Yethro Amtembelea Mose
118:1 Kut 12:16-18; 6:6Basi Yethro, kuhani wa Midiani, baba mkwe wa Mose, akawa amesikia kila kitu Mungu alichomfanyia Mose na watu wake wa Israeli, pia jinsi Bwana alivyowatoa Israeli Misri.
218:2 Kut 2:21Baada ya Mose kumrudisha mkewe Sipora, Yethro baba mkwe wake alimpokea 318:3 Kut 4:20; Mdo 7:29; Kut 2:22pamoja na wanawe wawili. Jina la mmoja aliitwa Gershomu, kwa kuwa Mose alisema, “Nimekuwa mgeni katika nchi ya kigeni.” 418:4 1Nya 23:15; Mwa 49:25; Kum 33:29Mwingine aliitwa Eliezeri, kwa kuwa alisema, “Mungu wa baba yangu alikuwa msaada wangu, akaniokoa kutoka upanga wa Farao.”
518:5 Kut 3:1Yethro, baba mkwe wa Mose, pamoja na wana wawili wa Mose na mkewe, wakamjia Mose huko jangwani, mahali alipokuwa amepiga kambi karibu na mlima wa Mungu. 6Yethro alikuwa ametuma ujumbe kwake Mose, kusema, “Mimi Yethro baba mkwe wako ninakuja kwako pamoja na mke wako na wanao wawili.”
718:7 Mwa 17:3; 43:8; 29:13Kwa hiyo Mose akatoka kumlaki baba mkwe wake, akainama na kumbusu. Wakasalimiana, kisha wakaingia hemani. 818:8 Hes 20:14; Neh 9:32; Kut 15:5, 16; Za 81:7Mose akamwambia baba mkwe wake kuhusu kila kitu Bwana alichomfanyia Farao na Wamisri kwa ajili ya Israeli, na pia kuhusu shida zote walizokutana nazo njiani na jinsi Bwana alivyowaokoa.
918:9 Yos 21:45; 1Fal 8:66; Neh 9:25; Isa 63:7Yethro akafurahishwa sana kusikia juu ya mambo yote mazuri Bwana aliyowatendea Waisraeli kuwaokoa kutoka mkono wa Wamisri. 1018:10 Mwa 9:26; 24:27Yethro akasema, “Sifa na ziwe kwa Bwana, aliyekuokoa wewe kutoka mikononi mwa Wamisri na Farao, na aliyewaokoa watu kutoka mikononi mwa Wamisri. 1118:11 Kut 12:12; 1Nya 16:25; Kut 1:10; Lk 1:51Sasa najua ya kuwa Bwana ni mkuu kuliko miungu mingine yote, kwa kuwa amewatendea hivi wale waliowatenda Israeli kwa ujeuri.” 1218:12 Kut 3:1; 10:25; 20:24; Law 1:2-9; Mwa 31:54; Kut 24:5; Mwa 26:30; Kum 12:7Kisha Yethro, baba mkwe wa Mose, akaleta sadaka ya kuteketezwa na dhabihu nyingine kwa Mungu, naye Aroni pamoja na wazee wote wa Israeli wakaja kula chakula pamoja na baba mkwe wa Mose mbele za Mungu.
Ushauri Wa Yethro
(Kumbukumbu 1:9-18)
13Siku iliyofuata, Mose akachukua nafasi yake kama hakimu wa watu, nao wakasimama kumzunguka kuanzia asubuhi hadi jioni. 14Baba mkwe wake alipoona yote Mose anayowafanyia watu, akasema, “Ni nini hiki unachowafanyia watu? Kwa nini wewe unakuwa mwamuzi wa watu hawa peke yako, wakati watu hawa wamesimama wakikuzunguka tangu asubuhi mpaka jioni?”
1518:15 Mwa 25:22; Hes 9:6-8Mose akamjibu, “Kwa sababu watu wananijia kutaka mapenzi ya Mungu. 1618:16 Kut 24:14; Law 24:12; Hes 15:34; Kum 1:17; 2Nya 19:7; Mit 24:23; Mt 2:9Kila wakiwa na shauri huletwa kwangu, nami huamua kati ya mtu na mwenzake na kuwajulisha juu ya amri na sheria za Mungu.”
17Baba mkwe wa Mose akamjibu, “Unachofanya sio kizuri. 1818:18 Hes 11:11, 14, 17; Kum 1:9-12Wewe pamoja na watu hawa wanaokujia mtajichosha bure. Kazi ni nzito sana kwako, huwezi kuibeba mwenyewe. 1918:19 Kut 3:12; Hes 27:5Sasa nisikilize mimi, nitakupa shauri, naye Mungu na awe pamoja nawe. Yapasa wewe uwe mwakilishi wa watu mbele za Mungu na ulete mashauri yao kwake. 2018:20 Kum 4:1-4; 5:1; Za 119:12, 26, 68; 143:8; Mwa 39:11Uwafundishe amri na sheria, tena uwaonyeshe namna ya kuishi na kazi zinazowapasa wao kufanya. 2118:21 Mwa 47:6; Mdo 6:3; Mwa 22:12; Kut 23:8; Kum 16:19; 1Sam 12:3; Za 15:5; Mit 17:23; 28:8; Mhu 7:7; Eze 18:8; 22:12; Hes 1:16; 7:2; 10:4; Kum 16:18; Ezr 7:25Lakini uchague watu wenye uwezo miongoni mwa watu wote, watu wanaomwogopa Mungu, watu waaminifu wanaochukia mali ya dhuluma, uwateuwe wawe maafisa juu ya maelfu, mamia, hamsini na makumi. 2218:22 Law 24:11; Kum 17:18; Hes 11:17; Kum 1:9Waweke wawe waamuzi wa watu kwa wakati wote, lakini waambie wakuletee kila shauri lililo gumu; yale yaliyo rahisi wayaamue wao wenyewe. Hii itafanya mzigo wako kuwa mwepesi, kwa sababu watashirikiana nawe. 23Kama ukifanya hivi, na ikiwa Mungu ameagiza hivyo, utaweza kushinda uchovu, nao watu hawa wote watarudi nyumbani wameridhika.”
Kuchaguliwa Kwa Waamuzi
24Mose akamsikiliza baba mkwe wake na kufanya kila kitu alichosema. 2518:25 Hes 1:16; 7:2; 11:16; Kum 16:18; 1:13-15Mose akawachagua watu wenye uwezo kutoka Israeli yote, akawafanya kuwa viongozi wa watu, maafisa juu ya maelfu, mamia, hamsini na makumi. 2618:26 Kum 16:18; 2Nya 19:5; Ezr 7:25; Kum 1:17Wakatumika kama waamuzi wa watu kwa wakati wote. Mashauri magumu wakayaleta kwa Mose, lakini yale yaliyo rahisi wakayaamua wenyewe.
2718:27 Hes 10:29-30Kisha Mose akaagana na Yethro baba mkwe wake, naye akarudi kwa nchi yake.
Jethro Visits Moses
1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there. for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4and the other was named Eliezer,18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper. for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” 12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
27Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
