Numbers 11:17 Study Bible: I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit which is on you, and will put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you not bear it yourself alone.

◄ Numbers 11:17 ►

And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

Study Bible

And I will come down and speak with you there
This phrase indicates God's direct involvement and presence, reminiscent of His interactions with Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:20). It underscores the personal relationship between God and Moses, highlighting Moses' unique role as a mediator. The concept of God "coming down" is a theophany, where God manifests in a tangible way, emphasizing His willingness to engage with humanity. This also foreshadows the incarnation of Christ, where God comes down to dwell among His people (John 1:14).

and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you
The Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit, who empowers and guides. In the Old Testament, the Spirit's presence on individuals was often for specific tasks or leadership roles, as seen with figures like Samson (Judges 14:6) and David (1 Samuel 16:13). This sharing of the Spirit signifies the delegation of authority and the communal nature of leadership within God's people. It also prefigures the New Testament Pentecost, where the Spirit is distributed among believers (Acts 2:1-4).

and put that Spirit on them
This action signifies the empowerment of the seventy elders to assist Moses. It reflects the biblical principle of shared leadership and the distribution of spiritual gifts for the edification of the community (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). The elders' anointing parallels the New Testament practice of laying on of hands to confer the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17). It also highlights the importance of community and collective responsibility in God's plan.

They will help you bear the burden of the people
The burden refers to the leadership and judgment responsibilities Moses carried, which had become overwhelming (Exodus 18:13-26). This delegation of duties is a practical solution to leadership challenges, emphasizing the need for support and teamwork. It reflects the biblical principle of bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) and the importance of shared ministry in the body of Christ.

so that you do not have to bear it by yourself
This phrase underscores the limitations of human strength and the necessity of relying on others. It highlights the dangers of isolation in leadership and the importance of community support. Theologically, it points to the sufficiency of God's provision and the interdependence of His people. It also serves as a reminder of Christ's invitation to find rest in Him, as He bears our ultimate burdens (Matthew 11:28-30).

Persons / Places / Events

1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, chosen by God to lead His people out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Moses is the primary recipient of God's instructions in this passage.

2. The Seventy Elders
A group of leaders chosen to assist Moses in governing and managing the people of Israel. They are to receive a portion of the Spirit that is on Moses.

3. The Spirit
Refers to the Spirit of God, which empowers and enables individuals to carry out God's work. In this context, it is shared among the leaders to help Moses.

4. The Tent of Meeting
The place where God would meet with Moses and communicate His will. It serves as a central location for divine encounters and instructions.

5. The Israelites
The people of God, who are journeying through the wilderness towards the Promised Land. They are the community that Moses and the elders are tasked with leading.

Teaching Points

The Importance of Shared Leadership
God’s design for leadership often involves a team approach. Just as Moses needed help, leaders today should seek and empower others to share in the responsibilities.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Empowerment
The Spirit of God equips and enables individuals for service. Believers should seek the Spirit’s guidance and empowerment in their roles and responsibilities.

Bearing One Another’s Burdens
The principle of shared burdens is vital in Christian community. We are called to support one another, ensuring that no one is overwhelmed by their responsibilities.

God’s Provision in Leadership
God provides the necessary resources and people to accomplish His purposes. Trust in His provision and be open to His methods of support.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the appointment of the seventy elders in Numbers 11:17 reflect God’s understanding of human limitations in leadership?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of shared leadership in our church or community today?

3. How does the distribution of the Spirit among the elders in Numbers 11:17 compare to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2?

4. What are some practical ways we can bear one another’s burdens in our daily lives, as seen in the example of Moses and the elders?

5. How can we discern when God is calling us to delegate responsibilities or seek help in our personal or professional lives?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Exodus 18
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, advises him to appoint leaders to help manage the people, which parallels the delegation of leadership seen in Numbers 11:17.

Acts 6
The appointment of deacons in the early church to assist the apostles reflects the principle of shared leadership and the distribution of responsibilities.

1 Samuel 10
The anointing of Saul and the coming of the Spirit upon him demonstrate the empowering role of the Spirit in leadership.

