– Scripture:

                       You Can’t Do This By Yourself

The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.” Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases, they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.” Moses listened to the counsel of his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses picked competent men from all of Israel and set them as leaders over the people who were organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They took over the everyday work of judging among the people. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but in the routine cases, they were the judges. Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law who went home to his own country.

                             Exodus 18:13–27  MSG

 – Reflection:

It’s hard to top Jethro’s wisdom: you can’t do it alone. At this point in the narrative, Moses has been called by God to lead the people out of Egypt, confronted Pharoah, led the Hebrews through the Red Sea, and is now leading the people through the wilderness (navigating all the complaints and questions that come along with that). Of course, they’re surviving on Manna and water from rocks too. Are you exhausted just thinking about it? It’s no wonder Jethro recognizes that Moses has taken on too much.

Where do we go from here?

It’s important that we not just think about how we rest, but also about how we work. The Sabbath isn’t just about resting so that we can go back to work the next day. It’s not about recharging, just so we can go back to being drained. The Sabbath is about reframing how we live our lives. It invites us into a new understanding of our relationship to God and to the world. Part of that new understanding is that we do not have to do it alone.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, we give thanks that you call us to put down what is too heavy. We give thanks that You made us for the community to nurture and care for one another. We give you thanks for the wisdom and grace of rest. Amen.