Exodus 18:16
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. 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.
When the people had a dispute they came to Moses to inquire of God, and he judged between them and made known to them the statutes and laws of God. He did this work alone, sitting to judge from morning until evening, but carrying it all by himself was too heavy a burden that would surely wear him and the people away, for one man was not designed to bear all the responsibility. By counsel he was to share the burden by appointing qualified, trustworthy men to judge the ordinary and lesser matters, while only the most difficult cases would still be brought to him. He welcomed the cases coming to him because they gave opportunity to join fair settlement of disputes with instructing the people in God's requirements. That same work of judging between persons and making God's statutes and laws known is still to be done by all who bear responsibility in the Lord's work, in the awakening power of God and without guile, hypocrisy, or covetousness.
Moses Judging and Teaching
When they had a matter the people came to Moses to inquire of God, and he judged between one and another and made them know the statutes of God and His laws. That hearing of disputes, judging between persons, and teaching God's statutes and laws was the work he did for Israel. He did this work alone, sitting to judge the people from morning until evening. One man was thus carrying all the responsibilities of judging and teaching Israel.
He allowed the cases to come to him because they gave him opportunity to instruct the people. His role therefore joined the fair settling of disputes with explaining God's requirements and making His instruction known. Making God's statutes and laws known includes instructing children, and this instruction is linked with the promise of blessing. In answering the people and making known God's will, Moses was not the lawgiver but God's agent. The Lord Jesus Christ was Israel's Redeemer and the source of the words of the law which Moses received and delivered.
Moses was fitted to judge and instruct others by his years shepherding and by long mental and moral discipline in doing God's will. Through doing God's will he had to unlearn false ideas, be purged of defects, and become a strong thinker and doer of God's word. In the setting of this judging and teaching, Jethro was a witness appointed by God from among the Gentiles through whom principles of heaven were revealed. Moses accepted his counsel to appoint elders to help govern, while Aaron and Miriam had not felt the responsibility Moses bore and did not see the need for that help.
Moses was alone judging every matter to the wearing away of his strength. When Zipporah rejoined him in the wilderness she saw his exhaustion and made her fears known to Jethro, who suggested measures for his relief. Miriam concluded that Zipporah's influence had kept Moses from taking Aaron and herself into his counsels as formerly, which became the chief reason for Miriam's antipathy to Zipporah.
Sharing the Leadership Burden
Moses sat alone from morning until evening to judge Israel, because when the people had a matter they came to him to inquire of God, to have judgment between one and another and to be made to know the statutes of God and His laws. This reveals the greatness of his charge, for one man was carrying all the responsibilities of judging and teaching Israel. Handling every matter himself placed too great a burden on him and the people, a thing too heavy for him to perform alone that would surely wear away both him and the people, wearing away his strength. The Lord did not design one man to carry all the responsibilities, but showed the need for others to bear the burdens and responsibilities of the work of God with him. His role joined settling disputes with making God’s instruction known, and gave him opportunity to instruct the people, yet doing it alone was too heavy.
Jethro advised him to share the burden by appointing qualified men to judge ordinary and lesser matters, while the most difficult matters would still be brought to Moses. The people also came to inquire of God, and this work kept Moses occupied from morning until evening, so others were to judge ordinary cases that Moses might focus on his appointed responsibilities. Lesser matters could thus be judged by appointed leaders while the most difficult cases remained for Moses.
The verse with its context gives the description for counsellors and the pattern for the kind of men to be chosen to share that work and carry responsibilities in God’s work. This example supports careful selection of those who can be trusted with sacred duties. There is need in different branches of the work for both young men and old men who answer to that description, each laboring and doing his appointed part as God has appointed, staying where duty calls instead of choosing for himself.
This work of judging between one person and another and making them know the statutes of God and His laws is still to be done by all who bear responsibilities in the Lord’s work. It requires the awakening power of God and the molding influence of the Holy Spirit, and without this those who bear responsibilities are unfit for the work and should be dismissed. If the men who now bear responsibilities will not do this judging and teaching work, it must be committed to others and entrusted to others. The work must be carried forward without guile, hypocrisy, or covetousness. Leadership and responsibility should not rest on one person alone, but the work should be shared and adapted to the needs of each field.