimony of What the

Lord did? Moses did not have to show a miracle Moses could have shown miracles

He did not Moses did not have to Force him with physical violence

Moses did not have to have the best argument out there all he did was share the testimony of what the

Lord did and This Midianite priest believed Third Jethro physically responds to his new faith by offering sacrifices to his new

God then Jethro Moses father -in -law took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses father -in -law before God Now it is not clear what types of animals and how they offered these sacrifices up before the law was given

Right. The law will be given in the next chapter and the following however, ever since Genesis there has been a notion in the ancient world of offering of sacrifices to celebrate

God to commemorate what God has done to give thanks to remember his mercy and grace and the celebration of this conversion is joined by other leaders of Israel in which they share bread in that culture sharing food was

Really important it shows the relational depth of the people sharing the bread together

In fact in the Middle Eastern cultures now sharing food is very special If you're invited to have a meal with them, it means they trust you.

It means you're with them. You're part of them when

Jethro trusts in the Lord he is received by the Lord's covenant people and this is the reality of People trusting in the

Lord nowadays Whenever a person places his faith in Christ They're saved into God's family

When a person trusts in the Lord They're not called out to be a lone ranger, but they're saved into the body of Christ the bride of Christ When an outsider believes in the saving work of Christ she is received into the covenant family of Christ and Now we have to ask how are the outsiders brought in to God's covenant community?

The method also has not changed since Moses time We share the testimony of God's saving work.

We share God's Deliverance of his people and that's what the early church did

Look at Acts 2 verses 40 to 41 and with many other words.

He testified and Exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation

Then those who gladly received his word those who received believed the testimony were baptized and That day about 3 ,000 souls were added to them

The early church did not rely on Programs they didn't rely on classes.

They didn't rely on Flashy lights fog machine a concert to attract the new believers or attract the outsiders

They just testified they just shared what the Lord had done for them

Brothers and sisters, we do not need humor to save souls.

I Sometimes hear preachers or preaching books that say you got to add some sort of humor in there to grab the attention

God's saving work is relevant to anyone who's alive all I have no humor to attract people

To God's message. We do not need social influence to gain following We do not need new worship songs to attract the outsiders

That sound very similar to any secular music you could hear on the radio

We rely on what God has done to bring us to himself

We share how God has delivered us from sin and death we testify the crucified

Christ We've proclaimed how we were so wicked That God became man to die for our sin on the cross

We share that Jesus faced the punishment that we deserved

So that we could be delivered from our sin once and for all It was out of his compassionate loving heart for you that he endured the cross and We share such a deity to the outside world that is struggling with their sin

Constantly that is our only

Help that is our only tool for evangelism the gospel is powerful enough and relevant enough to save the outsiders

Who are willing to listen? It is through the testimony of Jesus that any outsider joins the body of Christ The second question is why was

Jethro saved at this time? Why now? Which brings us to the second point

God brings the right person at the right time to fill the need of God's people

God brings the right person at the right time to fill the need of God's people

After confessing the Lord to be superior Jethro witnesses how

God's people function verse 13 and so it was on the next day that God's Moses said to judge the people and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening

Notice that Moses is surrounded by the people of Israel and he has to judge them from morning till evening

Leading God's people is taxing and exhausting for Moses and Jethro naturally responds with a series of questions

What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit and all the people stand before you from morning till evening?

Well Moses responds to his father -in -law In verses 15 to 16 because the people come to me to inquire of God when they have a difficulty they come to me and I judge between one and another and I make known the statutes of God and his laws the purpose of gathering around Moses All day long is that God's people must seek justice and righteousness

They need to inquire they need to ask They need to discern why am

I living according to God's will after all they didn't have The full counsel of God with them.

They didn't even have the Pentateuch with them at that point and Whenever there's a difficulty in finding out discerning what the right course of action is

They sought out God's standard of justice Because they understood that human wisdom will not be sufficient to live as God's people

They wanted to hear God's standard of right and wrong Not what their gut tells them what not what their surrounding nations to held to and Moses served as the adjudicator of God's law

He was not the lawgiver. The law didn't come from Moses. It came from God But the interpreter of God's law, how would it be applied to you now?

