But two men remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad; and the Spirit rested on them. They were of those who were written, but had not gone out to the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran, and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered, “My lord Moses, forbid them!”
Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v28 Or, a young man whom he had chosen from…
Or, a young man whom he had chosen from his youth.
Such blind zeal was in the Apostles, Mark 9:38; Luke 9:44.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–29 Num 11:26 But there remained two [of the] men…
Num 11:26 But there remained two [of the] men in the camp, the name of the one [was] Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they [were] of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
Ver. 26. But there remained two of the men.] Being stayed by some lawful occasion, as in 1Sa 20:26 Jer 36:5, or haply out of sense of their own insufficiency, as in 1Sa 10:22. Howsoever, hereby it appeared to all the people that these seventy seniors were set apart by God for the service.
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And they prophesied in the camp.] Hermas, in his book called "Pastor" (chap. ii.), mentioneth a book of their prophesy, and citeth these words, "The Lord is near to all those that turn unto him, as it is written in Eldad and Medad, who prophesied in the wilderness to the people." But this book of Hermas is of small credit.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv26–29 In the camp; not going to the tabernacle, as…
In the camp; not going to the tabernacle, as the rest did; either modestly declining that high employment from a tremble sense of their own insufficiency, as Saul did, 1Sa 10:22; or not having sufficient or seasonable notice to repair thither; or, being detained in the camp and in their dwellings, whether by uncleanness, or sickness, or some urgent occasion, not without God’s special providence, that so the miracle might be more evident, and their call and authority more unquestionable, to all the people.
Were written, to wit, in a book or paper, by Moses, who by God’s direction nominated the fittest and worthiest persons.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv26–29 But there remained two of the men in the…
But there remained two of the men in the camp,.... Of the seventy who were summoned, that came not out of the camp of Israel to the tabernacle when the rest did:
the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: who, according to the Targum of Jonathan, were brethren of Moses by his mother's side; for it says, they were the sons of Elizaphan the son of Parnac, whom Jochebed the daughter of Levi brought forth at the time that Amram her husband dismissed her, and she was married to him before she brought forth Moses; but it is elsewhere said (r), that Elizaphan married her after the death of Amram; and Eldad and Medad were born unto them:
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and the Spirit rested upon them; as it did upon the rest of the seventy that came to the tabernacle; these two had the same gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon them as they had:
and they were of them that were written; among the seventy whose names were put down in the summons Moses gave them to attend the tabernacle; for as for the notion of the Jews about schedules and pieces of paper put into an urn to draw lots with, there is no foundation in the text:
but went not out unto the tabernacle; out of the camp to it, when they were summoned to come together; which they declined, as is commonly said, out of modesty, thinking themselves unfit for such an high office; and therefore, as Saul hid himself among the stuff when he was about to be chosen king, so did they, or something like it: the Targum of Jonathan is express for it, which adds, because they hid themselves to flee from government; but the Spirit of God found them out, and filled them with his gifts, and constrained them to prophesy, whereby they were discovered:
and they prophesied in the camp; perhaps in a private manner, it may be in their own houses; which, how it came to be known is after related: what they prophesied of cannot be said; according to the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, and other Jewish writers (s), they prophesied of the quails, and of the death of Moses, and the succession of Joshua, of Gog and Magog, and their armies, and of their destruction by the Messiah, and of the resurrection of the dead; but these are things not to be depended on.
(r) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 1. (s) Vid. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 17. 1. Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv26–29 In the camp - Not going to the tabernacle,…
In the camp - Not going to the tabernacle, as the rest did, either not having seasonable notice to repair thither: or, being detained in the camp by sickness, or some urgent occasion, not without God's special providence, that so the miracle might be more evident. Were written - In a book or paper by Moses, who by God's direction nominated the fittest persons.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27–29 Verse 27. Eldad and Medad do prophesy, &c.]
Verse 27. Eldad and Medad do prophesy, &c.]
ELDAD, they said, and MEDAD there,
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Irregularly bold,
By Moses uncommission'd, dare
A separate meeting hold!
And still whom none but heaven will own.
Men whom the world decry,
Men authorized by GOD alone,
Presume to prophesy!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 29 Num 11:26. In the camp — Not going to…
Num 11:26. In the camp — Not going to the tabernacle, as the rest did, either not having seasonable notice to repair thither, or, being detained in the camp by sickness, or some urgent occasion, not without God’s special providence, that so the miracle might be more evident. They were of them that were written — In a book or paper by Moses, who, by God’s direction, nominated the fittest persons.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv26–28 Forth, being lawfully hindered, (Calmet) or out of humility.…
Forth, being lawfully hindered, (Calmet) or out of humility. (St. Jerome, ep. 127.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v26 But there remained two of the men in the…
But there remained two of the men in the camp--They did not repair with the rest to the tabernacle, either from modesty in shrinking from the assumption of a public office, or being prevented by some ceremonial defilement. They, however, received the gifts of the Spirit as well as their brethren. And when Moses was urged to forbid their prophesying, his answer displayed a noble disinterestedness as well as zeal for the glory of God akin to that of our Lord (Mar 9:39).
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Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29 26. But there remained two — For reasons satisfactory…
26. But there remained two — For reasons satisfactory to the Lord, perhaps from excessive reserve and self-distrust, certainly not from obstinacy, Eldad and Medad did not go to the tabernacle, though they were of them that were written in the roll of the elect seventy. But the Spirit found them out and endowed them. The fire shut up in their bones finds a vent through their lips.
