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Exodus 18 Bible study: Not able alone

A priest of Midian, not an Israelite, is the one who says, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods" (18:11). And when Jethro tells Moses to set rulers over the people to judge them (18:21-22), the Hebrew uses the words of the question Moses heard before he fled to Midian: "Who made you a prince and a judge over us?" (2:14).

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“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods because of the way that they treated people arrogantly.”
Exodus 18:11 · World English Bible

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“The plan for setting rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens over Israel came from Moses' father-in-law.”

Is that in Exodus 18, or not? Make your call.

What's really going on

"Now I know"

In the text

Pharaoh had said, "Who is the LORD, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD" (5:2). Now a priest of Midian hears "of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people" (18:1), and Moses tells him the whole story, "all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how the LORD delivered them" (18:8). Jethro rejoices (18:9), blesses the LORD "who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians" (18:10), and says, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods" (18:11). Then he takes "a burnt offering and sacrifices for God" (18:12).

Where it leads to Jesus

Send out laborers

Interpretation

Exodus 18:18leads toMatthew 9:37-38

Moses judged the people "from the morning to the evening" (18:13), and Jethro told him, "You are not able to perform it yourself alone" (18:18); able men were set over the people to "share the load with you" (18:22). When Jesus saw the crowds "like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36), he said to his disciples, "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). Then "He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority" (Matthew 10:1). Jesus doesn't cite Exodus 18, so setting the two side by side is a reading: some hear in his words the same need for more hands that Jethro saw; others read them on their own.

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Exodus 18

That was a taste

The rest of Exodus 18 is waiting in Favor

  • Too heavy, twice
  • "Who made you a prince and a judge?"
  • Moses tells it again
  • "Not good", "alone" and "help"
  • 8 questions as you read
  • 9 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

שָׁפַטshafatsay sha-FAT

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "judge, govern", and in particular "decide controversy, discriminate betw. persons". Moses "sat to judge the people" from morning to evening (18:13): "I judge between a man and his neighbor" (18:16). The verb comes six times in the chapter. The first time Exodus uses it, it is thrown at Moses: "Who made you a prince and a judge over us?" (2:14). Now the rulers he sets over the people "judged the people at all times" (18:26). The book of Judges uses the same verb: "The LORD raised up judges, who saved them" (Judges 2:16).

For your group

Exodus 18 Bible study questions

  1. 1Jethro told Moses, "The thing that you do is not good" (18:17), and Moses listened (18:24). Who in your life can tell you something hard, and how do you usually take it?
  2. 2"You are not able to perform it yourself alone" (18:18). What are you carrying by yourself that you could share with someone this week?
  3. 3Moses told Jethro all that the LORD had done (18:8), and Jethro said, "Now I know" (18:11). Whose story of what God has done has helped you believe, and whom could you tell yours to?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 18 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home