Doing It All Yourself
“Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”
Exodus 18:21
Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ wife and 2 sons to him in the wilderness.
It was a joyous reunion. It had probably been a long time since Moses saw his family.
A lot had happened since Moses and the Israelites came out of Egypt! Moses testified to Jethro about all that God had done.
“And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.”
Exodus 18:8
Jethro rejoiced when he heard these things. He brought sacrifices and burnt offerings to God. Then, they broke bread together.
The next morning, Moses went to work, from morning until night, judging the people.
Jethro witnessed this, and had some advice for Moses.
“So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.”
Exodus 18:17-22
In other words, don’t try to do it all yourself!
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this sometimes, reasoning that it would be easier to do it all myself.
But, if you don’t ask for help, it could lead to burnout! Jethro told Moses that if he continued like this, it would wear him out, and all the people who had to wait in line all day!
Moses listened to Jethro’s advice. This freed him up to spend more time with God.
So, don’t try to do it all yourself. Ask God to give you wisdom to ask others to help carry the burden.
