Exodus 18:22, commentary and pictures

Jethro counseled that appointed judges should judge the people continually, deciding every small and ordinary case themselves and bringing only every great, hard and important matter to Moses, so that sharing the decisions would bear the burden with him and make his work easier. It was given when Moses was attempting alone to keep order and settle every controversy of a vast, ignorant and untrained multitude under a strain that would surely wear him away, and he gladly adopted it as a wise arrangement. Moses himself was still to remain the people's representative toward God, bringing causes to Him and teaching them the ordinances and laws and showing them the way to walk and the work to do. The men chosen for this continual judging were to be able men who fear God, men of truth hating covetousness, set as rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Those carrying heavy responsibilities must learn from this to distribute responsibility wisely, giving their own time and strength to the weightier matters demanding special wisdom while leaving minor matters that others are well qualified to handle to those appointed to them.

Counsel and Its Setting

Jethro gave this counsel when Moses was endeavoring alone to maintain order and discipline and to settle all the controversies of a vast, ignorant and untrained multitude, carrying burdens so heavy that they would surely wear him away. God raised up Jethro as adviser and helper in that burdened condition, and Moses, though greatly honored by God who had wrought wonders by his hand, gladly listened to and adopted the counsel as a wise arrangement. Dividing the work had a twofold object, relieving Moses so that he had a better chance for his life, and teaching other men practical knowledge of everything essential to qualify them for positions of trust, so that Israel would not learn to look to one man and think nothing could be done unless it came before him.

The division left Moses to be to God-ward for the people, to bring causes unto God, and to teach them ordinances and laws and show them the way wherein they must walk and the work they must do. He was to remain the people's representative toward God, associating able men with himself to serve continually so the work would become easier for him and they would share the load with him. When done under God's command, this order would enable him to endure and let the people go to their place in peace.

Moses was not the lawgiver but God's agent, receiving Christ's words, declaring God's law, answering questions and making God's will known. The judges were to decide ordinary cases themselves while difficult cases requiring greater judgment were brought to him, thus sharing the burden of judging the people and easing his load. In this arrangement his care for the host's religious interests was distinguished from the appointed men's attention to its secular concerns.

The counsel came about because Zipporah, on rejoining her husband in the wilderness, saw that his burdens were wearing away his strength and made her fears known to Jethro, who then suggested measures for his relief. The later appointment of seventy elders to aid Moses followed this need for shared judging, with helpers handling ordinary matters while the most difficult matters came to him. Aaron and Miriam had not felt the weight of his responsibilities and failed to see why the additional help was necessary. Miriam's antipathy to Zipporah centered on this counsel, for smarting under supposed neglect to herself and Aaron she regarded the wife of Moses as the cause and concluded that her influence had prevented Moses from taking them into his counsels as formerly. Jethro also helped Moses toward a more correct faith at the time when God was preparing Moses through discipline and experience to lead Israel and to train others.

Shared Burden of Judgment

The arrangement was that appointed judges should judge the people continually at all seasons, deciding every small, ordinary matter themselves and bringing only every great, hard, difficult and important matter to Moses, so that by sharing the decisions they would bear the burden with him and make it easier for him. The ordinary disputes were thus to be handled regularly by qualified leaders, while major and difficult cases were reserved for Moses. This division distributed the load and made Moses's work bearable, enabling him to serve and endure. It was God's special direction for managing His work by shared responsibility to lighten Moses's burden.

The men chosen for this judging work were to be able men who fear God, men of truth hating covetousness. They were to be placed as rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens. These consecrated helpers were to handle wisely the many minor matters of lesser consequence, relieving Moses of wearing responsibility for them. Only the hard causes were to be brought to him.

Those appointed to judge continually must be carefully selected, experienced counselors with moral discernment and moral perception. They must have experimental knowledge of ministerial work and be acquainted with the work they oversee, so that committees handling ministers and accounts act justly and responsibly and treat the work as sacred and not as common. God is present in such council meetings where accounts are audited and decisions are made about workers, knows just how every person is dealt with, keeps a record of it, and claims all souls as His own. This describes the kind of experienced counselors needed for God's work, including membership on the auditing committee.

