The Spirit of Prophecy

A message from Numbers 11 by Phil Rogers 13/04/08

To listen to Phil's message click here mp3

Read Numbers 11:1-29

One April, about 3500 yrs ago, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. They arrived at Sinai in June and stayed there about ten months. Moses went up onto the mountain which was covered with glory for six days. It was the fiftieth day after the Passover (Pentecost) when God gave Moses the law and he spent forty days on the mountain writing down all the many instructions we now have in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. When he came down with the Law, he found the Israelites worshipping a Golden calf they had made. Moses was so angry he smashed the stone slabs and eventually went back up the mountain for a further forty days. On his return they began to construct the Tabernacle and months later this was completed and consecrated. Aaron and his sons were set apart as priests just two weeks before they celebrated their first Passover after having left Egypt. In mid April Moses ordered the numbering of all the people and when this was fiinished the pillar of cloud moved from the Tabernacle, so they broke camp and all set out for the Promised Land. Only three days out and they complain, as we have read, so God sent fire down to punish them at Taberah. Again the people complain about having nothing to eat except the same tedious manna every day for the past ten months! They wanted meat to eat. This is where we pick up our story today. Moses is getting a bit fed up of leading this moaning groaning people. So God tells him to bring 70 of the tribal elders, all the recognised leaders amongst the people to the tent of meeting. God said he would take some of the Spirit that was on Mosesand put him on these seventy elders so that from then on they would be equipped to ‘carry the burden of the people’ along with Moses so that he would not have to bear it alone. So Moses called together seventy of their elders and got them to stand all around the Tent. The pillar of cloud came right down upon the Tent and the Lord spoke with Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them they were full of the Holy Spirit and all prophesied, We are told they did not do this again, this was their one and only prophetic experience.

Now two of the registered elders, Eldad and Medad, for some reason had not gone up to the Tent with the other elders. They were still down on the campsite. When the Spirit came upon the seventy elders at the Tent of Meeting he also came upon these men too, down in the camp and they prophesied. A young man who saw what was happening ran and told Moses. “Eldad and Medad are prophesying down on the campsite!”

Now here we meet Joshua a second time. “Joshua son of Num who had been Moses assistant since his youth” This translation can’t be right. Moses fled Egypt just about the time Joshua was being born and had not been anywhere near Egypt while Joshua was growing up or through his youth. Now Joshua was 40 years old. So NKJ says ‘one of his young men’. Greek translations say ‘the chosen one’. Joshua was one of the younger men who has so impressed Moses that he made him his chosen servant, personal assistant to help the older man Moses. So when a report comes about Eldad and Medad prophesying down in the camp, Joshua speaks up. “Moses, my Lord, stop them!” Why stop them? Why should they not prophesy down on the campsite? There was something in Joshua’s thinking and in his attitude that wasn’t quite right. He was shocked that these two men should prophesy in such an ordinary place as the campsite. It was OK to prophesy at the holy Tent of Meeting, where Moses spoke to God face to face. Joshua loved to hang out there, to catch the air of God’s presence. He was almost certainly one of the seventy elders upon whom the Spirit, and he too had prophesied. But why should he begrudge these two elders Eldad and Medad such an experience? Why should he want Moses to stop them? Did he hold Moses in too high a regard? After all Moses had done some pretty remarkable miracles and, as Dave shared last week, his shepherd staff had been used with devastatingly effect to demonstrate the power of God. But this forty year old younger leader had some more lessons to learn and Moses is going to teach him one right now.

“Are you jealous for my sake?” Moses replied, “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” Listen to the heart of this eighty year old leader - What it is to me? What have I got to lose? “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the LORD’S people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” It is great to be a leader and have the Spirit resting upon you and empowering you, but Moses was not interested in reputation or power or being THE leader. He had been a reluctant conscript; he was God’s servant, but also his friend, he spoke to God face to face like a man speaks to his friend. But Moses was not overawed or overimpressed with this or himself.

“Joshua, personal assistant to Mighty Moses”, Was that Joshua's problem? Leadership is no big deal, who wants the responsibility for all these people? For Moses ‘They need me to tell them what God says, but then they don’t listen,or take it in!’. It would be so much better if the Lord put his Spirit on each one then they could hear from God for themselves and not through a mediator.

There is no place for pride or posturing when we serve God, no place for propriety and jealousy. God is God and he does whatever he wants with whomever he wants. Serving God is for the humble and is humbling. Being totally dependant on God, ready to obey his every command.

But see how Moses expresses a deep longing for ‘all the Lord’s people’. “Oh that ALL the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them.” This was more than a deep desire of Moses’ heart. This was the very desire of God himself. Not just his desire but his intention, his plan. Hundreds of years later he promises a time when he would pour out his Spirit on all humankind, then sons and daughters will prophecy, old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions, God will even pour out his Spirit on the servants, upon every kind of people. It would be for ALL not just a few. And this we know was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. God's desrie was that every one of his children would know and speak to him face to face 'as a bloke speaks to his mate'.

All the Lord’s people, his childen, can receive the Spirit and when the Spirit is poured out upon them they will PROPHECY and have other manifestations of the Spirit such as dreams and visions. These elders received the Spirit and prophesied but only the once. We can do it as often as we are open to the Lord. So Moses longing has been fulfilled. God has fulfilled his desire and his promise. But do we share the same desires as Moses and the Lord? Do we earnestly desire the things of the Spirit especially that we might prophesy? If we don’t we are disregarding an important biblical instruction (see 1 Cor 14:1)

But where should we prophesy? In the ‘tent of meeting’ yes. But also down in the campsite or market-place. Prophecy is a tool God gives us to speak his word into all kinds of different situations. It is a sign of his presence and his power. (cf Jesus and the woman at the well) Church is the place where we can learn to prophesy but that is not where we are only meant to speak God's word. Are we like Moses was here or like he was earlier at the burning bush? “Here I am, Lord, send someone else! I get tongue tied!” Let us 'earnestly desire to prophesy, not just in meetings but in all the many situations God puts us where people need to hear the word of God. Let's us go on being filled with the Spirit so we can prophesy in the camp and not just in church.