Decentralised Power and Biblical Leadership: Lessons From Exodus 18

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Never see a need…

At high school I was in MacKillop house, named after Mary Mackillop who was Australia’s first Catholic saint. At the front of my year 7 classroom, we had Mary Mackillop’s most famous quote: ‘never see a need without doing something about it’. It’s a quote that has stuck with me ever since. My school’s Catholic ethos resulted in a deep commitment to social justice and instilled in me a relentless drive to help others and make the world a better place.

I’ve always been a busy person, juggling more than I can properly balance. Knowing how much injustice there is in the world means I always want to do something about it. As a 1, or ‘reformer’ on the Enneagram, I’m constantly putting the weight of the world on my shoulders. Being busy doing good things fills my soul yet ironically drains me at the same time.

One of the clearest examples of this kind of leadership is shown in The Bible in Exodus 18.  It shows how Moses, a great leader eager to carry out God’s will, learnt to manage the weight of his task through trust and the decentralisation of power.

Exodus 18 – Jethro’s Wise Words

Exodus 18 begins with Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, coming to visit him at the base of Mount Sinai. At this point Moses has led the Hebrews out of Egypt, parted the Reed (Red) Sea, instituted the first Passover, defeated the Amalekites, made water flow from a rock and arranged with Yahweh for manna and quail to come from heaven. By this time, Moses was very glad to see Jethro. When Moses came to meet with him, ‘[Moses] bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.’ (Exodus 18:7). Despite their positive reunion, the next day Moses return to his God-ordained, relentless task of governing and leading the Hebrew people. The record says that ‘The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening’ (Exodus 18:13). The weight of the world and the fate of the Hebrew people were weighing down on Moses’ shoulders and out of a sense of purpose and God-ordained duty, was determined to carry it out, desite the long days and high personal toll.

Knowing Moses better than most people, Jethro knew Moses couldn’t sustain this. Quite bluntly he came to Moses saying ‘What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?’ (Exodus 18:14). Moses, evidently overwhelmed replied ‘Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions’ (Exodus 18:15-16). There’s no question about Moses’ commitment and dedication to the job. Knowing he’s capable of solving the disputes of the people and rely on God’s guidance, day in and day out, he went wout with the intention to serve others. He saw a need and wanted to do something about it.

It’s easy to relate to Moses’ position. Early on I learnt the saying ‘if you want something done properly do it yourself’. Little by little I find myself committing to more and more, knowing that I’m capable to complete the task and understanding the need to ‘get the job done’. Like a frog in hot water, stress and tiredness build up and without realising it, I become more irritable and less focused on my physical and mental health. I keep on going, trying to balance all the pressure and quite often break. In a much needed wake-up call, Jethro exclaims ‘This is not good… you’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself’ (Exodus 18:17-18). It’s a message for the ages we would do well to heed.

Jethro’s words cut right through and paint the obvious.  Interestingly enough, it’s when we’re in these situations of high stress and constant service, that we’re least able to identify the negative impacts of our actions.  Jethro is keen to highlight to Moses that he isn’t going to only wear himself out, but the people too.  We’ve all been at work when our boss or a colleague is having a bad day.  Their decisions are less thought out and more focused on finding the quickest solution to a problem rather than a careful consideration of all options.  The mood is frosty and there’s a general sense of unease.  Likewise, we all know the times we’ve been short with a friend or loved one and they’ve been put off.  People generally get over it in the short term, putting it down to stress and fatigue in the moment, knowing we’ve all been there.  It’s different however when this happens over a prolonged period.  You start losing motivation and resent going to work and give up on your ideas being heard.  Your work ethic starts to slip and you start saying things like ‘why bother.’

Trusting Others to Share the Load

Jethro wasn’t critical of Moses wanting to help others or carry out God’s work. It was Moses trying to lead by himself that he was wanting to point out.

