Monday 20 May 2013
- Bible Book:
- Numbers
"Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’" (vv. 26-29)
Background
There were 70 chosen ones selected by Moses.They were carefully stationed near to the sacred tent of meeting.The Spirit of God descended on the seventy and they received thegift to 'prophesy' to speak God's message to the rest of thecommunity.
Then 'horror of horrors' the Spirit of Goddescends beyond the boundary of the sacred tent and beyond theboundary of the seventy chosen ones. Two outsiders, not of thechosen seventy, receive the gift of prophecy. Someone was bound toobject! And someone did! Moses, in his wisdom, forbids anyinterference and welcomes the new factor, 'If only all of theLord's people were prophets and received the Spirit'.
To Ponder
- The surprise tactics of the Holy Spirit have a habit ofre-emerging throughout biblical and Church history.
- The first Jewish Christians had to cope with the Spiritdescending on outsiders - on those who were not the chosen ones -the Gentile believers.
- At different times in history the established Church of the dayhad to cope with the surprise tactics of the Spirit - Franciscans,Quakers, Methodists and Salvationists.
- Where do we see the surprise tactics of the Holy Spirittoday?