LIFE SCRIPTS

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
Exodus 18:13‭-‬27 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.18.13-27.NIV.

Being the people’s leader, Moses had the responsibility of overseeing the welfare of the community. Here, he sat on his judgement seat and judged the people. Perhaps this is the first time in scripture we see a leader acting as a judge over people. God was instituting a system of law and order over His people. But Jethro, Moses’s father in law observed that he sat down by himself listening to cases from dawn to dusk. Ultimately, he ended up exhausted. Jethro suggested that Moses delegates his responsibilities to other able men so that his burden may be lightened. Interestingly, though we’re not fully exposed to Jethro’s faith, God used him to make Moses wiser. God can use any person to speak to us. So we should be prayerfully sensitive to the call of the Holy Spirit at all times as we listen to others. What also stands out is his humility to listen to Jethro. For a man used by God to do great signs and wonders, the voice from an old man like Jethro would be ignored. But Moses listened to Jethro because of his humility. This is a stinging lesson for us today…especially those of us who receive oracles from God as we serve His people. God can use the people we consider far from Him to minister to us. When we feel as if we can’t receive insights from others based on their faith in God then we limit God’s all powerful nature. He can twist even the ones who detest Him to speak His oracles. In the story of Balaam and Balak, a sorcerer was paid a price to curse the children of Israel. Though he was filled with all sorts of wickedness, God used him to bless them instead… In the story of the Samaritan woman, though she might have had different intentions as she engaged Christ, she converted into an evangelist delivering good news to her village. Sometimes, God uses vessels we so easily dismiss to His glory. What prevents us from hearing Him is pride. Moses’s attitude towards Jethro teaches us humility. But another key thing we could pick from this passage is delegation and the need to share our burdens with those God has placed around us. It may sometimes be easy to dismiss people who can play a role in easening our burdens. Sometimes we may struggle to delegate responsibility because we see ourselves as the only ones who’re able. That’s not God’s plan. He has placed people all around us to support us in our work. Moses had this multitude from which he could pick wise men capable of supporting him in his work. There are people God places around us when we’re overwhelmed. All God asks us to do is to reach out and seek support…to delegate and find help.