Exodus 18:19, commentary and pictures

Moses was sitting alone to judge the people from morning to evening, and he was told this was not good because the work was too heavy for him and would surely wear away both him and the people. He was to stand as the people's representative toward God, serving as messenger and mediator to bring their causes and difficult matters to God and to make God's will known to them. At the same time he was to teach them God's ordinances and laws and show them the way they must walk and the work they must do, while appointed leaders handled ordinary matters. As he listened to this counsel and took this place for the people, God would be with him. The burden was not to be carried by one man alone but to be shared with able, trustworthy men who feared God and hated covetousness, set over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens to judge small matters at all seasons and bring only great matters to Moses, so that he could endure and all the people could go to their place in peace.

Setting of Jethro's Counsel

Moses was sitting alone to judge the people from morning to evening, and this was not good because the thing was too heavy for him and would surely wear away both him and the people. The Lord did not design that one man should carry all the solemn responsibilities alone, for leaders who try to do so cannot safely bear them without wearing away. Wisdom about carrying responsibility therefore requires that the work and its burdens be shared with others, and that leaders not be weighed down with more wearing duties than they can bear, because the Lord does not require this. The counsel came after Zipporah rejoined Moses in the wilderness and saw that his burdens were wearing away his strength, and she made her fears known to Jethro. Miriam regarded Zipporah as the cause of that counsel, concluding that Zipporah's influence had kept Moses from taking Miriam and Aaron into his counsels as formerly, and this was the chief reason for Miriam's hostility toward Zipporah.

Jethro was a Gentile whom God appointed to reveal heavenly principles, showing that God used heaven-appointed agents as witnesses and gave evidence that they were sent by Him. He assisted Moses in many things as Moses worked toward a correct faith, as far as Jethro himself understood. The promise that God shall be with thee meant that God would be with Moses as he listened to counsel and stood for the people toward God to bring their causes to God. God gave Moses special directions for managing his work by associating men with him as counselors so his burdens would be lightened.

Moses wisely and readily accepted Jethro's counsel about the burden of leading the people. That counsel recognized his heavy burden and directed him to share the work of judging with qualified leaders instead of performing everything alone. Later, God directed Moses to choose seventy elders to help him bear that burden.

Moses' Representative Work for God

To be for the people to God-ward is to stand as their representative, messenger, mediator and intermediary before God. That standing meant bringing their causes, cases and questions to Him, especially the difficult matters, and then making known His will to them in return. It was a direct responsibility to God, exercised within a shared order in which qualified judges carried the ordinary judging while the hardest matters were reserved for Moses. Listening to counsel and taking this appointed place was joined to the promise that God would be with him in it.

Along with bringing causes to God, the work was to teach the people God's ordinances and laws. That teaching was to show them the way wherein they must walk, how they should live, and the work they must do. In this division Moses attended to their religious needs, while worthy, unselfish appointed leaders handled ordinary and secular concerns and judged small matters at all seasons. Delegating routine judgments kept Moses from being overburdened so he could endure and fulfill this central calling.

Moses himself was not the lawgiver, for the Lord Jesus Christ was Israel's Redeemer and the source of the words Moses received and delivered. In the same way ministers today are chosen as God's messengers and must represent Him in thought, word, and action. To dishonor that sacred calling or to lower the standard of Christ's life and work therefore brings grave responsibility.

Sharing Responsibility in Leadership

The Lord did not design that one man shall carry all the responsibilities alone, for sitting alone to judge the people from morning to evening is not good because the thing is too heavy and will surely wear away both the leader and the people. Those called to act as leaders bear solemn responsibilities that they cannot safely carry alone without wearing away, and the Lord does not require them to be weighed down with more wearing duties than they can bear. The promise is that God shall be with Moses in a different order, in which Moses is to be for the people to God-ward to bring the causes unto God, to teach them ordinances and laws, and to show them the way wherein they must walk and the work that they must do.

God gave special directions to lighten the burden by associating men with Moses as counselors and sharing the work of judging. Out of all the people he was to provide able, trustworthy, consecrated men such as fear God, men of truth hating covetousness, and place them as rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds and rulers of fifties and rulers of tens, to judge the people at all seasons. They were to judge every small and minor matter themselves, while every great, difficult and important matter demanding special wisdom and largeness of heart was to be brought to Moses, leaving Moses responsible for teaching God's laws and handling the difficult matters. Delegating routine judgments to qualified leaders would keep Moses from being overburdened and enable him to fulfill his appointed responsibility of standing before God on behalf of the people and bringing their cases to Him.

In this different order the burden is borne together, Moses is able to endure and is relieved, and all the people go to their place in peace. Following this counsel relieved Moses and trained others to bear responsibility, so the people would not depend on one man. This is the kind of men to be chosen to carry forward the work, and those carrying heavy responsibilities must learn this lesson.

Those chosen for positions of responsibility must be chosen carefully and wisely, with earnest prayer and wisdom sought from God to guide the choice. What is expected of counselors and boards of directors is this pattern of appointing able, God-fearing, truthful men who hate covetousness to judge small matters at all seasons and leaving only great matters to the chief leader. The kind of counselors God wants includes old experienced men who can give godly counsel and bear responsibility alongside young men, with each person laboring in the different branches of the work in the place God has appointed rather than choosing his own place. The work should be shared with capable people suited to their tasks, so essential duties are not neglected and losses are avoided.

The counsel given when Moses was overburdened remains valuable to those managing God's work. It teaches that no one person or group should hold supreme authority over the workers throughout the whole field or concentrate church leadership in a few men. Responsibilities should be distributed among many competent people, with the wider body participating in choosing those who lead, since different regions and fields have particular and distinct needs.

Leaders should teach and counsel others, advise and guide them, delegate work and prepare them to serve rather than carrying every burden alone. Allowing helpers to gain experience makes them capable of serving, while refusing to delegate can leave others unprepared when the leader is gone.