Why Jethro? The Wisdom of What God Doesn't Say

I found this intriguing as a lesson in spirituality and leadership, with perhaps additional implications in missiology.  From John Bloom:

God gave very detailed instructions to Moses regarding the construction of the tabernacle and the keeping of the law. So isn’t it interesting that God didn’t tell Moses how to perform his role as judge in Israel?

Instead he allowed Moses to struggle with an overbearing workload for awhile and then sent Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law and priest of Midian (a pagan priest?), to give him counsel. In Exodus 18, Jethro observes Moses’ administrative approach to judgment and then gives sage advice on delegation. The outcome was a much more effective and efficient way of serving the people.

Why didn’t God just tell Moses that from the beginning? Why Jethro? I think one very important reason is that God speaks with clarity and preciseness everything that is required to make his people holy throughout the generations—every promise to be trusted and every commandment to be obeyed. But outside of that, he leaves much to our figuring out. And when he guides, it’s usually indirectly.

The vast majority of our methods or systems are not to be considered sacred. God does not intend for every church, denomination, or organization to structure by thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, which is what we would do if we thought this was God’s official way of organizing people.

I love the Bible. God is so wise. He is as intentional in what he does not say, as he is in what he does say.

So in our prayers for strategic and administrative wisdom, we should expect God to send us Jethros and not some special revelation.