EXODUS 18
9 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 18:9-27
EXODUS 18 JETHRO’S ADVICE TO MOSES
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Jethro advised Moses to delegate some of the tasks he did to able men
He told him to choose trustworthy men to take care of small matters
Moses was to deal only with greater issues and leave them with the rest
This way, he will not exhaust himself and bear all the burden
Then Moses sent off his father-in-law Jethro to go back to Midian
He followed all that Jethro advised him to do as he led God’s people.
God continued to take care of his people through Moses’ leadership but the Lord also brought his wise father-in-law Jethro. He witnessed himself how Moses could easily burn himself out from taking all the burdens and responsibility of leadership and shepherding God’s people. It was wise of Moses to heed advice from a very wise God-fearing man. Without another person watching what he was doing, he would have continued on with his ways and depleted all his energy by doing it all himself. Jethro was a Godsend to him.
REFLECTION
- Why is it important to heed the advice of someone wiser than us?
