Exodus 17:8-18:27

As Israel continues to make its way toward the Mountain of God, they learn some leadership principles via 2 stories. The first story involves an attack by the Amalekites. The second story involves a visit from Jethro (Moses' father in law).

The Amalekite attack (17:8-16)
The Amalekite attack on the Israelites seems to be completely unprovoked. The Israelite response teaches us some important lessons about leading and following.

For Leaders:
1. Seek God's Power (8-11)
2. Accept help (12)
3. Serve the people, not yourself (13)
4. Develop future leaders (14-15)

For Followers:
1. Are you climbing with your leaders? (8-10)
2. Are you providing rest for your leaders (11-12a)
3. Are you helping your leader fight? (12b-13)
4. Are you open to being a leader? (14-15)


Jethro's Advice (18:1-27)
Jethro was the priest of Midian and father-in-law to Moses. After Moses was re-united with his family (Jethro, his wife Zipporah, and his 2 sons), Jethro heard about all the great acts of God in Egypt and praised the Lord. But when Jethro saw all the work that Moses was doing by himself, he offered some advice.

Tips for how to offer good advice
1. Watch. Have a proper grasp of the problem (14a)
2. Ask. Let the person explain why they do it the way they do (14b-6)
3. Describe the problem in clear terms (17-18)
4. Describe the advice in clear terms (19-22a)
5. Describe the potential results (22b-23)
6. Allow the person to make the decision (24-27)

Jethro's advice, of course, was about delegation/empowerment
1. It's natural to work hard, but not necessarily smart (13-16)
2. This leads to burn out and frustration (17-18)
3. Our job is to spread info, not hold info (19-20)
4. Our job is to select able delegates (21-23)