When I’ve done my “Read the Bible in a Year” programs, I usually skip over the book of Numbers. Why? Because its a book of… well… numbers. There are this many people from the tribe of Judah, and this many people in the tribe of Benjamin etc. Frankly, I’m not sure how knowing how many Jewish people belonged to which tribe affects my spiritual growth. However, there is an interesting story in the book of Numbers that bears scrutiny; especially to those of us who are critical of some of the aspects of organized Christianity. It is found in Numbers 11. If you haven’t read this chapter, it would do you good to give it a good perusal.
To give a little background on this story, the Israelites had begun complaining about only having manna to eat. They wanted meat. Moses heard them complaining. Again. He had had enough. He wanted out. Those of us who are parents have often experienced this very thing. We have probably said something similar to God. “C’mon God! What have I done wrong? Why is this happening to me?” Moses asks “Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.” So Moses says, if this is how you are going to treat me God, just kill me! That’s a little drastic for me, but I have never been in Moses’ position. I’ve sometimes felt the same way about parenting 3 girls. I can’t imagine having to care for “600,000 men” (Numbers 11:21) not to mention the women and children. So God agrees that Moses is breaking under the pressure. God’s plan is to take 70 people to help spread out the load a little. God says that if they will meet him at the tabernacle, he will “…come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.”
So Moses passes the word around. He chooses 70 people to meet with God at the tabernacle. Just as he had promised, God came and took the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the elders that had been chosen, and they began to prophesy. But there’s wrinkle. It seems that only 68 of the elders showed up for the meeting. 2 of the men chosen for this momentous occasion had declined to be involved. Elded and Meded had stayed in the camp. Their names were on the list. They were invited. They were part of the plan to help Moses. But they were no-shows. There are several good theories about why they stayed behind, but for this discussion it is sufficient to note that they were not a part of the men who met at the tabernacle.
Traditional Christian thinking would tell us that if God told you to be at the tabernacle in order to receive what he was giving, then you had better be there. After all, this is the way God does things. You show up at the tabernacle, you receive the spirit, you prophesy. But it seems that God wasn’t letting them off the hook so easily. We read in verse 26 that “…the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.” How about that! They weren’t where they were supposed to be, but they received what God had for them anyway.
Apparently, some things haven’t changed all that much. As we continue to read, we find that this didn’t sit well with some of the people. A young man ran to find Moses and tell him about Eldad and Meded. Hey Moses! “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” And just as you may have come to expect, someone spoke up. None other than Joshua said to Moses “Moses, my lord, stop them!” He was saying Moses! They aren’t where they were supposed to be! They didn’t follow directions! This isn’t how it works! You can’t just skip the meeting and get the blessing anyway! Do something Moses! Do you realize that people may start to question your authority if you allow this to happen After all, it was you who told them to be at the tabernacle. They weren’t there, but received the Spirit anyway! People will begin to question whether you have it all together. You can’t allow this to continue.
Moses has a different perspective. He replies “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Moses says I don’t care how it happened. I need help! I wish that everyone would receive the Spirit! This isn’t about me. This isn’t about my plans. This is about God. This is bigger than my plans. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than what you think should have happened, or even how you think it would have happened. This is about God answering my call for help.
How often do we fall into the same thought process? God I need help! And when it comes, we don’t recognize it for what it is because it didn’t happen the way we thought it should have. In fact, we sometimes stop the process because it isn’t what we expected. That can’t be God. I prayed for more money, not a new job. How often are we critical of others who don’t do things the way we think they should do them? How often do we try to rob others of God’s blessing because they don’t follow the same path as we did? Or do we try to stop others from walking in God’s blessing because they didn’t “show up” where they were supposed to? Maybe they don’t go to church as faithfully as we think they should. God certainly can’t bless them. They only go to church once a month. They’re not _________ (insert denomination here). How could God bless them when their theology is wrong? They don’t speak in tongues, pray enough, pray the way they should pray, give enough, give to the things they should etc. Of course, those whom we point these accusations at probably feel the same way about us!
Perhaps we should be open to the thought that maybe, just maybe, that thing we don’t understand or even necessarily agree with, may be God at work. Of course, not everything is God, and we need to use some discretion and discernment, but I think perhaps we automatically disregard certain things because they don’t line up with how we think God operates. We should know that God doesn’t always follow our thought process. God’s kingdom is not a democracy. God’s actions are not subject to our approval. Eldad and Medad can attest to that. Maybe we should allow God to work however he chooses – without getting our approval first.