Bright ideas come from all sorts of places. When facing a problem I often need to branch outside my regular circles of influence to find a fresh solution. It serves me to read broadly, to listen to people I don’t know, and to not discount a solution just because it sounds unusual. Did you know epsom salts can help break up an old tree stump? I learned of this yesterday and will give it a try come spring. I had no idea…

Moses faced a daunting challenge, serving as the judge and jury over the entire nation of Israel. With a population of well over a million people, plenty of disputes landed in his lap. The people stood before him from morning to evening. Can you imagine a worse way to spend your day, listening to the arguments of angry people, many over petty issues of neighbors and family members?

Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, rescued Moses with a brilliant idea. He sat Moses down and gave him this advice: Look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

This proposal spread the responsibility for adjudicating disputes among hundreds of trustworthy and capable leaders. It lightened Moses’s load, and initiated the chosen arbiters into a new level of authority. Israel, a collection of tribal families fresh from slavery, needed to quickly grow into a self-sustaining nation. Appointing this set of judges helped develop a leadership base where none existed before.

Jethro was not a Hebrew. As an outsider he brought a fresh perspective to the problem. His wisdom saved Moses days of mind-numbing tedium, and as a bonus the people got their disputes solved quicker. Jethro’s discerning counsel benefited the entire nation, and I’m reminded that good ideas are good ideas, regardless of where they come from.

Exodus 18:21-22

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