Went not out unto the tabernacle — This is by no means a proof that the tabernacle was at this time outside of the camp. “If a gentleman goes out of his yard into his house, it does not follow that his house is not in the yard. The camp, considered as the abode of the people, had its limits within as well as without. An open space, such as reverence required, separated the tents of the people from the tent of God; and this must be traversed in passing from one to the other. It was just as natural to distinguish the camp from the sacred enclosure of the tabernacle as it is for a person in New York city to speak of driving out to Central Park, which is nevertheless within the city limits.” — Dr. W.H. Green. There was, for a short time, at the foot of Mount Sinai, a tabernacle without the camp. See Exo_33:7-11. This was because the sin of the golden calf ruptured the covenant and put an end to all proceedings under it. Without going on to construct the tabernacle according to the specifications given him, Moses sets before the eyes of the people a visible sign of their altered relation to Jehovah by pitching a provisional tabernacle some distance outside the camp, signifying that he would not dwell in the midst of them. But when THE TABERNACLE was built out of the gifts of Israel it was located in the midst of the camp. How wide of the truth is the assertion of Professor W.R. Smith, that Ezekiel paved the way for the sanctuary being located in the midst of the people!
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They prophesied in the camp — This was deemed an irregularity and an infraction of good order. The unity of the Church in the wilderness was in danger of destruction by this independent centre of prophetic inspiration and authority separate from Moses and the tabernacle.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29 26. them that were written] i.e. registered as being…
26. them that were written] i.e. registered as being of the number of the elders and officers. They were not of the number of the seventy, for Num_11:24 says that seventy were present at the Tent.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv28–29 (28) My lord Moses, forbid them.—The motive which prompted…
(28) My lord Moses, forbid them.—The motive which prompted Joshua in making this request appears to have been similar to that which led St. John to forbid the man to cast out devils who did not follow with the Apostles (Mar_9:38-39; Luk_9:49-50). But as the man did not cast out devils in his own name, but in that of Christ, so in this case Eldad and Medad prophesied in virtue of the spirit which rested upon them from above, of which the Holy Ghost, not Moses, was the giver. The motives which deterred Eldad and Medad from going to the tent of meeting are unknown. The history teaches the freeness and the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit’s influences, as afterwards did that of Cornelius, when the Holy Ghost fell upon him and upon those who were with him, previously to the reception of baptism, and they spoke with tongues and magnified God (Act_10:44-48).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv26–29 There remained two of the men in the comp.…
There remained two of the men in the comp. No reason is here given why they did not accompany the rest to the tabernacle; but as they did not thereby forfeit the gift designed for them, it is certain that some necessity or duty detained them. They were of them that were written. This incidental notice shows how usual the practice of writing was, at any rate with Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians". (Act_7:22) And they prophesied in the comp. As a sign that they too had received the charisma from the Lord. Seeing that it was the work of the Holy Spirit, there was of course nothing really more wonderful in their case than in the ease of the others, but no doubt it seemed so. That men in the camp, and away from the visible center and scene of Divine manifestations, should be accessible to the heavenly afflatus was a vast astonishment to an ignorant people. We may compare the surprise felt by the Jewish Christians when the sign of tongues was shown among the Gentiles. (Act_10:45, Act_10:46)
Vers. 26-30. Eldad and Medad; or, irregular prophesying.
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This narrative brings up a subject which is at once of great practical importance and of great delicacy, on which men have been apt to run to extremes on the one side or the other. It will be our wisdom, therefore, to begin by weighing carefully the facts as they are set forth in the sacred narrative.
I THE FACTS are, shortly, these: Moses having complained that the leadership of the nation was a burden greater than he could bear, the Lord gave direction that a Council of Seventy should be associated with him in it. This was done. From among the acting elders and officers of the congregation Moses called out seventy and they were solemnly set apart to the new office, before the Lord and the congregation. This consecration-service (as it may be called) did not pass without a palpable token of the Divine approval, a palpable token that appropriate gifts would be forthcoming to the new rulers as they had been to Moses. When the Seventy were being set apart, the Spirit fell upon them, and they prophesied. While this was going on at the tent of meeting, a young man came running with the tidings that two men were prophesying in the comp. On inquiry it turned out that these were two of the seventy whom Moses had nominated for the council. For some reason or other they had not come forward with the rest to the tent of meeting. Notwithstanding of this, the Spirit had come on them in the camp exactly as he had come on their brethren, and they were prophesying. Clearly there was in this a breach of due order. Eldad and Medad ought to have presented themselves along with the rest. They were chargeable with an irregularity. Accordingly, Joshua, who is already the trusted "minister of Moses," suggests that they should be silenced. "My lord Moses, forbid them." But Moses is of another mind. Is it certain that Eldad and Medad are prophesying? If so, the hand of the Lord, we may presume, is in the matter. Spiritual gifts are not such cheap and common things that we can afford to throw them away. Possibly enough these prophets in the camp have failed to make due acknowledgment of me as the Divinely-appointed leader of the congregation. But let no man look with an evil eye on them for my sake. Would that the Spirit were put on all the people! I should rejoice to see my light outshone in such a general brightness!
II WHAT HAVE THESE FACTS TO SAY TO US? What lesson do they teach?
1. At first sight it might seem as if they taught us to make light of office, solemn ordination to office, official service, and to attach importance only to the possession and exercise of gifts. But that certainly is not intended. The new council was not to consist of men simply obeying an internal call. No one was admissible without prior experience in office, and without election by Moses. And it was by Divine command that the sixty-eight were solemnly set apart before the Lord and the congregation. I need not prove that in the State it is the will of God that there should be magistrates, laws, and strict enforcement of the laws. In the Church there is: no doubt, a difference; for the Church has no coercive power. Its weapons are the truth and the tongue of fire, not the sword. Nevertheless, order is quite as necessary in the Church as in the State. "In all churches of the saints God is the author of peace, not of confusion," and all things are to be "done decently and in order". (1Co_14:33-40)
2. The narrative admonishes us that office and order and official service, necessary as they may be, are not everything. They are not everything, even in the State, much less are they everything in the Church. The salvation and edification of souls will not go forward unless there is a continual ministration of the Spirit in gifts and in grace. That is a general lesson the facts teach. More particularly they admonish us that we need not be surprised if it should occasionally happen that men who are walking irregularly give evidence of having been richly endowed with spiritual gifts. I will not discuss the question, How such a thing can be; how the God of order can, without contradicting himself, bestow his valuable gifts on men who do not quite conform to the good order of his house. For the fact is plain. Whether we can account for it or no, the fact is indubitable. Has not Christ raised up men like Pascal within the Romish communion? Yet every Protestant believes that the Church of Rome has grievously erred both in respect to Church order, and in the weightiest points of faith and holiness. Do not suppose that these and similar facts are to be accounted for by alleging that Christendom has for a long while fallen away into anarchy. For facts of the same kind found place in connection with the personal ministry of Christ himself. The Twelve were Christ"s apostles, and it was the duty of all disciples to follow with them. Did, therefore, Christ withhold his gifts from all save those in the apostles" company? On the contrary, there was found an individual now and then who, though he followed not with the apostles, nevertheless both spoke in Christ"s name, and spoke to such good purpose that devils were cast forth. (cf. Mar_9:38-40)
3. What, then, is the conclusion to which we are led? "Quench not the Spirit: despise not prophesying." I do not say that it was the duty of Moses, or is our duty in similar circumstances, to go forth to Eldad and Medad, and identify ourselves with them in their work. That will depend on circumstances. Sometimes one cannot take part with the irregular prophets without concurring in what would for us be sin. Christ"s command was not, Go and join yourselves to the man who is casting out devils in my name, irregularly. But it was, Forbid him not. Is a man really prophesying? Is he casting out devils? Is he setting forth the truth and doing-good? Then do not forbid him. Bring him, if you can, to a fuller knowledge of the truth, and to more regular courses, but do not look on him with jealous eyes, or try to put him down. If Christ is preached, whether it be in pretence or in truth, I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. B. (Php_1:14-28)
Vers. 26-29. Largeness of heart.
The brevity of the narrative prevents us forming an adverse judgment of the conduct of Eldad and Medad, for we do net know their motive for remaining in the comp. It may have been ignorance of the call, or shrinking through timidity from a duty which, nevertheless, God would not allow them to escape. But the narrative is not too brief to enable us to see in Moses" words a fine illustration of largeness of heart. Note
I JOSHUA"S APPEAL. His love of order may have been offended. He feared lest the unity of the camp under the leadership of Moses should be disturbed. He was anxious for the honour of his master, and desired that political and ecclesiastical discipline should be not only really, but ostensibly, in his hands. The call of the seventy elders with prophetic powers was a new departure in the history of the theocracy, and now the prophesying of Eldad and Medad, apart, threatened still further apparently to derogate from the honours of Moses. Thus now narrow minds or small hearts may be fearful of that which is novel, and envious of those who take a course independent of established authorities and Church traditions, even though they "seem to have the Spirit of God." They may forbid, or at least "despise, prophesyings" which are not according to rule.
II MOSES" REPLY. The only question with Moses is one not of place or method, but of reality. Are the prophesyings and the spirit "of God"? Largeness of heart cannot exempt us from this duty. (1Th_5:21 1Jn_4:1-3) Moses could not recognize the falsehoods uttered in the tabernacle of Korah, though he rejoiced in the prophesyings of Eldad. Spurious charity is traitorous to truth; true charity can only rejoice "in the truth". (1Co_13:6) The lesson taught us is illustrated by various incidents in the New Testament. A large-hearted Christian will not be offended
1. If those who are clearly working in the name of Christ, and with the seal of his approval, do not follow with him. (Mar_9:38-40)
2. If their success seems to imperil the prosperity of his party or denomination. (Joh_3:26, &c.);
3. He will rejoice in the work, though unofficial and obscure men have originated it. (Act_11:19-24)
4. He will not "envy," but delight, in the proclamation of the gospel, even if the motives of the preachers are marred by "envy and strife". (Php_1:15-18) Large-heartedness will "covet earnestly the best gifts" for others, whatever the consequences may be to ourselves. P.
Vers. 26-29. Foolish advice wisely rejected.