He taught God's standard of justice For God's people it was crucial that they lived according to God's standard of right and wrong not theirs and this is important today because many

Christian institutions and many local churches often forget the source of justice and righteousness

Despite how loudly the world screams justice or social justice nowadays

Justice does not depend on democracy Justice is not what the greatest number of people believe or the loudest voices in the world

After all the world is so fickle.

It will say one thing is right and A few years later, it's wrong

Second righteous is not about consequences The righteousness of God does not consider

What causes the least amount of harm you might have heard this argument from all sorts of people

Well, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody Who am

I to say that is wrong as long as no one's getting hurt Right.

They say that about gay marriage They say that about all transgenderism as long as it's not hurting anybody, but God does not

Work that way. In Fact those people who practice what is sin they are hurting themselves

Because they're seeking Fulfillment from what cannot give fulfillment and you will see a lot of broken hearts and Disheartened souls for those who try to find fulfillment in what

God calls sin So God's justice does not depend on Consequences of what the world thinks

Second, I mean according to this passage justice and righteousness are

About how God rightly relate to his people According to his way justice and righteousness depend on how

God relates to his people according to his way

They depend on God's will and God's standard not ours unlike our culture now the early

Israelites Knew this and they sought out God's will through Moses the intermediary whom

God spoke through They needed someone to teach them how to rightly

Relate to God according to his ways not theirs How how do we walk with the

Lord who has just delivered us? Tell us Moses The problem for Israel was not that Moses was teaching false things

But rather Moses was the only person teaching The problem was not the false teaching but ineffective practice

Hence Jethro advises his son -in -law from verses 17 through 23 Verse 17 rightly evaluates the situation here.

It is not good The thing that you are doing is not good.

Now not good does not mean it has Moral level to it as in hey

Moses what you're doing is sinful, but it's just not good as in it's not

Good as in not wholesome. It's not complete It's ineffective and Verse 18 explains why both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out

For this thing is too much for you and you are not able to perform it by yourself This practice is not only taxing for Moses but for the people as well as They would be waiting for hours and hours until Moses is able to get to their specific case

And this is really important in the church today because no single person in the church is able to Do everything for the church

No single person can do everything for the church No single person has every gift that the church needs

No single person has the capacity to provide that and this text is a sobering reminder for many of the pastors and ministers and the servants who are serving in the church

If Moses couldn't do it without wearing himself out and the people How can you?

This is why many churches or many pastors who think they have to do all the things by themselves

They burn out They don't last They retire they find a different job

Verses 19 to 20 Clarify that Moses will continue to do what he's doing right?

It's not that Moses is doing the wrong thing It's that how he's doing it is ineffective it's not working well he will still stand before Israel and teach them

God's law and God's people will still bring cases before him.

But at this time it would be difficult cases and The change starts in verse 21 moreover you shall select from all the people able men such as fear

God men of truth hating covetousness and Place such over them to be rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds rulers of fifties rulers of tens

Moses will select capable men to help out and what are the qualifications?

Business mindset to do a great outreach Innovative extroverts a

Great sense of humor someone you can get along with No, the requirements are

The following the standards for the judicial arm of Israel is

That first and foremost they fear God their relationship with the

Lord must be godly must be appropriate They fear

God they respect God They take God and his word seriously

Sure, they love God Sure, they see God's compassion But they do not dare to go against God after all those who take

God seriously will take God's very own people with the utmost care and Under shepherd who fears the

Lord will never abuse the Lord's sheep They would not dare abuse his flock

Second they must be men of truth They are characterized by truthfulness

Not only are they honest but just like the truth

They're unchanging They're reliable They're dependable

They're trustworthy That's what it means to be a man of truth, they're solid they're solidly planted third they must hate covetousness a more direct translation is

Those who hate bribes those who hate bribes It is not enough to be trusting and trustworthy

In order to lead God's people These judges must hate what's evil

It is not that they're just only good they desire good, but they cannot stand wickedness

It is not just mere disinterest in bribe. Oh, I'm not interested. No, thank you but an active antagonism to them they can not stand

God's righteousness and justice being distorted Hits them in the guts

They cannot stand

They have a willful hatred toward any wicked gesture of bending justice they will not stand corruption and such men must judge over various groups of people and These men are not chosen from a specific tribe just like the priests right the priests are from the

Levitical Tribe, no, these men can come from any of the twelve tribes.

