If Only All God’s People Were Prophets—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost Sunday, Year A (Numbers 11)

Numbers 11:24-30 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and placed them all around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders, and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

²⁶ 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, so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” ²⁹ 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!” ³⁰ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

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                Prophets were active in Ancient Israel/Judah. They included figures like Jeremiah, Elijah, Amos, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. For the most part, they didn’t predict the future. Rather they delivered a word from God to various people and communities. Generally, even on their best days, they tended to tell the people things they didn’t want to hear. No one wants to hear that God is displeased with one’s behavior. Nevertheless, prophets make regular appearances in the Biblical Story. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God fell upon the gathered community, leading them to begin proclaiming the good news of Jesus in languages they did not know. Peter would then interpret this expression of the Spirit through the lens of the prophet Joel. According to Joel,

¹⁷ ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
        and they shall prophesy.

Yes, in the last days (the Day of the Lord), God will pour out God’s spirit on all flesh leading the sons and daughters to prophesy. Yes, the young men will see visions and the old men will dream. Even the slaves will receive the Spirit and begin to prophesy. In other words, they proclaim the good news because the Spirit has given them utterance.

                The Revised Common Lectionary gives preachers and teachers two choices for the First Reading on Pentecost Sunday. There is the foundational reading from Acts 2. I’ve commented on this passage in the past. The second option comes from the Book of Numbers, chapter 11. In this reading, Moses has gathered seventy elders together at the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) so God can speak to them. God tells Moses that God will take some of the Spirit that is on Moses and the seventy elders, so they will be empowered to assist Moses in his work of leadership as the community crosses Sinai toward the Promised Land (Num.11:10-23). Moses was a bit reluctant to do this, but as we see in Numbers 11:24, “Moses went out and reported the words of the LORD to the people. He gathered seventy of the people’s elders and stationed them around the tent” (Num. 11:24 Tanakh). As the Elders gathered, Yahweh (LORD) came down amongst the people and spoke from a cloud to Moses and the people. In the biblical story, God often speaks from a cloud. We hear the voice of God but don’t see God’s person.

                As God promised Moses, God took some of the spirit that rested on Moses and put the spirit on the seventy elders. As they received the Spirit, they began to prophesy. The Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society), renders prophecy here as “spoke in ecstasy” (Num. 11:25). But this act of prophesying appears to be a one-time event, as we’re told that after they began to prophesy, they didn’t continue.

                There are parallels here to the events of Pentecost. In both cases, the Spirit fell on the people, and they responded with words that we might call prophetic. It’s important to remember that prophecy can involve proclaiming God’s Spirit-inspired message. In both cases, a significant number of people were filled with the Spirit and responded with words of thanksgiving for what God was doing in their midst.  The circumstances are different. On the Day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus had been gathered in the Upper Room waiting for the Spirit to come and empower them to proclaim the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. In Numbers 11, Moses needs Spirit-empowered assistance to shepherd the people as they crossed the Sinai. The parallel exists in Peter’s interpretation of the proclamation of the good news in languages unknown to the speakers. As noted above, Peter used Joel’s words to suggest that this phenomenon was an expression of Spirit-inspired prophecy. In both cases, however, these acts of prophesying served to demonstrate the presence of the Spirit among the people.

                With this act of the Spirit (in Numbers 11), God had set aside a group of Spirit-empowered leaders who could assist Moses in caring for the people.  This was good news for Moses who had been carrying the burdens of the entire community on his back. His daily routine included listening day and night to complaints about food, lodging, and travel time. Earlier in the chapter, we hear the people remembering fondly life in Egypt, where they had meat to eat. Yes, “we remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all! Nothing but this manna to look to!” (Num. 11:4-6). Ah, the good old days, when everything was wonderful! Yes, let’s make Israel great again! Of course, things hadn’t been wonderful before, at least not for Israel. Remember that they had cried out to God for deliverance and God answered by sending them Moses to lead them out of Egypt (Ex. 3:1-10). In other words, it took too long to reach the Promised Land and they didn’t like the food. The calling and empowering of the seventy were designed to help Moses with his work. After all, it was getting so stressful for Moses, that he told God: “If this is the way you're going to treat me, just kill me now and end my miserable life!”  (Numbers 11:15).

                Pastors and lay church leaders may resonate with this story. Too often the majority of church work falls on the shoulders of a few people. The result is that leaders burn out—we’re seeing a major exodus of young clergy from the ranks of parish ministry. Thus, this might be a good text to ponder by church boards. The message here then is that God wants leaders of the faith community to share the load. The gift of prophecy here reflects that message, even as Paul tells the Corinthian church that to each is “given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7 NRSV). Bradley Schmeling notes that “God’s people have always needed to build structures that can carry and distribute the power that comes from God’s presence. In fact, it seems to be necessary for prophetic leadership to be shared if it is to be effective.” [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship (Kindle Locations 10304-10306)].

