Rev. David Holwick ZA Exodus series, #9
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 30, 2009
Exodus 18:13-26
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I. They still do it today.
A. Saudi Arabian princes.
A few years ago I saw a "60 Minutes" segment that showed a
Saudi Arabian prince meeting with his subjects.
On a regular basis, he would set up a big tent in the desert
and hundreds of people would drive their SUVs and camels
out to it.
The tradition was that the prince would meet with every one
of them.
Some wanted him to solve a family dispute.
Quite a few wanted money to start a business or go to school.
Others had religious or political questions for him.
The prince considered it an honor to meet his people like this.
I remember thinking it had a quaint Biblical feel to it.
But could you imagine if President Obama tried to do this?
He could be in that tent 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and
still not meet 1% of us.
Presidents used to shake hands with anyone who came to the
White House on New Years day, and even that was too tiring
so they gave it up. [1]
B. It is natural to want to meet someone who has power.
1) Moses was not only the Jews' leader, but he was their
spokesman from God.
2) It got to be pretty overwhelming.
a) Several commentators suggest he developed clinical
depression as a result.
3) It took an outsider to suggest a better way to handle things.
C. Moses was not the only one who gets burned out.
1) Many today are trying to do it all.
a) Pastors who are never home because of ministry pressures.
b) Businessmen who feel no one else can be trusted to do
things the right way.
c) Even moms who try to do every little thing for their
kids.
2) In the long run, it is not very effective.
a) Fortunately, God's Word gives us a better way.
II. Jethro, a nice pagan.
A. Midianites were descendants of Abraham, like the Jews.
1) They were descendants of his last wife and had settled
in the Sinai as nomads.
2) However, they were not in Abraham's godly line and most
of them practiced idolatry.
3) In the days of Gideon, they became enemies of Israel.
B. Jethro was not a typical Midianite.
1) He was a priest, and may have worshipped idols.
2) However, his contact with his son-in-law, Moses, showed him
the God of the Jews was supreme. 18:11
a) Jethro is not exactly expressing monotheism - one god.
b) He may just be saying Moses's God is the best of the
bunch.
C. Jethro also had some insight into leadership.
1) God was great, but Moses was only so-so.
a) It was understandable that everyone wanted Moses'
opinion since he was God's mediator.
b) Leaders who combine political with religious power often
face this pressure.
The best American example is Brigham Young, the founder
of Utah.
He ruled it with an iron fist.
Author Irving Stone says Young was absolute master of
its every detail.
He knew every Mormon in Salt Lake City, his name and
family, his assets and problems.
When he visited St. George, a Mormon settlement near
the southern Nevada border, he entered every home,
embraced every person.
When he ordered a thing to be done, it was done:
Tabernacle, temple towns, schools, roads, library...
Plays appearing in the theatre had to have his approval.
Marriages required his consent, and courtships as well.
If a man wanted to enter a business or trade, Brigham
Young had to approve.
When he told a man to enter into polygamy, that man
took another wife.
Whatever he said was the religion of the Mormons.
When he said that a man or group was apostate, that man
or group was excommunicated.
Heber Kimball, Young's first in command, told the
congregation:
"If Brother Brigham tells me to do a thing, it is the
same as though the Lord told me to do it."
Mormons were not overburdened with personal decisions
but they didn't seem to mind.
Sir Richard Burton, a British explorer who visited
Salt Lake in 1860, said that Brigham Young's policy
was based upon a basic human truth:
"Liberty is to mankind in mass, a burden far heavier
than slavery."
#1593
2) Jethro identified three bad results from Moses' style: 18:17
a) Moses was overworked and could not cope.
b) The people were deprived of swift justice.
c) Elders were not given an opportunity to serve so their
leadership gifts were wasted.
3) Jethro offers advice on how to fix it. 18:19
a) This was dangerous, since Moses could be paranoid.
1> Others had tried to usurp his power and take over.
b) But Jethro comes across as a disinterested party.
1> He wants nothing for himself.
2> He shows how everyone will benefit.
D. Wisdom is not limited to the Bible.
1) Jethro is an example of what is called general revelation.
2) God can use burning bushes, but he can also reveal truth
from nature or our own consciences.
III. The new division of labor.
A. Moses became the Supreme Court. 18:19
1) He was still God's representative for them.
2) He now shared the responsibility (and burden) with others.
3) Only difficult cases should come to Moses. 18:22
B. Capable people served under him. 18:21
1) Character and competence are important.
a) Must be godly.
b) Must be trustworthy.
c) Must be honest. (note combination of spiritual & human)
2) The whole congregation helped choose them - Deut 1:9,13 (K)
3) They were put in a hierarchy. Deut 1:15
a) Tens, 50s, 100s, 1000s.
b) Similar to their military structure, with a chain of
command.
