Exodus 18:1-20-23
Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6
Matthew 5:21-30; 15:1-11
Hebrews 12:18-29
James 2:8-13
Yitro (Jethro)
The sun had risen many hours before, but Moses was still in his tent. Joshua had come to check on him, but Moses simply told him he was fine and just needed some rest. He lay on his bedroll, staring at the ceiling. He could hear the voices and commotion outside his tent.
I never imagined it would be like this. Getting the people out of Egypt and slavery was the easy part. Getting the slavery mentality out of them may be the hardest job ever.
For generations, the people had lived as slaves. It was all they had known. The Egyptian taskmasters had controlled their every waking moment. They had been told when to rise, what to do, when and what to eat, and then, by the end of their day of work, no one had to tell them to go to bed. Seven days a week, the work had continued. They made no decisions for themselves and now had forgotten how. They did not even have a basis on how to resolve the conflicts that arose between them. In Egypt, they had not had time for conflict. Now, the only solution they thought they had was to take every problem to Moses. After all, he was the one who had brought them out into this wilderness. It was all his fault.
What am I to do? Moses thought. The people come to me with every trouble they have. I cannot turn them away. They need instructions on how to live this new life as free men and women. I do not even know where to begin in writing instructions for them. I am too busy on a daily basis listening to their problems. Praise HaShem. He gives me answers. I just wish He would find a way to give some of the instructions and solutions directly.
His thoughts were interrupted by Joshua at the door of the tent, calling for him again. "Moses, there are men here to see you. They say they have been sent from a man named Jethro."
Moses sprang from his bedroll so fast it startled Joshua. Moses certainly hadn't moved that fast for the other visitors. Not a bad move for a man over eighty! He greeted the men who told him that his father-in-law, Jethro, along with Moses' wife and two sons, were coming to meet him. Moses immediately motioned for his camel to be made ready to go and meet Jethro. As it was being done, Moses noticed the two men who had been squabbling outside his tent that morning. It seemed one of the men's oxen had gotten loose and had gored the others man's donkey. They were about to throw punches when Moses stepped in between them and gave them brief instructions on what to do to resolve the situation. The two men seemed relatively at peace and walked off. Moses then saw others coming who did not look so peaceful. He told Joshua to just calm them down, and he rode off.
Moses could not believe his eyes. Even from a distance, he could see how tall the boys had gotten. Moses quickly greeted his family and told them to follow him back to the camp. On the way, he explained to Jethro the situation he found himself in. As soon as they got close to the tent of Moses, Jethro could see for himself just how big the problem had become. He simply watched as Moses resolved the dispute that Joshua hadn't quite been able to control. It was not until the next day that Jethro called Moses to the side. "You must appoint others to help you with this job. Train and use the leaders you have been given. Make them in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. You only take the cases that those men can not solve on their own." Moses' only hesitation was saying to Jethro that he did not know if the men were prepared for the task. "Just when did you become ready, my son?" Jethro replied. "Trust that a similar anointing that you been given will be given to them."
Moses immediately began to put the plan of Jethro in place. He was amazed at how well it worked right from the start. Moses began to wonder what he would do with all his free time.
It was not many days after when Moses finally felt he was rested and his thoughts, clear. It was then that the cloud moved and brought the people to the base of a mountain. Moses knew the mountain well from his time watching a different breed of sheep so many years ago during his exile. The next morning after arriving at the base of the mountain, Moses got up early and was walking, looking up to the mountain peak, when he heard a familiar voice calling him up further onto the mount. It was there that Moses was given specific instruction for how he and the people were to prepare themselves for the events to come. Elohim desired to meet with them all and to give them a special gift.
On the morning of the third day, the people had prepared themselves and were standing at the base of the mountain. It had been a while since Moses told them to present themselves, and some of the people quickly became impatient and even stared to murmur among themselves. This was quickly quieted by a sound of a shofar being sounded from the top of the mount. Then, there was a flash and a boom of thunder that seemed to shake the very ground. The mountain was enveloped with a dark smoke. The smoke slowly gathered at the top of the mountain as the shofar grew louder and louder. The sound echoed through the ground, the people. It grew to where the entire mountain seemed to quiver and the people could hear the sound inside their very souls.
Moses and Aaron were then called to the top of the mountain. It was there they were given the ten words of instruction; words which later instructions would all be tied to. The words were these:
"'You shall have no other gods before Me.
'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
'You shall not take the name of the YH VH, your Elohim, in vain.
'Remember the Shabbat to keep it holy.
'Honor your father and your mother.
'You shall not murder.
'You shall not commit adultery.
'You shall not steal.
'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'"
Moses and Aaron came back down to the people. They were speechless and trembling in fear. One of the leaders finally came to Moses and said. "You speak with us; and we will listen. But don't let God speak with us, or we will die."
Moses attempted to comfort the people, but they would not listen. He finally turned toward the thick darkness of the top of the mountain and began to climb once again. He was half way up when he finally noticed that not even Aaron was with him. He stopped for a moment, then turned toward the cloud of darkness and began to walk into it. That would be the last the people would see of Moses for many days. Family by family began to turn and go back to their camps and to their daily chores. No one dared to even discuss his or her thoughts of what might be happening in the thick darkness of the mountaintop.
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