"And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: 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. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!" Numbers 11:25-29

LESSON 1, VERSE 25:         

"And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease." Numbers 11:25

We have some pronouns here we must identify.

The "him" to whom the Lord spoke was Moses. A very tired Moses! The people of Israel had fatigued their leader with complaints and grumbling and lusting!

Numbers chapter eleven informs us of the "mixed multitude" traveling with Israel to the Promised Land, still craving the food of Egypt! "Cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlick" ... they cried! Dissatisfied with the "manna" God had so miraculously and graciously supplied!

It's also here that we get one of Scripture's best descriptions of that manna! "And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it." Numbers 11:7-9

Then came their desire for "meat" to eat, "flesh" as they called it! Such trials weighed heavily on Moses, "displeasing" him according to verse 10. This interesting word is "raa" and is akin to the word for "evil," which is "ra." Moses was nearly driven to sin! "Raa" is translated, in the King James Bible, as "evildoer" ten times for example! It's also "wicked" or "wickedly" nine more times! It's only "displeased" twice! So, you can get the "feel" of the word, its background.

It's then that God offers Moses help. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone." Numbers 11:16-17

Seventy assistants!

Out Text today begins the account of this event actually occurring.

When God "comes down" it is a good thing, unless He is descending to judge, as He did at the Tower of Babel. See Genesis 11:5.

Moses is accustomed to God's "coming down." On Sinai for example! "And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up." Exodus 19:20

The verb is "yarad," to come down or to go down.

The "cloud" is that miraculous visible manifestation of the Glory of God! The "Shekinah Glory" it's called! It's from the Hebrew verb "shakan" that means "to dwell!"

The verb "spake" is "dabar," nothing unusual there. Except the fact that it's here a Piel stem word of action! That intensifies the whole scene! God vigorously speaks to Moses!

Why? Because of the sin of the people presumably! "Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly." Numbers 11:10 tells us this. That noun "anger" is "aph" and means nostrils! Hard breathing! That mad!

The noun "spirit" is "ruach" and means the Holy Spirit I believe. A Portion of Him is being transferred from Moses to these seventy "helpers." Really, "preachers" it appears! "Ruach" literally defines "wind or breath," as well as spirit.

Don't worry here.

Even the New Testament acknowledges such a thing as the fulness of the Spirit!

The verb "took" is "atzsal" and means "to set apart" or "to lay aside." However, its root stem means "to join." That gives us two ways of looking at this situation also! Negatively, Moses loses some of the Spirit of God, human complaining always costing Such a Thing! Or ... positively, the Spirit of God is "joined" to seventy other men who will help Moses with this great task!

The Spirit was "upon" Moses, "al" is the preposition. It can also mean "over or above." But today, since Calvary and the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit abides "within" us! Praise the Lord! See 1st Corinthians 6:19-20.

The verb "gave" translates "nathan," as one would expect. Its construction however suggests that the "giving" was constant! So was the "taking" for that matter!

Of course the Spirit being God Himself anyway, He exists in limitless supply!

Moses or you or me can have the Spirit "in measure." Jesus did not! "For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him." That's Jesus being discussed in John 3:34. An immeasurable supply of the Spirit was His!

"Elders," in Hebrew "zaqen," are the "ancient men" or just the "old men" or even "senators" once in the King James Text.

When God effected the transfer, the Spirit "rested" on the men! Beautifully "nuach" means "to settle down, to be quiet, or to remain!" And as an infinitive here, "nuach" represents constant resting, abiding upon them if you please!

But look at the second demonstration of the Spirit's Presence! The first was "rest!" These men "prophesied," which on the surface means "to preach, to proclaim!" But more deeply it has the idea of being "under the influence" of the Spirit! Respectfully and reverently, out of one's own control!

And their newly begun ministries "did not cease" either! To "cease," in Hebrew "yaseph," means "to add or to increase." They were given limited authority apparently!

Moses is still the leader!

God always works through some kind of a chain of command it seems. With Him the rule is "decency and order!"

Lord willing, the next verse tomorrow!

                                                                          --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 2, VERSE 26:

There was a problem!

Of Moses' seventy new "helpers," two were quite unusual!

"But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: 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

The bulk of these godly men, sixty-eight to be exact, had gathered around Moses at the Tabernacle. That's according to verse 24 of our chapter, Numbers 11. "And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle."

The verb "gathered" is "aseph" in Hebrew. Used 200 times in the Old Testament, it apparently has no special "spiritual" connotation. It's used of sheep and goats and cattle as well as men.

But we learn from today's verse that two of them "remained" in the camp! The idea behind that verb, "shaar," is to be "left behind!" The point here is that these two men did NOT attend the meeting! They were not at the Tabernacle!

However, notwithstanding their unexplained absence, the Spirit of God still "rested" upon them ... just as He did on the other sixty-eight elders yonder with Moses.

