In Numbers 11, Moses is exhausted. The people are complaining, and God doesn't seem all that patient. The burden is too heavy for Moses, and he realizes he cannot carry it alone. So, God tells him to gather seventy elders to help. The Lord then takes some of the Spirit resting on Moses and places it on them.
Suddenly, they begin to prophesy.
Then something happens. Or it doesn't. Some translations say they “did not do so again.” Others say they “did not cease.” You can tell what a difference that is. Apparently, the Hebrew phrase is ambiguous, and interpreters continue to debate it.
Did the prophetic moment happen once as a sign of God’s calling? Or did the Spirit continue moving through them afterward? That's the same question we wrestle with regarding the signs and wonders that accompanied the early days of the church.
What if, though, the uncertainty is part of the gift?
Discerning the movement of the Spirit is rarely neat and controllable. Some people are at the tent where everyone expects God to move. But others are like the two men out in the camp, unexpectedly carrying the fire of God as well. Joshua wants to shut it down, but Moses declares, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets.”
In the Bible, the word “prophesy” often means speaking under the influence of God’s Spirit. In so doing, one declares truth, wisdom, praise, discernment, or Spirit-filled leadership. In Numbers 11, the Spirit enabled these elders to help carry the burden.
And can I tell you that the church today needs people in the tent and people in the camp. To move forward faithfully, it takes a community willing to listen together for the voice of the Spirit still speaking even in unexpected places.
Stay blessed...john
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