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.
Exodus 18:13-18
Here is an incident full of instruction for the spiritual life. We see Moses sitting judging the people, dealing with their problems from morning till night, problems, difficulties and disputes which had arisen during the course of their pilgrim journey. We must suppose that this is not merely one isolated instance, but an illustration of what the man of God was repeatedly called upon to do. And Jethro, looking on, realises that this is much too heavy a burden for one man to bear alone. His words in 18 'Thou wilt surely wear away' show a real understanding of the situation and a basic compassion of heart that reveal him to be a man of real spiritual stature, and a godsend to Moses at this particular juncture. The incident has much to teach us, in several ways. It recognises, for one thing, that problems do arise in the spiritual life that call for wise pastoral advice and instruction, and that people need such pastoral care. It is no answer to this that we ought to depend on God alone for guidance and advice and counsel in the problems and difficulties of life, for to seek the help of God's appointed servants (who after all are given to the Church for the ‘equipment of the saints', Ephesians 4:11ff) in our needs is not to depart from utter dependence on Him, but simply to make use of His appointed means for giving us help. To be unwilling to do so is more likely to reveal a secret pride and a spirit of self-expression and independence far removed from the spiritual dedication and 'far-ben-ness' it claims to represent. But God's servants are only human, and this sort of ministry takes its inevitable toll of spiritual, nervous and physical energy. This ought to be remembered with the same understanding as was shown by Jethro here.