And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening.
The day after Jethro arrived, Moses sat as judge, and the people stood in line before him all day. Commentators read the scene two ways: as a picture of government under a God-given ruler, and as the moment a faithful servant began to feel a burden he could not carry.
Everything before this has been rescue and provision. One writer marks this chapter as the turn:
Up to this point all was grace, though there were dependence and conflict. The murmurs of the people had only served to show the riches of the grace of God... At last, after this reign of grace, comes the order of divine government. This is what the millennium will bring (chapter 18). Then the king in Jeshurun judges in righteousness and sets up order and government. The Gentiles eat and offer sacrifices with Israel, and they acknowledge that the God of the Jews is exalted above all gods.
The men later placed under Moses point the same way:
In the men appointed as rulers under Moses we see a type of those who will reign with Christ in the day of the kingdom... The men who took authority under Moses were to be "able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe." This reminds us that in the coming kingdom of Christ, the places of authority will go to those who have proved themselves worthy during this present time of responsibility.
They came to inquire of God, and the change in them is striking:
Jethro acts the part of the heavenly visitor. Moses acts the part of the head and representative of the people on earth. The people themselves are there, waiting on him in full subjection, "to inquire of God" and to know "the judgment of God" in their matters. All is happy, from the highest to the lowest... And only remember what materials such a lovely scene is formed from! The last time we saw and heard the people, they were murmuring again and again at the ways of the Lord, one after another. The same Moses, the same people, but morally how different!
Commentators differ. Some see a real failure here:
The first mistake he made was in listening to Jethro on such a matter. The Lord had given him his office, and it was to Him he should have turned on every subject that concerned His people. The pleas Jethro advanced were subtle and looked convincing. They rested on his concern for his son-in-law's welfare: "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."... It was not therefore concern for God, but for Moses... According to man, Jethro's counsel was wise and sensible. But according to God, accepting it showed doubt and unbelief. It left God out of the calculation.
Others weigh the same advice differently:
Moses followed this advice, taking it as from God (Ex. 18:23). In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 he recalls the incident without adding any negative comment.
The real question is not the size of the work, but who carries it:
Here the heart of Moses failed him, blessed servant as he was. He says, "I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me." But no one asked him to bear them alone, for God was with him. They were not too heavy for God. It was He who was bearing them; Moses was only the instrument... It is here that the servants of Christ constantly fail, and the failure is all the more dangerous because it wears the appearance of humility.
The comfort is not more helpers, but the Spirit's presence:
Let the lonely servant remember this, for the comfort and encouragement of his sinking heart. If he has the presence and power of the Holy Spirit with him, he need not complain of his burden. He need not sigh for a division of labour. If God honours a man by giving him a great deal of work to do, let him rejoice in it and not murmur. If he murmurs, he can quickly lose his honour.
- Grace first. God's reign of grace comes first. Then comes His order of government.
- Government pictured. A ruler judges in righteousness, with able, God-fearing men under him. It is a picture of the coming kingdom and of those who will share authority in it.
- The people changed. The people who once murmured now wait all day to inquire of God. That is what makes the scene beautiful.
- The counsel questioned. Commentators differ. Some call listening to Jethro a real failure, since God had given Moses his office. Others note that Moses took it as from God and later retells it without blame.
- The burden answered. He was never carrying Israel alone — God was. Shrinking from a God-given post can look like humility and still be failure. The servant who has the Spirit's power need not sigh for relief.
And Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God.
Jethro has watched his son-in-law sit all day with a queue of people in front of him, and he asks why. Moses answers that the people come to inquire of God — they want God's mind on their disputes, and he is where they find it.
Jethro asks about the length of Moses' day. Moses answers about the people's need.
The following day Moses spent the entire time in judging cases that had arisen among the people. There is no doubt that this was a wearing occupation. Jethro noticed it at once. He asked why Moses was called to sit "from morning till evening" doing such work. Moses told him this was necessary. The people wanted answers from God about their problems.
A whole nation reached God through one man. Commentators see a picture of Christ in that place.
Moses stood between the Lord and Israel at that time (v. 5). So he was the mediator, a picture of Christ who is today the "one mediator between God and men" (1 Tim. 2:5). The presence of God was forbidding then. It would be just as forbidding now, if we did not have this Mediator, the only way of approach to God.
The comparison presses a question on the reader.
Moses is a type of Christ. Should believers be content to let other people settle the problems they think are small? Should they bring only the great things to the Lord? No! We should go directly to the Lord with every occasion of need. The introduction of intermediaries is the legal principle of human organisation.
Writers read the whole chapter as a picture of the world to come. The people's inquiring is part of its beauty. The surprise is who these same people had been a few chapters earlier.
The people themselves are there, waiting on Moses in full subjection, to inquire of God and to know God's judgment in their matters. All is happy, from the highest to the lowest, in this symbolic scene of the coming kingdom in heaven and earth; all is full of moral beauty and order. And just remember what this lovely scene was made from! The last time Moses and Zipporah were together, they parted as if in a rage. The last time we see and hear the people, they were murmuring again and again at the ways of the Lord, one after another (Ex. 4, 15–17). The same Moses, the same Zipporah, the same people — but morally, how different! The people inquire and obey, instead of murmuring.
Moses describes an arrangement that did not last the chapter. Commentators differ over whether he was right to change it. Some say the strain was never the real issue.
The real question was not whether the thing was too heavy for him (v. 18), but: is not God able to strengthen him to bear it all? It may have been humility for Moses to appoint other men to share the burden of judging the people. But it was humility at the expense of faith. It was the fruit of Jethro's careful wisdom, who looked not at the power of God, but at the weakness of Moses.
Others see the arrangement as approved, because Jethro tied his advice to a condition. The wording below follows an older translation:
In our chapter we find the heads of the people being selected, as Jethro counselled under God. He advised it only if "God command you so." So it seems that here we have a little sample of the coming kingdom.
Writers weigh how Jethro framed his offer. His words here come from an older translation:
Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moreover, Moses himself should have taken care to ask God's counsel first. Another principle appears here too. This division of authority would leave the people with less direct contact with the supreme ruler.
