18:13
¶ And it came to pass on the morrow,
that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the
morning unto the evening. 14 And when
Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this
thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all
the people stand by thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his father in law,
Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me;
and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of
God, and his laws. 17 And Moses’ father
in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and
this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art
not able to perform it thyself alone. 19
Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be
with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the
causes unto God: 20 And thou shalt teach
them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk,
and the work that they must do. 21
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear
God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers
of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all
seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee,
but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and
they shall bear the burden with thee. 23
If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be
able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. 24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father
in law, and did all that he had said. 25
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. 26 And they judged the people
at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter
they judged themselves. 27 And Moses let
his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Here is a passage whose application is
much disputed. Some will say that Moses was given good advice by Jethro and was
wise in following it. Some will say that Moses should not have listened as he
was the man God had placed the authority upon and the advice was from a man and
not from God Himself. However, God confirmed that Moses delegating authority
was truly a good idea.
Numbers
11:16 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses,
Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the
elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the
tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. 17 And I will come down and talk with thee
there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon
them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it
not thyself alone.
In any event, without taking the time to
make this study on Exodus a harmonization with the other books Moses wrote
regarding when different events took place in relation to each other, Jethro
has made it so that Moses is not spending all of his time judging petty
disputes. When the Apostles of Christ were getting bogged down in
administrative needs they elected Deacons to carry out those necessary things
so they could devote themselves to the ministry of the word of God.
Acts
6:1 ¶ And in those days, when the number
of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians
against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily
ministration. 2 Then the twelve called
the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we
should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you
seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business. 4 But we
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole
multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,
and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a
proselyte of Antioch: 6 Whom they set
before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of
the priests were obedient to the faith.
An ability and a willingness to delegate
responsibility and authority is the sign of a successful leader. The Bible
seems to make that quite clear. To say that Moses’ following Jethro’s advice is
the cause of all the later problems is to deny the wickedness of the human
heart and say that people just need good, competent human leadership and they
won’t go wrong, which is a denial of the reality, the truth, the Bible lays out
for us to learn. That kind of thinking justifies every dictator and human
tyrant that ever existed. No, the children of Israel went wrong because they
did not trust God, nor fear Him, as they should have. It was their own wicked
hearts that caused their problems, not a lack of leadership on Moses’ part.
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