Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:34-35

34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Moses mentions that Aholiab will also be a chief artificer with Bezaleel, to whom the Lord had given a separate set of skills to round out the rest of the tabernacle’s requirements. These two men would not only have the skill of the craft, but also the ability to train others to assist in the work.

This is another principle of the gospel being demonstrated: delegation. Just as Jethro showed Moses the wisdom in dividing his labors through multiple layers of trusted assistants, the work of building of this tabernacle needed to be distributed across many hands to be accomplished. Christ, himself, would call twelve disciples to share in his work. And even omnipotent God continues to distribute His work to all of us today.

By training other craftsmen and then instructing them, Aholiab and Bezaleel are engaging in both delegation and a shared vision. These two concepts literally give us access to a power beyond our own. Ordinarily, the accomplishments of a man would be limited by his own skill, strength, and the finite number of years in his life. This account in Exodus, however, shows that the work that one would have done can be turned into a vision, and if that a vision that is compelling enough, and can be shared with others, a delegated to different responsibilities, then it is virtually boundless in what it can accomplish.

One man’s work can be multiplied across many hands and even continue after he is gone. By this method, we can have road systems that sprawl over millions of miles, skyscrapers that reach thousands of feet into the air, and bridges that cross over one hundred miles. What is more, all the work of the gospel is the singular vision of God being dispersed through billions of men and women, throughout thousands of years, accomplishing immeasurable good, and even bringing about the reclamation of souls in all the world.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 31:6

6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;

Bezaleel is to be joined by Aholiab as well. Aholiab’s skills are not specified, but perhaps he was skilled in needlework and tailoring, so that he could take charge of the curtains and clothing for the priests.

This verse also states, “and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom,” suggesting that Bezaleel and Aholiab were not the sole artisans, but rather the chief craftsmen, with teams that they would lead in the construction of the tabernacle. And so, the work was delegated from God to Moses, to these to two men, and finally to a number of others. God’s work would percolate down and across until enough men had been called to accomplish the task.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 18:24-27

24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

Moses took Jethro’s counsel and chose men to be heads over different segments of the Israelite populace. We already learned that there were about 600,000 men who took part in the exodus, which would mean about 600,000 households. Assuming that a “ruler of ten” was a ruler of ten households, then there would have had to be 60,000 lowest-level rulers, 12,000 of the second-to-lowest, 6,000 of the second-to-highest, 600 of the highest, and then Moses, himself. In all, 78,600 judges to preside over the body of approximately 2 million.

Of course, every tier of judge would have had quite a burden of responsibility. Presiding over just ten households can certainly be a highly demanding task all by itself, depending on the nature of those families, while presiding over a larger population would open one up to a larger swath of issues, though also provide a buffer in the lower judges.

And let us take note that these rulers who were chosen were already of high merit, and none of them had sought for the station, because it hadn’t existed yet. They had already proved themselves worthy, just in the natural course of their lives. They had not pursued this office by a lust for status, power, or vanity. It is an oft-observed paradox that those who seek positions of power are often the least worthy of holding it, whereas those who never sought it often become the greatest leaders.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 18:21-23

21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

Jethro had already established that Moses should remain as a teacher and a prophet to the people, but now, instead of Moses hearing every single issue that came up among the people, he should delegate that responsibility to other leaders. Jethro even describes a tiered delegation, so that there would be multiple levels of judges and high judges and higher judges, meaning that this system could scale indefinitely. Up at the very top of the hierarchy would be Moses, still available to handle the greatest judgments, while all the others would be handled by the lower tiers.

A key element to this, however, would be that the judges would have to be absolutely upstanding and righteous individuals. They had to be trusted to make right judgments more than wrong, and be personally incorruptible.

One has to wonder whether the idea of tiered delegation was entirely new to Moses. He had been raised in mighty Egypt, had the Pharaoh not maintained power through some system of chiefs or captains? We know that a Pharaoh many generations ago had delegated management of the grain to Joseph, so it couldn’t have been entirely without precedent. Perhaps the hierarchical delegation had been seen before, but wasn’t so formally defined before this point. Or perhaps it had already existed in exactly the same form that Jethro described, but Moses hadn’t considered that it might apply to spiritual leadership as well as to matters of state.

