Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 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. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
Moses was trying to do too much, and the people were more than happy to watch him try… even, they may have wanted him to. See, Moses’ job was to tell the people about the Word of God, and to help with the particularly difficult cases, but it took all the people coming together to minister to all of Israel. Sometimes, a church can be an analogous situation. People expect the Sr. Pastor to handle every ministry situation, but that’s not his role. We set aside men of God to teach the Word and to help lead generally and perhaps in the more difficult situations. But it takes a whole church, each part doing their part (Ephesians 4) to have a healthy church. Being part of a church means you’re in this together! Thank the Lord for wise fathers-in-law.
