Moses Spoke

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Gathering of Seventy

So, God spoke everything into existence by speaking. Genesis 1:3 “And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light.” Jesus spoke the word that his Father gave him, Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, NASB 95
Moses speaks, and the words he speaks are the words of God.  So Moses went out, and he spoke the words of Yahweh to the people, and he gathered together seventy men from the elders of the people, and he ⌊made them stand⌋ all around the tent.  Then Yahweh went down in the cloud and spoke to him, and he took away the spirit that was on him, and he ⌊put it⌋ on the seventy elders. And as soon as the spirit was resting on them they prophesied, but they did not do it again.
W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Nu 11:24–25.
Numbers: Homeward Bound A Complaint about Food (11:4–35)

Verses 26–29 record the interesting episode where two of the elders did not come with the rest of the elders to the tabernacle, yet also received the Spirit and prophesied in the camp (verse 26). Joshua objected (verse 28), but Moses told him that he wished that all God’s people would have the Spirit and prophesy (verse 29). In Acts 2 we see this wish fulfilled, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the subsequent pouring out of God’s Spirit on all people, on the day of Pentecost.

The people sometimes want to be lead by one leader but God has a different plan. Did Moses pick wrongly? Did God not share everything with Moses?
Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary ii. Kibroth-Hattaavah (11:4–35)

In fulfilment of the double-sided divine promise, the spirit of the LORD is distributed to the seventy elders (25, 29) and a wind from the LORD (31) (rûaḥ in Hebrew means both spirit and wind) brings swarms of quails for the people to eat. Thus the story emphasizes from beginning to end the interrelatedness of the popular demand for meat and Moses’ prayer for spiritual support. Yet the outcome of the requests was very different. The spirit was bestowed within the court of the tabernacle, in the clean and holy area; the quails fell outside the camp, in the zone associated with uncleanness and death. The gift of the spirit drew men towards God; the quails led them away from God. Consequently the anger of the LORD was kindled … and the LORD smote the people (33).

What is drawing you from God? We should remember that what we desire in our humanness often time is not what is good for us. This double-sided prophesy was a test. What the people wanted was meat to eat; what God wanted was for them to trust him and obey, or want him. His Spirit was given in the Holy place, but the quail were placed outside. God knew that many will choose to go and gather the quail. Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ””
We should pay attention to what happens after the people leave and spend a couple of days gathering the quail.
Let us pray!
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