◄ Numbers 11:25 ►
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied--but they never did so again.
Study Bible
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him
This phrase highlights the theophany, where God manifests His presence in a tangible form. The cloud is a recurring symbol of God's presence and guidance, as seen in Exodus 13:21-22, where the Lord led the Israelites by a pillar of cloud by day. The cloud signifies divine authority and holiness, separating the sacred from the profane. God's communication with Moses underscores Moses' unique role as a mediator between God and the Israelites, reminiscent of the divine encounters at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:9).

and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses
The Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit, who empowered Moses for leadership. This act of taking some of the Spirit signifies the sharing of divine empowerment and wisdom necessary for governance. It reflects the Old Testament understanding of the Spirit's selective and task-oriented presence, unlike the New Testament's more universal indwelling of believers (Acts 2:4).

and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders
The seventy elders represent the leadership structure established to assist Moses, echoing the advice of Jethro in Exodus 18:17-26. This distribution of the Spirit signifies the delegation of authority and responsibility, ensuring that the burden of leadership is shared. The number seventy may symbolize completeness and is often associated with governance, as seen in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council.

As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied
The act of prophesying here serves as a sign of the Spirit's presence and empowerment. Prophecy in the Old Testament often involved speaking God's truth and guidance, not just foretelling the future. This temporary prophetic activity validated the elders' divine appointment and equipped them for their leadership roles, similar to the Spirit's empowerment of Saul in 1 Samuel 10:10.

but they never did so again
This phrase indicates the temporary nature of the prophetic sign, emphasizing that the Spirit's empowerment was for a specific purpose and time. It highlights the unique and ongoing prophetic role of Moses, distinguishing him from the elders. This temporary empowerment contrasts with the New Testament promise of the Spirit's continual presence in believers (John 14:16-17), pointing to the progressive revelation of God's plan for His people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD
The sovereign God of Israel, who intervenes directly in the affairs of His people.

2. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, through whom God communicates His will and who is the primary recipient of God's Spirit.

3. The Seventy Elders
Chosen leaders among the Israelites who were endowed with the Spirit to assist Moses in leading the people.

4. The Cloud
A manifestation of God's presence, often used in the Old Testament to signify His glory and guidance.

5. Prophesying
The act of speaking under divine inspiration, which the seventy elders did as a sign of the Spirit's presence.
Teaching Points
The Importance of God's Presence
God's presence, symbolized by the cloud, is essential for guidance and leadership. We should seek His presence in our daily lives through prayer and worship.

Shared Leadership and Empowerment
God empowers others to share in leadership responsibilities. In our communities, we should recognize and support the gifts and callings of others.

The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit equips and enables believers for service. We should be open to the Spirit's work in our lives, allowing Him to guide and empower us.

Temporary vs. Permanent Empowerment
The elders prophesied only once, indicating a temporary empowerment. In contrast, the New Testament offers believers a permanent indwelling of the Spirit, encouraging us to live continually in His power.

Obedience and Faithfulness
The elders' experience was a result of obedience to God's command. Our faithfulness in small tasks can lead to greater responsibilities and blessings.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the presence of God, as symbolized by the cloud, influence your understanding of His guidance in your life today?

2. In what ways can you support and empower others in your community to share in leadership and service?

3. How can you be more open to the work of the Holy Spirit in your daily life?

4. What are some ways you can ensure that your spiritual empowerment is not just a one-time event but a continual experience?

5. Reflect on a time when obedience to God led to unexpected blessings or responsibilities. How can this encourage you in your current walk with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 19
The cloud as a symbol of God's presence is also seen at Mount Sinai, where God gives the Law to Moses.

Joel 2 and Acts 2
The outpouring of the Spirit on the seventy elders prefigures the later outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers at Pentecost.

1 Samuel 10
The Spirit coming upon Saul and causing him to prophesy parallels the experience of the seventy elders.

John 14
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to His disciples, indicating the continuation of God's presence and guidance through the Spirit.
Sermons
The Complainers, and How God Made Answer to Their ComplaintsW. Binnie Numbers 11:4-15; 31-35
The Seventy Elders, and How They Were Fitted for Their High OfficeW. Binnie Numbers 11:16, 17, 24, 25
Self-Will Surfeited and PunishedD. Young Numbers 11:18-20; 31-35
People
Eldad, Israelites, Joshua, Medad, Moses, Nun
Places
Egypt, Hazeroth, Kibroth-hattaavah, Paran, Taberah
Topics
Cease, Cloud, Elders, Keepeth, Pass, Placed, Prophesied, Prophesy, Prophets, Putteth, Repeat, Rest, Rested, Resting, Seventy, Spake, Speaketh, Spirit, Spoke, Talk
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Numbers 11:25

     1443   revelation, OT
     4805   clouds
     5727   old age, attitudes

Numbers 11:4-34

     4438   eating

Numbers 11:24-25

     1654   numbers, 11-99
     7719   elders, as leaders

Numbers 11:24-27

     3275   Holy Spirit, in the church

Numbers 11:25-29

     3272   Holy Spirit, in OT
     3281   Holy Spirit, inspiration

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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