A worn out leader,
worn out followers
Exodus 18:1-27
Key verse 18:20-22
I am thankful that there are many hard working people in our
organization. They are extremely busy with ministry as well as work, family, and
study. God has used such hard working people and brought our ministry this far.
And hard work has become a culture that characterizes our ministry. Over time,
however, some people have worn themselves out and thus the whole ministry has been
affected in a negative way. Actually, there are so many burnout ministers and
leaders in church and consequently the followers suffer. Today, we are going to
talk about worn out leaders in church. Today’s passage teaches us how we can
avoid exhaustion and how our organization can be refreshed and productive.
While the Israelites still were staying in Rephidim, a man
visited Moses. He was Moses’ father-in-law. His personal visit eventually gave
Moses encouragement and godly wisdom so that he could serve the people better.
This also brought about a significant change for Israel to grow to be a nation.
Let’s see how Jethro helped out Moses and Israel. I pray that we may learn his
wisdom so that we may not be worn out leaders but grow to be leaders who are always
productive, energetic and caring for people.
18 Now Jethro, the priest of
Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for
Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel
out of Egypt. 2 After Moses had sent away his wife
Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and
her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have
become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the
other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my
helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and the priest of Midian. He
heard of what God had done for Israel. Then, when he heard that Moses was
staying in Rephidim, which probably was not that far from Median, he wanted to
visit Moses. So he sent word to Moses ahead of time that he would come to him.
This should have been great news to Moses because he would see his father-in-law
along with his wife Zipporah and his two sons. Here we can learn that Moses had
another son. We already know that his first son was Gershom, which meant, “I
have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” Moses named his second son Eliezer,
saying, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
For some reason, Moses had sent his wife and his two sons back to his
father-in-law at some point. Now they would join him again. To Moses, their
coming was like cold water in the desert.
7 So Moses went out to meet his
father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other
and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his
father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along
the way and how the Lord had saved them.
When Jethro arrived, Moses went out to meet Jethro. He
respectively bowed down and warmly welcomed him. They gladly greeted each
other. Then, Moses told Jethro everything that had happened.
·
What the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians for Israel’s sake.
·
All the hardships they had met along the way and
how the LORD had saved them.
Moses said in a great excitement, “Our God crushed such an
arrogant Pharaoh by the plagues… He made a way through the Red Sea… He provided
manna everyday…” While talking on and on, Moses himself was also amazed at God’s
work for them.
9 Jethro was delighted to hear about
all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing
them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said,
“Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the
Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the
Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is
greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel
arrogantly.”
Jethro was mesmerized and rejoiced for all the good things
the LORD had done for Israel. He had never heard any god who was so powerful
and concerned for his people as much as the God of Israel was. Jethro praised
the LORD and confessed that the LORD is greater than all other gods. Though he
was a priest of Median, he lifted up the LORD even above his god. He sincerely
recognized, “Moses, your God is the true living God. He is awesome.”
12 Then Jethro, Moses’
father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to
God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with
Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
Jethro brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God.
In this way, he honored God. And Aaron came along with all the elders of Israel
to eat a meal with Jethro. It was a great banquet before God. They rejoiced in
the LORD and shared fellowship with one another. It must have been great joy
and encouragement particularly to Moses. The fellowship with Jethro gave
comfort, peace, and strength to Moses who had been stressed out by all the
troubles and hardships he had underwent. No doubt, the fellowship with Jethro
refreshed his heart and mind.
13 The next day Moses took his seat
to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till
evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that
Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the
people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you
from morning till evening?”
The next day Jethro saw something very odd. The people stood
around Moses from morning until evening and Moses served as judge for them. No
one other than Moses sat as judge while the people were waiting under the sun all
day long. It was like many people standing at the checkout lane where only one cashier
works. So, Jethro asked Moses what was going on.
15 Moses answered him, “Because the
people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever
they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties
and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
The people came to Moses to seek God’s will whenever they
had a dispute. There were many disputes among them as such a large number of
people lived together in the desert. For example, a man stole an ox or a sheep;
someone’s bull hurt a neighbor; some stroke a man and so on. (See Ch 21-23) The
Israelites had no formal judicial system yet. Some issues were so arguable that
they needed someone who could justly decide on the case. The only person who
was capable to do so was Moses. They knew he was a man of God and brought all
disputes to Moses to seek God’s will. Moses decided between the parties and
then informed them of God’s decrees and instructions. In some sense their
coming to Moses was a positive sign in that they sought God’s will. The problem
though was that this consumed both Moses and the people who were waiting for a long time. Americans are
used to waiting in a long line. But no one wants to be stuck in the line all
day long. It is so frustrating and ineffective.
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied,
“What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these
people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for
you; you cannot handle it alone.
Jethro felt that what they were doing was ridiculous. How
come only one man, Moses, served as judge for all the people? The people were
worn out since Moses was the only person available for the decision on their
disputes. Moses wore himself out too. Jethro said that the work was too heavy
for Moses alone to carry out. So, Jethro gave Moses his advice.
19 Listen now to me and I will give
you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s
representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
Jethro’s advice was that Moses should be the people’s
representative before God and bring their disputes to him. He defined Moses’
role clearly. This role was not new though. Moses had served and acted as the intermediary between God and the people. Here Jethro’s
advice was that Moses should do his job with more focus and in an effective way;
that is, Moses should not handle everything by himself. His main role should be
to bring to God their disputes they could not handle. He should be a bridge
between the people and God the supreme judge. How could this be possible then?
