Abraham's obedience

By the time we come across Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, we have already seen God flood the Earth out of anger at the existence of semi-divine mutant babies and scatter the languages of men because they tried to build a tower to heaven.  The consistent theme to this point is that humans are simply messed up.  But despite all of these horrible things preceding chapter 12, something incredible happens.  God comes to a random guy named Abraham and says:

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

As mentioned above, we have seen story after story (following the fall of Adam and Eve) of men disobeying God and acting unrighteously with disastrous consequences. From Cain murdering his brother Abel, to semi-divine/human intermarriages, to questionable activities of Ham and his drunk father, to the tower of Babel, it has been all downhill since Genesis 3.  But the momentum seems to change as God elects this man Abram, and promising that he will be the father of many nations, telling him to go to the land that He will reveal.  And perhaps the most refreshing and surprising part of this passage is what happens in verse 4: “so Abram went, as the Lord had told him.”  We do not know exactly how much Abram would have known about Yahweh, in fact he was among those who worshiped pagan Gods. 

But despite having to leave his homeland, he obeys God’s command, and as a result blesses his family, ancestors, and all of the nations.  Abraham’s story begins a series of stories in Genesis in which God elects men (descendents of Abram) that obey God’s call and father His holy nation.  A common thread in the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph is that of obedience, and Abram sets a precedent for this in the very beginning of his journey.  In the rest of his story, Abram is not always the greatest or most righteous of men, but he is obedient to Yahweh’s commands, most exemplified in his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.  In the end, Abraham is an important bearer of one of the most significant themes in all of Genesis, the Pentateuch, and Scripture as a whole; namely, obedience to Yahweh.

Wisdom from a father in law

      Normally when we think of in-laws, we think of toil, tempers, trouble, and all kinds of tragedy.  Fortunately for Moses, this is not the case for him and his father-in-law.  In Exodus chapter 18, Moses comes across his father-in-law Jethro, and receives a great deal of help and sound advice from him, which serves him in a way that should be noted by ministers and leaders of any kind.
Jethro sits in as Moses presides as judge over the people, and the people gather around him all day as he helps settle disputes among the people.  After observing the process, Jethro provides a great service to Moses in the form of advice.  The text explains the following:
      17Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. 18 you will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you.  For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; 20 teach them statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do. 21 You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you."
       In this passage, Jethro provides Moses with extremely practical leadership advice.  He explains that in order to effectively rule and judge over the people, Moses needed to be able to find trustworthy people to help carry the burden.  Not only does Moses learn the importance of delegating tasks to trustworthy leaders in this passage, but he also displays the wisdom of listening to the instruction of his elders.  In this way, Moses exemplifies two qualities of an effective leader, finding trustworthy subordinates and listening to wise instruction.  If we as ministers are to take seriously our task of serving God and others, we must emulate Moses by finding leaders in whom we can trust and delegate important tasks to while we listen to the instruction of those who have experience and knowledge.