34 DELEGATION

EXODUS18:13-27

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.

The next day after feasting with Moses, Aaron and the elders of Israel in Moses’ tent, Moses’ Midianite father-in-law, Jethro, looks around the camp and observes Moses meeting with people from morning until evening as verse 13 says, “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.” Jethro has learned much about God from his observations of the Israelites and from Moses and now he sees he has a way to reciprocate by sharing some advice with Moses. He thinks it can help Moses and Israel. Much of the wisdom we receive is from the Lord as He teaches us by His Spirit and through our experiences. God has been developing leaders since long before we ever heard of “Leadership Development.” However, Moses is about to receive an important bit of advice from a surprise source.


As the leader of the Israelite nation, Moses’ work for the people demonstrates that he has great zeal and energy to serve them, but his administrative policy needs improvement. Having been called and empowered to redeem Israel out of the house of bondage to demonstrate that he is a further type of Christ, as lawgiver and judge among them he is now given some helpful advice by Jethro his gentile father-in-law. Up until now he served to answer enquiries, acquaint the people with the will of God in questionable cases, and explain the laws of God that were already given concerning the sabbath, relating to godliness, human relationships and equality. Educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, he probably he also explained some of the laws of nature. The people came to him to enquire of God as verse 15 says, “Moses answered him, ‘Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.’” It was happy for them that they had such a wise leader to consult as we ourselves wish many times that we had a clear way of knowing God’s mind when we are at a loss as to what to do. Moses was faithful to the God Who had appointed him and also to those that consulted him. Verse 16 tells us, “Whenever they have a dispute it is brought to me and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” His business was probably not so much to make laws yet as to make known God’s laws. His place was that of a servant. He was to decide controversies, and determine matters in differences of opinions, judging between a man and his fellow. If the people were as quarrelsome with one another as they were with God, no doubt he had a great many cases brought to him and possibly even more than we would think normal because their consultations involved no expense; it was not costly to them. Earlier, when a quarrel between two Hebrew slaves happened in Egypt and Moses tried to reconcile the contenders, one asked, Who made you ruler and judge over us? (Exodus 2:14) But now that it was past dispute that God had made him the ruler and judge they humbly seek advice from the one they had then proudly rejected.


So listening, judging and giving advice evidently became a major part of the business to which Moses was called since it took most of the day. Furthermore, it appears that he did it with finesse which seems to be implied from his posture as he sat to judge as we saw in verse 13 “The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.” We may guess that he was composed and confident. His leadership was well accepted as the last part of verse 14 suggests, “you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” This shows us his humble condescension to serve the people, who stood around him. He was accessible, the most common Israelite was welcome to bring his own cause before him. With great faithfulness and a sense of responsibility Moses listened, thought, and answered questions all day long.

Though Jethro, his father-in-law, was with him, which might have given him a good reason for a vacation since he could have adjourned the court for that day, or at least have shortened it, yet even on that very next day after Jethro’s coming he sat from morning till evening. Necessary spiritual and Christian leadership business is more important than other matters. It is too great a compliment to our friends to prefer the enjoyment of their company before our duty to God, which ought to be done. (The Lord can guide us so that fellowship with friends can also be worked into the schedule.) Though Moses was advanced to great honor, yet he did not therefore take lightly his responsibilities. He stayed with his work even when he had a guest in his tent. Moses thought his honored position, instead of excusing him from service, made it more obligatory for him. Those who think of themselves above daily responsibilities are like the high and mighty ones who think it is below them to do good. It is the honor even of angels themselves to be serviceable. Though the people had been provoking to him, and were ready to stone him as Moses said in Exodus 17:4, “They are almost ready to stone me,” yet still he made himself the servant of all. Though others fail in their duty to us, yet we must not therefore neglect ours to them. Though he was an old man, yet he kept to his business from morning to night and considered it his duty to do it. God evidently had given him great strength both of body and mind which enabled him to go through a great deal of work with ease and pleasure. Moses is an example for our encouragement to spend and be spent in the service of God. We know from Scripture that even after all his labors, Moses’ natural force was not diminished. Those who wait on the Lord and His service shall renew their strength. All this teaching this far in this lesson is a good work ethic, a good personal policy toward work responsibility. I will not back down from teaching Christian leaders to work hard and serve well as Moses did. But there is another side of this issue, delegation, and it too is extremely important. We need to balance work and delegation.


Notice now with me the great wisdom, prudence and insight Jethro gives Moses. Jethro saw the weakness in the method Moses took and was so free with him as to tell him about it. The advice of anyone who cares enough to confront us deserves to be seriously considered. Verse 14 says, “When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, ‘What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?’” And verses 17 and 18 say, “Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.’” Jethro thought it was too much business, too many decisions for Moses to undertake alone, and that it would not be good for his long-term health and too great a fatigue to him. He also thought that it would make the administration of justice tiresome to the people; and therefore he tells him plainly, it is not good. There may be over-doing even in well-doing, and therefore our zeal must always be governed by discretion, that our good may not be evil spoken of. We should not be content to do less than our duty, but neither should we overwork ourselves beyond our strength. As a first step, Jethro tells Moses the disadvantage and danger of over-working. It would not be good for him or the people. The devil knows how oppose us by using OUR OWN ZEAL to cause us to burnout in service to the Lord.

