Exodus 18 — Thoughts

You’re Not Enough, and That’s OK.

I hear echoes of Genesis 2 in this chapter: “It is not good for the man to be alone….”

As the only person sitting as judge over the people of Israel, Moses was overwhelmed. His father-in-law, Jethro, suggested that Moses delegate judgment to trusted leaders instead. Jethro pointed out that the job was too great for one man, and he showed Moses that there were already trusted leaders on hand who could help. Moses had people there for him.

And Jethro was also there for Moses just by having this needed conversation.

God made us interdependent. None of us are meant to go it alone. We need each other. For companionship, guidance, encouragement, and help — God wants us to be there when others are in need.

And we shouldn’t see this as a limitation — it’s by design. God is a triune God; relationship is a part of who He is. So God’s choice to make humans deeply dependent on each other was actually a part of God creating mankind in His own image.

But I think there’s another reason...

God puts us in this position of need to serve as a reminder of the Gospel. We need each other because we cannot do it all ourselves, which points to the way we need Jesus because we cannot save ourselves.

We are all creatures in need. Purposefully, fruitfully, gloriously, it is not good for us to be alone.

(Originally written May 7, 2022)