Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them—they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent—and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place his Spirit on them!” (11:26-29)
What a prophetic word from Moses! The bible says that Moses was the most humble man who ever lived, and this is just one of many times when he demonstrated that. He was at his wit’s end with the complaining of the people and he had come to the end of himself and his ability to meet everyone’s need. Even with God’s help, he was just one man, and so the Lord gave him 70 elders to help with the task of leading the people. They were touched by the Spirit of God in a unique way and began to prophesy showing that they too had the Spirit of God like Moses.
When it got out to the rest of the camp, Joshua was offended for Moses. “You are the rightful leader and you are in charge… stop them from prophesying.” The ever-humble Moses was not offended for at least two reasons. One was that he really needed help and I believe he was glad to share some of the burden of leadership with others who had been chosen by the Lord. A leader who has to have all of the power and authority is not a good leader and will let his people down in the end. A second reason, though, is that Moses knew this was from God and he understood that God always knew best. Moses rarely questioned the decisions that God made and knew that he served at God’s pleasure and for His glory.
Yet, the words are so powerful in that last verse. “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place his Spirit on them!” That day certainly came at Pentecost and it was a day when the Spirit of God was on the people of God in a new way for a new purpose. Now, all who are children of God have His Spirit, and while we might not all be prophets we should all definitely be priests. Each believer has a responsibility to serve God, to share His gospel, and to teach His word to those who respond in faith. Sadly, while genuine Christians have the Holy Spirit, all do not allow the Spirit to work through them as they should. There is no room for lone rangers and there is no room for jealousy in the Kingdom; we need all hands on deck, filled with the Spirit and doing their part.
