"The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
I wrote this for church, but never actually delivered it. Ifigured I might as well get some use out of it.
In the first 12 verses of Exodus 18 we see Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, come to meet the Israelites. He praises God for the many blessings that He had poured forth upon the Israelites and he rejoices with them. In verse 13, Moses gets back into the daily grind of judging cases for the people. We see here a great example of humility and of a servant’s heart. Moses epitomized the teaching of Jesus, that to be a leader, one must be a servant. Leadership is not about drawing attention to one’s self, but is about being a tool in God’s hand to serve Him and His people.
But because Moses was the only judge, it took all day to hear the cases brought before him. This certainly exhausted Moses and inconvenienced the people as well. Jethro, being the concerned father-in-law that he was, stepped in and suggested a change of strategy. Moses, he said, should delegate authority and create several levels of courts. This would alleviate the strain upon Moses’ shoulders and allow for swift justice as well.
Well, what lessons can we learn from this passage today? Firstly, leadership requires humility. Moses, the humblest man in history, dedicated himself to his calling without regard for his own advancement or fame. By washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus gave a visible demonstration of what leadership looks like. Those who would be leaders must heed his instruction in Luke 22:26 “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”
Secondly, leaders must have wisdom. Moses showed humility and wisdom in that he listened to the advice given to him by Jethro. The measure of a man’s wisdom can be determined by his willingness to hear and consider advice. A truly smart man knows that he doesn’t know everything and that his way is not always best. Proverbs 13:1 says, “A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” And Proverbs 15:31 and 32 tells us, “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.” Many times those in leadership positions believe it is their duty to have all the answers and never to be weak. This is not the Biblical teaching. Moses was not above taking advice. In a multitude of counselors there is safety.
Thirdly, leaders must delegate. Godly leaders know that God uses all the members of the body to accomplish His will. Leaders are not supposed to do everything. When they do, everybody loses. They exhaust themselves, and the quality of their work suffers. Moses was straining himself from morning until evening trying to hear all the cases brought before him. The people could be better served by allowing others to pick up some of the slack. As Matthew Henry says, “There may be over-doing even in well-doing, and therefore our zeal must always be governed by discretion, that our good may not be evil spoken of.”
One of the primary duties of those called by God to lead is the equipping of the body. It was Moses’ duty to choose Godly men from among the people and to teach them God’s Law so that they could judge according to it. Leaders are called to recognize and encourage the calling of God upon those who are under their care. The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom is the calling of all Christians, and it is the work of the leaders in the body to teach their flocks how to accomplish this task. To put it plainly, we’re in this together, and we all need to work together in unity for the glory of God.
This week, whether we are parents or children, bosses or employees, leaders or followers, let us all strive to be humble and wise servants, working together in the fear of God and the love of man.
So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country."
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