Jethro instructed Moses to continue in his work.  ‘You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives’ (Exodus 18:19-20).  But most importantly, Jethro counselled Moses to ‘select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.  They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves’ (Exodus 18:21-22). And that’s exactly what Moses did. The record says that ‘Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people.  He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty and ten.  These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes.  They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the small matters themselves’ (Exodus 18:24-26).

This marks a major change in the biblical story.  Until this point, God had mediated most of his interactions with humans through hierarchical structure with a select few prophets, namely Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.  It was through these prophets that God’s instructions and teachings had been passed onto his people.  Up until this point, the same process can be largely true for Moses, except for some initial negotiation between him and God at the burning bush where he pleased for someone else to be God’s messenger. Yahweh compromised by allowing Aaron to be Moses’ sidekick.  This passage represents a radical dispersal and distribution of power unprecedented to this point in the biblical narrative.  Despite Moses asserting the need for him to oversee the disputes to ‘inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions’ (Exodus 18:16), Jethro tells Moses that by teaching God’s decrees and instruction (Exodus 18:20), they will be able to share the load and sustain Moses’ welfare and that of the people.  Whilst Moses still maintained ultimate oversight, the people were given significant authority to learn, interpret and apply God’s decrees and instructions to resolve common, everyday matters and disputes.

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Biblical Leadership & Decentralised Power

This pattern of decentralised power, outlined in Exodus 18, is a key feature of spiritual leadership throughout the Jewish and Christian scriptures, particularly the latter.

This theme is particularly clear in Matthew 20:25-28, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.  But among you it will be different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

In Mark 6:6-7 ‘Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.  And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits.

In Luke 10:1 Jesus ‘chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.’

Whether these are different stories or a case of Luke redacting and altering Mark’s account, it is evident that Jesus delegated teaching authority, and in the case of Mark, the authority to cast out evil or unclean spirits in these cases.

In a similar way to Moses in Exodus 18, the Apostles allowed the people, through the seven men, to manage the disputes which arose from the distribution of food. This meant they could focus their time on important matters such as teaching the word of God and praying.

‘But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent.  The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.  So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers.  They said, ‘We apostles should spend our time teaching the world of God, not running a food program.  And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the spirit and wisdom.  We will give them this responsibility.  Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word’ (Acts 6:1-4 NLT).

In his essay Relinquishing Power: A Christian Minister’s Code of Ethics, Tim Ritter says ‘Paul acknowledged [this] constantly, putting himself forward as an example of a Christian minister who sought to lay down his clout as such… Indeed it was precisely this behavior of offering a worthy example of relinquishing power in a Christ-like way that was to be fundamental to the work of Christian Ministers (1Cor 4:16, 1Cor 11:1, Phil 3:17, Phil 4:9, 1Th 1:6, 2Th 3:7-9)’.

In what can be seen as a polemic to the power structures and leadership of their time, our society and churches today would do well to reflect on this call for servant leadership and the empowerment of other to bring about a radical leadership built on foundations of love, service and justice.

Lead With Others

Soon after Moses enacted this new system of leadership among the Israelites, ‘Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, who returned to his own land.’  Jethro’s quick visit results in a radical change to the structure of the Israelite society but also to the wellbeing of Moses and his people.  This chapter, and indeed the rest of the biblical text, shows that passion and dedication mixed with the courage to relinquish control, trust in others and distribute power leads to best outcomes and welfare of everyone.

These stories tells us that whenever we ‘see a need’, ‘doing something about it’ is stronger when it’s with others. God isn’t asking us to be heros, but a leaders that inspire and sustain.

In a world in desperate need of hope and justice, let the wise words of Jethro inspire you to lead in a way that empowers others whilst ensuring their welfare and yours at the same time.

See Also

• Almost Heretical – ‘Power’ Series
• What the Bible Says About the Name of Jesus
• Chapter and Verse

Recommended Reading

Note: To help cover the costs of running this website, links marked with an (*) contain affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your understanding and support – Nathan 🙂

• Relinquishing Power: A Christian Minister’s Code of Ethics – Tim Ritter
• * The Wrong Messiah – Nick Page
• * The Very Good Gospel – Lisa Sharon Harper