They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. The structure functions exactly as Jethro designed: distributed justice for ordinary disputes, escalation for complex ones. The phrase at all times means the system operates continuously — not just when Moses is available, not just during formal sessions, but whenever a dispute arises. Deuteronomy 1:16–17 records Moses' instruction to the judges: hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly. The at all times availability of justice is one of the marks of a covenant community ordered around God's requirements. Where justice is available only when the most prominent leader is present, it is effectively unavailable to most people most of the time.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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