C. Even the common people had an obligation. 18:20
1) Moses is not just to give decisions, but teach principles.
a) He is to tell them how to live, and what to do.
b) People need to internalize God's principles for living.
2) One of the weaknesses of modern government is that we try
to come up with laws that cover every possibility.
a) We know that people are always looking for loopholes,
so we try to cover every loophole.
b) But people with hard hearts will always find a way
around it.
3) What we really need is people who have the law in their
hearts.
a) As Jeremiah put it, we need the law on hearts of flesh,
not tablets of stone.
b) True change in society comes when their is a change in
the souls of the people - a revival.
D. It worked!
1) Out of the five Books of Moses, three of them mention this
episode and the resulting principle.
2) The New Testament endorses it in the selection of deacons
in Acts 6.
3) Paul's advice in 2 Timothy 2:2 - "Entrust [the gospel] to
reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
IV. The wisdom of delegating.
A. We should limit our efforts to what we do best.
1) This is the principle behind capitalism - everyone benefits
if you focus on what you do well, and let others produce
what they do well.
2) If you try to do everything, you are guaranteed to do some
things poorly.
B. By hogging, we thwart the gifts of others.
1) Everyone has a spiritual gift to do something well.
2) It is our job to give them the opportunity to use it.
a) This is a principle not just for the church.
b) In your home, your career, your community, we should
seek out others who can do a better job than us.
John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, knew the
importance of delegating leadership.
Part of the Standard Oil gospel was to train your
subordinate to do your job.
Rockefeller instructed a recruit:
"Has anyone given you the law of this company?
It is this: nobody does anything if he can get anybody
else to do it.
As soon as you can, get someone whom you can rely on,
and train him in the work.
Then sit down, put your heels up, and think out some way
for Standard Oil to make some money."
#4748
V. Bureaucracy has its place.
A. We hate going through levels of government.
1) Movie "Julie and Julia" is about an amateur cook who works
in a cubicle during the day.
Half her callers would say, "Let me speak to someone who
has power. Do you have any power?"
And she would meekly respond, "No."
But then she would put her all into getting them the right
help.
B. The real issue is competence, not delegation.
Cheryl Horsfall lives in Manhattan.
A few years ago, she was laid off from her job and at the
unemployment agency she was offered free life insurance.
She took it.
About a year later, she applied for an extension of the
insurance.
The state sent her letter saying they would not extend it
because she was deceased.
The letter did not say how she had died or when.
But it did say if she disagreed, she could request a hearing.
The number to schedule a hearing was connected to an answering
machine.
Cheryl left many messages, but no one called her back.
So she had a funeral for herself and invited old boyfriends.
But she soon realized there could be serious legal troubles
from being dead
So she went to another government office.
She asked the woman behind the desk to sign a certificate
affirming that she was alive, but the woman said she wasn't
allowed to.
#16215
C. You are allowed to.
1) Use your gifts to lead, to serve, to produce something.
2) For what you don't want to do, find someone else to do it.
3) And do it all for the glory of God!
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] In further research I found that the President greeted all comers in
the White House for the Inauguration, Fourth of July, as well as New Years.
According to the official website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/History/:
"In 1829, a horde of 20,000 Inaugural callers forced President Andrew Jackson
to flee to the safety of a hotel while, on the lawn, aides filled washtubs
with orange juice and whiskey to lure the mob out of the mud-tracked White
House. After Abraham Lincoln's presidency, Inaugural crowds became far too
large for the White House to accommodate them comfortably. However, not
until Grover Cleveland's first presidency did this unsafe practice change.
He held a presidential review of the troops from a flag-draped grandstand
built in front of the White House. This procession evolved into the
official Inaugural parade we know today. Receptions on New Year's Day and
the Fourth of July continued to be held until the early 1930s."
# 1593 "Liberty Is a Burden," by Irving Stone, "Men To Match My Mountains"
(1956), p. 265.
# 4748 "Delegation At Standard Oil," by Ron Chernow, Book: "Titan - The
Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr." (1998), p. 178.
#16215 "Prove You're Alive," by Alec Wilkinson, The New Yorker Magazine,
July 24, 2006, p. 23.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Sermon Notes
Maxie Dunnam
============
I. Three bad results from Moses' style:
A. He was overworked and could not cope.
B. The people were deprived of swift justice.
C. Elders were not given an opportunity to serve.
II. Jethro's wisdom.
A. He did not take power from Moses, but recognized his strengths.
B. He recognized that leadership would have to be re-ordered.
1) Pastors must be careful not to get lost in trivia.
2) Jethro's plan freed Moses.
III. The kind of people who should be leaders.
A. Must be committed to God.
B. Must have a commitment to truth.
C. Must have a commitment to others.
1) They must lay aside all personal gain.
IV. They go their separate ways.
A. Two options.
1) Jethro goes with faith in God and His blessing.
2) Jethro chooses his comfortable pagan life over joining
God's people. see Numbers 10:29-30
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