Scripture from the book of Numbers 11:24-30
24 So Moses went out and
told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of
the people, and placed them all around the tent. 25 Then
the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of
the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the
spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.
26 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 son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men,[a] 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, and that the Lord would put his spirit on
them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel
returned to the camp.
Have you ever read a passage from some place and for some
reason, feel drawn to what was being said? You may not fully understand why you
are being drawn to the words that are written, but you feel deep in your soul.
This is what I discovered with this passage several days ago.
When I read this passage, I was reminded of a bible study session
at my home church, Wake Forest Christian Church, in which we were watching one
of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos called “Breath”. In the video, Bell shares that in
the bible, the word LORD was translated from the original word in Hebrew, Yahweh.
However, the ancient Hebrew people would not pronounce the word Yahweh because
of how sacred God’s name is. So instead, they would state only the vowel sounds
YHWH, which if pronounced would be “Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey”. And in the video, Bell
makes the profound statement that has always stayed with me, “Is the name of
God…the sound of breathing?”
I am reminded of that bible study when I read this scripture.
We see that Moses taught the “words of the LORD”. I have to wonder though, if
the name of God is indeed the sound of breathing, would Moses be simply
teaching the people how to breathe? It’s an interesting question and even more
interesting the fact that we know that the Hebrew word for Spirit (Ruach) is also
the same word for Breath and Wind. And the passage states that God’s Spirit came
from the clouds (which is made of wind), came to Moses and then from Moses came
to the seventy elders that were gathered. And once the Spirit dwelled among the
elders, the elders were able to prophesy.
What is the connection between God’s Spirit and the ability
to prophesy? In my belief, God is the eternal source of love. And when we learn
how to breathe fully and deeply, we are loving ourselves and when we honor and
respect the breath that lives within another human being, we are loving them as
well.
And while prophets have mistakenly gotten the reputation as
powerful beings that can foretell the future, this could not be further from
the truth. Prophets are regular people, just like you and me. But prophets are
indeed special, because true prophets’ model what it means to love our
neighbors by speaking and acting on behalf of God’s wishes for humanity.
When we prophesy, we are remembering the Spirit that dwells
within our very breath and partnering with the Spirit of God as we pour our
love for our world.
But to love is not easy. Love means speaking out against
injustices that occur in our world. Love means caring for others when it is not
easy to do so. Love is standing with the broken-hearted and not casting
judgments but understanding what our neighbors are going through. Love is
bridging gaps that have broken relationships and creating a new path for reconciliation
when possible.
It honestly doesn’t surprise me that the 70 elders in the
camp were only able to prophesy once. To love and pour out one’s love in God’s
name is extremely draining and, in our world, rest is a gift that is not always
given. But what’s extraordinary is that two other men from the camp, Eldad and
Medad, felt the Spirit’s call and began to prophesy on their own. And while
Joshua was not happy with this, Moses was pleased and encouraged it.
To me this represents an important lesson- if we are not
called to prophesy (either because we don’t know how, we doubt ourselves, or we
are drained and tired), we still have a part to play. We can encourage, support,
and cheer on those who are still pouring our God’s love into the world.
Our world needs more prophets. Injustice threatens to
consume our world and love is needed now more than ever to create change for
our world. Change in which people no longer fear jogging or being killed by
police. Change in which all people: Black, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, White,
Gay, Trans, Bi, Straight, Women, Non-binary, Men, Older, Younger, those with
common and uncommon functioning- are able to truly stand together as equal neighbors
and create together a better world.
Today, on the day of Pentecost, this is my hope and prayer:
May we take a breath and know that we are breathing in God’s
Holy Spirit and in that breath, may we be filled with the strength and courage to
prophesy the love of God that needs to be breathed into our world. And if we
are tired or having trouble breathing, may we support those who continue to do
the hard work of love for our world. And in all things, May the Divine of your
understanding grant you peace, wisdom, and understanding to help make our world
a better place to live in.
Blessed be. Amen.
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