13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.
14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?
15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.
18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.
19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,
20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.
21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.
Exodus 18:13-27
In this chapter, Jethro from Median visits Moses. Back in Exodus 2, Jethro gave Moses a wife in Median for showing kindness to his daughters at a well and gave Moses a job and a good life at the time. It was also in Median where God spoke to Moses from the burning bush which began his calling to lead God’s people. Now, zipping back to Exodus 18, Jethro came to visit and see all that God had done for his adopted son Moses and the people he was leading called the Israelites. Jethro, however, soon sees that Moses is overwhelmed with the burden of judging the affairs of the people. At this point, the task had grown so large as the people of Israel grew that Moses was judging the people from morning until night.
Luckily, Jethro came to the rescue and gives some much needed fatherly advice. He tells him to appoint leadership and to set up a form of Government structure. Moses takes this advice and benefits from it greatly by assigning local judges to small groups of people who then pass the more difficult issues up the chain. With this new role Moses now only had to deal with the most difficult of issues. This also happens to be the first government leadership set up for the people of Israel, an important milestone. This is likely why chapter 18 was included with this visit. The reason I say this is that a visit from Jethro in the midst of an exodus may not seem that important. But, the impact this visit had on the Israelites was of great significance.
God from the beginning was involved in Israel, how it should be governed and the laws it should obey. So why did God not tell Moses this? Why did he let Moses struggle until Jethro came by with better news? The answer is we all must stand on our own two feet at sometime. Think of all the managerial experience Moses gained from this. Also, I am sure this became a lesson for Moses to realize he should not try and do it all alone. Moses had a temper and often tried to take matters into his own hands (Killing the Hebrew, striking the rock). If God had given Moses the instructions from the beginning, this lesson that Moses could apply to himself would be lost. Also, it may have been that God knew Moses respected Jethro and would listen to his advice.
I think God puts others in our path to tell us what we need to hear when we are unlikely to heed the instruction from the Word or listen to God’s small still voice inside of us. It is not only through prayer that we may hear God’s voice but it is through others that God puts before us as well. We must learn to lead while allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us through others. Jethro gives advice but the key here is that Moses listens and applies it. Moses learned a good lesson, to lead and delegate on his own. God’s hand was in this and I’m sure Moses saw this when he reflected years later.
Looking back on your life, has God worked through others to foster and teach you? If you are struggling to hear God, listen to the unlikely voices around you. We may never know who God will speak through but we can be sure God will use multiple resources to get through our thick skull! We can be sure God is leading us in many different ways and It will be confirmed in your spirit when God speaks through others as it was with Moses.
So how do we know when the answer is really from God? Listening also goes with seeing. Moses indeed saw an issue. He was far to busy. But, Jethro could see clearer because he looked from the outside. It is true the saying that you cannot see the forest for all the trees. Sometimes the answer is right in front of us. Proverbs tells us to do what our hands find to do. Perhaps the door is right in front of us but it takes action to actually walk through it. We need not over think the simplicity of faith. For me, the best answer is whatever just “feels” right after reading the Word, praying, and seeking advice. For what feels right is inclined to be what God is pressing on my heart.
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