Writers apply this beyond the individual, to how God's people organise themselves:
To human eyes the governmental system advised by Jethro was very orderly and beautiful, and far more likely to secure justice among the people. Man always thinks he can improve on the order of God. This has been the secret of the ruin of the church.
- Inquiring — The people came for God's answer, not for Moses' skill. The queue was a queue for God.
- Mediating — Moses held the one place of access to God. There he pictures Christ, the one Mediator and the only way to God.
- Approaching — Nothing is too small to take straight to Christ. Putting go-betweens in the middle is the legal principle at work.
- Enduring — Commentators differ on Jethro's remedy. Some see wisdom that God approved. Others see humility at the expense of faith, since God was able to strengthen Moses for it.
- Consulting — Advice that leaves God out can sound wise and still be wrong. Ask God's counsel before taking man's.
When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known [to them] the statutes of God, and his laws.
Moses sits from morning to evening, and his father-in-law asks why. His answer is in this verse: he settles their disputes and teaches them God's statutes and laws — but should one man carry all of it?
Jethro sees the strain of a full day's judging and asks why Moses carries it.
There is no doubt that this was wearing work. Jethro saw it at once and asked why Moses had to sit "from morning till evening" doing such work. Moses told him it was necessary because the people wanted answers from God about their problems.
Moses does more than settle arguments. Each case ends with God's statutes made known. So what is a statute?
How happy is the heart that finds its joy in the "statutes" of God! Remember that a "statute" means a direction from God for us to obey. What joy there is in obeying Him!
One writer looks past the disputes and sees heaven and earth joined in one happy scene.
In Exodus 18 we see the whole family in heaven and on earth, holding high and holy fellowship, and nothing of nature spoils it. Jethro acts the part of the heavenly visitor. Moses acts as the head and representative of the earthly people. The people themselves are there too, waiting on him in full subjection, to inquire of God and to know His judgment in their matters. All is happy, from the highest to the lowest. And only remember what this lovely scene is made of! The last time we saw and heard these people, they were murmuring again and again at the ways of the Lord. The same people — but morally, how different! They inquire and obey, instead of murmuring.
Jethro urges Moses to share the work with other judges. Commentators differ over whether Moses did right to accept.
One reading holds that the plan pictures something God intended, while the way it came about was still a failure:
We must keep two things apart — the failure of Moses, and what the appointment of the rulers over the people stands for. Take the second first. This arrangement for judging the people clearly pictures the order of government that the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom... But though God intended that, we must not hide the failure of Moses in listening to Jethro. His first mistake was listening to Jethro on such a matter. The Lord had given him his office, and it was to Him he should have turned on every subject that concerned His people... The counsel left God out and made the health of Moses its chief aim. It lost sight of the fact that it was not Moses, but the Lord through Moses, who bore the burden of the people. So the question was not the strength of Moses, but his resources in God.
Another reading lays out what Jethro proposed, and how Moses took it:
Jethro advised Moses to get help in administering justice by appointing able men: chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. His counsel was that these men judge the people at all times and bring only the great matters to their chief. On the one hand, Moses would stand before God for the people and bring the difficulties to God. On the other hand, he would teach them the statutes and the laws. Moses followed this advice, taking it as from God (Ex. 18:23). In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 he recalls the incident without adding any negative comment.
after-note-ignore: n/a
Whatever one concludes about Moses, he stands here between the people and God. That puts a question to us:
Moses is a picture of Christ. Should believers be content to have other people settle the problems they consider small, and only bring the great things to the Lord? No! We should go directly to the Lord with every occasion of need.
Jethro's plan looks better than one exhausted judge. That is exactly the danger.
To human eyes the governmental system advised by Jethro was very orderly and beautiful, and far more likely to secure the administration of justice among the people. Man always thinks he can improve on the order of God... Instead of holding to the Scriptures, which reveal God's mind, man has brought in ideas, plans, and systems of his own... The safety of the Lord's people lies in holding firmly to the word of God, and in refusing every piece of advice that man gives apart from it.
- Inquire — The people came to Moses because they wanted God's answer to their disputes, not just a human verdict.
- Instruct — Every case was also a lesson. Moses made God's statutes known, and a statute is a direction from God to obey.
- Foreshadow — The arrangement pictures the order of government the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom.
- Differ — Writers disagree about Jethro's counsel. Some call it a failure in Moses. Others note that he took it as from God and never criticised it later.
- Approach — Bring every matter, small or great, straight to the Lord.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good.
Jethro watches Moses spend a whole day settling Israel's disputes alone, then tells him this will not do. The verse raises a question every worker faces: lighten the load, or trust the God who gave it?
Jethro's verdict rests on arithmetic: one man, a whole nation. One writer says the sum leaves out the one thing that settles it — the power of God.
The real question was not whether the thing was too heavy for him (v. 18), but, is God not able to strengthen him to bear it all? It may have been humility for Moses to appoint men to share the burden of judging the people. But it was humility at the expense of faith. It was the fruit of Jethro's careful wisdom, who looked not at the power of God, but at the weakness of Moses. No doubt it was part of God's wise counsel that able men should judge small matters, bringing only the great ones to Moses. But this great saint failed here in faith.
Jethro gives his own advice, then attaches God's presence to it.
Moses no doubt considered this logical and wise, and acted on Jethro's advice. However, let us carefully consider this whole matter. Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moreover, Moses himself should have made it his concern to ask God's counsel first. If God intended Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly give him strength for it. Another principle appears here too. This division of authority would give the people less direct contact with the supreme ruler... To introduce a middle authority is the very principle of legality, which lets people stay content at a distance from the Lord. This gives a moral reason for the introduction of the law, beginning with Exodus 19.
Turning down a job you feel unable to do can look like modesty. One writer calls it something else.
It is never the fruit of humility to depart from a divinely appointed post. Instead, the deepest humility shows itself by staying there in simple dependence upon God. It is a sure sign of being occupied with self when we shrink from service on the ground of inability. God does not call us to service on the ground of our ability, but of His own... God will not force people to stay in a place of honour if they cannot trust Him to sustain them there.
The advice came from a relative, and Moses later repeated it to God as his own complaint.
