And Jehovah said to Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and their officers; and take them to the tent of meeting, and they shall stand there with thee.
Moses has just told God that the weight of Israel is more than he can carry. God answers by naming seventy men to stand with him at the tent of meeting. Commentators differ in tone about that answer: some stress the rebuke in it, others God's compassion toward a servant at the end of himself.
The seventy come out of a larger body of elders. And Moses must pick men he knows to be elders — a test of character, not of title:
First of all, it matters most that they are "elders" — and elders in more than title, since the verse names them officers separately, as a thing apart. "Elders" belong to the old order of family heads, which is so natural. They are men of years, with the experience that years gather, and with the weight in their generation to match it. "Elders whom you know to be elders," the Lord says to Moses — those who really answer in character to their years.
God makes nothing new for the seventy. He divides what Moses already has, and the exact wording matters:
In answer to his complaint (chapter 11:11-15), God tells him to bring seventy of the elders. And He adds, "I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone." Moses loses something of the importance of his place. God does not say, I will give them some of My Spirit. He says, "I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them" — and that was a strong rebuke.
The seventy did prophesy. Even so, God's words point to where the real trouble lay:
The effect is that they prophesied and did not stop. This proves that God had given him enough wisdom, but the thought of self hid it, and he did not seek power from God. "So that you may not bear it yourself alone" is the way God brings before him the root of his failure. He did not have to bear it; he only thought he did. Or at least he forgot that God carried both him and Israel through the wilderness with the tenderness of a nursing father.
Numbers went up. Power did not.
No fresh power came in. It was the same Spirit, whether in one or in seventy. There was no more value or virtue in the flesh of seventy men than in the flesh of one man. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all" (John 6:63). This move on Moses' part gained nothing in power, but lost a great deal in dignity.
The loss is real. So is the kindness behind it.
If God intended Moses to do the work alone, He would give him grace and strength for it. Yet He does show compassion for Moses' weakness.
The rebuke and the grace are one act.
How full of grace God's way with him is. If joining others with him touches the dignity of his position, is that not a very gentle rebuke for his lack of faith in the resources of God?
Their prophesying was no side detail. It fits a pattern that runs from the days of the priest Eli onward:
We shall find prophecy to be the constant resource in days of departure from God. When the priesthood fails in the days of Eli, God raises up Samuel to stand between the people and Himself. When the kings have failed in Israel, the prophets grow ever more important. When something disturbs the regular order and closes the usual channels of blessing, prophecy is the sign of God's sovereign grace pouring itself out through new channels of its own making.
Commentators turn this into a warning for anyone who meets a heavy task by recruiting help.
Moses may well be a warning to us here. He complained to the Lord that the burden of the people was too heavy for him. The Lord allowed him to have seventy associates, but He took of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on them. The association brought no gain of power. It brought enormous loss, because from then on seventy judgments came into every question that had to be decided.
- Burden. Moses asked to be relieved of a weight he was never carrying alone — God had been carrying both him and Israel.
- Shared. The seventy received nothing new; God took of the Spirit already on Moses and spread it over them.
- Unchanged. Multiplying men multiplies no power — the same Spirit in seventy is still the same Spirit.
- Cost. What Moses gained in relief, he lost in dignity.
- Purpose. The seventy prophesied — and prophecy is God's resource when His people drift.
And I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, and thou shalt not bear it alone.
Moses has just told the Lord that the people are too heavy for him to carry. God answers by spreading that weight over seventy others. But He does it in a striking way. He takes from the Spirit already resting on Moses instead of adding something new. Is this pure relief, or relief mixed with rebuke?
The chapter opens with the people complaining, and Moses buckles under the load.
So the people's unbelief and grievous sin led Moses to break down. But the way the Lord stooped in kindness to meet His fainting servant is very beautiful. Moses should no longer feel alone, as though he had to carry the weight by himself. He was given human support in the form of seventy elders of the people. Yet they could only give that support because they shared the spirit that had been on him.
These seventy were not simply the old men of Israel. The word behind "elders" carries the sense of age and standing, and the seventy were picked out from a wider group.
The word is saqen, which implies "aged man"; they were no doubt also men of repute, including heads of houses of each tribe, without having any official place such as was given to the seventy appointed by God to work with Moses: these were chosen from among the elders.
God's exact words matter. He does not offer these men His own Spirit. He takes from what Moses already had.
Moses loses something of the importance of his place. God does not say, I will give them of My Spirit. He says, "I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them." That was a strong rebuke.
The closing phrase of the verse names what had gone wrong. Moses had said he was not able, and God answers him on that ground.
Others now share his position, and that touches his dignity. Is this not a very gentle rebuke for his lack of faith in the resources of God? God also meets him on his own ground. He said he was not able, so God appoints seventy others to help him… The words "so that you may not bear it yourself alone" are how God shows him the root of his failure. Not that he had to bear it, but that he thought so. Or at least he forgot that God carried both him and Israel through the wilderness with the tenderness of a nursing father.
Sharing the load added no power. More helpers did not mean more of the Spirit.
There was no fresh power introduced. It was the same Spirit, whether in one or in seventy. There was no more value or virtue in the flesh of seventy men than in the flesh of one man. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all" (John 6:63). Moses gained nothing in the way of power by this move, and lost a great deal in the way of dignity.
The Spirit resting on the seventy is not the same thing believers have now.
The Holy Spirit did give life to every believer from Abel onwards. He also came on certain people God used in His service in the past… He was on Moses, and He rested on the seventy elders of Israel as well (Num. 11:17-26). The Old Testament describes the Spirit working in power in many different ways. But He did not live in any of the believers of that time.
The story does not end in loss. When the seventy prophesy, some do it out in the camp, and Moses' answer shows his heart.
Moses could not carry the weight of his glory. So he had to share it with others and, up to a point, lose part of it. Yet here he shows the depth of the grace that was in him. He does not envy those who prophesy in the camp. "Would God," he says, "that all were prophets!"
This carries a warning for anyone tempted to gather helpers around a task.
The Lord allowed him to have seventy helpers. But He took from the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on them. The partnership gained no power at all. It brought enormous loss, because from then on seventy opinions were brought into every question.
- Complaint — Moses said the load was too heavy. God met him on his own ground and named the unbelief behind the complaint: "so that you may not bear it yourself alone."
- Compassion — the Lord did not push His fainting servant away. He came down to speak with him, and gave him seventy men to stand with him.
- Cost — God took from the Spirit on Moses instead of adding more. The same Spirit in seventy men is no more power than in one, so Moses gained nothing and lost dignity.
- Character — when others prophesied, Moses showed no envy. He wished that all God's people were prophets.
- Contrast — the Spirit rested on these men for a task. Today He lives in every believer.