Exodus 18

On April 18, 1874 the body of missionary/explorer David Livingstone was laid to rest in a grave in the center of the nave in Westminster Abbey. During the funeral service, the congregation sang a hymn by Philip Doddridge and John Logan that’s based on Genesis 28:20–21. O God of Bethel, by whose hand Thy people still are fed; Who through this earthly pilgrimage Hast all our fathers led: Through each perplexing path of life Our wandering footsteps guide; Give us each day our daily bread, And raiment fit provide.

During his difficult and demanding years in Africa, Livingstone rested his faith and his future on the parting words of Jesus, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). Concerning this verse, Livingstone had written in his journal on January 14, 1856: “It is the word of a gentleman of the most strict and sacred honor, so there’s an end of it!” He knew that his Lord’s word could be trusted!

It was the presence of the Lord that gave Moses the strength and confidence he needed as he led the people of Israel during their wilderness wandering. He had a difficult task, leading a thankless army of former slaves whom he was trying to build into a nation, but he persevered because the Lord was with him. The events recorded in these two chapters reveal to us what the presence of the Lord means to God’s people and their leaders as they are on their pilgrim journey.

After reading about the trials, complaints, and battles of the Israelites, it’s a relief to move into a chapter that describes the camp of Israel as a quiet place of family fellowship and daily business. Life isn’t always hunger and thirst and warfare, although those are often the things we usually remember. Charles Spurgeon said that God’s people are prone to engrave their trials in marble and write their blessings in the sand, and perhaps he was right.

But the best thing about this paragraph is that everybody is praising the Lord for all He did for His people. Praising God is much better than complaining to God; in fact, praise is a good antidote for a complaining spirit. “There is a great deal more said in the Bible about praise than prayer,” said evangelist D. L. Moody, “yet how few praise-meetings there are!”

Jethro’s message (vv. 1–6). We met Moses’ fatherin-law in 2:11–22, but his presence here raises two important questions: (1) How did Jethro hear about the wonderful works of God in Egypt? and (2) When did Moses’ wife and two sons return home?

It’s possible that Moses sent his family back to Midian before the Lord declared war on Egypt. Then, after the exodus, Moses sent a messenger to Jethro asking him to bring Zipporah and the two boys and meet him at Sinai. Some students reject this scenario since Moses would certainly want his family to see the Lord’s judgment of Egypt and to be a part of Israel’s great deliverance. What kind of leader would want his family to be comfortable back in Midian while the people were suffering in Egypt?

If the family was with him in Egypt, then sometime after the exodus, Moses may have sent Zipporah and their two sons back to Midian to give the good news to her family. Zipporah and her party could travel much faster than the entire nation with their children and livestock, so the family would have reached Midian before Israel arrived in the region of Sinai. Having heard the good news, Jethro then sent a message to Moses saying that he was coming to the camp with Zipporah and her sons.

Jethro’s arrival (vv. 7–8). In the East, family members and friends spend a great deal of time greeting one another when they meet (Luke 10:4), especially if they haven’t seen each other for a long time (Gen. 29:9–14; 33:1–7; 45:1–15). Moses showed respect for his fatherin-law by going out to meet him, but it’s strange that nothing is said about Zipporah and the two sons.

Hospitality is the first law of the East, and Moses invited Jethro and the rest of the visitors to join him in his tent. There he rehearsed for them again the wonderful things God had done for His people. Jethro knew some of the facts about the defeat of Egypt, but Moses gave him the details and answered his questions. It wasn’t a report of what Moses had done but what the Lord had done!

Jethro’s worship (vv. 9–12). Like Melchizedek (Gen. 14:17–24), Jethro was a Gentile priest (Ex. 2:16) whose testimony indicates that he knew the true and living God. He also knew the importance of Israel in the plan of God, because he said that the Lord had punished the Egyptians because they had “treated Israel arrogantly” (Ex. 18: niv).

The priesthood had not yet been officially established in Israel, so there was nothing wrong with Moses, Aaron, and the Jewish elders joining Jethro in offering sacrifices to God and then enjoying a fellowship feast. During the years Moses had lived in Midian, he had no doubt participated in many sacrificial feasts with his father-in-law.This kind of fellowship anticipated the time when Messiah would die for the sins of the whole world and make redemption available to people of all nations. “For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles” (Mal. 1: nkjv).

Moses could have taken a week off and enjoyed his family and entertained his father-in-law, but being a faithful shepherd, he was back the next day helping his people with their problems.