It is always very dangerous to listen to the advice of a relative in the things of God... When once we let a word of distrust or complaint into our hearts, it is not easily driven out. As we have seen from Numbers 11, Moses uses in his complaint the very words Jethro suggested. It is exactly here that Satan is so successful. There may be only a half-formed thought, a hint, in our minds. At once he comes, puts it into words, and presents it to our souls. For example, we feel weary in service, and perhaps low because of that weariness. How often will Satan then suggest that we are doing too much, going beyond our strength?
Moses did get relief. One writer weighs what came with it.
The Lord heard his complaint and told him to bring seventy men alongside to help him. Though the Lord granted his desire, there was no extra supply of strength for the government of Israel. Moses was now called to share with the seventy the Spirit he already had.
One writer holds two things apart here: what the appointment of rulers pictures, and how Moses came to it.
We must carefully separate two things — the failure of Moses, and what the appointment of the rulers over the people pictures. Take the second first. This arrangement for judging the people clearly pictures the order of government which the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom. As the Psalmist says, "May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!" (Ps. 72:2-3.) ... But while this is divinely intended, the failure of Moses in listening to Jethro must not be hidden.
Another writer strikes the same balance, crediting the outcome to God while still weighing the advice itself.
While God in grace overruled all that passed between Moses and Jethro about judging the people for the good of the people, it cannot be said that Moses was acting in strict conformity to the mind of God... Jethro's concern was for Moses; his reasoning was subtle, and the world would call it prudent, but it was not wise, since he left God entirely out of his calculations.
- Weakness measured. Jethro looked at what Moses could bear, not at what God could supply — sound reasoning with God left out of the sum.
- Counsel offered. "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" reverses the right order; neither man stopped to ask God first.
- Humility tested. Leaving a post God gave you is not lowliness; the deepest humility stays there and depends on Him.
- Words lodged. A complaint let in is not easily driven out: Moses later repeated Jethro's words to God, and the seventy only shared the Spirit he already had.
- Grace overruling. The rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens still picture the government of the Messiah. God's purpose stands even where the servant's faith slipped.
Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee thou canst not perform it alone.
Jethro watches Moses spend a whole day settling disputes for a nation, and tells him the arrangement cannot last. His words sound like plain common sense. But commentators ask whether Moses was right to take the advice, or whether it left God out.
The strain fell on both sides.
Jethro had a simple solution which had evidently not occurred to Moses. He tells Moses that this continual labour would wear him out, and the people too.
Everything in the advice turns on whether the load exceeds the man. But that measures the wrong thing.
The real question was not whether the thing was too heavy for him (verse 18). It was this: is not God able to strengthen him to bear it all? It may have been humility in Moses to appoint men to share the burden of judging the people. But it was humility at the cost of faith. It was the fruit of Jethro's careful wisdom, who looked not at the power of God, but at the weakness of Moses. No doubt it was part of God's wise counsel that able men should be chosen to judge small matters, bringing only the great ones to Moses. But here this great servant of God failed in faith.
The load was real. The question is who was carrying it.
Moses was not asked to bear the people alone, for God was with him. They were not too heavy for God. It was He that was bearing them; Moses was but the instrument... This is where the servants of Christ constantly fail. The failure is all the more dangerous because it looks like humility. Shrinking from heavy responsibility looks like self-distrust and deep humility of spirit. But all we need to ask is this: has God laid that responsibility on me? If so, He will certainly be with me in sustaining it... With Him, the weight of a mountain is nothing; without Him, the weight of a feather is overwhelming.
Jethro promised God's presence with his own advice. Notice the order.
Jethro said, "I will give you advice, and God will be with you." Would it not be better to say, "God will give you advice, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moreover, Moses himself ought to have had concern to first ask God's counsel. If God intended Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly give him strength for it.
Jethro's words did not stop with Jethro.
God taught Moses this lesson later, in the book of Numbers, when Moses complained to the Lord in the very words Jethro had planted in his mind. The Lord heard his complaint and told him to bring seventy men alongside him to help in his work... Though the Lord granted his desire, there was no extra supply of strength for the government of Israel. Moses was now called to share with the seventy the Spirit he already had... Once a word of distrust or complaint gets into our hearts, it is not easily driven out... For example, we feel weary in service, and low in spirit through weariness. How often will Satan suggest that we are doing too much, going beyond our strength! If we accept the temptation, the thought may hamper us for years.
Not everyone reads the episode as a slip. One writer notes that when Moses retold the story later, he "recalls the incident without adding any negative comment" (Various). Others hold both sides together.
In His grace God overruled everything that passed between Moses and Jethro about the judging of the people, and turned it to the people's good. Even so, Moses was not acting in strict agreement with the mind of God.
The same scene — a crowd standing around one man all day — appears again in the Gospels, with no adviser at hand.
He was truly that Servant raised up to Israel "like Moses." The people in the wilderness came to Moses daily with their problems, and "stood by him from morning until evening." But in Galilee there was no Jethro to plead with Jesus, no one to warn Him in love, if not in understanding: "You will certainly wear yourselves out… the thing is too heavy for you." Consumed with zeal for the Father's will, the Lord was the Ideal Servant of God.
- Burden seen. Jethro saw clearly: the daily judging would wear out Moses and the waiting people alike.
- Burden mismeasured. He weighed the load against the man's weakness, never against God's power to sustain him.
- Burden shifted. Stepping back from a God-given post can look like humility, and be distrust. With God the weight of a mountain is nothing.
- Burden echoed. Moses later made Jethro's words his own complaint. God gave him seventy helpers, but no extra strength.
- Burden borne. Christ served the crowds from morning to evening with no one to warn Him off, the Servant who never wore away.
Hearken now to my voice I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with God, and bring the matters before God;
Jethro has watched his son-in-law settle the people's disputes alone all day. Now he offers a plan: keep the place before God yourself, and hand the rest to others. Two questions follow. What was Moses to hold on to, and was advice this sensible from God?
Jethro's plan left Moses one job and gave the rest away.
Jethro had a simple solution which had evidently not occurred to Moses. He tells Moses that this constant work would wear him out, and the people too. Why not concentrate on representing God by teaching God's statutes in public? At the same time he could hand authority to "able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain." These men could judge the smaller disputes among the people, and bring the major matters to Moses.
Jethro promised God's presence to a plan that was his own.
