PROCLAMATION
“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;
And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shall show them the way
wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou
shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth,
hating covetousness; 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 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.” Exodus 18:19-22 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
These
are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the
influence of The Holy Spirit of God. After the defeat of the Amalekites,
Jethro the father-in-law of Moses came to visit him. He brought with him
Zipporah, the wife of Moses, and their two sons Gershom and Eliezer. (Exodus
18:1-6) Moses told Jethro all that The Lord God had done unto Pharaoh and
how He had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Jethro
rejoiced for all of the goodness of The Lord. Then he offered a sacrifice
unto God. (Exodus 18:7-12) The next day, Moses sat and judged the people
from morning until evening. Jethro saw this and told Moses that this was
not good. Then he gave Moses some advice on how he ought to change the
way the people were judged. (Exodus 18:17-22) Moses listened to his
father-in-law and took his advice. (Exodus 18:23-27)
APPLICATION
All
of us should listen to good advice. Even those leaders who are in charge
should listen to the advice of wise counsel. Leaders should surround
themselves with wise people and then listen to their suggestions.
Sometimes the old traditional ways that we have always done things needs to change
to a more efficient way of doing things. However, when we give advice, or
correct, or offer constructive criticism, we should do so in private and it
should be done with love. We should choose our words carefully in order
to help people, and build them up, not to embarrass them or tear them down.
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