Jethro advised him to a model of administration of justice that would better fulfill Moses’ own intention were he to more narrowly define what he himself should do as verse 19 says, “Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.” This was a responsibility and an honor in which it was not fit any other should share with him. Numbers 12:6-8 say, “he (God) said, ‘Listen to my words: “When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”’” Also whatever concerned the whole congregation in general must pass through his hand as Jethro also says in verse 20, “Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.” Moses had responsibilities which only he could fulfill and so do you. But, says Jethro, Moses should appoint judges in the various tribes and families, who could try causes between man and man and determine them with less commotion and more efficiency than in the general assembly in which Moses himself presided. In this way they must be governed as a nation by a king as supreme, and lesser judges sent and commissioned by Him. 1 Peter 2:13 and 14 say, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” In Jethro’s thinking, many hands would make light work, causes would be heard sooner, and the people eased by having justice decided closer to their tent-doors. Yet, an appeal might be made, if there were just cause for it, to move from these lower courts to Moses himself, at least, if the judges could not solve the issue. Verse 22 says, “Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.” In this way Moses, that great man, would be the more useful by being involved in only the greater matters. Those whose gifts and stations are most prominent may yet be greatly furthered in their work by the assistance of those that are in every way their inferiors, whom therefore they should not despise. The head needs the hands and feet as is confirmed by 1 Corinthians 12:21, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” Effective leaders should not only study to be useful themselves, but seriously consider how to make others useful, according to their abilities. This is Jethro’s advice by which it seems that though Moses excelled him in prophecy, he excelled Moses in administrative wisdom.

Two more issues, however, needed to be addressed. Firstly, great care should be taken in the choice of the persons who would be involved in the shared court system, as verse 21 says, “But select capable men from all the people, men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain, and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.” They must be able men. It was required that they should be men of the very best character, for judgment and resolution, able men, men of good sense, that understood business, and bold men, that would not be influenced unfairly by others’ opinions. Clear heads and stout hearts make good judges. They should be godly—such as fear God who believe there is a God above them, whose eye is on them, to whom they are accountable, and of whose judgment they stand in awe. They should be conscientious men, that dare not do a base thing, though they could do it ever so secretly and securely. The fear of God is that principle which will best fortify a man against temptations to injustice. Nehemiah is an example of this, as we read what he said in Nehemiah 5:15, “But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.” And Genesis 42:18 reminds us of Joseph’s character, “On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God” Joseph too feared God and that helped him do right. The lower judges should have integrity and honesty, men of truth, whose word one may believe, and whose loyalty to truth was reliable, who would not for a world tell a lie, betray a trust, or act a deceptive part. They should have a noble and generous contempt of worldly wealth, hating covetousness, not only not seeking bribes nor aiming to enrich themselves, but abhorring the thought of it. Isaiah 33:15 describes such a likely candidate, "Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil.”


Secondly, Jethro also knew that Moses should seek God’s direction in the case. This may be the best part of his advice to Moses. Ask God. I have given you my advice, but ask God. “If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Jethro knew Moses had a better counsellor than he was and he refers Moses to that greater Source of counsel. Advice must be given with a humble submission to the word and wisdom of God which must always overrule any advice any of us ever give or receive.


Moses did not despise this advice even though it came from someone who probably was not as familiar with the voice of God as he himself was. He listened to the voice of his father-in-law as verse 24 says, “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.” When he considered the idea, he saw the reasonableness of what his father-in-law proposed and decided to put it in practice, which he did later, when he had received verifications and directions from God. People are not as wise as they would like others to think they are if they think themselves too wise to be counseled. A truly wise man will hear, and increase learning, and not slight good counsel even when given by an inferior. From among those chosen by the people, Moses himself, appointed them, some for greater, others for less authority, the less probably under the authority the greater.


When did Moses do that? In the first chapter of Deuteronomy we find the record of Moses and Israel preparing to leave Horeb after he had received and given the law. It was evidently then that Moses implemented Jethro’s advice. Verses 9-15 of that chapter say, “At that time I said to you, ‘You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.’ You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.” So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.’” We may value government as a great mercy and thank God for laws and law enforcement so we are not reduced to being like fish. Big fish devour small fish.

The story of Jethro’s wise counsel concludes with verse 27 which says, “Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way and Jethro returned to his own country.” No doubt he took home with him new insights and improvements he had made in his knowledge of God and communicated them to his neighbors for their instruction. Moses and Jethro both benefited from their exchange. Years later Paul would give Timothy advice similar to Jethro’s. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”


May the Holy Spirit give you today, Christian leader, the wisdom to know how to find qualified persons and delegate responsibilities to them. You, they and those to whom you both minister will all be winners. You will not wear out from over-work and others around you will learn and grow through the experiences of delegated responsibility. Take Jethro’s advice to Moses seriously. Let us learn to delegate and trust people to grow.