When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said: what is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening? Jethro's question is the pastoral question of someone who sees a system harmful to everyone involved — Moses, the people waiting, and the quality of decisions being made under exhaustion. The why do you alone is the central question. Leadership that refuses to delegate implicitly claims that no one else can adequately perform what only the leader can do. Jethro's gentle confrontation is an act of love for Moses — the father-in-law who received a refugee is now counseling the man who leads a nation. Good advice from an outside perspective is still good advice.

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