Deuteronomy 1:9-18 – Collaborate with God

In the covenant God had with Abraham, He promised the patriarch a land. He also promised to multiply his descendants till they would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. God had indeed kept His word. The children of Abraham grew so massively that they had become a force that would require skill and wisdom to manage. Moses of course was pleased that God had blessed them so much and he wished for a greater number to be added to them. And it happened as he had so wished that he soon found the load of bearing their care and burden too demanding. But this was a blessed problem and with wisdom, it was handled.

Wisdom for Moses came in the form of the counsel of Jethro, his father-in-law who visited him earlier. In that visit, Jethro saw how Moses was wearing himself out dealing with the needs of the people from morning to night.  It was then that he advised Moses to appoint leaders with the ability to help him to handle the needs of the people. He was to assign leaders according to their capacity to handle groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Moses proposed the plan which the people concurred and adopted. So they raised the wise and experienced leaders and Moses appointed them according to their capabilities.

Apparently, Moses had judges to handle the disputes of the people. In verses 16-18, he gave instructions that they handle those issues. Their judgment must be in sync with the character of God - fair and judicious. They were expected to be impartial. Whether judging people of status or not, Jews or foreigners, their dispute was to be fairly adjudicated. Only in cases beyond their capacity when they found them difficult to handle, then they should refer to Moses.

Four things stand out. Firstly, we learn that God always makes good His promise. In our own life when God’s promise seems long coming, we must remain faithful to Him,  fully trusting that He will never fail us. Secondly, we need to realize that the work of God is not just the work of the leader alone. All of us have a part to play. Moses recognized that, so he created a shared leadership. None of us should be content just being a spectator. Every one of us must be ready to roll up our sleeves to enter the fray. Thirdly, like the judges who were charged to deal judiciously, we must also seek to be fair in our evaluation of all matters. None of us is perfect like God, but we seek to do our best to be impartial. Fourthly, we must always take need to verse 17 where Moses said, “…You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s.” The Bible tells us that the fear of man brings a snare. In all that we do, be motivated by the fear of God, not by the fear of man. For the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom!