Devotion 5.20.26

Numbers 11

"24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them 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 as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

26 Now 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. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, 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, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp."

God's shares his Spirit with the elders by giving them a portion of Moses' Spirit from God. It is a foretelling of Pentecost which we observe this week. At Pentecost, the Spirit comes to the people hearing God's Word, and we receive his gifts today through our baptism, communion, daily prayer and by being in his Word.

I joined a group on Facebook called "The Presidents Group." It consists of people posing questions about "best," or "greatest," or "what if...?" For example, "What would have happened if Liincoln had finished out his term?"

So, in today's passage, Moses acts like a member of this group by posing a question, "What if all God's people were prophets? What if God put his Spirit on his people?"

Isn't that what he does at Pentecost? Christ breathed his Spirit on his disciples (John 20). Christ tells them his "helper" (Holy Spirit) will come (John 14). The Holy Spirit comes to the believers (Acts 2, devotion reading later this week) at Pentecost. Moses' elders experience a limited offering of the talents from God's Spirit. Today, we enjoy the full fruit from the Spirit. Faith, given to us at baptism is first and foremost in these gifts.

Paul writes: "7 The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. 8 To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. 9 To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others he gives the ability to prophesy. To others he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. 11 All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides." (1 Corinthians 12)

God's Spirit in Moses was shared partially to the elders to calm Israel. Moses' question is looking to a future that was revealed after Christ's ascension. We see the "what if" played out today. Today, the Spirit helps us grow in faith and use the talents we enjoy from Him to grow his church by reaching the lost. The Spirit reveals truths to us. The Spirit strengthens us. The Spirit takes our words and shapes them for God as we groan and sigh, lifting up our weak words for meaning for our daily bread.

Pray with me: Gracious God, You've given me faith through your Spirit in my baptism. For that, I give thanks. Strengthen me daily through prayer and supplication from your Word through your Spirit. Help me to show the fruit of your Spirit in my love of you and my neighbor. In Christ's name, Amen.

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.