Taken from: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0218.htm
Exodus 18 - Jethro's Counsel to Moses
A. Jethro
and Moses meet.
1. (1-6) Moses meets with Jethro, his father-in-law, in the
desert of Midian.
And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard
of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people; that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent
her back, with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he
said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land") and the name of the other
was Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my
help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh"); and Jethro, Moses'
father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where
he was encamped at the mountain of God. Now he had said to Moses, "I, your
father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with
her."
a. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law,
took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, with her two
sons: Moses was here re-united with his wife Zipporah and his two
sons Gershon and Eliezer. Apparently Moses sent his family back to Midian at
some time, perhaps during the plagues of Egypt.
b. I, your father-in-law Jethro,
am coming to you: Moses had a special relationship with Jethro. Even
though he was raised in all the wisdom and education of Egypt, Moses no doubt
learned more about real leadership from the priest and shepherd Jethro - whose
flocks Moses tended until his call at Sinai.
2. (7-12) Jethro glorifies God when Moses reports what the Lord has done.
So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and
kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they
went into the tent. And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the
Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the
way, and how the Lord had
delivered them. Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had
delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, "Blessed be
the Lord, who has delivered
you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and
who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I
know that the Lord is
greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved
proudly, He was above them." Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a
burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron
came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before
God.
a. All the hardship . . . and how
the Lord had delivered
them: Moses gave Jethro an honest report, describing both the
hardships and the deliverance.
b. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the
gods: It is possible Jethro knew this before, because he was the priest of Midian (Exodus 18:1). But when
he heard of God's great works over the gods of Egypt, it brought this truth to
Jethro more clearly than before.
B.
Jethro's advice to Moses.
1. (13-16) Jethro observes Moses as he settles disputes among
the children of Israel.
And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the
people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when
Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What is
this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all
the people stand before you from morning until evening?" And Moses said to his
father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have
a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make
known the statutes of God and His laws."
a. Moses sat to judge the
people: Among such a large group there would naturally be many
disputes and questions of interpretation to settle. Apparently Moses was
virtually the only recognized judge in the nation, and the job of hearing each
case occupied Moses from morning until
evening.
b. And I make known the statutes
of God and His laws: Because Moses knew the Word of God, he was fit
to settle disputes among the children of Israel. Yet taking all this
responsibility to himself was a massive burden.
2. (17-23) Jethro advises Moses to delegate the job of settling
disputes.
So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do
is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will
surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are
not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you
counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you
may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the
laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.
Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of
truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers
of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let
them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great
matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall
judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with
you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able
to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."
a. The thing that you do is not good: It wasn't
that Moses was unfit to hear their disputes; it wasn't that he didn't care about
their disputes; it wasn't that the job was beneath him, it wasn't that the
people didn't want Moses to hear their disputes. The problem was simply that the
job was too big for Moses to do. His energies were spent unwisely. Moses must
delegate, even as in Acts 6:2-4, the apostles insisted they needed to delegate
so they would not leave the word of God
and serve tables.
i. Much to Moses' credit, he was teachable; when Jethro said the thing that
you do is not good, Moses listened to Jethro. Moses knew how to
not bow to the complaints of the children of Israel (Exodus 17:3), but
also knew how to hear godly counsel from a man like Jethro.
b. Stand before God for the people: This was the
first essential step in effective delegation for Moses. He had to pray for the
people. Delegation will not work if God is not in it.
c. Teach them the statutes and the laws: For Moses
to effectively delegate, he had to teach the Word of God not only to those who
would hear the disputes, but also those who might dispute.
i. If the people knew God's word for themselves, many disputes
could be settled immediately. Also, if the people knew God's word for
themselves, they would not be discouraged if they could not bring their case to
Moses himself - they could know one of Moses' delegates was able give them
counsel from God's wisdom.
d. Select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men
of truth: This was the next step in effective delegation for Moses.
Delegation fails if the job is not put into the hands of able, godly men. Only
particular men were fit for this job:
· Men of ability: able
men
· Men of godliness: such as fear
God
· Men of God's Word: men of
truth
· Men of honor: hating
covetousness
i. Paul gave the same counsel to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2: And the things that you have heard from me
among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach
others also.
e. Every great matter they shall bring to you: For
Moses to effectively delegate, he must still have oversight and leadership over
those under him. Delegation is the exercise of leadership, not the abandoning of
it.
f. You will be able to endure: This is the first
reward for effective delegation. Moses would enjoy life and be able to do his
job better than ever. The second reward was that all this people
will also go their place in peace; that is, the people would be
effectively ministered to.
i. This method also had the advantage of settling problems
quickly because people didn't need to wait in line for Moses. "The longer a
controversy lasts, the worse the tangle becomes, the more hot words are spoken,
the more bystanders become involved." (Meyer) Jesus said we should agree with
our adversary quickly (Matthew
5:25).
3. (24-27) Moses follows Jethro's suggestions; Jethro
departs.
So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all
that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them
heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of
fifties, and rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times; the hard
cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves. Then
Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.
a. Moses heeded the voice of his
father-in-law and did all that he had said: Moses wisely followed
Jethro's counsel, and surely this extended his ministry and made him more
effective.
i. "It is better to set a hundred men to work than to do the
work of a hundred men." (D.L. Moody)
b. Rulers of thousands, rulers of
hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: In Moses' method of
administration, some had a higher position than others. Yet God honored the
faithful service of the rulers of tens
as much as the service of the rulers of
thousands.
© 2004 David
Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without
permission
