Over dinner this week, our older son was asking my husband about the relationship between Yisro (Yisro is Hebrew for Jethro) and Moses. My husband explained that Moses and Yisro have the same relationship – as he and my dad, Pop. My husband then proceeded to give a classic Pop impression, using the Pop voice, “AhhhHaaaHHhh! Look! Look at the mountain over there! AhhhHaaaHHhh!!” – if you know, you know. I spat out my wine laughing, and in that moment so grateful these are the types of conversations we have around the dinner table. Welcome to Yisro.
A Father-In-Laws Blessing 🌿
I really love the relationship Moses has with his father-in-law. 18:10 “Blessed be the Lord,” Jethro said… The Hebrew words for “Blessed be the Lord” are Baruch Hashem, which is the most common expressions used among religious Jews when answering the question “How are you?” Yisro’s visit to Moses brought on a revelation, Moses cannot do all this heavy lifting alone, he will get worn out, he cannot do it alone (18:17-18).
Yisro also makes a very important point 18:21 You shall also seek out from among all capable men who fear God, trustworthy men who spurn ill-gotten gain. Set these over them as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens… He’s saying Moses needs to appoint men of valor: capable, fearing God, men of truth, men who are incorruptible. Oh, if only our political landscape followed Yisro advice. Even just on the corruption piece alone, we’d be living in a much healthier world. One of my favorite television shows of all time is The Wire. It’s masterful at pulling back the curtain and showing how deep the rot goes — in institutions, in systems, in people on every side. Reading this verse, that’s honestly what came to mind. Yisro is naming the antidote to that kind of decay: character.
After this moment of practical wisdom, something sacred happens. God prepares the people for revelation. He tells Moses to ready them — emotionally, spiritually, physically — because He is about to speak directly to them. And then comes this breathtaking promise: 19:5-6 Now then, if you obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation… This is the foundation of everything that follows. Before commandments. Before laws. Before obligations. And honestly? When you really sit with them, the Ten Commandments aren’t that impossible to follow. They’re not meant to crush us — they’re meant to guide us. To protect us. To teach us how to live with God and with one another.
Yisro teaches Moses how to lead without burning out. God teaches Israel how to live without falling apart. Both are acts of deep love and care.
Standing at Sinai 🔥
Chapter 20 is a BIG chapter, one that deserves to be written out in its entirety. So I really want us to read it together. For the record, I’m using Dennis Prager’s translation from his Rational Bible series:
20:1 God spoke all these words, saying:
20:2 I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, The house of bondage:
20:3 You shall have no other gods besides Me. (#1)
20:4 You shall not make for yourself a sculpted image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth.
20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them (#2) For I the Lord your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me,
20:6 but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
20:7 You shall not swear false by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name (#3).
20:8 Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy (#4).
20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God: You shall not do any work – You, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.
201:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and He reseted on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
20:12 Honor your father and your mother that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you (#5).
20:13 You shall not murder (#6). You shall not commit adultery (#7). You shall not steal (#8). You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (#9).
20:14 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house (#10): you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
20:15 All the people witnessed the thunder and the lightening, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance.
20:16 “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
20:17 Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.”
20:18 So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
20:19 The Lord said to Moses: Thus shall you say to the Israelites: You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens:
20:20 With Me, therefore, you shall not make any god of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves any gods of gold.
20:21 Make for Me an alter of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you.
20:22 And if you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones for by wielding your tool upon them you have profaned them.
20:23 Do not ascend My altar by steps, that your nakedness may not be exposed upon it.
Sacred… and Surprisingly Simple
So far, this is my favorite chapter we’ve read in Exodus, it is so bone-chillingly powerful and inspiring. One thing that really stands out is that the commandment God spends the most time on is the Sabbath. There are many, many laws coming our way soon (stick around for Leviticus — I’m honestly not sure yet what that will look like for these weekly posts), but for now, the Big Ten are the core foundation: the main principles God asks us to live by. And I think it’s worth emphasizing just how simple they really are.
- You shall have no other gods – Our God is the only and true God. Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Ehad – Hear, O’Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Easy.
- No idols – Easy.
- You shall not swear false by the name of the Lord your God – This is more complicated, Dennis Prager makes a strong argument that this isn’t necessarily saying you aren’t allowed to exclaim, “Oh God! Today was a tough day.” It’s more along the lines of using God’s name to lie, manipulate, intimidate, or give false credibility to something untrue.
- Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. This is also easy, though there is much discussion as what constitutes ‘remembering’ and ‘keeping it holy.’ Let’s discuss at a later time.
- Honor your mother and father – Interestingly, God doesn’t say you have to love your parents, but rather to honor them. He commands us to honor them. For some, this is easy. For others, it can be deeply complicated. This, too, deserves its own conversation.
- You shall not murder – As we’ll see in the following chapters, accidental death, self-defense, etc. are excusable under the eyes of God, what is not, is murder with intent, first degree. Again, for a non-psychopath, this should also be pretty straightforward.
- You shall not commit adultery – Again, should be easy, though we live in a culture where this is often treated casually. How many books, movies, and shows revolve around betrayal and affairs?
- You shall not steal – Again, should be easy, and yet, people constantly blur the line.
- You shall not bear false witness – God doesn’t want a nation of liars, people that bend the truth.
- You shall not covet – This is the only commandment that is on the tricky side, because it can be really good to see what someone has and then aspire to be better / do better to obtain something similar. But to covet what your neighbor has, is a flavor of ingratitude for all you have, all that God has provided for you.
Takeaway for the Week
- We cannot do the heavy lifting all on our own.
- Though we should strongly take into consideration someone’s character when asking for said help.
- Our Ten Commandments give our society a moral and ethical starting point.