God fulfils his promise, and gives to these seventy men a spirit which doubtless brings them into more active sympathy with Moses, and takes away the carnal and selfish views which had prevailed in their minds. The difference between their present and former state was probably much like that between the state of the apostles after and before the day of Pentecost. They had a perspicacity, a power, a courage, a zeal, which did not belong to them before. As they prophesied, may we not suppose that Moses beard from them expressions quite new to his ears as coming from Israelite lips? And to make the occasion more memorable and significant, two of the seventy, who for some unexplained reason remained in the camp, nevertheless prophesied, as did those in the tabernacle. The intelligence was very quickly brought to Moses. Some of the Israelites would be greatly shocked by such an irregular proceeding, though perhaps they had seen nothing very censurable in the general cry of the people for flesh. Punctiliousness in ceremony and etiquette is often joined with laxity in things of moment. (Mat_23:23) The reception of the news is followed by
I THE FOOLISH ADVICE Or JOSHUA. Foolish, although given by a devoted friend. Joshua would probably have died for Moses, but he could not, therefore, give him good counsel. Attachment itself has not unfrequently a blinding effect on the judgment. A stranger might advise more wisely. It is the right of friendship to offer advice, but it is often the height of friendship, the very bloom and delicacy of it, to refrain. We find similar instances. (Mat_16:21-23 Act_21:12, Act_21:13) Foolish, because evidently given without consideration. The circumstances were quite novel to Joshua. The grounds on which he dashed out his advice were mere matters of hearsay. There was enough to have made him cautious. Eldad and Medad were among the chosen ones; those present had been gifted with the spirit; what more likely then upon consideration, what more worthy of reverent acceptance, than that the absentees should have been similarly visited? Advice, when it is given with full knowledge of circumstances and full consideration of thefts, may be indeed precious, the very salvation and security of a perplexed mind. Otherwise, the greater the ignorance the greater the mischief. Advice should mostly come in response to a request for it. Foolish, because it concerned the status of Moses rather than the glory of God. Much of the advice of friendship is vitiated, through shutting out all save personal considerations. One friend advises another as a counsel does his client, not that justice may be done, but that his client may gain his end. Joshua was considering how the reputation and influence of "his lord Moses" would be affected. Foolish because it was given to a man who was in no doubt. Moses was rejoicing in escape from a heavy burden, and the visitation upon Eldad and Medad was the very thing still further to comfort him. The folly of the advice is crowned, as we observe that it recommended an impossibility. "Forbid them." Forbid what? That they should prophesy! As well forbid the branches not to sway with a strong wind as forbid men to prophesy when the Spirit comes upon them. Even Balaam could not help uttering the Lord"s prophecies and blessing Israel from the very mouth that would fain, in its greed of filthy lucre, have uttered a curse.
II THIS FOOLISH ADVICE WISELY REJECTED.
1. As to the substance of the rejection. Possibly if Moses had been a different kind of man, he might have said to himself, "There is something in what Joshua says." But he was not one of the aut Caesar ant nullus order. Joshua, in his impetuous word, was concerned for his master"s honour; the master himself was concerned about his grievous burden. Not even Joshua understood the bitter experiences through which Moses had lately passed. "Would that all the Lord"s people were prophets!" Our measure before God does not depend on our standing among men. Moses would not have been one whit less esteemed in heaven if every other Israelite had been as spiritually-minded as himself. Joshua had been speaking to a man who, like Christian, had been toiling on with a weary weight on his back. He has just got rid of it, and "Forbid them" really meant, "Take the burden up again.
2. As to the spirit of the rejection. Moses shows here the meekness and gentleness with which he is so emphatically credited in the next chapter. Advice, when it cannot be taken, even when it is most foolish and meddlesome, should be pushed gently away; and if the spirit in which it has been given is evidently kind and generous, let the refusal be mingled with gratefulness. Joshua loved Moses, and Moses loved Joshua. "Enviest thou for my sake?" Thus Moses recognizes the devotion and bona fides of his friend. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v27 Eldad and Medad do prophesy.
Num_11:27-30
Eldad and Medad do prophesy.
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Eldad and Medad
Eldad and Medad seem instances of unlicensed preaching and prophesying; and this, at a time of scanty knowledge and rare spiritual illumination, was not without its dangers. So thought Joshua, and, jealous for Moses supremacy, besought him to rebuke them. But the great prophet, wholly wanting in the thought of self, rebuked Joshua instead. Enviest thou, he said, for my sake? and then added, in words of noble hyperbole, Would God that all the Lords people were prophets!
I. The first thought that occurs to us in reading this scene is the good, felt by the greatest, of zeal and enthusiasm. And the second is, how to discover it, how to encourage it in Gods service. But then comes the further question, Have these men the prophets capacity? Have they that primary want, the prophets faith? Have they fire, perseverance, and courage?
1. The prophets faith. Take away from the prophet this faith in the living God, speaking to him, teaching him, encouraging him, in the midst of lifes sorrows and temptations, and he is nothing. Give him that belief, and his confidence, his courage is unshaken.
2. There is the prophets belief in the moral order underlying the established order of things, as the only safe and sure foundation on which peace and prosperity in a nation can be built.
II. The prophetic message, however varied its tone, however startling its communication, is always in substance, as of old, the same: He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
III. Would that the people of the Lord were all prophets! Would that we had all more of the fire of enthusiasm, leading us to go forth and act, and learn in acting, not waiting till we have solved all doubts or perfected some scheme of action!
IV. Zeal may often make mistakes, but it is better than no zeal. Truth is not merely correctness, accuracy, the absence of error, nor even the knowledge of the laws of nature. It is also the recognition of the moral and spiritual bases of life, and the desire to promote and teach these among men. (A. G. Butler, D. D.)
