Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brings Moses’ wife and sons back to the camp, hears the whole story of the Exodus, and worships. Then he watches Moses spend a full day — morning to evening — personally judging every dispute in a nation of two million, and tells him plainly it will not last: thou wilt surely wear away. He lays out a system of shared leadership, and Moses, the man God speaks to face to face, takes the advice of a Midianite priest without argument.
A study in Exodus 18 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 7 min read
Now I Know That The LORD Is Greater Than All Gods
“And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh… Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.”
Exodus 18:10-11
Pharaoh asked “Who is the LORD?” and refused the answer even as Egypt fell around him. A Midianite priest hears the same story secondhand and lands where Pharaoh would not: the LORD is greater than all gods. Jethro offers sacrifice and eats a covenant meal with Israel’s elders. The deliverance was always meant to be heard by the nations.
Why Sittest Thou Thyself Alone
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening… why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?”
Exodus 18:13-14
Moses is doing it all himself — every quarrel, every question, in a line that lasts all day. His reasons are good ones: the people come to “enquire of God,” and he uses the cases to teach them “the statutes of God, and his laws.” A good motive is running a bad system.
“As Jethro remained in the camp, he soon saw how heavy were the burdens that rested upon Moses. To maintain order and discipline among that vast, ignorant, and untrained multitude was indeed a stupendous task.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 300
Thou Wilt Surely Wear Away
“And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.”
Exodus 18:17-18
“Not good” — not a sin, just unsustainable. Notice it wears out both sides: the leader burns out, and the people wait all day for a hearing they may not get. Carrying a whole church on one set of shoulders is not humility or dedication; it is a design flaw, and it fails everyone.
Able Men, Such As Fear God
“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens… so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.”
Exodus 18:21-22
Four qualifications, and only one is about competence: able, but also fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness. Character outweighs talent three to one. The hard cases still come to Moses; everything else is handled closer to the ground, by people who can be trusted with it.
Moses Hearkened To The Voice
“So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.”
Exodus 18:24
The meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3) takes correction from his wife’s father — a foreigner, not a prophet — and acts on it that day. Being the one God speaks with does not make a person beyond advice. The chapter is placed right before Sinai on purpose: get the leadership sorted, and then the nation can stand at the mountain.
“The Lord had greatly honored Moses, and had wrought wonders by his hand; but the fact that he had been chosen to instruct others did not lead him to conclude that he himself needed no instruction. The chosen leader of Israel listened gladly to the suggestions of the godly priest of Midian.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 301