Moses no doubt considered this logical and wise, and acted on Jethro's advice. Jethro said, "I will give you advice, and God be with you!" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you advice, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moreover, Moses himself ought to have had concern to first ask God's counsel. If God intended Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly give him strength for it. Another principle appears here too. By this division of authority the people would have less direct contact with the supreme ruler. To bring in a middle authority is the very principle of legalism, which lets people stay content at a distance from the Lord. This gives a moral reason for bringing in the law, beginning with Exodus 19.
Jethro's reasons circle around Moses' welfare, not God's mind.
The first mistake he made was in listening to Jethro on such a matter. The Lord had given him his office; and it was to Him he should have turned on every subject that concerned His people. The arguments Jethro advanced were plausible and subtle. They grew out of his anxiety for the welfare of his son-in-law. "You will surely wear yourself out, both you and this people with you. The thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone." It was concern for Moses, not concern for God, that moved Jethro. The plan forgot one thing: it was not Moses who bore the burden of the people, but the Lord through Moses. The real question was not the strength of Moses, but his resources in God.
The enemy works on tired servants the same way today.
Once we let a word of distrust or complaint into our hearts, it is hard to get rid of. As we have seen from Numbers 11, Moses uses in his complaint the very words Jethro had suggested. It is exactly here that Satan is so successful. There may be only a half-formed thought, a hint, in our minds. At once he comes, puts it into words, and presents it to our souls. For example, we may feel weary in service, and low because of that weariness. How often then will Satan suggest that we are doing too much, going beyond our strength.
Commentators differ. Some read the scene as a preview, not a lapse.
In this chapter the heads of the people are chosen, as Jethro advised under God. He urged it only on one condition: if "God command you so." So it seems that here we have a little sample of the coming kingdom. Moses is king; the people are subject to him; the Gentile, in the person of Jethro, comes to rejoice with him and his people.
Even those who see a mistake here insist God turned it to good.
God in grace overruled all that passed between Moses and Jethro about the judging of the people, and He did it for the people's good. Even so, we cannot say that Moses was acting in strict agreement with the mind of God. God has seen fit to leave this incident on record in His precious word, which is the product of divine inspiration. He left it there for our profit and correction. Jethro's concern was for Moses. His reasoning was subtle, and the world would call it prudent. But it was not wise, since he left God entirely out of his calculations.
- Counsel — Jethro's plan left Moses one job: teach, and bring the hard cases to God. Able men who fear God would judge the rest.
- Wording — Jethro said "I will give you advice, and God be with you!" — not "God will give you advice." Nobody took the plan to God first.
- Motive — his case rested on Moses' weariness. The real question was never Moses' strength, but his resources in God.
- Distance — the plan gave the people less direct contact with their ruler, and that principle leaves people content far from the Lord.
- Overruled — commentators differ on whether Moses failed. God still turned it to the people's good, and left the record for our profit.
and teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.
Moses had spent a whole day judging a nation's disputes alone, so Jethro proposed a split: Moses would teach the people, and other men would settle the smaller cases. This verse sets out the teaching half of that plan, and writers differ over whether the plan was wisdom or a step down.
Jethro saw something Moses had missed. The verse has Moses warn the people about the statutes and the laws. Other translations read teach them, and that is how these writers take it.
Jethro had a simple solution which had not evidently occurred to Moses. He tells Moses that this continual labour would wear him out, and the people too. Why not concentrate on representing God and teaching God's statutes in public? At the same time he could hand authority to "able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain." They could judge the smaller disputes among the people, and bring the important matters to Moses.
The verse ends with two things Moses must make known: how the people should walk, and what they must do. One writer reads that second one as the work they must do, and ties both to the men chosen in the next verse.
The features of faithful men are also given to us in Exodus 18:20-21. They were to be taught in the word of God. They had to know how to walk, and how to work. They must be able men, fearing God, men of truth, hating greed — men who could bring peace to the people by righteous judgments. Surely there is a word here for us. This Scripture was written to instruct and encourage us.
Teaching like this has a condition attached. One commentator writes about Ezra, who also set out to teach God's statutes and rules in Israel. He points to the order that has to come first.
If Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, it was first and foremost that he might do it. He did not do it to increase his knowledge, or to build his reputation as a teacher. He did it so that his heart, life, and ways would be shaped by the law — so that his own walk would embody the truth... You can never ignore this order without cost. Where teaching does not flow out of a heart that is itself subject to the truth, it has no power to influence others. It will also harden the teacher's own heart.
Some read the whole episode as a loss. They point to the words Jethro used a verse earlier.
Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you?" He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moses himself should have wanted to ask God's counsel first. If God meant Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly give him strength for it... By this division of authority the people would have a less direct contact with the supreme ruler. Do we today not need to take all of our trying matters directly to the Lord Jesus? Putting a go-between in place is the very principle of legality. It lets people settle for staying at a distance from the Lord.
The same caution is pressed on anyone tempted to lay down a load God Himself has given.
Leaving a post God has appointed is never the fruit of humility. The opposite is true. The deepest humility stays there in simple dependence upon God. When we back away from service because we feel unable, it is sure proof that we are taken up with ourselves. God does not call us to service on the ground of our ability, but of His own.
Others take a much kinder view. They note that Jethro tied a condition to his own advice, and that the scene pictures something still future.
In our chapter the heads of the people are chosen, as Jethro advised under God. He only advised it if "God command you so." So it seems that here we have a little sample of the coming kingdom. Moses is king. The people are subject to him. The Gentile, in the person of Jethro, comes to rejoice with him and his people.
- Teach. Moses was to teach God's statutes in public. The people would learn from the word itself, not only from a verdict in their own case.
- Show. The teaching had two ends: the way they must walk, and what they must do. It shaped conduct and service, not just knowledge.
- Live. Teaching only carries weight when the teacher's own life has been shaped by it. Otherwise it hardens him and moves no one else.
- Depend. Backing away from a God-given post can look like humility, but it is distrust. God calls us to serve on the ground of His ability, not ours.
- Foreshadow. Whatever the failure here, the scene gives a small picture of the kingdom to come: a king teaching, rulers judging, and a Gentile rejoicing.
But do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [them] over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens,
Moses had spent a whole day judging a nation's disputes alone, and his father-in-law Jethro told him it could not last. The advice that follows — pick able men and share the load — raises two questions: what makes a man fit to judge, and whether Moses was right to take advice he never brought to God.
