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Jethro, no Hillbilly (how to be a good father-in-law) Exodus 3

Where in the Bible do we see an excellent example of a father-in-law? In Exodus 2 and three, we are introduced to Jethro. Jethro was not a big, goofy hillbilly. On the contrary, he was a good man who, that as one author says, "... Offered wise counsel, stepped in to help when needed, and then got out of the way." 


In chapter 3, he is called a "priest of Midian," and it was this phrase that caught my attention. He must have been a representative of the True God who was willing to be used when necessary by his actions and words. He thus also is a good role model for all Christians. 


We all are priests of God. We can go directly to God through Jesus Christ. We don't need to share our sins and confess them to a priest. The veil was split when Jesus said, "it is finished!" He opened the holy of holies, becoming the only mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ. And we can approach God's throne boldly. 


Jethro offered wise counsel when he helped Moses see that he was overloaded. In Exodus 18, all of the people were coming to Moses with their problems. They milled around him all day long, and Jethro saw that this was an impossible task. Moses needed some fatherly advice, so Jethro gave it. The same direction is still used in corporate situations today. Divide the work into bite-sized chunks (1000, 100, 50, 10), use sound and honest people to help you.


So, though Jethro doesn't appear too many times during Moses’ life story, he leaves a positive impact on his son-in-law’s life in the times that he does appear. Thus Jethro is a positive role model for all of us Dads-in-law to follow. 
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