Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Love – The Foundation of Unity

Bible portion: Numbers 11:23-30

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!” Numbers 11:29

In the beginning verses of Numbers 11:23-30, it is seen that Moses is a bit frightened by the fact that he has to lead a significant number of Israelites. He shares his burden with God, who replies “Is the Lord’s arm too short?”. He begins by questioning Moses’ faith because he ultimately knows what will happen. So Moses decides to go out and tell the people what the Lord said. He gathered seventy elders and had them stand around the tent. The Lord came among them and put His Spirit on all seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they started to prophesize. However, there were two men who decided to stay in the camp rather than going out to the tent. These men were named Eldad and Medad, and the surprising thing about them was that they also began to prophesize. Although these men were part of the seventy chosen, they didn’t go out to the tent but were still prophesying. This surprised Joshua, son of Nun, who decided to tell Moses about these two men. He told Moses to stop them because of their odd behavior. Moses responded by asking Joshua if he was jealous for him, and that he wished everyone would cry aloud for the Lord. 
    This passage reflects upon the fact that the coming of the Holy Spirit was not an act by Moses but an act by God. If all the men were in Moses’ presence and began to prophesize, then many may have interpreted it as an act performed by Moses. However, it was a clear demonstration of God working for His people. Joshua believed that Eldad and Medad weren’t supposed to prophesize because they weren’t at the tent with Moses, and when he approaches Moses to tell him, Moses tells him to stop being jealous for him. Moses responds by saying that he isn’t concerned about his authority, and that he would rather have more people calling upon the name of the Lord. This displays Moses’ humility and how he didn’t care about his own power. Instead, everything that he did was for the sake of the Lord. By way of His Holy Spirit, God empowers us, His children, to take control of our lives and to do good for His kingdom  PRAYER                                    
 Heavenly Father, please strengthen us, Lord, to call on you daily. Please give us the strength to tell others of all your wonderful works and bring them closer to you. Give us understanding to not reflect upon our own powers or abilities, but rather focus on succeeding for your kingdom. Allow us to be like Moses, who was humble and ready to serve you. In Jesus’ most precious name we pray. Amen
                     
  Thought for the Day

 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10

Jason Mathew
Epiphany MTC, New York

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