One writer reads these marks as traits any believer should want, not just judges in a camp.
Exodus 18:20-21 also gives us the features of faithful men. They were to be taught in the word of God. They had to know how to walk, and how to work. They had to be able men, fearing God, men of truth, hating covetousness. They had to be men who could bring peace to the people by righteous judgments. God wrote this Scripture to instruct and encourage us, so there is a word here for us as well. These are the traits we should want.
Hating covetousness — what this verse calls hating a bribe — matters because of the pressure that comes with authority over other people's disputes.
Covetousness is a sin that men in charge are especially exposed to... Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, describes the character of the men to be chosen "to judge the people at all times": "Able men," he says, "such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness" (Ex. 18:21). Samuel met all these conditions. He also had the virtues of gentleness and loving sympathy. He was indeed the ideal judge.
Thousands, hundreds, fifties, tens: one writer admires the design itself.
What an admirable arrangement! If it really had to be made, nothing could keep order better than this graded scale of authority. It ran from the captain of ten up to the captain of a thousand. Moses, the lawgiver, stood at the head of them all, in direct contact with the Lord God of Israel.
When Moses retells the story near the end of his life, the account shifts. One commentator notices what he leaves out.
Again, what can be more simple and appropriate than that Moses at the close should omit the name and counsel of Jethro, and bring the people into greater prominence than himself in the choice of rulers? This he had fully shown in the history. Now he dwells chiefly on their part in the matter, confessing his own inability to cope with their great increase.
Commentators differ here. One calls the arrangement admirable. Another catches a telling detail in the way Jethro worded his offer.
Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you?" He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. Moses himself should have been concerned to ask God's counsel first. If God meant Moses to do all the work himself, He would be sure to give him strength for it. Another principle is seen here too. By this division of authority the people would have less direct contact with the supreme ruler. Do we today not need to take all our difficult matters straight to the Lord Jesus?
The advice came from a family member, and one writer sees a special danger in that.
It is always very dangerous to listen to the advice of a relative in the things of God... Relatives look at things through their own claims on us, or through their natural affection. Their eye is divided, so they cannot judge rightly in the presence of God.
Sharing a load can look like modesty. One writer argues the opposite.
Leaving a post God has appointed is never the fruit of humility. The deepest humility does the opposite: it stays there in simple dependence on God. When we shrink back from service because we feel unable, that is sure proof we are taken up with ourselves. God does not call us to service on the ground of our ability, but of His own.
Whatever we make of Moses' decision, one writer sees this arrangement pointing forward.
In the men appointed as rulers under Moses we see a picture of those who will reign with Christ in the day of the kingdom... The men who took authority under Moses were to be "able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness." This reminds us that Christ will give the places of authority in His coming kingdom to those who have proved themselves worthy during the present time of responsibility here.
- Character. The judges had to be able men who fear God, men of truth who hate a bribe. Greed is the sin that traps anyone who handles other people's affairs.
- Counsel. Jethro promised God would be with Moses if Moses took his advice. Commentators differ over whether Moses should have asked God first.
- Affection. Advice from a relative is hard to weigh. Natural love blurs the view of what God has given you to do.
- Post. Stepping back from a God-given burden can look like humility. In truth it shows we are taken up with ourselves.
- Kingdom. The graded rule under one head pictures the coming reign of Christ, who gives authority to those proved faithful now.
that they may judge the people at all times; and it shall be [that] they shall bring to thee every great matter, and that they shall judge every small matter, and they shall lighten [the task] on thee, and they shall bear [it] with thee.
Moses is judging Israel on his own, and his father-in-law Jethro warns that the work will wear him out. This verse holds Jethro's remedy, and commentators still ask whether Moses did well to accept it.
Jethro's plan splits the work. Capable men handle the everyday disputes. The hard cases still travel up to Moses.
Jethro had a simple solution which had evidently not occurred to Moses. He tells Moses that this constant labour would wear him out, and the people too. Why not concentrate on representing God by teaching God's statutes in public? At the same time, Moses could delegate authority to "able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain." They could judge minor disputes among the people, and bring the major matters to Moses (v. 22).
Commentators differ. Some point out that Moses took the advice as coming from God, and never criticises it when he retells the story.
Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, advised him to get help in administering justice. He was to provide able men: chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. … Moses followed this advice, taking it as from God (Ex. 18:23). In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 he recalls the incident without adding any negative comment.
Others read the same scene as a loss. Their objection is not the workload. Moses asked Jethro rather than God, and the new layer of officials left the people further from the top.
Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. … By this division of authority the people would have less direct contact with the supreme ruler. Do we today not need to take all of our trying matters directly to the Lord Jesus?
The verse promises that others "will bear the burden with you." One writer answers that the burden never rested on Moses at all.
In all this we see Moses clearly stepping back from a post of honour. If it pleased God to make him the sole instrument in managing the assembly, that only gave him more dignity and privilege. True, the responsibility was immense. But faith would recognise that God was more than enough for it. Here, however, the heart of Moses failed him. Blessed servant as he was, he says, "I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me." But he was not asked to carry them alone, for God was with him. They were not too heavy for God. It was He who was carrying them; Moses was only the instrument. He might just as well have said that his staff was carrying the people; for what was he but an instrument in God's hand, as the staff was in his?
Jethro's words did not stay in that conversation. They come back later out of Moses' own mouth in Numbers 11.
When once a word of distrust or complaint is admitted into our hearts, it is not easily driven out. As we have seen from Numbers 11, Moses uses the very words in his complaint that were suggested by Jethro. It is exactly here that Satan is so successful. There may be only a half-formed thought, a mere hint, in our minds. At once he comes, puts it into words, and presents it to our souls. Take an example. We feel weary in service, and perhaps low because of the weariness. How often will Satan suggest that we are doing too much, going beyond our strength!
The tiers of judges also sketch a government still to come.
Clearly, this arrangement for judging the people pictures the order of government which the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom. As the Psalmist says, "May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!" (Ps. 72:2-3.)
The men chosen stand for those who will share that rule.
