Jethro Knows Best

When my husband and I were first married, we had our eyes on a certain car we wanted to buy. We had both recently graduated from college and money was tight. Wanting advice about our situation, we decided to call my parents and run the idea by them. All we heard on the other end of the phone line was silence – a silence that spoke volumes! We read between the (phone) lines and knew they were not in favor of our upcoming purchase. In the end, we decided not to buy the car.

I was reminded of this story this week while the kids and I were reading Exodus 18. The chapter title in my Bible reads, “Jethro Visits Moses.” My initial thought was, “Is this the ‘Beverly Hillbillies?’” You don’t see a name like Jethro in the Bible very often! That show was way before my time, however I do remember Jethro actually is a character from the show. Jethro is also the name of Moses’ father-in-law.

Jethro (the one from the Bible) played an important role in Moses’ life in many ways. He helped take care of his daughter and grandsons while Moses was away. When they reunited, he listened to Moses as he shared what God was doing in his life. Then Jethro rejoiced with Moses and they praised God together.

As Jethro spent time with Moses, he saw how much Moses was working. Moses was serving as judge for the Israelites, who required his attention from morning until evening. To put it bluntly, Moses was overworked! Jethro noticed this and told Moses that if he kept up at this pace, he’d wear himself out! He told Moses, “Listen to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.” Jethro proceeded to suggest ways to divide the work between other capable leaders.

Thank goodness for close friends and family who can see areas in our lives that need to change and care enough to talk to us about it. It didn’t hurt that Jethro had tangibly shown Moses he cared about him by building a relationship with him. Verse 24 says, “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.”

I think the moral of this story is that sometimes people who are older and wiser than us can help us make good decisions and choices. Let’s face it, they’ve been around the block a few more times than we have! We can learn valuable lessons from both their mistakes and successes.

Wise old Jethro also gave me the opportunity to talk to my kids about why they should listen to their teachers, parents, pastors and other wise adults. It was a valuable lesson I was all too eager to point out!

There’s another old TV show that also fits in with what I’m trying to say. It’s the show “Father Knows Best” (also way before my time). I would like to take some liberties and suggest a new title for Exodus 18: “Father-in-Law Knows Best.” Jethro, you’ve got the leading role!