Trust God To Guide Other People.

 The constant complaining by the Israelites had eventually overwhelmed Moses, leading him to ask God to just let him die.  Many Christians come to that same point of frustration.  Even before promising to deal with the people’s complaints, God dealt with Moses discouragement, telling him to pick seventy elders to take part of the responsibility, and God would empower them with his Spirit.  Moses chose the seventy, in Numbers 11:24-25.  “And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.  And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.”

 

A common misconception is that if there are more Christians involve there will be more of God’s power.   God does not get his power from the people who follow him.  He has his full power whether there are millions standing with him or none.  God took some of the spirit that was upon Moses and shared it with the others, but God’s power was not changed.  The only thing that changed was how many were exercising that power.  When they received the Spirit, they proclaimed God’s words just as Moses did. 

 

 Two of the men Moses had chosen did not go out to the Tabernacle with the others, but stayed in the camp.  When the spirit came on them they prophesied just like the others, but some of the people felt they should not be allowed to prophesy since they were not with the others, in Numbers 11:26-28.  “But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.  And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.”

 

Numbers 12:3 tells us, “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”  He was not worried about maintaining or increasing his prestige, and he realized they were not competing with him.  Instead of getting upset, Moses wished there were more like them, in Numbers 11:29.  “And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”    

 

Paul faced a similar situation in Philippians 1:15-18.  “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.  What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”  Some of the pastors and teachers were deliberately going contrary to what Paul was teaching in an effort to discredit him.  In spite of that fact, Paul chose not to get angry about it, but instead to rejoice because they were still preaching about Christ. 

 

In II Thessalonians 3:14-15 Paul advised that if someone is teaching false doctrine we are to withdraw from them, in hopes of getting them to consider their errors, but we are not to consider them enemies.  “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.  Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”  We are to concentrate on the Job God has given us and recognize that both we and they will have to answer to God for we have done, as Romans 14:10 reminds us.  “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” 

 

We can take a lot of pressure off ourselves by not trying to make everybody do things the way we do.  Instead, let God work through other people and trust him to accomplish his purpose.  God’s plan differed from that recommended by Jethro in that it depended on spirit led men, rather than mere Human wisdom.