In the men appointed as rulers under Moses we see a picture of those who will reign with Christ in the day of the kingdom. … The men who took authority under Moses were to be "able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness." This reminds us that the places of authority in the coming kingdom of Christ will go to those who have proved themselves worthy in this present time of responsibility.
- Burden — Moses said the people were too heavy for him to carry alone. One writer answers that he never carried them at all: God bore them, and Moses was only the instrument.
- Counsel — Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you." He never told Moses to ask God first.
- Cost — the new tier of judges eased the load, but left the people further from the one at the top.
- Character — the men chosen had to be capable, God-fearing, truthful and free of greed. That test still marks out those fit to rule with Christ.
- Consummation — beyond the question of Moses' failure, the ranks of judges picture the government the Messiah will set up. His own will share that rule.
If thou do this thing, and God command thee [so], thou wilt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
Jethro's plan ends with a promise: relief for Moses and peace for the people. Older translations make it conditional — "and God command you so" — and that wording drives the question below: when is sensible advice also God's will?
Jethro does not present his plan as settled. One writer treats that condition as the hinge of the whole plan. He reads the scene that follows as a preview of a coming order.
In our chapter Moses selects the heads of the people, as Jethro counselled under God; for Jethro only advised it if "God command you so." So it seems that here we have a little sample of the coming kingdom. Moses is king. The people are under him. And a non-Israelite, Jethro, comes to rejoice with him and his people.
One writer traces both promises — Moses lasting the course, the people going home content — back to what moved Jethro to speak.
The pleas Jethro advanced looked right on the surface, and they were subtle. They rested on his anxiety for the welfare of his son-in-law… If Moses would only do as he advised, then he said, "So it will be easier for yourself," and again, "you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."
The same writer follows the story forward, to the day Moses made Jethro's argument his own.
The Lord taught Moses this lesson later, in the book of Numbers. Moses complained to Him in the very words Jethro had put into his mind: "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me" (Num. 11:14). The Lord heard his complaint and told him to take seventy men to help him in the work. He granted the desire, yet added no fresh strength for the government of Israel. Moses now had to share with the seventy the Spirit he already had.
Jethro's diagnosis of the workload was accurate. What one writer questions is whether that was the right thing to measure.
On the hill he had learnt his own weakness, but also the sustaining power of God. Here he only remembers his weakness, and listens to the counsel of Jethro. The real question was not whether the thing was too heavy for him (v. 18), but, is not God able to strengthen him to bear it all? It may have been humility in Moses to appoint men to share the burden of judging the people. But it was humility at the expense of faith.
Jethro's condition makes God's command the test, yet nobody in the chapter asks Him. One writer catches this in the way Jethro words his offer. He then asks what an in-between authority does to ordinary people.
Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you?" Jethro was so sure of his own counsel that he never advised Moses to ask God for counsel. Moreover, Moses himself ought to have had concern to first ask God's counsel. If God intended Moses to do all the work himself, He would give him strength for it… To bring in an authority in between is the very principle of legalism. It lets people stay content at a distance from the Lord.
Not everyone reads the episode as a slip. One writer points to how Moses himself took the advice, and to how he told the story years later.
Moses followed this advice, taking it as from God (Ex. 18:23). In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 he recalls the incident without adding any negative comment.
Others hold both things at once. The outcome served Israel well. The way Moses got there was not the way of dependence.
God in grace overruled everything that passed between Moses and Jethro about judging the people, and turned it to the people's good. Even so, Moses was not acting in strict conformity to the mind of God. God has seen fit to leave this incident on record in His precious word, inspired by Him, for our profit and warning.
The qualities Jethro asked for in these judges point forward.
The men who took authority under Moses were to be "able men who fear God, men of truth, hating greed." This reminds us who will hold places of authority in the coming kingdom of Christ: those who have proved themselves worthy during the present time of responsibility here.
- Condition — Jethro tied his plan to God commanding it, yet no one in the chapter put it to that test.
- Counsel — Jethro offered his own counsel and assumed God's presence. He never told Moses to ask God first.
- Confidence — Moses measured his own weakness, not God's power to hold him up. Sharing the load looked like humility, but it cost faith — and it added no fresh strength.
- Contest — Commentators differ. One notes that Moses took the advice as from God and later retold it without criticism. Others say God in grace overruled a step that did not match His mind.
- Coming kingdom — Judges who fear God, love truth and hate greed picture those who will hold authority under Christ. Authority then answers to faithfulness now.
And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
Jethro's plan sounded sensible: share the load, appoint judges, keep only the hard cases for yourself. Moses agreed to every word of it. Commentators ask whether that was wisdom, or the moment a great servant stopped leaning on God.
One writer points to what is missing from Jethro's opening words:
Moses no doubt thought this was logical and wise, and acted on Jethro's advice. Jethro said, "I will give you advice, and God be with you!" (v. 19). Would it not have been better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own advice that he never told Moses to ask counsel of God. And Moses himself should have been concerned to ask God's counsel first. If God meant Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly have given him strength for it.
The same writer traces a further effect of splitting the work:
By this division of authority the people would have less direct contact with the supreme ruler. Do we today not need to take all our trying matters directly to the Lord Jesus? To bring in an in-between authority is the very principle of law, which lets people settle for staying at a distance from the Lord. This gives a moral reason for the introduction of law, beginning with Exodus 19.
Another writer sets the lesson Moses had just learned on the hill beside his decision here:
Moses does not rise to the height of God's power and goodness. On the hill he had learned his own weakness, but also the sustaining power of God. Here he only remembers his weakness, and listens to the counsel of Jethro. The real question was not whether the task was too heavy for him (v. 18). It was this: is God not able to strengthen him to bear it all? It may have been humility on Moses' part to appoint men to share the burden of judging the people. But it was humility at the expense of faith. It was the fruit of Jethro's careful wisdom, who looked not at the power of God, but at the weakness of Moses.
If stepping back from the work was not humility, what is? One writer answers that true humility stays put:
It is never the fruit of humility to leave a post God has appointed. On the contrary, the deepest humility will show itself by staying there in simple dependence on God. It is a sure sign that we are occupied with ourselves when we shrink from service on the ground of inability. God does not call us to serve on the ground of our ability, but of His own.
