Mediators – People of Excellence – Yitro

I was talking to my sister recently who told me that she was thinking about taking a job in mediation. She was describing the wonderful service of mediation to the community as it allows people to settle disputes peacefully without having to go to court and stand before a judge. Mediation is a win-win opportunity because it allows people to handle their disagreements in a civil and relational manner and at the same time takes the load off of the judicial system. It also saves both parties from spending needless funds on lawyers and court fees. Mediation is not only a good and practical idea, it is also a biblical principle and we read about this very subject of appointing mediators in this week’s Torah Portion.

A Visit from Yitro – Jethro

Within the first couple of months of the Israelites being set free from Egypt, Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses who is also known as Jethro in English, came to the Israelite camp and brought Moses’ wife and their two sons with him in order to reunite them as a family. Moses greeted his father-in-law with traditional Middle Eastern respect and a kiss (Ex. 18:7) and then the two of them had a long talk about all of the wonderful things that God had done for His people (Ex. 18:1-12).

After all of the formal greetings, talks, and sharing of a lavish meal together, Moses went back to work the following day and Yitro witnessed the new manner in which Moses was serving and leading the people:

It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” – Ex. 18:13-16

Yitro challenged Moses regarding his method of judging the people and Moses responded by trying to justify why he needed to stand between the people and God as a type of mediator.

Yitro’s Wise Counsel

The LORD made His appointment of Moses as the leader of the Israelites crystal clear through the great signs and wonders that God performed through him in Egypt and beyond. Although Yitro understood this reality, he also knew that it was unsustainable for the people to only go to one person for gaining God’s judgments in various matters. Yitro directly confronted the core problem and suggested a viable solution:

Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.” – Ex. 18:17-20

Yitro was a man of experience and wisdom and he saw clearly that the system which Moses had setup would only end in the exhaustion of both Moses and the people. He told Moses that he should continue as God’s representative before the people but that he also needed to teach God’s ways to others and have them share the burden.

Yitro was the priest of Midian and he more than likely had some experience in leading the people under his care and delegating responsibilities. He knew Moses could not shoulder this burden of all of the people alone and he continued to give Moses specifics about how to properly discharge this responsibility:

Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace. – Ex. 18:20-23

Yitro provided Moses with a roadmap to peace for himself and the people by instructing him to appoint leaders for the people to handle the minor disputes among themselves and to only bring the difficult disputes to Moses.

Choosing Able Men

Included in the specifics that Yitro gave for choosing leaders, Yitro instructed Moses to choose “able men.” This phrase “able men” is much deeper in meaning than meets the eye. In Hebrew, this phrase is “אנשי חיל” – “Anashei Hayil,” which is literally translated “people of excellence,” however, it is hard to translate the Hebrew word “חיל” – “Hayil” into just one word in the English language, translated here as “excellence.”

For those of you who have been through a Sabbath Experience with me you will remember this word “חיל” – “Hayil” as it is the same word used in Proverbs 31:10: “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.” The word excellent used in this verse is also the word Hayil but as I always explain on Friday evenings, it means so much more than simply excellence! The word “חיל” – “Hayil” literally means a soldier, an army, success, excellence, wealth, strength, and ability. All of this meaning is wrapped up in this little word in Hebrew that carries such a powerful force.

When Yitro told Moses to choose “able men” he was instructing Moses to look out for those whose character stood above the average person, they were to be “אנשי חיל” – “Anashei Hayil” – “people of excellence.” Yitro even went on to explain what it means to be people of excellence: they were to be people “who fear God, people of truth, those who hate dishonest gain;” (Ex. 18:21). When choosing people out of a community to bring forth judgments which are just and fair, you must have people who fear God, people of truth, and people who won’t take bribes. This is the type of person whom Yitro instructed Moses to choose to help judge the people.

Present Day “אנשי חיל” – “Anashei Hayil”

In general, we should all seek to be people of excellence: people who fear God, people of the truth, and a people who hate bribes. At the same time, we all know that there will be a variety of people in the community in which we find ourselves and there are always disputes which arise among us. When there are people there are problems and we need to do our best to resolve the problems in our midst. Yeshua Himself taught on this subject of doing our best to settle disputes before going to court (Luke 12:57-59).

We also read in the New Testament clear teaching about how to handle disputes among us and how we need to do our best to settle these misunderstandings between us:

Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. – 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

This is a harsh rebuke by the apostle Paul to the believers in Yeshua at Corinth in the first century. Without getting into the details, Paul was rebuking them for not establishing mediators in the believing community to settle disputes.

Striving to be People of Excellence

It is a fundamental principle as believers in the God of the Bible and in Yeshua the Messiah that we have active mediators amongst us to help bring peace between us. We should all strive to be “אנשי חיל” – “Anashei Hayil” – “people of excellence” and at the least, we need to acknowledge those who are “wise” among us and appoint them as mediators in our midst to help bring peace between brothers and sisters in the Messiah.

Let the peace of Messiah rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Messiah richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. – Colossians 3:15-17

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Ex. 18:1 – Ex. 20:26 (Ex. 20:23 in Hebrew)

Haftara: Isaiah 6:1 – Isaiah 7:6. Isaiah 9:6-7 (Isaiah 9:5-6 in Hebrew)

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