In these verses we are given a powerfully symbolic image: that of Moses, hands outstretched (prefiguring the image of a cross), intermediating on behalf of his people to God above. Moses's gesture, hands apart and raised, therefore is extremely ancient, and still used today to express our reverence and adoration of God, to pray, to worship Him.
I found it quite interesting in Exodus 18 how Jethro basically laid out a complete political structure for the people of Israel. Again, we see a progressive, slow-and-steady shift from a tribal, nomadic people to a hierarchical, law-abiding (of course not always), ordered people. And this gradual shift is taking place just as the people's understanding of God is likewise progressing. Jethro lays out a political, social structure that we still see today: the national-regional-local system of control. He therefore makes it possible for Moses to concentrate on more pressing issues, to focus on the laws of God and administering them to the people; while lesser disputes and concerns can be handled by the appropriate magistrate. It's a system that may seem so simple and obvious to us, but someone had to think of it for the first time. From here on out the social structure of the people of Israel will be much more complex; and yet the revelations from God will likewise begin to grow in complexity. The age of the Prophets is not too far off.
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