The verse names whose voice Moses listened to. One writer treats that relationship as the danger itself:
It is always very dangerous to listen to the advice of a relative in the things of God. Our blessed Lord and His disciples were so busy with His ministry "that they could not even eat." Then His relatives "went out to seize Him, for they were saying, 'He is out of His mind.'" They gave no thought to the claims of God... Relatives look through the lens of their own claims, or of natural affection. Because their sight is divided, they cannot judge rightly in the presence of God.
The same writer adds that the failure is only half of what is here:
Two things must be kept apart — the failure of Moses, and what the appointment of rulers over the people pictures. Take the second first. This arrangement for judging the people pictures the order of government which the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom. As the Psalmist says, "May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness." (Ps. 72:2-3.) ... But while God intended this, the failure of Moses in listening to Jethro must not be hidden. If it were, we would lose some most valuable instruction.
Not everyone reads Moses' agreement as a failure. Another writer notes how Moses himself later retold it:
Moses followed this advice, taking it as from God (Ex. 18:23). In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 he recalls the incident without adding any negative comment.
That same writer draws a present-day application in the opposite direction from the warnings above — that one man carrying everything is not the pattern God intends, since the decision of Acts 15 "was not reached by one apostle, however prominent, but by the apostles and the elders, with the concurrence of the whole assembly."
- Counsel. Jethro gave his own advice and wished God's blessing on it. He never sent Moses to God for counsel first.
- Consent. Moses did all that Jethro said, when he should have asked God's counsel first.
- Cost. Shrinking from a heavy post looks like humility, but it can be faith giving way. God calls us on the ground of His ability, not ours.
- Caution. Natural affection clouds a relative's sight, so their advice in the things of God is dangerous.
- Christ. Above the failure, the ranks of righteous judges picture the government Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom.
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens.
Moses judged Israel's disputes alone, from morning to evening, until his father-in-law Jethro told him to share the load. Commentators read what followed in two ways: as a picture of the coming kingdom, and as a step taken without asking God.
This scene of settled government closes the opening section of Exodus. One writer sees the ranks of judges as a sketch of how the Messiah will rule.
This arrangement for judging the people is clearly a picture. It shows the order of government which the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom. As the Psalmist says, "May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness." (Psalm 72:2-3.) That is why this section closes with this account.
Moses chose "able men out of all Israel." Jethro had already listed what made a man able. One writer names the danger those qualities guard against.
Covetousness is a sin that especially endangers administrators… Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, describes the character of the men to choose "to judge the people at all times." They are to be "able men," he says, "who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe" (Ex. 18:21).
Moses thought the plan wise and acted on it. One writer looks closely at how Jethro framed his offer.
Jethro said, "I will give you advice, and God be with you" (v. 19). Would it not be better to say, "God will give you advice, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. What is more, Moses himself should have been concerned to ask God's counsel first. If God intended Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly give him strength for it.
Commentators differ. Another writer reads the appointment as approved, because Jethro tied his advice to God's command.
In our chapter we see the heads of the people being chosen, just as Jethro advised under God. He only advised it if God commanded it.
Jethro's argument was that the work was too heavy for one man. One writer replies that the weight never rested on Moses at all. Stepping back from it can look like humility.
He was not asked to bear them alone; for God was with him. They were not too heavy for God. It was He who was bearing them. Moses was only the instrument… This is where the servants of Christ constantly fail. The failure is all the more dangerous because it looks like humility. To shrink from heavy responsibility seems like distrust of self and deep lowliness of spirit. But all we need to ask is this: has God laid that responsibility on me? If so, He will certainly be with me in carrying it.
One writer follows the story forward into the book of Numbers.
Moses later complained to the Lord. He used the very words Jethro had put into his mind: "I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me." (Num. 11:14.) The Lord told him to join seventy men with himself. The Lord granted his desire, but there was no extra supply of strength for governing Israel. Moses now had to share with the seventy the Spirit he already had.
The system of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens looks efficient. One writer takes that neatness as the warning of the passage.
To human eyes the system of government Jethro advised was very orderly and beautiful. It looked far more likely to secure justice among the people. Man always thinks he can improve on the order of God… The safety of the Lord's people lies in holding firmly to the word of God. They must refuse all counsel and advice that man gives apart from it.
Exodus says Moses chose the men. When he retells the event in Deuteronomy, he says he told the tribes to pick them. One writer shows how both are true.
Exodus 18:25 speaks of Moses choosing these men. Yet here in Deuteronomy 1:13 Moses says he asked the tribes to choose "wise, understanding, and experienced men." So he graciously took them into his confidence. When they presented the men, he confirmed them as his choice.
- Order — The ranks of rulers picture the government the Messiah will set up, when He judges the poor with justice.
- Character — The men chosen had to be able, God-fearing, trustworthy and free of any love of a bribe. Covetousness is the standing danger of those in office.
- Counsel — Jethro put his own advice first and God's presence second. He never told Moses to ask God, and Moses never asked. Commentators differ over how far this was failure.
- Courage — Shrinking from a God-given load can look like humility. God was carrying it all along, and He stays with the servant He appoints.
- Caution — Man's arrangements can look neater than God's. Safety lies in holding to His word and refusing advice offered apart from it.
And they judged the people at all times the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.
The judges are now at work: they settle the people's everyday disputes, and the hard cases go up to Moses. Commentators read it two ways — as a wise and workable order, and as a step Moses took on his father-in-law Jethro's advice instead of God's.
One writer admires the design, while hinting that it may never have been needed.
An admirable arrangement! If it really had to be made, nothing could keep order better than this graded scale of authority. It runs from the captain of ten up to the captain of a thousand. At the head of all is the lawgiver himself, in direct communication with the Lord God of Israel.
The plan came from Jethro. Moses acted on it without asking God first. One writer weighs the exact words Jethro used.
Moses no doubt thought this logical and wise, and acted on Jethro's advice. But let us weigh the whole matter carefully. Jethro said, "I will give you counsel, and God will be with you" (v. 19). Would it not have been better to say, "God will give you counsel, and I will be with you"? He was so sure of his own counsel that he did not advise Moses to ask counsel of God. And Moses himself should have been concerned to ask God's counsel first. If God meant Moses to do all the work himself, He would certainly have given him strength for it.
