Exodus 18-19

“Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him…” (Exodus 18:7). I find it rather remarkable that Moses, who works miracles and speaks to God is humbling himself before his father-in-law. But I’m also struck by the confidence of Jethro in verse 17 where he tells this man of God, “The thing that you are doing is not good.” But Moses is only doing what the Lord had told him to do. I’m not sure what to make of this situation; some commentators think Moses erred in listening to Jethro, while others think Jethro was a brilliant business man and it was good how he helped Moses. The text does not indicate that Moses ever asked God if this was good advice…. I can see both sides, but either way, I know that asking the Lord’s opinion is always the right thing to do!