October 15, 2006 Numbers 11:16, 24-29

¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. ²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. ²⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.

²⁶ However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." ²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" ²⁹ But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" (NIV)

In the conclusion to the Ten Commandments, God describes Himself as a "jealous" God. This is a rather peculiar term. When I think of jealous, as used by our society, it usually isn't good. Kids often become "jealous" of one another, when one has better looks, more money, or is more popular. Heathen cultures often picture their false gods as being jealous or envious of people's good fortune. But when God calls Himself a "jealous" God, it means something different. It means that He wants all of our attention, because He is the Lord, Maker, and Savior of all. How do we imitate this jealousy? There is a right way to do this, and a wrong way. Moses knew the right way. Joshua did not. Today we will compare the two, as we learn from Moses how to "Practice 'Christian Jealousy.'"

Practice "Christian Jealousy"

I. Joshua's didn't

It says in the Bible in Exodus 33 that when the Israelites would have a question to ask of the Lord, Moses would go to inquire of the Lord with Joshua. The Israelites would watch from the entrance of their tents and worship the Lord as a huge cloud would descend over the tent of meeting when Moses went there. Verse 11 of Exodus 33 says, The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. So Joshua and the Israelites became accustomed to Moses being the spokesperson of the Lord.

But here in this text, something radically different happened. When Moses went to the tent of meeting, God took the Holy Spirit from Moses and also gave the gifts of the Spirit to these 70 men. It wasn't like the Holy Spirit can be split up like a pie - like God took some of His Spirit from Moses so that he had fewer gifts. It kind of works like a flame, like you would imagine at Pentecost. One candle can light hundreds of candles, without losing any of its brilliance or heat. That is what God did with the Spirit He had given Moses. He used It to give 70 other men, picked by Moses, special gifts of prophesying. Even Eldad and Medad, who for some reason were not at the tent of meeting, began prophesying in the camp. We don't know exactly what kind of prophesying this was. But it was apparent to those in the camp that these men were speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This was something that the Israelites had never seen before.

Since these men were not at the tent of meeting, Joshua must have felt that they were acting without the authorization of Moses. He assumed that Eldad and Medad were attempting to take the authority away from Moses, as Miriam and Korah did shortly thereafter. So imagine putting yourself in Joshua's footsteps. He had followed Moses around as his mentor for his whole life. He respected Moses and he knew that Moses was God's chosen spokesman. If these men had the same abilities as Moses, then his long-looked-up-to leader would no longer have as much authority. Therefore, he said to Moses, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" Instead of being happy that other men had more spiritual gifts, he wanted Moses to have them all. He was not practicing a "Christian jealousy." He was practicing a "Moses jealousy" - more concerned about Moses' honor than he was about the spiritual welfare of the people.

As Christians, we can be like Joshua when we become accustomed to the way things have "always been done" and the same people doing them. For instance, one church can have the same men and women leading it for years. It can have the same pastor, same council members, same Sunday School teachers for many years. This is fine, until it becomes a crutch for the people. We can become so accustomed to these things that we view any change, any help, or any suggestion for improvements as a threat. But do you see where this can be carried too far? Joshua was so enamored with Moses that he ended up trying to stop the Lord's work from being done. Could it be that we become so comfortable with doing things in what we consider to be the "right way," that we hinder the usage of many other peoples' gifts? Instead of wanting other people to use their gifts, we are afraid to let anyone else take over in the fear that it won't be done "right". An eager new member comes to a voter's meeting with an idea for a sign in the front of the church, and some "Joshua" snaps at him, "that would cost too much!" A young lady volunteers to help with Sunday School, but a "Joshuess" starts complaining that this new volunteer doesn't teach it the way she used to, even though no doctrines have been compromised. You can become so enamored with one pastor and his style that you forget that the Holy Spirit can also work through other pastors and other styles as well.

In all actuality, this is a completely anti-Christian attitude. When you start demanding to "do things yourself" and when you think only one person can do it "right" this only reflects a selfish work righteous attitude. This is very similar to the attitude of an unbeliever, which ultimately puts them in hell. A heathen will tell Christ, "I don't need your help. I'll do it myself. I'll get to heaven by my own accomplishments. Jesus, you didn't do a good enough job. I have to add to your work by being the best that I can be." That's the self-righteous attitude of someone who is going to hell.

The true Christian attitude realizes that he needs all of the help he can get. He admits with the apostle Paul, that¹⁵ Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst." (1 Timothy 1:15-16) Christians know that they need not only just a little help from Jesus Christ to get to heaven. They realize that Jesus has to do all of the work. They are not too proud or too self righteous to rely on Christ for their salvation. They don't try and earn God's forgiveness. They know that they need God's mercy, love and forgiveness in Christ. The same goes for the work of the Holy Spirit. A Christian attitude recognizes that even as a Christian he still needs the Holy Spirit to do a majority of the work through his weak and feeble body. He also recognizes that he needs as much help as he can get - because he has plenty of weaknesses.

II. Moses did

Moses had this kind of attitude. When he found out that Eldad and Medad had been given the extra gifts of the Spirit, he said to Joshua, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" This is the same response of Jesus in our Gospel for today. When the disciples tried to stop a man who was driving out demons, Jesus said, "do not stop him." Jesus and Moses wanted as many people as possible to use the gifts that the Holy Spirit had given them. So Moses was imitating God's attitude.