Moses had complained that the work was too heavy for one man. One writer answers that the weight was never on Moses at all.
Here the heart of Moses failed him (blessed servant as he was). He says, "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me." But he was not asked to bear them alone. God was with him. They were not too heavy for God. It was He who was bearing them; Moses was only the instrument. He might as well have spoken of his rod as bearing the people. This is where the servants of Christ constantly fail, and the failure is all the more dangerous because it looks like humility.
Moses did not only set up the ranks. He told the judges how to judge, and one writer carries that over to believers today.
Moses gave firm orders to these rulers to judge righteously in any cases that arose between the people. They had to avoid partiality carefully, showing the same respect to the small as to the great. Cases too hard to decide were to be brought to Moses. In the Church too, older believers can decide many things, but if anything is too hard, these must be brought to the Lord in humble, dependent prayer.
There is a cost in splitting the work up.
By this division of authority the people would have less direct contact with the supreme ruler. Do we not need to take all our difficult matters straight to the Lord Jesus today? To bring in an in-between authority is the very principle of legalism, which lets people stay content at a distance from the Lord. This gives a moral reason for the law being brought in, starting at Exodus 19.
One writer draws a wider lesson. A scheme can be neat and sensible and still not be what God asked for.
Finally, it lies on the surface that man's order in no way represents the mind of God. To human eyes the system of government Jethro advised was very orderly and beautiful, and far more likely to secure justice among the people. Man always thinks he can improve on the order of God. This has been the secret of the ruin of the church. Instead of holding to the Scriptures, which reveal the divine mind, man has brought in ideas, plans and systems of his own.
Yet the same writer says the scene is not only a warning. This layered court also pictures something still future.
We must separate two things here: the failure of Moses, and what the appointment of the rulers over the people stands for. Take the second first. This arrangement for judging the people pictures the order of government that the Messiah will set up when He takes His kingdom.
- Order — A graded chain of judges ran from tens up to thousands, with the lawgiver at the top and in direct touch with God.
- Counsel — The plan came from Jethro, who offered his own counsel instead of sending Moses to God for it.
- Burden — Moses said the load was too heavy for him. God was the one carrying the people, and shrinking from a God-given post can look like humility.
- Division — Judges settled small matters and sent hard cases up to Moses. But every layer in between leaves people less in touch with the Lord, so take hard matters straight to Him.
- Kingdom — Man's tidy systems never replace God's revealed mind. Yet this one pictures the government the Messiah will set up in His kingdom.
And Moses sent away his father-in-law, and he departed into his land.
Exodus 18 ends with a farewell, not with a command or a plague. Moses' father-in-law, who had come to rejoice over Israel's rescue, goes home. Commentators read this short verse in very different ways. Some see a fitting end to a picture of the coming kingdom. Others see a quiet warning, or a comment on the advice Jethro left behind.
The chapter brings together, in one scene, every group that belongs to the age of glory. Jethro's departure closes it.
In this chapter too the Gentile stands out — Jethro eating bread with the elders of Israel. So all the great elements of the future kingdom are present. We have the type of Christ; we have Israel in their proper place and order; we have the Gentile represented there. We will see this in the reign of glory that is coming… The Gentile will sincerely rejoice for all the goodness the LORD will have done to Israel, rescuing them from all their enemies, first to last. When His judgments are in the earth, the nations will learn righteousness. They will then know with Jethro that the LORD is greater than all gods.
One writer weighs the two small words his and his own. Jethro's road and Jethro's country were his own; Israel's were not.
Jethro had done his work, and with the permission of Moses he went his way into his own land (v. 27). What a contrast with Moses and the children of Israel! They were going God's way and to His land, and so they were pilgrims passing through the wilderness. But Jethro went his way — not God's — and into his own land, not God's. So instead of being a pilgrim, he had a settled home, where he kept no sabbath but found his own rest.
Another writer reads the same words in the opposite direction. For him Jethro leaves as a stranger heading home.
When he had shown his glories, rejoiced in the prosperity of God's chosen, and led their praise for the mercy, "he went his way." Scripture said the same earlier of the God of Abraham: "And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham" (Genesis 18). So now Jethro, having rejoiced with Israel and shown his glories, goes his way. For both were strangers in the earth, and a long road led them to their proper home.
Commentators differ here. Some see no fault in the plan, because Jethro left the decision with God.
In our chapter we see the heads of the people chosen, as Jethro advised under God. He only advised it if "God so commands you." So it seems we have here a small sample of the coming kingdom.
Others hold that Moses was wrong to take advice from Jethro at all, and they weigh the reasons Jethro gave.
The first mistake he made was listening to Jethro on such a matter. The Lord had given him his office, and it was to Him he should have turned on every subject that concerned His people. The arguments Jethro put forward looked convincing on the surface, and they were subtle. They rested on his concern for the welfare of his son-in-law… In reality the plan left God out of the reckoning. It made the health of Moses its chief aim. It forgot who really carried the burden of the people: not Moses, but the Lord through Moses. So the question was never the strength of Moses, but his resources in God.
One writer finds the lesson in the timing. Jethro's stay was short, and it ended before the hard times came.
Jethro stayed only long enough to see his advice followed. Able men were appointed as rulers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (vv. 26-27). … He had not suffered along with Israel before, and had no plan to stay and share their future sufferings. How different is the priestly work of the Lord Jesus, who stays with His own in all their trials and afflictions!
A member of the same family later made the same choice.
Before the law was given, Jethro (also known as Reuel) had come to Moses. He advised him to hand authority to others in Israel, then returned to his own land (Ex. 18:17-27). We do not know when Hobab had come, but he told Moses he would not go with Israel, but would return to his own land (Numbers 10:30).
- Scene. Exodus 18 puts Moses, Israel and a rejoicing Gentile in one picture of the coming kingdom. Verse 27 drops the curtain on it.
- Parting. The verse turns on two small words: Jethro went his way, to his own land, while Israel walked God's way to God's land.
- Difference. One had a settled home and his own rest; the others were pilgrims with rest still ahead of them.
- Dispute. Commentators differ over the advice Jethro left behind. Some read it as counsel given under God. Others say Moses should have asked God first.
- Contrast. Jethro came, helped, then left before the hardship. The Lord Jesus stays with His own through every trial.