And Moses went out and told the people the words of Jehovah; and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tent.
In Numbers 11 Moses tells God he cannot carry this people alone, and God answers by naming seventy men to stand with him. Here Moses obeys — but what did the seventy receive, and what did obeying cost him?
"Elders" is a word about age and standing, not about office. God gave these seventy something the other elders did not have.
The word is saqen, which means "aged man." They were no doubt also men of standing, including the heads of the families of each tribe. But they held no official place like the one God gave to the seventy He appointed to work with Moses. God chose those seventy from among the elders.
The seventy did not receive a new supply. God took of the Spirit already resting on Moses and put it on them.
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). This move on Moses' part gained nothing in power. It cost him a great deal in dignity.
The exact wording of God's promise carried a sting. He did not offer the elders a fresh gift from Himself; He drew on what Moses already had.
Moses loses something of the importance of his place. God does not say, "I will give them of My Spirit," but, "I will take of the spirit that is upon you and will put it upon them," which really was a strong rebuke.
Yet the rebuke arrived as help. Moses had said the load was too heavy; God gave him men to share it.
The unbelief and grievous sin of the people led Moses to break down. But it is very beautiful to see how kindly the Lord stooped to meet His fainting servant. Moses should no longer feel lonely, as though he had to bear the weight alone. God gave him human support in the form of seventy elders of the people. Yet they could give that support only because they shared the spirit that had been on him.
Moses did not scatter the seventy through the camp. He stationed them at the tent.
But the voice of prophecy breaks out especially around the entrance of the tabernacle — the voice that calls Israel back, and how fitting that is in that place! Those who draw near to the sanctuary of God hear it in its fullness, not as scattered voices, but the full harmony of the mind of God.
Their task was not administration but speaking for God to a people drifting away from Him.
They are to share with Moses the burden of the people, and for this they are to share the Spirit that rests upon Moses. They too are to be prophets, to bring the word of God directly to the people of God, and by its means to stop departure from Him. Of what they said we have not a single word. The point for us is not any particular message, but simply the fact that they prophesied — the prophesying of elders who are overseers of the congregation.
Their prophesying proved the Spirit had come on them. It did not continue:
In demonstration of this the elders prophesied at the time, but only then.
Seventy capable men added nothing that the Spirit had not already supplied. The same rule holds for all service now.
The true secret of all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man's genius, or man's intellect, or man's energy, but simply the power of the Spirit of God. This was true in the days of Moses, and it is true now. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6)… If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. His gifts may be great, his reading wide, his store of knowledge vast. But if the Holy Spirit is not the spring and power of his ministry, it will sooner or later lose its freshness and its effect.
- Obedience. Moses obeys a word that costs him: he gathers the very men who will share his place.
- Shared. God did not create a new gift for the seventy; He took of the Spirit on Moses and put it on them. One man or seventy, it was the same Spirit, and flesh added nothing.
- Placed. Stationed at the tent, they prophesied — carrying God's word to His people to stop them drifting from Him.
- Gracious. The move rebuked Moses' unbelief and at the same time showed real kindness to a servant who had collapsed.
- Dependence. What was true at the tent is true still: service that draws on human ability runs dry, and only the Spirit keeps it fresh.
And Jehovah came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men, the elders; and it came to pass, that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not repeat [it].
Moses had just told God that the people were too heavy a load to carry alone. This verse is God's answer — and writers differ over whether it was kindness, rebuke, or both.
The verse opens with the cloud. That was how God had long made His presence visible to Israel.
Clouds were the heavenly veil of the presence of God — His chariot, and the hiding place of His power. It pleased God to show His presence to Israel in a cloud. The pillar of cloud guided the children of Israel through the wilderness (Ex. 40:34-38). On special occasions the LORD came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses (Num. 11:25).
"Elder" was an ordinary word for an older man of standing, not a title. The seventy were picked out of that wider group and given something the rest did not have.
The word is saqen, which points to an "aged man." They were no doubt also men of good reputation, including heads of the households of each tribe. But they held no official place like the one God gave to the seventy who worked with Moses. God chose those seventy from among the elders (Num. 11:16-17, 24, 25).
Commentators differ on how to read God's response. Some see God stooping to comfort a worn-out servant.
The unbelief and grievous sin of the people led Moses to break down. But it is very beautiful to see how the Lord stooped in kindness to meet His fainting servant. Moses should no longer feel lonely, as though he had to bear the weight alone.
Others weigh the exact words God used.
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 in fact a strong rebuke.
Seventy-one men now carried what one had carried. That did not mean more power was at work in the camp.
Moses lost a great privilege. The LORD still exercised the same power, though He used seventy other men to do it. He spread the power of the Spirit wider; He did not increase it.
Scripture records not one word of what the seventy said. The point is that they prophesied at all.
They are to share with Moses the burden of the people, and for this they are to share the Spirit that rests upon Moses. They too are to be prophets. They are to bring the word of God straight to the people of God, and so hold back their drifting away from Him.
Prophecy has a pattern in Scripture. It shows up when things break down.
We shall find that prophecy is the constant resource in days when people turn away from God. When the priesthood failed in the days of Eli the priest, God raised up Samuel to stand between the people and God. When the kings had failed in Israel, the prophets came into ever-increasing importance. Sometimes the regular order breaks down and the usual channels of blessing close up. Then prophecy is the sign of God's sovereign grace, pouring itself out through new channels of its own making.
The Spirit resting on these men is not the same thing Christians receive.
Let no one think we mean that the Holy Spirit did not act on earth before this. Scripture is plain about it. At creation, He brooded over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). Before the flood He strove with men (Gen. 6:3). He came upon men for prophecy or for power (Num. 11:25-26; Judges 14:6)… But none of these is the baptism of the Spirit, which unites believers to a glorified Christ and to one another. That took place at Pentecost.
What was true for Moses holds for anyone who serves God.
The true secret of all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man's genius, or man's intellect, or man's energy, but simply the power of the Spirit of God. This was true in the days of Moses, and it is true now… A ministry that flows from steady dependence on the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry.
- Cause. Moses said the burden was too heavy for him. God answered by coming down in the cloud — the veil of His presence and the hiding place of His power.
- Gift. God took the Spirit for the seventy from what already rested on Moses. Some read this as kindness to a fainting servant. Others read it as a rebuke that cost him part of his place.
- Measure. Sharing changed the number of carriers, not the amount of power. God spread the power of the Spirit wider; He did not increase it.
- Reach. The mark of the gift was prophecy. God's word came straight to His people to hold back their drifting. It is His standing resource whenever the usual channels close up.
- Result. The Spirit came upon men then for power. He now unites believers to a glorified Christ. In every age, service that leans on Him never runs dry.