Read Exodus 18, Job 36, and Luke 2.
This devotional is about Exodus 18.
God did amazing things for the people of Israel in Exodus 1-17. He delivered them from Egypt in Exodus 1-15a, then miraculously provided them with water and food in Exodus chapters 15b-17a. When they were attacked by the Amalekites in the latter part of Exodus 17, God used the prayers of Moses and the combat of Joshua to defeat them.
Here in Exodus 18, Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, came to Moses and professed faith in YHWH God because of all of these mighty acts of the Lord (vv. 1-12). Then Jethro watched Moses at work, starting in verse 13. He saw how Moses spent the entire day listening to people’s problems (v. 13) and helping them apply God’s commands to those problems (vv. 15-16).
Jethro, this newly-converted man, then gave Moses some very wise advice. He told Moses that it was “not good” for Moses to do all the judging (v. 14). Instead, Jethro advised Moses to “…select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (vv. 21-23).
Instead of helping everyone in Israel apply God’s word in their specific situations, these men would do that. So what would Moses do with all this liberated time? In verse 20 Jethro said, “Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.” In other words, instead of doing all the counseling, applying God’s word on a case-by-case basis, Moses should spend his time teaching and applying God’s word to the masses and let these other men help people apply God’s word to their individual lives.
This principle is still wise and still valid. And, this is why I believe God commands his church to have multiple elders, not just one pastor. Only some elders “work hard at preaching and teaching” as 1 Timothy 5:17 puts it. The rest of the elders do the kind of personal work that Jethro told Moses to stop doing. Elders exist to watch over your spiritual life and help you apply scripture to difficult questions and situations in your life.
If you are a member here in our church, I will always try to help you if you reach out to me. But, a more immediate way to get help is to contact your elder. Each family in our church membership is assigned an elder and he exists to help you apply scripture to your individual circumstances. Use this to help you grow in your faith and obedience to the Lord.
If you’re a member of another church, use your elders this way. If you’re not a member of any church, you need to find a local church that has biblical doctrine and multiple elders. God gave the church and its leadership to help you grow. Obey the Lord’s instructions; find and join a good local church, then participate in all that church offers to help you grow as a Christian.