Eldad and Medad

Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" – Numbers 11v29

I always like it when we come across people in the Bible who we know little about. Eldad and Medad were two of the seventy elders Moses chose to help lead Israel. At the beginning the Holy Spirit came on them and they prophesied, but after that the prophecy was over.

Over, that is, except for Eldad and Medad. They kept on prophesying. One young guy ran and told Joshua what they were doing. Joshua was Moses’ assistant and so he went and told Moses. ‘Eldad and Medad are still prophesying Moses – tell them to stop!’

I am a bit surprised at this coming from Joshua. He reminds me of the disciples who wanted Jesus to stop the men who were not part of their group to stop preaching.

It is easy to get caught in this trap. If people aren’t doing it the exact way we want we are quick to criticise them and try to discredit them. After all, if they do it different they can’t possibly be doing it right.

Moses responded a lot like Jesus would much later. He questioned Joshua’s motivation for his zeal. He did not stop them. In fact he said that he wished that all the people of Israel were filled with the Spirit and would prophesy as well.

I am not one for compromising the truth. We must stand firm on the word of God. We must hold ourselves to high standards of holiness and righteousness. I do however realise that everyone is not going to serve God exactly like I did. I think I need to be very careful before I attack them for doing it their way.