Exodus 18:19-22 “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. (20) And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. (21) Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (22) And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.”
The context of the above passage of scripture is that Moses was trying to govern the children of Israel on his own and he was obviously not coping. Jethro, the priest of Midian, was Moses’ father-in-law and had watched him wear himself out by the way he was governing the nation, and so he gave Moses counsel on just how he should do it. Obviously Jethro’s counsel was from the Lord, and when Moses implemented his father-in-law’s counsel things became a lot easier. Clearly this example is given to us in scripture as a type of government structure. But the main point that I want to highlight from this passage are the qualities that God deems necessary that an individual should have, in order for them to be able to govern effectively. The qualities listed are, able men that fear God, men of truth and men that hate covetousness. Clearly, authorities that display these qualities will receive blessing from God, for these are the qualities that He has ordained. When God refers to an able man He is referring to their competency. In other words, one who is placed in a position of authority must be able to competently perform the tasks required of the position they occupy. A competent governor will more often than not make the correct decisions that will prove to be beneficial to the societies which they oversee. Too many times people are placed in governmental positions that are completely unqualified for the position, and invariably it leads to disastrous outcomes as a result of uninformed decisions being made by those individuals. When God refers to a man of truth, He is simply referring to the integrity of the individual. In other words, God requires that individuals who hold positions of authority govern honestly and without partiality, upholding the principle of equal treatment for all people and will not allow themselves to be pressured into violating those principles. When dishonest people are placed in positions of authority however, invariably there will be certain parts of society that will be benefitted at the expense of others, as the dishonest governors begin to display partiality in the decisions that they make. When God refers to a man hating covetousness He is referring to the individuals’ rejection of any form of bribery. Wicked rulers on the other hand love bribes and are always willing to accommodate the highest bidder. And then finally, when God refers to a man that fears Him, He is referring to the man that recognises that he is ultimately accountable to God for the way in which he governs those whom God has placed under his authority. These men will always seek to govern in a manner that pleases God. Wicked rulers on the other hand have no fear of God for He is in none of their thoughts, and their viewpoint is that they will never be held to account for their actions. These men will always seek to govern in a manner that pleases themselves.
Michael E.B. Maher
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