I don’t care what your status is in this world, it’s easy to feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. No matter what the weight actually consists of, it can feel crushing—suffocating, even—to think about bearing that load for another minute.
That’s why God created more than one of us. In the Garden, God saw that it was “not good for man to be alone,” so He made a “help meet” for him. Eve was to be that someone that could literally “help” him “meet” all the work he had to do.
The same applies in the New Testament. Rarely do you see Apostles working by themselves; most often, they’re preaching in duos or groups. Remember how Jesus sent out the seventy disciples to preach the Word in pairs (Luke 10:1-24)?
For some reason, Moses felt like he needed to solve every single problem in the Israelite camp by himself. Either he didn’t feel like anyone else was qualified, or he didn’t trust anyone to make decisions that would benefit everyone spiritually. It’s hard to blame him considering how many faithless missteps have occurred so far in Exodus.
But Jethro’s advice to Moses about putting people in positions of authority didn’t just help Moses—it helped everyone. In Exodus 18:23, Jethro told Moses that if he put these systems into place, “all these people will go to their places in peace.”
Why? Because everyone will have had their issue heard and resolved.
Moses over-extending himself had a doubly negative effect. Not only did it wear him out, but it also didn’t really help any issue as completely as it should. As any parent of young children will testify, you can only hear nagging for so long before you either give in or get stern. Either way, the child’s issue wouldn’t be properly addressed.
The same situation happened in Acts 6. When the Apostles found themselves serving tables, a dispute inevitably arose with charges of discrimination (Acts 6:1-6).
The Apostles had a choice to make: They could either keep serving tables and run themselves into the ground, or they could delegate that task and focus their time on the Gospel. They chose the latter, and Acts 6:7 immediately says that “the Word of God kept spreading.”
Jethro’s advice didn’t just save Moses’ sanity, it created a better solution for everyone. The people took more ownership over their lives, capable men were empowered to lead, and Moses got to take a well-deserved afternoon nap.
