Surprised by the Spirit
a sermon based on Numbers 11:24-30 and Acts 2:1-21
by Richard Gehring

            My guess is that not many of us are likely to have ever heard of  Eldad and Medad.  They aren't exactly up there with the likes of Moses and David—or even Mary and Martha—in the cast of  biblical characters.  So perhaps it would be useful to review their story.

            Actually, we need to go back a little before our reading for this morning begins in order to set the stage.  The people of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, are in the midst of their forty-year sojourn in the desert.  They are sustained on their journey by the substance known as manna that appears on the ground after the dew evaporates each morning.  At first, they gave thanks to God for providing this food for them.  But by the eleventh chapter of Numbers, they've had it with nothing but manna day after day after day after day.

            So the people go to Moses and complain—again.  “Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt?  We had cucumbers and melons and onions and garlic and meat!  When are you going to get us some meat that we can sink our teeth into.”  So Moses goes to the Lord to complain—again.  “Why did you put me in charge of this ungrateful, whiny bunch.  Now they want meat!  Where am I supposed to get meat out here in the middle of the desert?  Why don't you just kill me now and end it all.”

            God responds by telling Moses two things.  First of all, God tells him that in addition to the manna, the people will soon have plenty of meat to eat in the form of quails that will cover the camp.  These quails will provide enough meat for the next month.  There will be so much meat, in fact, that the people will eat until it comes out of their nostrils and they can't stand it any more.(Numbers 11:20)

            The other thing that God says to Moses is that he should gather seventy elders from the people—seventy recognized leaders of Israel—and bring them to the tabernacle.  God will then consecrate these seventy elders, pouring out a measure of God's Spirit on them, so that the entire burden will no longer rest on Moses himself.  He will not be the only person who takes all the complaints from the people anymore.

            Our passage for this morning then tells us what happened when Moses appointed those seventy elders.  They all gathered around the tent—the tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.  Then the presence of the Lord came down like a cloud and enveloped the tent and all the elders surrounding it.  And we are told that they “prophesied.” 

            Now, it's not entirely clear what behavior they exhibited that was identified as “prophesying.”  From other incidents of prophetic acts in the Old Testament, however, it would appear that the prophesying included some sort of frenzied, ecstatic expression.  It may have looked very much like what we would likely categorize as a psychotic episode today.  In Moses' time, however, such behavior was seen as a sign of the presence of God's Spirit.

            The importance of this passage, however, is not on what happened.  Rather, the emphasis is on who it happened to.  For while the seventy designated elders were whooping it up around the tabernacle,  Eldad and Medad were doing the same thing back in the camp.

            Now, it's not entirely clear from the way this account is written whether Eldad and Medad had been designated as two of the seventy elders themselves, but for some reason hadn't gone up to the tabernacle with the rest of them, or whether they were two men who had been passed over by Moses when the elders were appointed.  In either case, though, what is clear is that what was happening to them was completely unexpected.  God's Spirit was supposed to only fall on the elders, and only when they were gathered at the tabernacle.  But there were Medad and Eldad, prophesying away for everyone to see back in the middle of the Israelite camp.

            When one unnamed young man saw what was happening, he decided that this needed to be reported to the proper authorities.  So he ran to Moses to tell him what Eldad and Medad were up to in the camp.  Joshua, who was Moses' right-hand man, was very concerned about this report.  So he advised Moses in no uncertain terms that he needed to put a stop to this unauthorized prophesying. 

            Joshua seems to be concerned with issues of order and authority.  We can't have just anyone suddenly prophesying.  If everyone sees it, they might see Eldad and Medad as rivals to Moses.  If these guys are given the same gift of God's Spirit as Moses, and if they are in the midst of the people making prophetic proclamations, then couldn't they use their new gifts to foster unrest against God's servant?  There could be chaos.  There could be division.  There could be violence.  These appear to be the concerns that are whirling through Joshua's mind as he turns to Moses and pleads, “My lord, stop them!”(verse 28)

            Moses, however, doesn't seem as concerned as Joshua does.  To his credit, he doesn't feel his own authority threatened by the surprising actions of Medad and Eldad.  Moses recognizes that it is not up to him to decide who God should speak through.  It isn't up to him to control who God chooses to bless.  It isn't up to him to determine who is eligible to receive God's Spirit and who isn't.  In fact, Moses goes so far as to say, “Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!”(verse 29)

            That is a truly bold statement.  A lot of leaders might think that such a situation would be a nightmare:  all God's people prophets?  What chaos!  What confusion!  But for Moses, that “nightmare” was his dream—his vision for the ultimate community of God's people..

            Moses' dream becomes a reality, then in our New Testament reading for today.  As the followers of Jesus are gathered in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost, the Spirit does indeed come upon all of them.  And they all begin to prophesy, each one speaking in a way that is understood by people from all over the Roman Empire—and even beyond.  Every one of the listeners hears in his or her own native tongue, and understands.