Noble to the core
I do not agree with those who think that there was any diminution of the spirit that rested upon Moses. It is very difficult to speak of the subdivision of spirit. You cannot draw it off from one man to others, as you draw off water. The whole Spirit of God is in each man, waiting to fill him to the uttermost of his capacity. It seems to me, therefore, that nothing more is intended than to affirm that the seventy were clothed upon with the same kind of spiritual force as that which rested upon Moses. For sixty-eight of them the power of utterance was only spasmodic and temporary. They prophesied, but they did so no more. Emblems are they of those who, beneath some special influence like that which cast Saul down among the prophets, suddenly break out into speech and act, and give promises not destined to be fulfilled. Two, however, of the selected number, who, for some reason, had remained in the camp, suddenly became conscious of their reception of that same spirit, and they, too, broke out into prophecy and appeared to have continued to do so. Instantly a young man, jealous for the honour of Moses, carried to him the startling tidings, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp; and as he heard the announcement Joshua, equally chivalrous, exclaimed, My lord Moses, forbid them! eliciting the magnificent answer, Art thou jealous for my sake? Would God that all the Lords people were prophets--that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! It was as if he said, Do you think that I alone am the channel through which the Divine influences can pour? Do you suppose that the supplies in the being of God are so meagre, that He must stint what He gives through me, when He gives through others? If it should please Him to create new stars, must He rob the sun of its light to give them brilliance? Is the gratification of a mean motive of vanity a matter of any moment to me, who have gazed on the face of God? Besides, what am I, or what is my position, amongst this people, compared with the benefit which would accrue to them, and the glory which would redound to God, if He did for each of them all that He has done for me? This is the spirit of true magnanimity. A spirit of self aggrandisement is set on retaining its exclusive position as the sole depository of the Divine blessing, and this has the certain effect of forfeiting it, so that fresh supplies cease to pass through. There is no test more searching than this. Am I as eager for Gods kingdom to come through others as through myself? And yet, in so far as we fall short of that position, do we not betray the earthly ingredients which have mingled, and mingle still, in our holy service? (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Young men are ordinarily rash in judging others
The doctrine from hence is that young men are ordinarily rash in judging others, yea, more rash than elder men, and consequently more apt to judge amiss, and to give evil counsel and sentence of such things as are well done. Such were Rehoboams green heads; they gave green counsel, and such as cost him the loss of the greatest part of his kingdom (1Ki_12:8; 1Ki_12:13-14). The reasons are plain. First, age and years bring experience and ripeness of judgment and so wisdom. Youth is as green timber; age as that which is seasoned (Job_32:7). Again, their affections being hotter and stronger are more inconstant and unbridled, realty to run into extremities, as untamed heifers not used to the yoke. Lastly, they put far from them the evil day; they think themselves privileged by their age, and make account they have time enough hereafter to enter into better courses. The uses:
1. This teacheth us not to rest in the judgment, nor to follow the counsel of young men, except they have old mens gifts and graces in them. For touching gifts, it is true which Elihu testifieth (Job_32:9).
2. Let young men suffer their elders to speak before them, especially in censuring things that are strange.
3. Seeing rashness and unadvisedness are specially incident to youth, let them learn to season their years with the Word of God, let them make it their meditation, whereby they may repress such hot and hasty and headstrong passions. (W. Attersoll.)
Enviest thou for my sake?--
The increase of the Redeemers kingdom
Moses had no share in the narrow feelings which Joshua had displayed, feelings of envy and jealous. He had no wish to engross the distinctions of Israel, but, on the contrary, he would have greatly rejoiced had all the congregation been richly endowed from above, though he himself might have ceased to have been conspicuous in Israel. We consider that the lawgiver Moses, when so finely reproving Joshua for envying for his sake, is worthy of being admired and earnestly imitated; for that, in thus showing himself above all littleness of mind and contempt of this world, so that God might be magnified and His cause advanced, he reached a point of moral heroism--aye, far loftier than that at which he stood when, in the exercise of superhuman power, he bade darkness cover the land of Egypt, or the waters of the Red Sea divide before Israel. We are not bound to expatiate at any length on the magnanimity thus displayed by Moses. We have adopted the instance in order to show you how direct a parallel may be found in the history of the forerunner of our Lord, John the Baptist. So soon as the Saviour entered on the ministry, the great office of John was at an end. John still continued to baptize, and thus prepare men for the disclosures of that fuller revelation with which Christ was charged. In this way the ministry of our Lord and that of His forerunner were for a while discharged together; though, inasmuch as Christ wrought miracles, and John did not, there was quickly, as might be expected, more attendance on the preaching of the Redeemer than on that of the Baptist. Now, this appears exactly the point when in truth Johns disciples, who, like Joshua, were jealous of the honour of their Master, thought Jesus intrenching upon his province. But, however galling it might be to his followers thus to see their master neglected, to John himself it was matter of great gladness that He whom he had heralded was thus drawing all men towards Him. And the Baptist takes occasion to assure his disciples that what had moved their jealousy and displeasure was but the beginning--the first display of a