Who were Eldad and Medad?

But we must draw this section to a close, and ere doing so, we shall just glance for a moment at the truly excellent spirit in which Moses meets the new circumstances in which he had placed himself. It is one thing to shrink from the weight of responsibility and care, and it is quite another thing to carry oneself with grace and genuine humility toward those who are called to share that weight with us. The two things are totally different, and we may often see the differences strikingly illustrated. In the scene now before us, Moses manifests that exquisite meekness which so specially characterised him. "But there remained two of the (seventy) 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 to the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!"

This is perfectly beautiful. Moses was far removed from that wretched spirit of envy which would let no one speak but himself. He was prepared, by grace, to rejoice in any and every manifestation of true spiritual power, no matter where or through whom. He knew full well that there could be no right prophesying save by the power of the Spirit of God; and wherever that power was exhibited, who was he that he should seek to quench or hinder?

Before giving them meat, however, the Lord had Moses gather the seventy elders of Israel around the tabernacle, and He came down and took the Spirit that was upon Moses and placed the same Spirit on the seventy elders (vs.24-25). In demonstration of this the elders prophesied at the time, but only then.

When God had given His Spirit to the 70 elders of Israel, the elders had prophesied at the tabernacle. However, two of these men had not come to the tabernacle, yet the Spirit came on them and they prophesied in the camp. When someone told Moses of this, Joshua the assistant of Moses, urged Moses to forbid them to do this. He evidently felt they were infringing on Moses' rights, but Moses firmly reproved Joshua, asking if he was envious simply for Moses' sake. Moses was a man not interested in taking advantage of his rights as leader of Israel, but expressed the genuine wish that all the Lord's people were prophets by the Lord's giving them His Spirit. This humble attitude of Moses indicates why he was qualified for the work God gave him, though we know he did not himself choose that work.

A little further on in the chapter, in verse 25, it says, "And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it to the seventy elders: and it came to pass that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. 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 to the tabernacle; and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them" (vers. 25-29). That verse makes it perfectly clear who this unnamed Spirit was. It was His Spirit — the Spirit of God; and Moses, in the beautiful generosity of his heart, in no way dejected, or put out by the fact that he would be robbed of the Spirit to the extent of seventy others sharing that which he possessed, is delighted that they should be able to minister the grace that he enjoyed. "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them," is a fine utterance at such a moment.

It connects itself, moreover, with individual faith and the energy which stands for God in the midst of departure. The prophet — for we are not now discussing the exceptional case of Balaam — is the "man of God." James introduces Elijah in his first words in Israel, as the righteous man of fervent effectual prayer, which shuts the heavens and restrains the earth from fruit. And he has before this adduced" the prophets who have spoken to you in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience." Prophesying was not, as the priesthood was, something successional and heritable, but a distinct gift to each person who received it.

The blessing in it is, that the voice of the living God utters itself in the prophet, bringing home His word to the present condition and need of men, making them aware of His presence before which they stand, putting them in connection with Him, and under Him, to be guided and controlled by Him. Is not this just the recall of the people here to that wherewith they had started? Is it not the remedy, therefore, for that which has arisen? God thus comes out after His wanderers to make known to them afresh the care which is over them and as thus seeking them with the intent to fill their lives with the power of His presence we can understand the special significance of Eldad and Medad, with their glorious names, "God hath loved," Love," prophesying in the camp. The Spirit of God breaks over boundary-lines, and refuses distance, in witness of the overflow of His heart toward the people: the irregularity apparent, and which unintelligent zeal would have rebuked, only making more noticeable the action of God. Worthy of Him are all His ways.

But Joshua is still a learner. The next notice that we get of him (Num. 11) is in the self-same tabernacle; but here he openly exhibits a misapprehension of the mind of God. That very truth which had before saved him from defiled association, and preserved him in unison with God's mind, here contracts his spiritual vision when he makes use of it to circumscribe God, instead of regarding it as only in part a revelation of His mind. This is a very important connection, for it is God Himself, and not any single line of His truth which is to counsel me, or determine my walk and judgment. To remain in the separated tabernacle was plainly the truth and way of blessing, when Israel was in apostacy; but when Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp, God's Spirit must be acknowledged, though they do not come to the separated tabernacle.

Hence Moses rebukes Joshua, as really caring for the things of men, and not for the things of God. But a rebuke of this kind is not intended to dishearten, for mistakes, in personal attachment, never debar us from the highest and closest confidence the very next moment. The heart is right, but it has taken counsel from the flesh and must be rebuked; but this being done, it is set free for God. Peter expressed the mind of Satan as to the Lord's death and was sharply rebuked for his misapprehension, but he is not disqualified from accompanying the Lord to the holy mount, nor is Joshua here disqualified for the special service of a spy. Error is dealt with very much according to what it springs from. It may be from natural, and therefore unacceptable, affection, or from indifference or from malice. The ignorance of Mary Magdalene is met and counteracted with a tenderness very different to that which the seven apostles who went a fishing, are corrected and enlightened.

