Adonai aims for the people to see Him and hear His voice directly . Though prohibited from ascending the mountain , they were instructed to draw near to the mountain once they heard the sound of the shofar . See the progression here . Israel is called to be a nation of priests that demonstrate God ’ s light of glory to the world . They are to be a people that hear God ’ s voice . But because of fear , they beckoned Moses to speak to God on their behalf so that they wouldn ’ t die .
An amazing event is recorded in Numbers 11 . Moses , feeling the weight of leadership , cries out before the Lord . ” I am not able to carry all these people by myself ! The load is too heavy for me ! If this is how You are treating me , kill me now ! If I have found favor in Your eyes , kill me please — don ’ t let me see my own misery !” ( v . 14-15 ). In response , Adonai instructed Moses to gather 70 of the elders of Israel so that God could fill them with His Spirit and with wisdom .
Moses gathered the 70 elders around the Tent of Meeting , and the Holy Spirit fell upon them , and they all started prophesying . Well , 68 of them were there . Eldad and Medad weren ’ t with the rest of the group . Perhaps the smoke from the daily offerings had blocked their cell phone signals so they didn ’ t know what time to arrive . Even so , the Holy Spirit fell on Eldad and Medad , and they started prophesying back in the camp .
This caused quite the stir , so Joshua , Moses ’ astute assistant , pleaded with Moses to make them stop . It was in this context that Moses stepped into his role as a prophet . He said , “ Are you jealous on my behalf ? If only Adonai would make all the people prophets ! If only Adonai would put the Spirit on all of them !” ( v . 29 ).
Moses may not have understood the full prophetic weight of his own words . Could Moses have perceived that the best way to lead and govern the people of God would be that He would speak to each one of them individually ? That each one of them would have clarity and wisdom to know how to honor God in their lives .
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