            It sounds like chaos.  It sounds like confusion.  It takes the festival-goers totally by surprise.  And like Joshua many are unable to accept this astonishing outpouring of God's Spirit.  After all, these people who are speaking aren't elders or priests.  They're Galileans, for goodness sake!  They aren't the ones who are expected to receive the Spirit.  They must be drunk!

            But Peter stands up to explain.  Peter, who less than two months before had refused to admit to a slave girl in the dark of night that he even knew who Jesus was (Luke 22:55-57) now proclaims before a crowd of thousands in broad daylight that this Jesus is “both Lord and Messiah.”(Acts 2:36)  Peter, whom Jesus once referred to as “Satan”(Matthew 16:23 )now becomes the chief spokesman for the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish.  Like Medad and Eldad, Peter seems an unlikely candidate to receive the outpouring of God's Spirit.  Once again, however, the Spirit moves in mysterious and unexpected ways.

            Peter quotes from the prophet Joel in explaining this phenomenon.  He recalls how Joel foresaw exactly such an astonishing turn of events.  The Spirit comes upon young and old alike, on women as well as men, on slaves and free together—everyone proclaiming the good news of God.

            This surprising movement of the Holy Spirit continues to this very day.  All of us are given a measure of the Spirit.  All of us are welcomed into the kingdom regardless of age, nationality, language, gender, ability, economic status, sexual orientation, educational achievement or any criteria other than our willingness to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  Our task, then, is to accept that gift of the Spirit that is given to us.  It is not our job to decide who else is “worthy” of receiving the same gift.  God will pour out God's Spirit on whomever God chooses.  And we dare not stand in the way of the movement of that Spirit.

            It may be easy for us to shake our heads at the obstinacy of our brothers in other congregations or denominations who have drawn more rigid lines on who is acceptable to the Lord.  We aren't like Fred Phelps who leads pickets at military funerals, brandishing signs that say “God hates America.”  We aren't like Terry Jones who burns copies of the Quran, claiming that “Islam is of the Devil.”  We are decent people, tolerant of others and open to differing viewpoints and practices.

            Yet we, too, may be surprised at times where and how the Spirit chooses to speak.  We, too, must keep our eyes and ears open for the movement of God's Spirit around us and among us.

            If we are highly educated, we run the risk of closing ourselves to the movement of the Spirit in those who don't have such higher education.  Are we able to hear God speaking through a high-school dropout?  Can we accept and affirm the presence of the Spirit in someone who struggled to get his or her GED?

            Likewise, as we age, I hope that we remain open to recognizing the work of the Spirit in younger members, and in those who are somewhat newer to our fellowship.  Are we still able to see the presence of God in those unrecognized elders who, like Eldad and Medad, are still back at the camp? Are we still open to the young men and women who see visions? 

            There are still issues that we don't want to talk about—issues that are too controversial.  Perhaps, like Joshua, we're afraid of the confusion that might take place, the division that could occur.  It's perfectly understandable.  I've seen division over this very issue take its toll on more than one congregation.  But in our reluctance to talk about controversial issues, are we stifling the voice of the Spirit?  Are we fearful of what God might actually say to us if we really opened ourselves the Spirit's movement in our midst? 

            It might be ecclesiastical suicide to encourage us to talk about potentially contentious issues. It might be divisive to suggest that we need to pay more attention to the younger and newer voices among us.  It might be bordering on heretical to ask that we set aside our well-earned degrees and listen to someone without a high school diploma.  Those were all things that Joshua worried about.  But Moses took a different view.

            Where Joshua saw a potential nightmare, Moses saw dream.  Where Joshua was concerned about order, Moses envisioned new possibilities.  Where Joshua wanted to exclude those who weren't at the tabernacle, Moses welcomed all those on whom God's Spirit was poured.  So Eldad and Medad were not stopped.  God's Spirit was not thwarted. 

            And when the Day of Pentecost came, the Spirit continued to move and to spread in astonishing ways.  It seized a hold of all of Jesus' followers and the good news came pouring out.  It grabbed hold of Peter and gave him the courage and wisdom to explain what was going on.  It amazed the crowds and enlightened many so that, in the end, more than three thousand new believers were baptized.(Acts 2:41)  The community grew and became more vital.  The movement of the Spirit embraced a large variety of people on Pentecost and in the years and centuries to come.  Eventually, we, too, were drawn into the people of God by the Spirit.

            The Spirit that fell on Medad and Eldad continues to fall on us today.  The Spirit that birthed the church at Pentecost continues to give us life today.  The Spirit that surprised Joshua and Moses and the Jews from every nation under heaven continues to astonish and amaze us today.  The Spirit is still moving, still speaking, still energizing.  And we are invited along for the ride.