AM reading: Num 11-12. All of it’s fascinating but I’m particularly taken by the Spirit’s place in it. Moses is crushed by constant whines, demands & complaints of the people. Says to God, “They’re too much for me. If You’re going to treat me like this, please kill me right now.”
It’s almost hard not to grin at how dramatic Moses is there but, the truth is, leadership can be pulverizing. God tells Moses to collect 70 men from the elders & officers. “I will take some of the Spirit who is on you & put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden.”
I’m in Galatians so much right now that it reminds me of Paul’s exhortation in 6:2 to “bear one another’s burdens & in this way fulfill the law of Christ.” Be relieved by the reminder in Num 11:17 that the Spirit enables us to do so, not our effort to drum up more human strength.
So God, as always, does what He says and causes some of the Spirit He’d put upon Moses to rest on the 70. So fascinating. Then lo & behold, the Spirit has the nerve to rest on 2 dudes back at the camp. Joshua is aghast. “Moses, my lord, stop them!” Then comes the iconic response:
Those 2 start prophesying just like the 70 (presumably only once as evidence of the Spirit - see 11:25). Moses: “Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place His Spirit on them!” Moses knew what aspiring leaders need to know:
Any kind of leadership’s difficult but none more so than leading people of God because the demand far exceeds human capacity & can only be accomplished by God’s strength. The temptation will always be what Paul stated in Gal 3:3->to start with the Spirit then revert to the flesh.
OK, I’ll wrap this thing up. Shoot, we didn’t even make it to Miriam & Aaron being called to the Principal’s office for thinking they could speak for the Lord just like Moses. God didn’t take it well.
Final thought: No one owns the Spirit. Nobody’s camp. Only God owns the wind.
Final thought: No one owns the Spirit. Nobody’s camp. Only God owns the wind.
