Establishing The Five-Fold Government

It is quite useful for us to go back to the Old Covenant in order to extract some of the eternal principles pertaining to ministry. The Old Testament is our schoolmaster; if you are a New Testament minister, you must only refer to it as a schoolmaster. It contains examples, shadows and types. God allowed the actual events of the Old Covenant to be used as an illustration of the spirituality that was to come in the New Covenant. The principles of God never change. When God says, “I change not”, that means His principles change not. We will start the lesson with Jethro’s advice to Moses concerning the people of God. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law; he was a Midianite.

Exodus 18:13-26

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?

15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.

25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

There were 675,000 men (not counting women and children), that Moses sat down to judge. Jethro saw that there were people standing and waiting for Moses to hear their case from early in the morning until late in the evening. They were all waiting to have one man settle their disputes and whatever else was going on between them. This is a foundational principle. God will send His people to the person He gives His Word to and to whomever He wants them to speak to. That is why some of you are either here or are reading this today; God sent you to inquire of Him. Leaders are to present the mind of God to the people; not their mind or opinions. A leader is to tell them what God says about a matter.

These are eternal principles. If you are going to remain in the service of God, you must always point the people to God. Never point the people to you. This is what has caused much chaos in the Body of Christ. “Moreover thou shall provide out of all the people able men such as fear God.” “Able men such as fear God, men of truth hating covetousness.” This is important if you are going to work for God. Being covetous means that someone has something you want. If you are going to work for God you cannot want anything from His people. There’s no way God is going to ordain and approve you in His ministry if you want something from His people. Covetousness will stop your anointing. Hating covetousness will always keep us free to minister the truth. There’s nothing pure about us when we want something from God’s people. This doctrine of wantonness is real. You cannot serve God and want. “Thou shalt not want”. “And place such over the people to be rulers of thousands and rulers of hundreds and rulers of fifties and rulers of tens.” Choose people who can be under-shepherds under you and can help you.

“And let them judge the people at all seasons and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee but every small matter they shall judge.” Have you ever been in a situation where you did not know what to tell a person? Before you tell them the wrong thing, talk with someone else. Go to the leader, because people live by the words that come out of our mouths. Just because we are leaders does not mean that we know the answer to everything. So before you try to do things on your own, be sure to consult with leaders that understand.

Remember, this account is relative to the fact that Moses was trying to counsel over 600,000 men and their families. Jethro’s primary concern was for the physical well being of Moses and the people. He insisted that the task was too great for one man to handle. The same is true today. The task of leading and counseling the people of God is too much and too diversified for one person to handle. However, I want us to note the foundational counsel he gave Moses:

1. Be thou for the people Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God. • In other Words, always point the people of God to their God • Allow the Lord to judge their causes or cases.
2. And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws: • Teach the people the Word of God. Keep it forever before them.
3. Show them the way wherein they must walk:

• Teach them how to walk in the righteousness of God.

1. Show them the work they must do for the Lord. These must be the attributes of the chief overseers of the people of God. They must have a mind to operate within the boundaries of the Word of God; never pointing the people to themselves. They must be willing to walk in the righteousness of God; they must be living examples of that righteousness. Jethro instructed Moses how to choose those who would help in ministering to the people.
2. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them. Notice the character of those who are to assist Moses.
3. Able: spiritually fit for service.
4. Fear God: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
5. Men of Truth: they must love and respect the Word of God.
6. Not covetous: must want nothing, having no private agenda.

The responsibility of leadership is to disciple the people by tearing down every high thing, every evil imagination, and every thought that exalts itself above the knowledge of God. That is discipleship and love. You have to take time with people in order to develop them. This must be the character of those who purpose to serve in the Kingdom of God today.

1. yourself, but God has placed them as your leader.