The 68 Elders
Eldad and Meldad
In the book of Numbers, we come across a fatigued and drained deliverer, Moses. In the midst of his heavy assignment of leading God’s chosen people to their promised land, Moses becomes exasperated — truly fed up of the whining Israelites. Frustrated, he turns to God and asks Him :
“Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? … They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favour and spare me this misery!” [Numbers 11 :11 to 15].
Obviously understanding Moses’s dilemma and in a bid to take the load off His faithful whining servant, God instructs Moses to gather seventy recognised elders and leaders of Israel, and He will pour some of His spirit that is upon Moses on them also. No doubt thrilled with this latest development, our erstwhile deliverer gathers the elders and stations them around the tabernacle where God then pours His spirit upon them. The interesting thing is that scripture tells us clearly that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied but this never happened again!
Meanwhile, a young man who had been Moses’s assistant since his youth, Joshua son of Nun, had been in the camp. He comes running up to Moses with news hot off the press.
Eldad and Meldad are prophesying in the camp!”
Apparently, whilst the elders were before the tabernacle receiving the anointing, these two men, Eldad and Meldad had stayed behind in the camp. Though they were listed among the elders, they had not gone out to the Tabernacle yet the spirit of God had rested upon them there also, with the result that they prophesied in the camp!
In indignation, Joshua protested :
“Moses, my master, make them stop!” 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 upon them all!” Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel. [Numbers 11: 29]
For a long time, I was under the impression that seventy men had stood round about the Tabernacle and received the impartation of the spirit of God. One day as I read the scripture however, I realised that the two men, Eldad and Meldad, had actually only been listed among the seventy elders upon whom God would impart His spirit. Though they had not appeared before the Tabernacle, God’s spirit had come upon them anyway and they had prophesied in the camp! As the KJV puts it :
“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.” [Numbers 11:26]
As I pondered this matter, I asked myself:
Was it seventy or sixty-eight elders who received prophetic impartation before the Tabernacle?
Did this little detail matter at all? But why wouldn’t it matter when our God is so detail - oriented?
What were the lessons to be learned from our two no-show elders, Eldad and Meldad?
In response to the first question, there were sixty eight elders in the tent of meeting. As Robert Alter puts it in his remarkable translation of the Hebrew bible, Joshua asks “My Lord Moses, restrain them” for a simple reason. The prophesying of the other sixty eight elders in the designated place of sanctity, before the tent of meeting, is one thing, but the manifestation of prophecy in the midst of the Israelite camp is quite another, for it could turn into a dangerously contagious threat to Moses’s leadership.
As to question two, I believe this little detail is significant because it reveals something about the nature of God. When the register of elders went up before Him, seventy elders were listed. Regardless of whether or not all seventy subsequently turned up, God knew them by name and in His eyes, they were ordained as ones who would receive impartation.
As to the third question on lessons to be learned from the two Elders, this is linked to point two above. The way I see it, the revelation is a simple one. Granted, Eldad and Meldad’s scenario was in relation to the spirit of prophecy, but it could just as easily be applied to the gift of prophecy. As long as you have signed up for prophetic service, you remain on the list. Whether you’re a no-show or not, in God’s heavenly register, you are recognised as a prophet. It is written of you that you are a prophet therefore you are capable of carrying the word of the Lord. To put it in simpler terms, once you answer the call and begin the journey, there really is no turning back.
The sixty-eight elders bring to mind those goody-two shoes students who appear on time for every class, ready as ready can ever be. In sharp contrast, we have our two missing elders looking distinctly like those students that play rookie all year, only to end up acing the exam! Rather unfair isn’t it?
Am I suggesting, then, that we should not apply ourselves or honour our commitments to the work to which we are called? Not at all! On the contrary, I seek to encourage those walking amongst us who may have fallen by the wayside. Whilst I applaud the group who apply themselves diligently, show up to places when asked and really walk the walk, there are some prophets who feel like they put their hand to the plough and have not been quite so diligent with it. Yes, you registered for those prophetic training courses, no you didn’t plan your time well with the result that you ended up missing half the course! Yes, life took over and you weren’t able to take part in as much prophetic ministry as you hoped you would. And yes, it’s been 600 light years since you attended prophetic activations or even gave a prophetic word.
You may be feeling slightly rusty and almost like the wheels have fallen off the cart but guess what, in God’s register, you are still marked as a prophet. That means whenever He has a word for His children, you are very much on the agenda as one who can and will be used. It also means that whenever the corporate body of prophets is receiving a message from the heavenly realms, you too might just catch that wind if it is one that blows towards your cohort.
Be encouraged, brothers and sisters. It isn’t always possible to show up, but we can still try! And don’t let fear stop you from jumping back in the pool — once a prophet always a prophet.