When done as God commands, this sharing establishes more perfect order among the people. It lets the people proceed in peace and go to their place and return in peace. The leader is then able to endure because his work is made easier by others bearing responsibility with him.

Application to Church Leadership

Those carrying heavy responsibilities must learn from the verse to appoint leaders and wisely distribute responsibility, so that appointed capable helpers judge ordinary cases continually at all times while only major matters are brought to the chief leader. Sharing the cases in this way distributes the burden, makes the chief work bearable and easier, and enables the people to return to their place in peace. The men to be chosen are able men who fear God, men of truth hating covetousness, placed as rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. These consecrated helpers are to handle wisely the many minor matters, every small matter, thus relieving the leader of wearing responsibility for them and bearing the burden with him, while only every great matter, the hard and difficult causes, comes to him. The time and strength of those in leading positions of responsibility in the church are therefore to be spent on the weightier matters demanding special wisdom and largeness of heart, and it is not in divine order that such men be appealed to for adjustment of minor matters that others are well qualified to handle. God does not want one mind and judgment overloaded with too much responsibility, but wants the right man in the right place doing the work in his own line, with other capable men appointed to share the burden equally and counsel together, so that each worker attends to assigned work rather than taking on more than can be carried, nothing is neglected, and work is done promptly without loss.

The verse rules out giving one person or group supreme authority over the whole field or trying to carry every responsibility alone. Attempting to bear every charge alone can harm the bearer and leave important work undone, delayed, or neglected, while wisdom arranges the work so no one is overburdened. Different workers should lead in different regions and adapt the work to each region's distinct needs. Responsibility is to be distributed with participation by conferences, institutions, churches, and individuals in choosing those who carry major responsibilities, rather than concentrating control in a few men, so that capable people handle ordinary matters, the most difficult matters are brought to the chief leader, his burden is eased, and others bear it with him.

For the president of the General Conference this counsel means he must not gather to himself burdens God has not laid on him, because what he tries to do alone cannot be done wisely and well. The men he connects with himself must be in character and principle what the Lord specified, yet many presidents of the several conferences do not answer the measurement of God. Merely appointing a son who could only work under his father did not provide the counsel or relief this sharing of hardest matters and ordinary matters required. The president should have the privilege of deciding who shall stand by his side as counselors and of expressing his preferences as to the men who serve him, discerning between him who serves God and him who serves Him not. Safe counselors are those who will keep the way of the Lord and preserve clear, sharp discernment by cultivating home religion.

Choosing people for positions of responsibility requires care and wisdom because they bear sacred trusts, and their cases are to be brought before God in earnest prayer asking Him to choose, with responsibility entrusted to chosen people for particular roles. Those appointed to judge continually must be carefully selected, experienced counselors with moral discernment and experimental knowledge of ministerial work, acquainted with the work they oversee so they act justly and responsibly. This applies to membership on the auditing committee and to all council and committee meetings where accounts are audited and decisions are made about workers and ministers, because God is present in those meetings, knows just how every person is dealt with, keeps a record of it, claims all souls as His own, and requires His work to be treated as sacred and not as common or done just as men choose. Dividing the work has a twofold object: the leader is relieved and has a better chance for life, and other men learn to bear responsibilities and gain practical knowledge of everything essential to qualify them for positions of trust. Israel must not learn to look to one man and trust in one man and think nothing can be done unless it comes before that one man, so a leader must let go of some responsibilities and give others opportunity to take hold with the advantage and counsel of his knowledge to help them. Waiting for fully competent successors while doing everything oneself leaves helpers less capable and the work without the leader's counsel when he is gone, and unless sharing and advising are done they will ere long have to carry an unwieldy load without the instruction and counsel now available, while failure to unload shortens the leader's life.