                The first paragraph of the reading speaks to the need to institutionalize the Spirit’s work in the community. I know that there is a distaste for “institutionalized religion” these days. There are good reasons for being skeptical about some elements of our institutions. I have my own concerns about the systems of religious organization. At the same time, it’s difficult to move forward without some form of organization. So, at this point in the story, Moses has received help from God. The leadership team is in place. Everyone, including Moses and the people, is happy because the institution is up and running. Then, God throws a curveball at them.

                The second paragraph reminds us that God can at times move beyond the institution to fulfill God’s purposes. You see, back in the camp, two men are present. They had remained in camp. Their names are Eldad and Medad. We learn here that even as the Spirit fell on the seventy elders, empowering them to assist Moses, the Spirit fell on these two men who had not been selected to join the seventy. But, like the seventy, they also begin to prophesy.

                As they begin to speak ecstatically, empowered by the Spirit, a young man sees what’s happening and reports this to Moses who remains at the Tent of Meeting. After all, the two men seem to be acting “out of order.” They’re acting contrary to the by-laws, or so it seems. When Joshua, Moses’ assistant, hears this report he gets upset. He wants to protect the institution—the order of ministry as established by God at the Tent of Meeting. So, he tells Moses to put a stop to this activity.

                I’m sure that Moses appreciated Joshua’s concern about the structural integrity of the community’s leadership. After all, God had set this structure up to assist Moses, who was at his wit’s end. Nevertheless, Moses saw something that Joshua didn’t. While the institution is valuable, it is not the end game. Just as God works through the structures, God can also work outside them. Therefore, Moses tells Joshua that he would that everyone was so gifted with the Spirit, not just the seventy along with Eldad and Medad. We see this occurring on the day of Pentecost as the Spirit falls on the entire community so that they all began to speak in languages previously unknown (Acts 2).

                As Ron Allen and Clark Williamson note, the Book of Numbers focuses on organizational matters (the title speaks of a census). Thus, “Its authors and redactors were aware that organization is necessary to serve God’s purposes. There is no split here between spirit and organization, a point that we should take seriously” (Preaching the Old Testament, p. 44). Yes, institutions are far from perfect, but they serve an important role in organizing the people of God to engage in Spirit-empowered ministry. Nevertheless, God is not limited by the institutions. That is seen here, but also in the gospels, where the disciples see persons not part of their group casting out demons in the name of Jesus. In other words, these were not properly authorized efforts. But, like Moses, Jesus told them not to worry. According to Mark, “Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us’” (Mk 9:38-41).

                Institutions are helpful, but God is not limited to them. Both Moses and Jesus make this clear. This should help us consider who God might call to ministry. Traditionally, it was males, with women excluded from the ranks. Thus, for centuries the “official church” prevented the church from fully embracing the message of 1 Corinthians 12, which insisted that God had given to each member of the body a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. In 1 Corinthians 11, we even hear that certain women in the Corinthians church were praying (leading worship) and prophesying (preaching). Paul, cognizant of the larger community, only asked that they do so with their heads covered (1 Cor. 11:5). Unfortunately, too often churches failed to take note of 1 Corinthians 11, which left room for women to engage in the ministries of the church, and instead embraced the words found in 1 Corinthians 14, where Paul tells the women to be silent in the church (1 Cor. 14:34-36). It should be noted that many scholars believe that these instructions are interpolated and do not reflect Paul’s views. Of course, women haven’t remained silent in the church. God has had a way of touching people and empowering them for service even when the institution said no. Thus, we can take hold of the stories of women like Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avilla, Anne Hutchinson, Phoebe Palmer, and Aimee Semple McPherson to name but a few.

                Organizations are important for the fulfillment of God’s purposes, but God can and does reach outside the institution. This is especially true when the community puts roadblocks up that hinder God’s people from expressing their Spirit-given gifts of ministry. Thus, Moses expresses well the desires of God when he responded to Joshua: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” (Num. 11:29). Such was the case on the Day of Pentecost when the people began to proclaim the Gospel after being filled with the Spirit. Such should be the case for us (I explore this in-depth in my book Unfettered Spirit: Spiritual Gifts for the New Great Awakening, 2^nd edition, Energion Publications).

                With Moses’ response to Joshua, he and the seventy returned to the camp. After this, Yahweh sent a wind toward the community, bringing quail from the seam so the people had meat to eat and not just manna! (Num. 11:31-35). So, we sing on this Pentecost Sunday:

                Breathe on me, Breath of God,
                fill me with life anew,
                that I may love what thou dost love,
                and do what thou wouldst do.    [Edwin Hatch]