Mentoring For The Kingdom’s Sake: A Sermon Based On Exodus 18 -- By: David Van Brugge

Journal: Puritan Reformed Journal
Volume: PRJ 05:2 (Jul 2013)
Article: Mentoring For The Kingdom’s Sake: A Sermon Based On Exodus 18
Author: David Van Brugge


Mentoring For The Kingdom’s Sake:
A Sermon Based On Exodus 18

David Van Brugge

Have you ever wondered why certain people are mentioned in Scripture? Why would the Old Testament mention a person just once or twice? For example, consider Jethro. He is a minor character in the Old Testament, not even an Israelite. He has very limited interaction with the Israelites. It is likely that there were many other important Israelites who dedicated their whole life to God who are not even mentioned. Why then is Jethro included in the record of Scripture?

One of the reasons is so we can understand how God protects, preserves, and helps His church through the gifts and interactions of people. Another reason Jethro is in the Bible is to encourage us to think about our personal relationships and how we relate to others. Often this is called mentoring—the intentional relationships in which one person interacts with and helps another person by investing his or her God-given wisdom and resources.

Mentoring is a popular idea in today’s business and educational world. But as Exodus 18 shows us, the primary use of mentoring ought not to be for better job possibilities, better sales results, higher confidence, or even for leadership development. Rather, mentoring should be for the kingdom’s sake. This will be considered by studying three aspects from Exodus 18: the people involved, the reasons God uses it, and the biblical model provided.

The People: Who Is Involved In Mentoring?

In order to properly understand mentoring, we need to step back and look at the big picture. In Exodus 18, there are two main people—two very different people. While our focus is on Jethro, it is helpful to compare him with Moses. Who are these men?

Both men are human. That may seem obvious, but think about it for a moment. Moses is human. He was born a baby, had siblings, and grew up. At this point, he is an older man. God has appointed him with a great task, but Moses is not divine. He is human. The same is true for Jethro. He has a family. He has a great task, but he is human.

To be human means to be created in the image of God. The words from Genesis 1:26 are well known: “Let us make man in our image.” We often focus on what is meant by the image of God, and it is good to understand that. But realize what God said: “Let us make man in our image.” This is a triune activity. The image that man is made in is the image of the triune God. This Trinity highlights the relationship between the Fath...

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