Exodus 18:24-26
So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
There is a famous speech in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice where Portia describes the qualities of mercy. “It is twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” The mercy shown to Moses was from his father-in-law, Jethro. He instructed him to delegate responsibility to avoid burnout. But there was a double blessing. It also blessed those that were called into ministry to serve the Lord. up to this point, Moses was robbing the people of blessing and hoarding service to the Lord. Thousands of Israelites owed their fulfillment to Jethro’s advice to a weary Moses.
Jesus commissioned his followers to make disciples. He chose 12 to get it started. He sent out 72 in Luke 10.The church of 120 quickly became 3,000 on Pentecost. The Apostles then chose 7 deacons to join in the service so they would not get worn out. There was a double blessing. The new servants were blessed and made quite an impression. Philip took the gospel to Samaria and Stephen was the first martyr. Our American can-do spirit needs to submit to the Holy Spirit that shares the workload, and the blessings. Listen to the voice of your Father.
O Heavenly Father, you are the source of our blessings and no one can do everything, except you. Thank you that, through the Holy Spirit, everyone can do something. In Jesus’ name. Amen.