What made Moses practice this "Christian Jealousy"? We find the answer to this question just prior to our text for today. At this point in Moses' ministry, he had reached a brick wall. He had tried to do things on his own, to be the leader of more than 400,000 men. You can only imagine the many problems and personalities that he had to deal with. The Israelites had been eating manna for quite some time, and they were sick of it. So once again, they brought their complaint to Moses. It was at this time that Moses gave up. He couldn't take it anymore. He, as one man, was not able to deal with all of these people. So listen to the prayer he prayed - Numbers 11:11-15 He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, `Give us meat to eat!' I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now if I have found favor in your eyes - and do not let me face my own ruin." The whole prospect of taking care of millions of people brought Moses to his knees. He realized that he was not able to achieve such a task. God had humbled Moses. So when God answered his prayer, and gave him 70 helpers, Moses was more than glad to have all of the help he could get. In humility, Moses realized that these men were not a threat to God's kingdom. They would help it grow.

Perhaps that is why God gives us lazy children or a lazy spouse? Perhaps that is why God has called you to work with a bunch of lazy stiffs. Maybe that is why He stuck you with a bunch of schlunkos who can't do anything right. Maybe He is trying to get you to realize YOU CAN'T do it all by yourself - so get off your high horse! Maybe He is trying to teach you that you need to let some things go. Maybe He is showing you how impatient and proud you really are. If you are growing old, and you need your children's help, don't be too proud to ask for it. If your spouse or children try to help with dinner or the dishes - even if they aren't the greatest at it - don't look a gift horse in the mouth. A part of humility means allowing people to help and to do their part - even if they don't do it when or how you like. That means encouraging your children to help clean their rooms. It means letting your husband vacuum even if he is lousy at it. It means being happy if someone wants to help - even if it is going to cost you more time or make you give up something you enjoy doing. If they need help in developing their gifts to serve fellow Christians - then instead of cutting them off - patiently help train them to do the job right. Christian Jealousy doesn't self righteously try to do all the work. It loves it when God works through more people than less. The perfect example of this is Christ. Even though He could have done all of the ministry Himself, He trained His disciples to help heal the sick and chase out demons and proclaim the kingdom of God. He was glad to have these men to help - even though they often proved themselves to be inept. He is still glad to have us help - even though we often complain. He forgives us and works with us in spite of our weaknesses. What a wonderful God we have!

III. Through the Holy Spirit, so can you

When it comes to companionship, God gave us some perfect words of encouragement in Ecclesiastes 4. In vs. 12 He said, Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. In other words, having a companion, whether it is a close friend or a brother or a sister or a spouse, helps you through the hard times. What makes it much stronger however, is when you add the third strand.

We've been talking a lot about using our gifts and sharing in the work together to the glory of God's kingdom today. But how does it finally get done? How can we all have this "jealousy?" Did Moses yell at his people, "come on, let's get some help around here?" No. Did Moses try and implement some special ministry plan to get the 70 elders to work together? No. What did he do? He simply prayed to the Lord, and the Lord in His mercy answered Moses' prayer. The Lord in His mercy sent His Spirit on the 70 elders, so that His kingdom could be managed.

And this is the answer for us. If we want to grow as a church, and if we want to work together, and if we want to Practice Christian Jealousy, there is only that this will be possible. We cannot self righteously gripe to each other about how some people are working more than others. We cannot yell at people to get more involved. All we can do is humbly pray that the Lord would send his Holy Spirit into our hearts. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the gifts and grant us a spirit of cooperation to work toward the same goal as he did for Moses and the 70. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the strength to Practice Christian Jealousy.

The good news is that God has answered Moses' prayer and still answers it today. Each and every one of us were anointed with the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. We are all modern day Eldads and Medads. Eldad means "God has loved" and Medad means "loved." Eldad and Medad maybe didn't think they had the gifts to lead - and remained in the camp - yet God and Moses thought differently - so the Holy Spirit called them anyway. Each and every one of us - obscure as we are - living in the middle of Kansas - were found and loved by God - chosen by Him - to be His special people. With a simple application of water and anointing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - God turned your heart towards Him - pouring His love on you.

Unfortunately, like Eldad and Medad - we seem to be asleep at the switch - not feeling like we are capable to do anything - even though we've been put on God's list. We act as if God hasn't loved us at all. Don't forget that God loved you with an unconditional love - that God sent His only Son to die for you. Don't forget that even though you may not feel special, you are God's own child. Your baptism tells you that you have a special gift - that a majority of the world does not have. You have the Holy Spirit and faith in Jesus. You know that in spite of your weaknesses and sins, your sins have been forgiven. With this gift, you also have patience, wisdom, forgiveness and love. This includes everyone in here who believes - young and old - lazy and energetic. It's easy to feel pessimistic about your spouse or your family or your fellow Christians or even yourself and assume that they or you will never be able to help. Maybe they have been lazy. Maybe they have messed up in the past. But that doesn't mean the Holy Spirit can't change them or you. Don't underestimate your baptism and the Holy Spirit. If He could work with Eldad and Medad in the middle of the camp - He can work with you and change you as well.

Jealousy. It usually means to want something that isn't yours. Eldad and Medad didn't seek this gift of the Holy Spirit. They didn't act like they wanted it all. All they were doing was minding their own business in the middle of the camp when the Holy Spirit came on them and started prophesying. Yet God in His grace gave them this gift of the Holy Spirit. They were an answer to Moses' prayer. Moses was thankful for it, yet Joshua thought they were a threat to Moses' leadership. He was jealous for Moses. He had no reason to be jealous. Eldad and Medad were not Moses, and neither are we. We may never have his gifts, yet we all have the same Holy Spirit. In grace, the Lord has chosen to give us this gift of faith in Christ - through the Word of God. When we remember how gracious God has been to us in Christ =, we will then all have the same jealousy - to proclaim Christ and Him crucified. We will practice being jealous for His name alone. Amen.