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.