Father-in-law of Moses
18
📚And Jethro 📖, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for his people Israel, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 📚After Moses had sent his wife Zipporah back, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received her 3 📚and her two sons. The name of one was Gershom; for he said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”. 4 📚And the name of the other was Eliezer; for he said “the God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”. 5 📚Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the desert, where he was camping at the mountain of God 📖, 6 and he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, and your wife and her two sons with her, have come to you”.7 📚And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed down, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare, and came into the tent. 8 📚And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the hardship that had come on them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.
9 📚And Jethro rejoiced because of all the goodness which the LORD had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 📚And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 📚Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he was above them in the matter in which they behaved so arrogantly”. 12 📚And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. And Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.
The Appointment of Judges
13 📚And it came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people were standing around Moses from morning to evening. 14 And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone, with all the people standing around you from morning to evening?”
15 📚And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s guidance. 16 📚Whenever they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another, and I cause them to know God’s decrees and his laws”.
17 And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 📚You will surely wear out, both you and this people who are with you, for this work is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 📚Now listen to my voice. I will give you counsel and God will be with you. You be the representative of the people to God, so that you may bring the cases to God. 20 📚And you will teach them ordinances and laws and show them the way in which they are to walk, and the work they are to do. 21 📚But you must select able men from all the people who fear God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain. And place such men over them, to be leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. 22 📚And let them judge the people at all times. And it shall be that they will bring every great matter to you, but will judge every small matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, when they bear the burden with you.
18:21-22 Deut 1:13-18; 16:19-20; 2 Sam 23:3; 2 Chron 19:5-10; Ps 15:1-5; Prov 24:23-25; Acts 6:3. The God of the Bible is a God of absolute justice Himself and demands that judges and rulers seek only justice for people, and refuse bribes and dishonest gain.⚜
23 📚If you do this thing, and if God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their places contented”.
24 📚So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
18:24 Even so great and wise a man as Moses was willing to take the advice of others (Num 12:3).⚜
25 📚And Moses chose able men from all Israel, and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. 26 📚And they judged the people at all times. The hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 📚And Moses let his father-in-law leave, and he went his way to his own land.