(Deuteronomy 1:9-18) Leaders & The Governing Law
In a comment on Numbers Chapter 1, several signs were given regarding the birthing of the Jewish nation. Electing leaders and the giving of the law were two of the signs noted.
Earlier in the Torah, it appears that Moshe elects elders at the behest of his father-in-law, Jethro, alone. However, scripture always cuts scripture to help us learn the workings of Hashem and His order. Here in Deuteronomy, we learn that Moshe meets with Hashem and tells Hashem that he cannot bear the burden of the entirety of the Israelites on his own, since Hashem had kept His promise and made us more numerous than the stars of the sky.
Here, we learn that Hashem commands Moshe to choose elders to be leaders over the Jewish people to help him govern the people. These leaders were charged with being magistrates who would "hear out (their) fellow men and decide…