And surely there is a difference between spiritual leadership and matters of state, and Jethro shows that he appreciates this distinction when gives all due humility in verse 23. He has given this advice as an option for Moses going forward, but he then defers to the almighty when he says, “if thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so.” Ultimately, the Lord would have the final say on how His people were to be governed. If Jethro’s advice appeared wise, but God said no, then of course it should not be enacted. Apparently, though, God agreed with Jethro’s counsel. Indeed, this conversation between Jethro and Moses was probably all according to divine design. Many times the wisdom of the Lord is communicated to us through different people.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 4:16

16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

This verse gives one of the clearest examples of divine investiture and delegation. I’ll work through it backwards. Moses was told that he is to be to Aaron in the place of God. This wasn’t to say that Moses was God. This wasn’t even to say that he would be infallible, we know that he still made mistakes, such as when he struck the rock at Horeb. But from now on, God was going to speak to Aaron through Moses, so if Aaron wanted to have a full relationship with God, he was going to have to heed Moses.

The role that Moses was being called to fill was both old and new. Long before Moses there had been the patriarchs who stood as representatives of God to their sons. Now, though, the Israelites were a multitude of separate family units. They could not literally all have the same father, but they still needed a divine father figure. Moses is the first person we hear of that was chosen to fill this position. He was called to be a presiding prophet. Yes, every Israelite was still going to be commanded to seek the Lord on a personal basis, but that relationship was going to be cultivated, in large part, by following the directions of Moses.

And this is perfectly appropriate. Obviously, God is entitled to set whatever terms He chooses for how we will receive His light, and for the Israelites He had decided that a significant portion of that light would be channeled through Moses.

But just as God was going to be represented in the figure of Moses, parts of Moses would be represented in others. God would direct Moses in what to do and say, and Moses would delegate that “saying” part to Aaron. This idea would be further expanded on when Moses, at the suggestion of Jethro, delegated the judging of the multitude to a hierarchy of worthy men.

So, taking these two principles as a whole, the presiding prophet was specially selected to represent God by directing the affairs of the covenant people. That prophet was able to spread that responsibility out to others, and thus an entire body of people could become responsible for executing the will of God on the Earth. This was a new system of society and government, a gift of structure and procedure from God. Presumably we had not heard of this system previously among the Abrahamic nation because they had not yet been large enough to require it. Now that the system had been introduced, though, it would persist throughout much of the Biblical record.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Personal Promises- Exodus 18:17-18, 21-22; Matthew 21:33-35

And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

COMMENTARY

And place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens
One of mankind’s most ingenious inventions is that of delegation. Many rulers have expressed a desire to maintain direct interaction with those that they are responsible for, but this becomes a literal impossibility once the populace grows too large. Eventually there simply are not enough hours in a day to maintain guidance for every individual.
Moses faced this exact dilemma as he sat in judgment over the people of Israel. He was instructed to put in place a hierarchy of judges, worthy individuals who could mediate over all the smaller disputes and only bring to Moses the particularly difficult cases.
This solution was both beneficial to Moses and also to the people. Everyone could receive mediation, and ideally it would be as if from the hands of Moses himself.

There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard…and let it out to husbandmen…and the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
“Ideally” was the key word there. Because while delegation has its benefits, it does also have its drawbacks. It is inevitable that at some point a steward will make a different judgment than the leader would have. Some stewards will be more capable than others, while others will be misguided. And, as in the extreme case of Jesus’s parable, some stewards might even be wholly corrupted.
In short, delegation will eventually lead to outcomes that stray from the wishes of the ruler, even in extreme ways. It is still the method by which God’s imperfect, mortal, time-constrained servants try their best to care for His flock; but it simply has to be coupled with something that is more guaranteed.