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!”
You’ve got to feel for Moses. Never wanted to be in the spotlight. Couldn’t understand why God would choose him to lead the people of Israel from Egypt. And then, even after multiple miracles, Moses had to deal with the Israelites’ constant complaining. So much so that Moses even told God in Numbers 11:15, “If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once…” Safe to say, Moses was fed up at times!
However, Moses still knew that Israel was the chosen people of God. In addition to interceding on their behalf multiple times, such as in Exodus 32, Moses recognized an important truth about Israel. Although they were divided into 12 tribes, Israel was still one people, following and worshipping the one true God. It wasn’t a matter of “I’m better” or “God loves us more,” it was a matter of being unified.
In this week’s devotional verse, Moses is informed that two of the elders, who did not come when called to a meeting of the 70 elders, were filled with the Spirit of God in the Israelite camp and prophesying. The reaction of Moses’ assistant, a young man named Joshua who was to become the leader of Israel in his own time, was one of panic and perhaps even anger. How could someone other than Moses be filled with God’s Spirit? Moses is the leader, right? This can’t be!
But Moses, unlike his young ward, knew the truth. The Spirit of God was for all people. The core of this realization was Moses’ humility, which we are told was indeed very great in Numbers 12:3. This humility allowed Moses to always recognize God as the true supreme power, and to recognize the importance of the fact that God’s favor was not just for himself but for all of Israel with him.
When we think about our own gifts, skills, and callings it can be tempting to start to view ourselves as special or having something unique to us. While it is true that God chooses to bless each of us individually, this does note nullify God’s desire for all His children to be blessed and filled with His Spirit as one unified people.
We, as the Church, cannot allow ourselves to be ruled by envy and petty jealousy about our fellow servants of Christ. We are all humans, so like Moses there will be times when we feel fed up, disgusted, and even go to the dramatics of crying out “God, if it’s going to be like this then count me out!” But that isn’t the life, community, or kingdom that we’ve been called to. We’ve been called to one Lord, one salvation, and one Holy Church.
At the end of the day, we’re all on the same team.
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