growing spirit to which no bounds could be set. They were not to imagine that there could be any alteration in the relative positions of Jesus and John; nor that John would ever take that part of which, in strange forgetfulness of his own sayings, they seemed to wish to come to pass. On the contrary, he wished them distinctly to understand that, being only of earth--a mere man like one of themselves--he must decline in importance, and at length shrink altogether into insignificance. Whereas Christ, as coming from above, and therefore being above all--possessing a Divine nature as well as a human, and consequently liable to no decay--would go on discharging His high office, enlarging His sway according to the prediction of Isaiah, To the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom. And all this gradual fading away of himself, and this continued exaltation of Christ, the Baptist gathers into one powerful and comprehensive sentence, saying of our blessed Lord, He must increase, but I must decrease. And now consider more distinctly how character was here put to the proof; or in what respects either Moses or John deserve imitation. The truth is, that it is natural to all of us to envy the growing reputation of others; and to be jealous where it seems likely to trench upon our own. The courtier, for example, who has long sought to stand high in the favour of his sovereign; and who perceives that a younger candidate, who has just entered the field, is fast outstripping him, so that the probability is that he will soon be widely distanced; we cannot marvel if he regard the youthful competitor with irritated feelings in place of generously rejoicing in his rapid success. It would be a very fine instance of magnanimity if this courtier were to cede gracefully the place to his rival, and offer him, with marks of sincerity which could not be mistaken, his congratulations on having passed him in the race. But we could not look for such magnanimity. The case, however, is widely different when it is in the service of God, and not of an earthly king, that the two men engage. Here by the very nature of the service, the grand thing aimed at is the glory of God and not personal aggrandisement; and there is therefore ground for expecting that if Gods glory be promoted, there will be gladness of heart in all Christians, whoever the agent who has been specially honoured. But, alas! for the infirmity of human nature; there is no room for questioning that even Christians can be jealous of each other, and feel it a sore trial when they are distanced and eclipsed in being instrumental in promoting Christianity. We are far enough from regarding it as a matter of course, that a veteran in the missionary work would feel contented and pleased at seeing that work which had gone on so slowly with himself, progress with amazing rapidity when undertaken by a younger labourer; on the contrary, arguing from the known tendencies of our nature, we assume that he must have had a hard battle with himself before he could really rejoice in the sudden advance of Christianity; and we should regard him as having won, through the assistance of Divine grace, a noble victory over some of the strongest cravings of the heart when he frankly bade the stripling, God speed! and rejoiced as he saw the idols fall prostrate before him. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
All Gods people must beware of envy
Envy is an affection compounded of sorrow and malice. For such persons are malicious, always repining and grudging at the gifts of God bestowed upon others, and, as it were, look asquint at them (as Gen_26:12-14; Gen_26:27; Gen_30:1; Gen_31:1; Mar_9:38; Joh_3:26-27).
1. Because it is a fruit of the flesh (Gal_5:21), as carnal grief and hatred are, of which it is compounded: for it maketh men repine at the prosperity of others, and that which is worst of all, to hate the persons that have those gifts. This appeareth in the Pharisees (Mat_27:18).
2. God bestoweth His gifts where He will, and to whom He will, and in what measure He will (Mat_20:15).
3. It procureth the wrath of God, and is never left without punishment, as appeareth in the next chapter, where Miriam, the sister of Moses, is stricken with the leprosy, because she envied the gifts of Moses; God showing thereby how greatly He detested this sin.
4. Whatsoever is bestowed upon any member, is bestowed upon the whole body (1Co_12:1-31.). Whatsoever is given to any part, is giving for the benefit of the whole Church: why, then, should we envy any, seeing we have our portion in it?
5. It is a devilish vice; it is worse than fleshly, and yet if it were no more, it were sufficient to make us to detest it: and it transformeth us into the image of Satan, who envied the happiness of our first parents in the garden (Gen_3:5). So Cain was of that evil one (1Jn_3:12), and envied his brother, because God accepted him and his sacrifice (Gen_4:5).
6. It crosseth and controlleth the wisdom of God in the distribution of His gifts and graces, as if God had done them wrong and been too good to others: we can challenge nothing as due to ourselves, but whatsoever we have we have it freely: howbeit, the envious like not His administration, but dislike that others should enjoy that which they want.
7. It is against the rule of charity which rejoiceth at the good of others (1Co_13:1-13.), and is ready to bestow and communicate good things where is want of them. So, then, where envy is, there charity is not; and where charity is, there envy is not.
Uses:
1. This teacheth us that all are subject to this evil, even they that are godly, and in a great measure sanctified, are apt to envy at others excelling in the graces of God. The best things are subject to be abused through our corruption.
2. It serveth to reprove many malicious persons: some envy others temporal blessings: others envy them the grace of God. If they have more knowledge than themselves they cannot abide them, but speak all manner of evil against them. Hence it is that Solomon opposeth envy and the fear of God as things that cannot possibly stand together (Pro_23:17), and in another place a sound heart and envy (Pro_14:30).
3. Let us use all holy and sanctified means to prevent it, or to purge it away if it has seized upon us. Store of charity and humility tempered together will make a notable defence and preservative against this malady. (W. Attersoll.)
