¹⁹ Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to liveand how they are to behave. ²¹ But select capable menfrom all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. ²³ If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²⁶ They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

From this scripture one of our Founding Fathers, Noah Webster proclaimed:

“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. It is alleged by men of loose principles or defective views of the subject that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the scriptures teach a different doctrine.

Rulers must be men “who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” It is to the neglect of this rule of conduct in our citizens that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breaches of trust, peculations (that is white collar larceny) and embezzlements of public property which astonish even ourselves, which tarnish the character of our country, which disgrace a republican government.”  – Noah Webster