Moses' complaint follows. He seems discouraged and downcast as he looks over the vast camp and sees everybody weeping. It was failure in Moses also, who did not fully trust Jehovah that He could take care of His people and endow him, the leader of His people, with His own strength. The Lord met his weak and discouraged servant and told him to call the elders, seventy of them, and the Spirit, who was upon Moses, was to be put upon them. They were to share the burden with him. But while this delivered him from some of the care it also lost him dignity. Again Moses addressed Jehovah and expressed doubt about the feeding of the six hundred thousand footmen. "Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice them? or shall all the fish in the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them?" And the Lord rebuked him. The elders who received the Spirit prophesied and did not cease. What they prophesied is not revealed in the record. They uttered the words of God, exhorting the people in their increasing departure from Jehovah. Prophecy is always put into the foreground in the days of failure and apostasy. Here we also learn that prophecy is a gift. While Moses failed, Joshua also made a failure in being envious because Eldad and Medad prophesied in the camp. He was jealous not for Jehovah, but for Moses. "And Moses said unto him, enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them." This wish of Moses' is realized in the church, for all His believing people now have the gift of the Spirit. And the remnant of God's earthly people will yet be prophets upon whom the Spirit of God is poured out. This will be accomplished in the future when the Lord has come.

This is followed by the remarkable passage between Jehovah and His servant. Moses himself is downcast through sorrow and distress of circumstances, and confesses that he is not able to bear with His people. Then Jehovah bids him gather to him seventy men of the elders of Israel. Was this really according to the full mind of the Lord? or did the Lord not take Moses at his word, and, as the result, share his singular honour with these elders? Jehovah came down, it is said, in a cloud and spake to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him and gave it to the seventy elders; and it came to pass that when the Spirit was upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. And this gave occasion also to the haste of Joshua, who was somewhat indignant for his master. Neither was this well. It was weakness in Moses that he could not trust Jehovah to care for His people; but it was yet more in Joshua to be over jealous for Moses' sake. The singular distinction with which God had honoured Moses ought to have raised Joshua above such feeling. "Enviest thou for my sake?" said Moses. "Would God that all Jehovah's people were prophets, and that Jehovah would put his spirit upon them."

Blessed anticipation of that which God was going to do another day — the very day in which we are now brought to God, and in which He has gathered us together in one! Do we understand this day of ours? Are our hearts in the secret of it? Are we misled by Joshua's feeling? or do we share the mind of Moses? Undoubtedly it is an hour of feebleness but withal of blessedness, of infinite peace and joy in the Lord. But we find even more.

Thus the unbelief and grievous sin of the people provoked some breakdown on the part of Moses, but the way in which the Lord condescended in His kindness to meet His fainting servant is very beautiful. Moses should no longer feel lonely, as though he had to bear the weight alone. He was granted human support in the shape of seventy elders of the people, though it was by reason of sharing the spirit that had been upon him that they were able to give the support. In result, they became prophets. Two who shared in the power were out of order as to their location, and this brought to light another striking feature that characterized Moses.

Joshua would have had the two men silenced because of the irregularity that marked their prophesying, but Moses forbad him. Envy might have found a place in the heart of Joshua but it had no place in the heart of Moses. The desire for pre-eminence, which is so rooted in the mind of the natural man, had no place with him. He displayed very clearly that meekness which is attributed to him in verse 3 of the next chapter. When 40 years old he was not very meek, as Exodus 2:12 shows Now after the 40 years' discipline from God in Midian, he is "very meek" though he had become "very great" (Ex. 11:3), in the eyes of the world.

Moses, wearied of them as of a heavy burden, complains, in his turn, of his glorious position. God relieves him of the weight of his charge, but not without upbraiding him; and He adjoins seventy persons to him to help him in bearing it. The Spirit of God acts in two of them, though they do not present themselves to receive it where Moses was: they prophesy in the camp. Joshua, jealous of the glory of his master, wishes them to be silenced. But if Moses, unable to bear the weight of his glory, has been obliged to share it with others, and, up to a certain point, lose part of it, he shews at least, in this circumstance, 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!"

I do not know. Up to Sinai, as we have seen, God had proved His divine glory by giving them all they wanted without a reproach, but here He visits them with His displeasure. And even Moses' faith is feeble, and he asks whether they were to kill all the flocks and the herds? And yet beautiful grace is shewn in Moses when two of them did not come up, but abode in the camp. "Enviest thou for my sake?" he says; "Would God that all the LORD's people were prophets!"