Needless envy
Moses wondered that Joshua should be so excited about this matter. He correctly estimated the young mans temper; he said, This is envy: why this envy, Joshua? is it for my sake that thou art making a grievous miscalculation of my spirit? do not be envious on my account. Contrast the spirit of Moses with the spirit of Joshua. From the greater expect more. Thus is the quality of men revealed. Our judgments are ourselves put into words. Not that this was necessarily what might be termed the most wicked jealousy or envy. There is a kind of envy that may be regarded as almost chivalrous. That may be the most dangerous envy of all. Let us get at the root of this matter. Moses certainly delivered himself from all imputations of the kind, for instead of wanting the prophecy to be confined to himself he would have it multiplied over the whole host of the people of God. Great men do not want to be great at the expense of others. The text, though an inquiry, is as much a revelation of the quality of Moses as it is of the quality of Joshua. The most dangerous envy is often envy by proxy. Two men are at deadly feud; circumstances arise which lead to explanation; explanation leads to adjustment; adjustment soon becomes hearty reconciliation; the two principals are satisfied. But what is all this tumult in the air? what all this petty criticism? The two principals are satisfied, but there are others that are fighting the battle over again, and professedly in the name of one of the reconciled men or the other. This is folly. We should rather anticipate reconciliation and make the most of it than say, through wickedness of heart, Though you may be satisfied, we are not, and we mean to continue the battle. That may be high temper, but it is the temper of the devil. Along the same line of illustration we come upon over-zeal. The Jehua rose up a million thick on the road. What are they doing? Converting men by force. They are going to stand this no longer; if men will not go to church, then they shall go to gaol; if men will not obey spontaneously, they shall obey coercively; they shall have no longer any parleying with the enemy. The only compulsion that is as everlasting as it is beneficent is the compulsion of persuasion. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Herein is the dignity and herein is the assured duration of the kingdom of Christ; it is a kingdom of light and love and truth and reason. Love is the everlasting--and I will add, is the invincible--law. What was Joshuas motive? Was he afraid that other men would rise and be as lofty as Moses? That was not the view which Moses himself took of the occasion. Moses was not afraid of competition. Moses proved his right to the leadership by the nobleness of his spirit. Would God that this proof of Divine election attended all our policy! No man can pull you down but yourself. Moses knew that what was lacking in appreciation of himself would be made up in proportion as the people themselves became prophets. The more the people prophesied the more they would appreciate Moses. They would know what he had to bear; what occasional torment of soul. Have pity upon one another; believe, and be kind, and hope; let the devil do all the bad work, you get to your knees and to the work of brotherly sympathy and help. Moses saw what Joshua did not discern. Moses saw that it is part of the prophets function to make other people prophets. Great men are not sent to create little men. Wherever there is a great prophet there will be a prophetic church; the whole level of life and thought will be elevated. Not that the leader can always command this kind of evidence and credential. It may come after his death. Some men have to die that they may be known. Great men are inspirations, not discouragements. That is the difference between real greatness and factitious greatness. Where there is real greatness it acts as an inspiration, as a welcome; there is a benign and generous hospitality about it. Real greatness can condescend without appearing to stoop; real greatness can be humble without being oppressive to those to whom it bows itself; real greatness encourages rising power just as the sun encourages every flower in the garden. The Church of Christ is not afraid of rival institutions. The Church says, Enviest thou for my sake?--nothing can put me down; I am founded by Christ, saith the Church, I am built upon a rock; the gates of hell cannot prevail against me--Enviest thou for my sake?--cease thine envying, it is wasted energy. We are building up all kinds of rival institutions, and yet the Church rises above them all. Let the Church have time and opportunity to utter her gospel and declare herself; and let her be faithful to her own charter, and all will be well. Truth always wins, and wins often at once; not in the palpable and vulgar way called winning, but by a subtle, profound, mysterious, eternal way that asks ages by which to justify its certainty and its completeness. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Would God that all the Lords people were prophets.
The prophets work
The prophets were not mainly foretellers of future events, but interpreters and forthtellers of Gods will; not minute historical soothsayers, but essentially patriots, statesmen, moral teacher,, chosen vessels of spiritual revelation. In each of their duties they were great. As statesmen they were intensely practical, gloriously fearless; seeing that there was no distinction between national and individual morality; recognising that what is morally wrong can never be politically right. As patriots they were men of the people; pleading against oppression, robbery, and wrong; braving the anger of corrupted multitudes; reproving the crimes of guilty kings. As spiritual teachers they fostered in Israel the conviction of their lofty destiny by upholding the majesty of Gods law, by preserving the authority of His worship, by pointing to the revelation of His Son. In each of these functions they have an eternal value for the human race. Every reformation has been effected by following in the path which they trod as pioneers. The Hebrew prophets were marked by three great characteristics--Heroic Faith, Unswerving Hope, and Absolute Belief in Righteousness.
1. I shall name their heroic faith. All men have not faith. They either openly deny and disbelieve, or more often saying they believe act as though they did not. They are cowed by the power of wickedness, or tempted by its seductions. If they begin to make an effort for good, they fling up the contest as soon as they find that it will compromise their interests. Most often they will brave no danger, expose no falsehood, stand up against no wrong; they will spread their sails to every veering breeze; they will swim with the stream; they will look on success and popularity as the ends of living and the tests of truth. Not so the prophets. They will not be deceived by the vain shows of the world, nor seduced by its bribes, nor blunt the edge of their moral sense with its manifold conventions. Terror will not daunt, nor flattery lure them. Through lives of loss and persecution they will go on with an intense and quiet perseverance, which no success will cause them to relax, and no reverse subdue. They will devote every energy and possession to the cause of God, and the service of the most helpless of mankind.
2. They saw beyond. Over and around them towered the colossal kingdoms of the heathen. The giant forms of empires around them were but on their way to ruin, because they were not founded on righteousness. Kings, priests and mobs might be against them; they were but vain and idle men (Jer_1:17-19). And if they had the faith which looked beyond the little grandeurs of men, they also had the hope which looked beyond their sorrows, and this hope spread outwards in ever-widening circles. Amid the apostacy of Israel they always prophesied that Israel should not be utterly destroyed. And this hope was concentrated in their greatest and most unfaltering prophecy of an Anointed Deliverer, a coming Saviour for all mankind: a Man who should be a hiding-place from the wind; and a covert from the tempest; the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3. The third great characteristic of the Hebrew prophets is their sense that the very end and aim of all religion is simply righteousness: that there is an abysmal difference between a mere correct worship and a living faith. Such was the spirit of the prophets. Let us conclude by considering the way in which we too, in our measure, are called to share in their spirit, and to continue their work.