Sermons

The Communication of a Spiritual Endowment	E.S. Prout	Numbers 11:17
The Complainers, and How God Made Answer to Their Complaints	W. Binnie	Numbers 11:4-15; 31-35
The Answer of God	D. Young	Numbers 11:16, 17
Dainties for the People	Bp. Babington.	Numbers 11:16-20
Helpers for Moses	Bp. Babington.	Numbers 11:16-20
The Answer of God to the Appeals of Men	W. Jones.	Numbers 11:16-20
The Seventy Elders	W. Walters, M. A.	Numbers 11:16-20
The Seventy Elders, and How They Were Fitted for Their High Office	W. Binnie	Numbers 11:16, 17, 24, 25

People

Eldad, Israelites, Joshua, Medad, Moses, Nun

Places

Egypt, Hazeroth, Kibroth-hattaavah, Paran, Taberah

Topics

Alone, Bear, Borne, Burden, Carry, Kept, Mayest, Speak, Spirit, Spoken, Talk, Thyself, Weight

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Numbers 11:17

3030 Holy Spirit, power
3272 Holy Spirit, in OT

Numbers 11:4-34

4438 eating

Numbers 11:10-17

8614 prayer, answers

Numbers 11:16-17

7719 elders, as leaders

Library

April 12. "They were as it Were, Complainers" (Num. xi. 1).
"They were as it were, complainers" (Num. xi. 1). There is a very remarkable phrase in the book of Numbers, in the account of the murmuring of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It reads like this: "When the people, as it were, murmured." Like most marginal readings it is better than the text, and a great world of suggestive truth lies back of that little sentence. In the distance we may see many a vivid picture rise before our imagination of people who do not dare to sin openly and unequivocally, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Deaf Stammerer Healed and Four Thousand Fed.
^A Matt. XV. 30-39; ^B Mark VII. 32-VIII. 9. ^b 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech [The man had evidently learned to speak before he lost his hearing. Some think that defective hearing had caused the impediment in his speech, but verse 35 suggests that he was tongue-tied]; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue [He separated …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Baptist's Testimony.
"There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.... John beareth witness of Him, and crieth, saying, This was He of whom I said, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. For of His fulness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I

Third Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 12, 16-21. 16 Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. 19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. 20 But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

False Ambition Versus Childlikeness.
(Capernaum, Autumn, a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XVIII. 1-14; ^B Mark IX. 33-50; ^C Luke IX. 46-50. ^c 46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. ^b 33 And he came to Capernaum: ^c 47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, ^b and when he was in the house [probably Simon Peter's house] he asked them, What were ye reasoning on the way? 34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who was the greatest. [The Lord with his disciples was …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
"The Holy Spirit was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified."--John vii. 39. We have come to the most difficult part in the discussion of the work of the Holy Spirit, viz., the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the tenth day after the ascension. In the treatment of this subject it is not our aim to create a new interest in the celebration of Pentecost. We consider this almost impossible. Man's nature is too unspiritual for this. But we shall reverently endeavor to give a clearer insight …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Third Sunday Before Lent
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5. 24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Eastern Wise-Men, or Magi, visit Jesus, the New-Born King.
(Jerusalem and Bethlehem, b.c. 4.) ^A Matt. II. 1-12. ^a 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem [It lies five miles south by west of Jerusalem, a little to the east of the road to Hebron. It occupies part of the summit and sides of a narrow limestone ridge which shoots out eastward from the central chains of the Judæan mountains, and breaks down abruptly into deep valleys on the north, south, and east. Its old name, Ephrath, meant "the fruitful." Bethlehem means "house of bread." Its modern …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Of Immediate Revelation.
Of Immediate Revelation. [29] Seeing no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son revealeth him; and seeing the revelation of the Son is in and by the Spirit; therefore the testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed; who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he disposed the chaos of this world into that wonderful order in which it was in the beginning, and created man a living soul, to rule and govern it, so by …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Blasphemous Accusations of the Jews.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 22-37; ^B Mark III. 19-30; ^C Luke XI. 14-23. ^b 19 And he cometh into a house. [Whose house is not stated.] 20 And the multitude cometh together again [as on a previous occasion--Mark ii. 1], so that they could not so much as eat bread. [They could not sit down to a regular meal. A wonderful picture of the intense importunity of people and the corresponding eagerness of Jesus, who was as willing to do as they were to have done.] 21 And when his friends heard it, they went …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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