20 Teach them his decrees and
instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are
to behave. 21 But 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.
First, Moses should teach the people God’s decrees and
instructions and he should also be a good example by applying God’s word to himself.
Probably, God had already given Moses some decrees and instructions though they
were not clearly mentioned here. (They were written down later in chapters
20-23.) Moses should focus more on teaching God’s word to the Israelites so
that they might distinguish what was right and what was wrong. This would give
them a discerning mind to resolve and even prevent their disputes.
Second, Moses should select capable men and let them serve
as judge in place of Moses.
·
Appoint them as officials over thousands,
hundreds, fifties and tens and have them decide themselves for their cases.
·
If they had a difficult case, they should bring
it to Moses and then he would bring it to God.
In this way, Moses would work as the source of legislative
power and the supreme judge but he would delegate the actual decision of the simple
cases to others. The old way was that whenever the people came with a dispute Moses
judged the case and then taught God’s decrees and instructions, which was a
passive and ineffective way of dealing with people’s disputes. But the new way
would be to teach God’s word first and delegate his authority to other capable
men for simple cases. This would help deal with their disputes in a more
effective and proactive way.
But not anyone could be a judge. What kind of people must be
selected to serve as judges then?
21 But 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.
First, they should fear God. Why? It was because God is
their ultimate judge and they were only his delegates who must do justice
according to his word. Thus, the man who fears God hates dishonest gain and
judges justly and so he can be trusted. The fear of God gives wisdom, honest,
integrity, and everything they need to serve people. Without the fear of God,
however, they could use their authority in a wrong way. Sadly, some leaders and
pastors act like kings to their people or as somebody who should be recognized
or praised above all. They even abuse or misuse their authority and
consequently give his people hard time. What is their fundamental problem? I
would say that such persons have no fear of God. They should know that they are
people’s servants and God is their judge. So, it is not too much to say that
the first condition to be a leader is the fear of God. I would even say that
the second and third condition should be also the fear of God.
“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.”
In this way, Moses would be relieved of overload and could
focus on his role, avoiding exhaustion. And the people would be served better. Plus,
more leaders would be raised and used for the work of God. And this change
would lay a foundation for Israel to establish the judicial system and thus be
shaped into a nation, which would be ruled by God.
The church of God is like a body, which consists of
different parts with different functions. The authority God delegates to the
leader should also be delegated to others so that the leader may not be
overloaded but more people can be part of leadership and all church members
should work as one body. A good example in the Bible is the Twelve Apostles who
delegated the daily distribution of food to the seven men so as to focus on the
ministry of the word of God. (Acts 6) Even our Lord Jesus delegated his power
and authority to his disciples so that more people might be healed and hear the
gospel. Dwight L Moody said, "It is better to set a hundred men to work
than to do the work of a hundred men."
How did Moses respond to Jethro’s response?
24 Moses listened to his
father-in-law and did everything he said. 25 He
chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people,
officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26 They
served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult
cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Moses realized that God was helping him through Jethro. So
he did everything as Jethro advised. He chose some God-fearing people and
committed his authority to them. However, this might have not been easy. Those
who have power with a strong passion for God often find delegating authority hard.
They think that they should be involved in all matters in their ministry. Some
are even afraid that they will lose their authority if they delegate their
authority to others. If so, the ministry can be one-man show rather than God’s
ministry. Our zeal or human agenda should not block other people from growing
and participating in the work of God. In that sense, Moses was a humble man.
Delegation is an excellent way to prevent exhaustion and serve God ‘s ministry
in an effective way.
However, delegation itself is not always the answer for all.
We should be aware that a system does not work by itself and that we should not
work for the system but for people. What is more important is the motive and
motivation for the system. Let’s see what motivated and enabled Moses to delegate
his authority to others.
First, he feared God in that his authority and power came
from God. He chose some people as judges based on their fear of God and he
himself always served as judge with the fear of God. He knew that he was not
the ultimate judge. In Deut 1:17, he said, “Judgment belongs to God.” Because
God delegated the authority to him, he knew that his authority was not his own
and that he should also delegate his authority to others who feared God. As
such, the fear of God made him humble, open-minded and God-centered. Leaders
who know that their authority comes from God are also confident that God himself
will work in their ministries continually. (Phil 1:6) May God give our leaders
such faith and humbleness and raise such leaders.
Another thing that made Moses delegate his authority to
others was his genuine concern for his people. He understood that it was so
difficult for the people to wait long. He himself was exhausted but he was more
concerned about the people’s exhaustion. His interest was how to better serve
the people not how to exercise his authority. (Num 11:29) That motivated Moses
to make such changes for people’s sake though his authority would become lesser
than before.
Again, the most important thing is not what system we have
but what motive and motivation we have. That should be the fear of God and
genuine concern for people. That brings about true changes and makes all people
happy.
Today we have talked about a worn-out leader. Being a
hard-working leader is great. However, we should be careful not to be a
worn-out leader. A worn-out leader can also wear out his followers. How can we avoid
getting exhausted? How can we serve our church members better? Delegation is a
good way of meeting people’s needs and strengthening the ministry. But it
should be motivated by the fear of God and genuine concern for people. If so,
we can be set free from our own obsession and pride, and stress. Please pray
for our leaders not to be worn out. I also pray that God may raise many
God-fearing people among us who can take over our ministry.
By David Yun
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