The task (vv. 13–16). The nation already had elders (v. 13; 4:29), but they weren’t assisting Moses in the day-by-day affairs of the camp, or if they were, there were matters they couldn’t settle that had to go to Moses. There were basic regulations for the management of the camp (Ex. 18:16), since 2 million people couldn’t very well live together and travel together without obeying some kind of code. The phrase “statutes and laws” in verse 16 can refer to the will of God in general as well as to specific ordinances from the Lord. Long before the law was given, God blessed Abraham for obeying His commandments, statutes, and laws (Gen. 26:5).

Judicial codes are necessary for order and security in society, but they always have to be interpreted, even if they come from the Lord. Later, the priests would assist in this task (Mal. 2:4–7), but the priesthood hadn’t yet been established. From the time of Ezra (Ezra 7:10), the scribes became the students and interpreters of the law.

The danger (vv. 17–18). Jethro knew that Moses’ leadership was crucial for the future success of Israel and that any activity that drained his energy or wasted his time was bound to hurt the nation. Also, he didn’t want his son-in-law to wear himself out and leave Zipporah a widow and his two grandsons without a father. No one man could minister personally to 2 million people and last very long. Even after the new arrangement had been established, Moses had to confess that the work was too much for him (Num. 11:14), so what must the burden have been like under the old system? The Hebrew word translated “easier” in Exodus 18: means “to take cargo from a ship.” (“That will make your load lighter,” niv.)

The suggestion (vv. 19–27). Jethro’s suggestion was a good one. Moses should organize the camp so that every ten people had somebody to talk to about their civil problems. If a ruler of ten couldn’t solve the problem, it could be referred to the ruler of fifty, then one hundred, and then one thousand. After that, it would be referred to Moses himself. D. L. Moody may have had this in mind when he said, “I would rather put ten men to work than do the work of ten men.”

A system such as this would separate the simple problems from the more complex matters so that Moses wouldn’t be wasting his time on trivial matters. (If the people of Israel were anything like people today, everybody thought his or her problem was the most important!) The arrangement would also test the seriousness of the people, for not all of them would be willing to let the ruler “take their case to a higher court.”

But Jethro wasn’t advising Moses to “pass the buck.” No, Moses was to teach the people the regulations, no doubt assisted by the chosen rulers, so they could make wise decisions. He was also to represent the people before God, which probably meant praying for them and seeking God’s direction in the difficult cases. Moses was God’s chosen leader, and nobody could take his place until his work was done, but he didn’t have to do all the work alone.

There are those who say that Jethro was a meddler and should have minded his own business, because God could have enabled Moses to get the job done each day. “If the Lord had wanted Moses to have help,” they argue, “He would have told Moses personally.” But Jethro didn’t command Moses to follow his orders. He urged Moses to talk to the Lord about the problem and obey whatever God said (v. 23). Since Moses did adopt his father-in-law’s suggestion, he must have consulted the Lord and gotten God’s approval.

Moses didn’t ask Jethro how to build the tabernacle or how to offer the sacrifices, because those matters were revealed to him from the Lord. But in matters of organization and management, God’s people can learn from outsiders, for “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:8). Of course, we never adopt a practice or policy until we understand the principle behind it and make sure it’s in agreement with Scripture (James 3:13–18).

The important thing about delegating responsibilities is that you have leaders who have ability and character, “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” (Ex. 18:21). These qualifications remind us of the experience of the early church in finding people to assist the apostles and relieve them of lesser duties (Acts 6:1–7). These assistants had to have good reputations, be full of the Spirit and wisdom, and approved by the people.

According to Deuteronomy 1:9–18, Moses shared Jethro’s counsel with the people, admitted his own weakness and weariness, and asked them to select leaders to assist him. They approved of the plan and selected the officers whom Moses then charged with the responsibilities of their offices. When Israel moved into the Promised Land, they appointed officers in each town to assist in the settling of cases (Ex. 16:18–20). God is a God of order, and He wanted all of His people to enjoy security and justice in the camp and in the land.

Whenever ministry and structure collide, and ministry is being hindered, God’s people must adjust the structure so ministry can grow. When the Jerusalem church gave the apostles the help they needed, the work expanded and many people were converted (Acts 6:7). In this rapidly changing world, Christian ministries must be flexible if they are to solve their problems and seize their opportunities. The emphasis in the Bible isn’t on organization as such but on the kind of organization that involves qualified people who get the job done. Self-defeating organizations embalm their structure and refuse to change. The ministries that God blesses are open to change, so long as the principles of God’s Word are obeyed.