Moses goes from prophet to leader

When reading these passages, I saw something new this time. In Exodus 11:3 the text tells us that Moses was highly regarded by Pharaoh's officials and the Egyptian people. This is an interesting insight and changes my previous view of the story. I had thought that all of the Egyptians held Moses in contempt, but rather they held him in high regard. Funny then how one man, Pharaoh, held Moses and his people hostage and all the Egyptians had to suffer because of his poor leadership.

A lot of interesting things happen in this part of the Exodus, one of them being the contrast in leadership that we see between Pharaoh and Moses. At the end of today's reading we see Moses' father-in-law help Moses go from being a prophet to being a leader, a delegator. John Maxwell, a guru on leadership says that Exodus 18 is "the day Moses became a leader".

God gave Moses a message, and then He provided those around him that helped Moses to govern and lead the people. Chapter 18 shows us a template with which to help people delegate to lead large groups of people in an orderly fashion.

You may also have noticed the small emphasis given to the way God used the Egyptians to financially bless the Israelites on their way out of the land. More about that in the near future. But don't forget that important fact, it becomes something important in the story later.

My chapter summaries:

Exodus

11 the firstborn die in Egypt
12 God establishes the Passover/Israel leaves Egypt
13 Israel crosses the sea of Reeds
14 Israel crosses the sea of Reeds
15 all Israel praises God through a song
16 God provides daily bread (manna & quail)
17 God provides water & victory over the Amalekites
18 Jethro teaches Moses to delegate