READ: Numbers 11-12 / Psalm 82
Verse
chosen for meditation: Numbers 11:26-29
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!”
REFLECT
In
this chapter, we see a similar pattern again: the Israelites' incessant
complaints, angering God, and Moses interceding for them. Then, Moses finally
had enough and asked God to relief him of the burden of leading the people,
preferring death even (Numbers 11:10-15). Moses’ lament contained discontent,
despair and even rebellion, quite different from the kind of laments we read in
the Psalms, where there were expressions of faith and hope amidst the
desperation. In this lament, Moses lost sight of God’s greatness and His
ability to provide for the people.
God
nevertheless answered Moses’ plea by imparting His Spirit on 70 selected elders,
to spread the burden of leadership. For some reason, 2 out of the 70 remained
in camp to prophesy rather than gather at the tent. This prompted Joshua to
urge Moses to stop the 2 men, worried that they might steal his thunder and
undermine his ministry.
Moses’
faith in God may be found wanting due to his lament, but his character shone
here in his selflessness and humility. Rather than sharing Joshua’s concern of brewing
rivalry and worrying about his own popularity, Moses instead chose to rejoice
if all the people had the Spirit of God.
RELATE
When
someone like Moses says the words “Glory be to God!”, we can fully believe.
Moses has always been a self-effacing person, meaning he does not seek
attention for himself. All that he did was for the people and to bring glory to
God, never glory for himself. The more who could help him with this work, the
better, making his job easier. If bringing more glory to God and growing the
people meant less honour for himself, he would rather that anytime.
Then
we look at ourselves. How many times do we exclaim “Glory be to God!”, but somewhere
deep in our hearts, we may be craving for just a whisker of that glory for ourselves,
for doing God’s work? That’s not to say we don’t mean it. However, we may
sometimes find ourselves wary of other people’s talents, putting our
guard up for possible rivalries, worrying about the effectiveness of our
ministry. This usually happens when someone else displays a talent or trait
that we may be known for. We may not the jealous type but when it comes to our
most confident abilities being matched, we may feel like what we have to offer
may be appreciated less and less. The 2 elders displayed something that only
Moses was able to do previously. It’s no wonder Joshua felt jealous for Moses. However, Joshua had greater concern for Moses’ honour than for the good
of the people.
Moses
epitomises the sort of humility and self-effacing nature our God wants us to
strive towards. When Moses interceded for the people in Exodus 32:31-32 after
they committed the gravest of sins in idol worship, he did not bask in being
the sole person having the favour of God, and let God wipe out the rest of the
tribes, which would only lead to Moses’ own tribe having the highest honour. Instead,
he pleaded that God forgive and spare them, and even told God to strike off his
own name from the book of life if He could not spare them. Like Moses, can all
our motivations, actions, decisions be for the people of God, for the glory of
God?
REST
God, help us let go of our pride. Lead us not into
envy, which is the root of many sins. Help us see that even the talents we are
so proud of come from you, so there’s nothing to boast about. May we build one another
up in the same body of Christ and celebrate one another’s growth and contributions,
as they bring glory to your name. Amen.
Chris
Chong
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