Establishing Under-Shepherds
Trusting in the Lord’s Power
Encamped in the wilderness, Moses was gathered before the mountain of God with the children of Israel (Ex 18:5). Just days earlier, the Lord had not only redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage with miraculous signs and powerful wonders, but He had also empowered the Israelites to gain the victory over the Amalekites at Rephidim (Ex 17:13). In the process of defeating the Amalekites, the Lord did something extraordinary. The book of Exodus provides the specific details:
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword (Ex 17:8–13).
At least two points from this passage are clear. First, the Lord obviously wanted to demonstrate that the victory of battle would only occur if the “staff of God” was exalted. If the staff was lowered, the Israelites began to be overtaken, but when the staff was exalted, Israel prevailed. The staff personified the power of God, demonstrating to the Israelites that they must depend upon God, alone, for their salvation.
Second, it also seems clear that the Lord was seeking to demonstrate to Moses that, even as God’s primary human instrument, and the man chosen to lead the people of Israel, he alone was not sufficient for the task. After standing with his arms raised for some time, Moses’ body began to tire and weaken. The strength of his arms began to fade, and the staff became too heavy to hold up. Forcing Moses to recognize his own insufficiency, the Lord providentially provided Aaron and Hur to come alongside him. The men put a chair made of stone under Moses so that he could sit to rest his legs. Then, they physically bore Moses’ burden by holding up his hands on each side. In doing so, a lesson on dependence was learned, Moses was humbled, the Amalekites were defeated, the people were encouraged, and the power of God was exalted.
Trusting in the Lord’s Provision
Flowing from that account, Exodus 18 begins with Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, coming to visit him and the Israelites, as they are camped at the mountain of God. Once again, Moses is faced with a challenge to his own self-sufficiency, but in a slightly different way. As Jethro observes his son-in-law for an entire day, he recognizes an unsustainable situation. Exodus 18:13–23 provides the details of the account:
The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 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.”
It is noteworthy to observe the specific language Jethro uses to help Moses understand why the situation is not sustainable for either him or the people. He specifically says, “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” (Ex:18:18). In other words, like the victory the Israelites had just won against the Amalekites, as Moses’ burden was shared by Aaron and Hur, Jethro now tells Moses that he needs others to share in this burden as well, in order to successfully care for the people.
For Moses, the concept Jethro was suggesting was not too difficult to imagine. After all, before meeting the Lord at the burning bush, he had been working as a shepherd; and not just any shepherd, in fact, but as a shepherd for the flock belonging to Jethro (Ex 3:1–2). Therefore, Jethro instructs Moses to divide the people of God, like flocks of sheep, into groups of “thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens” (Ex 18:21).
Notice one other important feature of Jethro’s instructions. Moses’ father-in-law does not suggest that just any man can do the job of overseeing these groups of people. Instead, he gives specific criteria, or qualifications, for the men Moses should be seeking as leaders of the groups. In particular, there are five qualities Jethro lists:
First, these men must be able (v. 21a). They must be physically and mentally able to manage and judge the issues that could potentially arise from the group they’re overseeing.
Second, they must be men who fear God (v. 21b). Jethro instructs Moses to identify men who have a genuine respect and fear of the Lord, for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10).
Third, in line with their fear of God, they must be men of trustworthy character (v. 21c). The only way Moses can entrust these smaller segments of the people to the oversight of these men, is if he can trust them; and the only way he can trust them, is if they’re trustworthy. Moses needs men who will operate with the same level of trustworthiness and integrity that he, himself, possesses.
Fourth, Jethro tells Moses that he needs to identify men who hate a bribe (v. 21d). Especially when considering the role of determining justice, these leaders must be men of impartiality. They cannot be men who are willing to tip the scales of justice for the right price, or turn a blind eye to injustice.
Fifth and finally, Moses’ father-in-law calls attention back to the principle that was established and illustrated in chapter 18. These men of Moses’ choosing will serve alongside him to bear the burden with him (v. 22). These men are not called to be served by the people, but rather they are being called by Moses to serve the people, and in doing so, to share the weight of the burden, with Moses. The result, Jethro told Moses, of following his instructions and finding men who meet those qualifications, would be that God would direct him, he would be able to endure, and all the people would be able to go to their place in peace (v. 23).
Trusting in the Lord’s Plan
This principle of leadership, oversight, and human shepherding, recommended by Jethro, would go on to become the earliest biblical example for the concept of elders. The purpose, intentionality, and origin for elders is these men of spiritual integrity and maturity, who fear God, and have been appointed to come alongside Moses, to carry the burden of shepherding the people of God, together. In fact, although they were guilty of steep spiritual decline, Israel would maintain that approach to national leadership all the way to the time of Christ, with the group of leaders that had come to be known as the Sanhedrin (Num 11:16; Deut 16:18; Mark 15:1).
Furthermore, God has designed the church to be led by a plurality, or team, of biblically qualified elders as well (Acts 14:23; 1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9). These men are called, gifted, and empowered by the Lord to shepherd the souls entrusted to their care. May every true, local expression of Christ’s church be served by such men, and may the Lord’s perfect plan be honored, as God’s people entrust themselves to His power and provision.