This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies. For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.
As the Israelites continued their time in the wilderness, they complained about having only manna to eat in Numbers 11. Upon hearing their complaints, Moses had one of his own. He asked the Lord why he had to carry the burden of all the people. Feeling overwhelmed, Moses further asked the Lord to kill him rather than having him continue to bear the full weight of leadership. The Lord responded by ordering Moses to gather seventy of the elders of Israel and have them stand with him at the Tent of Meeting (now to be understood as the Tabernacle [see Exod 40:2]). The Lord, then, promised to come down and place the Spirit that was upon Moses upon the elders as well. This would allow the elders to share the burden of leadership (vv. 4–17). This Spirit was the Holy Spirit. By having the Holy Spirit fall upon the elders, they too would have God personally with them as Moses did.
Moses was also instructed to tell the people to consecrate themselves, for on the following day they would have meat (later revealed to be quail). They wouldn’t just have it for a day, but for a month, until it came out of their nostrils, becoming loathsome to them. The Israelites would be thus punished because they rejected Yahweh among them, and wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” (vv. 18–20). The Targum says that the people rejected, “the Word of the Lord, whose Shekinah dwelleth among you; and before whom you have wept.”[1]
Moses gathered the seventy men and stationed them around the Tent of Meeting (v. 24). Then, the Lord arrived as promised:
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again (Num 11:25).
The Son descended in His glory to personally place the Holy Spirit upon the elders. They prophesied in some unique way as a sign that they had received the Spirit.
Meanwhile, back at the camp, the Holy Spirit also rested upon two men named Eldad and Medad. Both of them had been nominated by Moses for leadership, but for some reason they were unable to make it to the tent. The two men began to prophesy in the camp, prompting a young man to run and tell Moses what they were doing. Joshua protested, asking Moses to make them stop. Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” (vv. 26–29).
It is hard not to compare this account from Numbers 11 to the pouring out of the Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2:1–13. Tongues of fire rested upon the believers in Jesus, much like how the Spirit rested upon the elders. The believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, causing them to speak with other tongues. This was a form of prophesying, meaning that the elders and believers responded to receiving the Holy Spirit in essentially the same way. The tongues of fire, emblematic of the gift bestowed, may be likened to the fire the Lord had descended in. Since Pentecost, all true believers in Jesus have received the Holy Spirit. So, in a way, Moses got his wish: the Lord put His Spirit upon all His people.
In John 16:7, Jesus told His disciples that after He departed, He would send them the Holy Spirit. The Son of God sent the Holy Spirit to the believers on Pentecost. And it was the Son who previously sent the Holy Spirit to the elders of Israel.
[1] Targum Onkelos on Numbers 11:20. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is similarly worded.
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