The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 95

t~kes are possible. ·we inquire then what are the Divine conditions of e. life of trnc ministry? l. CHARACTER. The elements were laid down by Jethro as qualifications of the new judges. Certain that Moses p.lSSessed them. So must a.II who aim at usefulness (rnr. 21). 1. Ability. Strange that ability comes first; but so it must be. Piety with- out ability can adorn only obscurity. Service and responsibility demand the man of power. Ability may be natural; but is also to be acquired. Hence duty of hard work, especially in morning of life. 2. Piety. Ability is the engine of the soul, the fear of God the helm. Richard Cobden was wont to say:-" You have no security for a mnn who has no religious principle." Said his colonel to Hedley Vicars, offering him in 1862 the adjutancy of his regiment:-" Vicars, you are the man I ca.n best trust with responsi- bili tv." 3. Truth. 4. Disinterestedness. 11: ECONOMY, i.e., of force and of resource (vers. 17, 18). Remark :-1. That the most earnest are l-ikely to neglect it. It is not the hack but the thoroughbred tha.t needs to be held in. The energy of Moses led him into error. So earnestness kills itself with excess of work. 2. That there is neass-ity for economy. As with money, one must not spend 25s. a week, if one has only 20s.; so there is a limitation as to strength (of every kind), time, and opportunity. 3. That the economy is easy. The Christian workt:r should not attempt that which is above, beside, or beneath bis power or vocation. Nor all tha.t is on the kvel of his ability. 4. That the consequences will be abundant and nch. The result of division of labour in a factory; so with spiritual enter- prise, the effects will be the enrichment of the Church, and the largest service for the world. III. CoNcE~"TRATION. The more we withdraw effort from that which is not within our own province, the more must we accumulate and concentrate energy upon that which is.-R. Vers. 13-27.-Good counsel, well taken. I. ZEAL MAY OUTRUN DISCRETION, 1. Moses' ,strength was overtaxed., bis spirit needlessly burdened. 2. There was delay for the people with its vexation and loss. The most self-sacrificing love will not of itself make our methods the best and wisest. II. WHAT lS ~"EEDFUL FOR THE GIVING OF ADVICE. 1. Affectionate interest and care. The people's need and Moses' burden both weigh upon Jethro's spirit. 2. Wis- dom. A better way is clearly conceived, all the requirements of the case are grasped and met. 3. Honest plainness. 4. Piety. He asked Moses to take his advice only so far as God will command him. 111. WHAT IS NEEDFUL FOB PROFITING BY GOOD COUNSEL. 1. Readiness to listen. There is on Moses' part no proud resenting of a stranger's interference. The voice was heard as if it rose up within his own bosom. 2. Obedience to conviction. He not only heard and assented, he went and did it.-U. Vers. 13-26.-Jethro's advice. In censidering this passage it is desirable to form some distinct opinion as to the time of Jethro's visit to Moses. How comes this episode to be 'TT.entioned at all, and what is its point of attachment to the main course of the history? Evidently it would not have been inserted unless as explaining how these rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens, had first been appointed. 'fhe origin of this appointment is then seen to be traceable to Jethro's prudent and sagacious sugges- tions. It bas then to be further explained bow Jethro happens to be in the camp at all. And so we have another illustration of how things which seem utterly disconnected fron, one another yet have a very real connection. See Zipporah on the way from Midian to Egypt rebelling against the ordinance of the Lord; and then look_ on all this orderly and careful provision for the administration of justice through the tnbes of Israel. What connection should there be between these? Yet one leads to the other. As to the time of the visit, any exact determination is of course out of the question, but this much at least may be guessed that the visit was after the giving of the law. What if it La.ppened just about the time of Miriam's jealousy against Moses, and was in some measure the cause of it? (Num. xii.) Such a supposition too would better harmonise with the reference in ver. 16, when Moses represents himself as explaining the statutes 11f God and his laws. May we not almost say that if this chapter were inserted some- CH, XVIII. 13-2fi.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 99