(1) We must try to do so, first, by escaping the average. He who has an unswerving faith in a few great moral principles to which, through evil report and good report, he clings; he who will only look on opinions and practices as he believes they must appear in the sight and before the tribunal of God; he who in politics knows no principle but truth and right; he who in the path of duty is indifferent to human praise or human blame; he who will stand firm when others fail; he who because the house of his life is built on a rock will do what God has given him to do, and say what God has given him to say, holding his own against chances and accident, against popular clamour and popular favour, against the anger and prejudices of the circle among whom he moves, that is the true prophet, that is the strong Christian man.
(2) And as ours should be the aim of the prophet, ours should be the qualities of his mind and heart. Something at least we must have of their enthusiasm, something of their devotion, something of their indignation against wrong; something, too, of their courage. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
God calls all His people to be prophets
As of old, He calls His Gideon from the threshing-floor, and His Amos from the sycamore fruit; His Moses from the flocks; His Matthew from the receipt of custom; His John from the priestly family; His Peter from the fishing-net, and His Paul from the rabbis school; so now He calls us from the farm and from the merchandise, from the shop and from the office, from the profession and from the trade, from the priests pulpit and from the servants hall. He calls us in boyhood, He calls us in manhood, He calls us in old age. In His sight there is not an inch-high difference between the stage on which the prince and the stage on which the pauper plays his part. Both alike are called, and called only to be good men and true, brave and faithful. Both have a like mission, and both alike shall, if they do Christs work, receive His hundred-fold reward. The boy at school who will not join in the bad language of his companions; the soldier in the barracks who will kneel down and pray, though all his comrades jeer; the tradesman who will hold out against a dishonest custom of his guild the tenant who in the teeth of his interests will give his vote at the dictates of conscience; the Churchman who for truths sake will try to break the tyrannous fetters of false opinion; the philanthropist who will bear the unscrupulous taunts of the base, because he denounces a nations guilt--these, too, have in them something of the prophet. They help to save the world from corruption and society from spiritual death. This was the example that Christ set us all. That man is most a prophet of Christ who loves Him best. And he loves Him best who keeps His commandments. His commandments were but two: Love God; Love one another. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
Monopoly and freedom in religious teaching
I. A protest against monopoly in religious teaching.
1. The prevalence of this monopoly.
2. The causes of this monopoly.
(1) Love of power.
(2) The love of money.
3. The iniquity of this monopoly. What arrogancy! Is not one mind as near the fountain of knowledge, the source of inspiration, as another?
II. An authority for freedom in religious teaching.
1. All the Lords people ought to be teachers. The possession of superior knowledge implies the obligation to disseminate it.
2. All the Lords people might be teachers. All that is wanted is that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them; and this Spirit is free alike to all. (Homilist.)
The Spirit given to all
Would God, was the longing of Moses, that all the Lords people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! His desire was fulfilled at Pentecost, and is realised now. Every believer possesses the Holy Spirit, not for his own spiritual life only, but to be a witness for Christ, as were the hundred and twenty at Pentecost. Equally does the charge to publish the glad tidings, and the promise of adequate power come to every one, according to that closing command of inspiration, Let him that heareth say, Come! Nay, more, the tongue of fire, the gift of utterance in its fitting measure, is always bestowed upon the kindled heart. Every one who seeks humbly and prayerfully to be a witness for Christ, in the home, in the ways of toil, in the spheres of infer-course, in the house of prayer, by the printed page, with the lips, and by the life, every such faithful disciple of the living Master shall receive His promised gift, the Pentecostal power of the Holy Ghost! (J. G. Butler, D. D.)
Divine inspiration
In different forms and in different degrees that noble wish was fulfilled. The acts of the hero, the songs of the poet, the skill of the artificer, Samsons strength, the music of David, the architecture of Bezaleel and Solomon, are all ascribed to the inspiration of the Divine Spirit. It was not a holy tribe, but holy men of every tribe, that spake as they were moved, carried to and fro out of themselves, by the Spirit of God. The prophets, of whom this might be said, in the strictest sense, were confined to no family or caste, station, or sex. They rose, indeed, above their countrymen; their words were to their countrymen, in a peculiar sense, the words of God. But they were to be found everywhere. Like the springs of their own land, there was no hill or valley where the prophetic gift might not be expected to break forth. Miriam and Deborah, no less than Moses and Barak; in Judah and in Ephraim, no less than in Levi; in Tekoah and Gilead, and, as the climax of all, in Nazareth, no less than in Shiloh and Jerusalem, Gods present counsel might be looked for. By this constant attitude of expectation, if one may so call it, the ears of the whole nation were kept open for the intimations of the Divine Ruler, under whom they lived. None knew beforehand who would be called . . . In the dead of night, as to Samuel; in the ploughing of the field, as Elisha: in the gathering of the sycamore figs, as to Amos; the call might come . . . Moses was but the beginning; he was not, he could not be the end. (Dean Stanley.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 28 The Spirit also rested on them
The Spirit also rested on them
The Spirit giving them power is spoken of as if the Spirit rested on them. AT: "The Spirit also gave them power" (See: Metaphor)
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Their names were written on the list
This can be written in active form. AT: "Moses had written their names on the list" (See: Active or Passive)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v28 11:28-29 Joshua’s zealous protest was prompted by his jealousy…
11:28-29 Joshua’s zealous protest was prompted by his jealousy in a worthy but immature desire to safeguard his master’s status. Moses was humble (Num 12:3) and was not threatened by Eldad and Medad’s prophecy. Instead, he was magnanimous about sharing the spotlight and happy to learn that God was working through others in such special ways. Moses had leadership qualities that the younger Joshua had not yet acquired (cp. Mark 9:38-40).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.