They just have to meet the qualifications To rule over the thousands the hundreds

The fifties and the tens they're divided into different groups to judge over them

The goal here is not to have a substitute for Moses It's not to replace

Moses But for more capable men to play a part helping

God's people Walk with the Lord faithfully and righteously It's to better serve the people

This is not a vacation For Moses, it's a more effective way of ministering to God's people and verse 22 repeats the fact

That only the hardest case will go up to Moses Moses does not have to concern himself with simple cases

The well -trained well -equipped faithful men of God will handle those So he will not be overburdened by every single case that arises in Israel and the intended result is shown in verse 23 if you do this thing and God so commands you then you will be able to endure and All this people will also go to their place in peace

Jethro does not presume that his advice is automatically approved by God because it makes sense

No, he tells Moses check with God Right and God so commands you

After being approved by God and implemented in Israel Moses will be able to endure his day -to -day task

But not only that his people God's people will be able to go home in peace

This is the word Shalom peace Which is not just that there are no arguments but that peace is and they will be whole they will be complete the opposite of not good

But peace all together peace wholesome peace

Good and they will not be torn

But they will be going home whole They will not be distressed But their souls will be calm and Verses 24 through 26 show us the exact implementation according to Jethro's advice and after which in verse 27

Jethro leaves This was not a long visit but a necessary visit

Jethro may not have known he would be advising Moses Before his visit on how to effectively keep his

God's people obedient to God But God knew that he would be using

Jethro that way God used Jethro to set up Israel's more effective system of Justice So that God's people may follow

God's law More effectively God brings the right person at the right time to fill the need of his people

God provides for the need of his people even through an outsider a recent convert convert

Now it is important to note that the church does not have a judicial branch Because we're not a political body like Israel was

However How God brings the right person to edify the body at the right time?

Has not changed Just as God used this newly convert

Jethro To prepare God's people to receive God's law God still prepares us

By bringing the right people at the right time in fact

There may be unbelievers out there whom God is preparing their hearts right now

That one day that they may be saved at the right time and to serve

The church in a significant and necessary way Just like Jethro No one would have expected

Jethro a pagan Midianite priest to help set up the judicial system of the nation of Israel the nation of God's people and that's because God brings the right person at The right time and that right person will have the right set of gifts

To build up the local church God is the ultimate equipper of the church

Whether you have been here for decades or this is your first visit You are here for a reason and Consider praying about how

God could use you and your gifts to build up this local flock

You may think you don't have the right set of gifts to serve the church But God has brought you here this morning for a reason pray for discernment in how to best serve the local flock here

When you see a need that no one else has seen ask God if you are the one to fill it

Consult with one of the elders Regarding how to best meet that need

I think God reveals people various needs that I may not see that the elders may not see and Oftentimes the answer is not let the pastor handle it, but rather maybe

God is calling you to step up and Serve in that regard

What a glorious thing you don't have to be a pastor You don't have to be an elder to serve the body of Christ and whatever need that is highlighted to you by God and that Whatever gift you bring whatever service you end up doing

That will edify the church that will build up the church that will make the body stronger

That will make the body closer to Christ that will make the body More like Christ and we look back to this story if God can

Save a Midianite priest through his testimony To prep and and use that priest to prepare his people to obey the law right before the giving of the law

God can surely use you to equip the body today

Let us pray father. We're thankful that your body your church does not depend on one person

But it is an organism It's a body and it depends on everyone here and God I pray that you would make clear to us how we can individually each serve

According to the need of the body. We pray that you would encourage them You would exhort them give them the courage to step up because it can be

Daunting to start something new to serve in a new way But father all of these people here are your people your sheep and it's the body of Christ and we pray that you would give them clarity and The energy and wisdom to carry that through in Jesus name.

Amen All right, let's stand for our closing song trust and obey in the

Lord Truly it has been a blessing to be together today.