"Nuach" means "to settle" upon someone, to "dwell" there!

And although they did not attend that first assembly, they were still genuine elders of Israel, "written" as such! "Kathab" means inscribed or engraved or enrolled! Apparently a record of these seventy men's names had been created, for authentication purposes one supposes. God keeps good records!

They "went not out" to the Tabernacle! Initially the Tabernacle was not placed in the center of the Jewish encampment. But ... "Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp." Exodus 33:7

The verb here is "yatzsa" and is in the active voice. They deliberately and purposely did not meet with Moses that day. No rebellion or even resistance is implied however.

But, upon the reception of the Spirit, these two did "prophesy," just like the others. Again, "naba" means "to speak or to preach under the influence of the divine Spirit!" This freshly given ability was of the Lord for sure! The verb's temporal properties suggest on-going preaching, constantly! These two are not going to have a short ministry!

It's time to learn their names!

"Eldad and Medad" are introduced to us here and only here in the whole Bible.

"Eldad" for sure means "God has loved."

And "Medad" means something like "affectionate."

While on the surface both men seem to be similar in several ways, their names alone do suggest some differences.

The "El" in "Eldad" is God's very Name! Elohiym! The God of strength and power and might! The "dad" part derives from "dod" in Hebrew, literally meaning "to boil!" But its usual connotation is "to boil in hot fervent love!" Eldad is the theologian of the group, likely being able to discourse on the Names of God, discerning even between "El" and "Elohiym!" He furthermore is a loving Preacher, but in this sense: loving God! He probably had that great prophetic trait: a deep concern for the reputation of the Almighty! Perhaps a bit aloof from the crowd, maybe even a loner of sorts, Eldad was nonetheless a real Man of God!

"Medad," on the other hand, is taken from a root verb meaning "to handle!" More literally, to use the hand! One source says "to throw!" We are grammatically close to the Bible word for "praise," one of them anyway. Like this: "to hold out the hand!" Medad is more of a man of praise, not the "theologian" type at all! He would have been a man who wanted to be with the people, right in the middle of the camp! "Hands-on" as a Preacher! That's why "affectionate" is used concerning Medad, in the textbooks at least. Loving the people no doubt.

See the difference?

One an introvert, one not!

One a student, one not!

One quiet, one not!

Yet both different in this: not at the Tabernacle with the others in the Ministerial Association!

Yet ... and this is important ... God did not rebuke them!

God put His Spirit upon them, them both!

They preached ... near the people too!

The point of today's Lesson is this. We might ought to be careful when evaluating those who are not in our "group!"

Some of them, although not with us, might still be with God!

Think about it!

A secondary lesson, all Preachers are not alike!

Love them for who they are ... if they truly preach the Word!

                                                                                    --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3, VERSE 27:

The Lord had again worked in mighty power!

He had given the Spirit of God to seventy men, elders of the people of Israel.

Anointing them for special service, to help Moses the Man of God as he "bore the burden" of leadership over those millions of Jews, these men had congregated around the Tent of Meeting which was yet outside the Israeli encampment.

Here's how it happened. "And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease." Numbers 11:24-25

However, one "irregularity" did occur that day!

"But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: 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

What's one to do about this?

Enter one of God's "scouts!"

Or maybe I should say "tattle-tales!"

"And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp." Numbers 11:17, today's verse.

Reporting a violation of God's Law is one thing, spreading mere information is another. That could border on "gossip!"

See the verb, "ran." The word is "rutzs" in Hebrew and implies very speedy movement.

The verb "told" is "nagad," to report, to declare or to expound!

Both "run" and "told" are imperfects, picturing continuous action. Quite a scene was apparently created!

The "young man," a "naar" in Hebrew, is really just a lad. Maybe even a young slave. It's a "child" 44 times in the King James Bible and "babe" once. On the other hand it is rendered "youth" 6 times as well.

The ability to "hold" information, not blabbing it everywhere. is a mark of maturity and wisdom in the Book of Proverbs! "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." Proverbs 17:28

Of course we must also admit that times do occur when it's good to "tell" what one knows. Even young people included! For example, Paul's Nephew in Acts 23. "And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him." And thus Paul's life was spared! Thank God for that young man! I sometimes wonder if those forty men died of starvation!

But apparently this "Eldad and Medad" situation was not that serious!

God is not upset with these two, nor is Moses!

Discernment is not a bad trait to couple with verbosity!

Then again, maybe real discernment cures verbosity!

"Moses, two of the seventy are preaching back in the camp, around the people of God," it is blurted!

Be careful telling "all" you know about a subject! "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." Proverbs 29:11

Perhaps we today are a bit quick to judge when others, even a small minority, do not cooperate with our programs!

Or do not attend our meetings!

Or are not "in fellowship" with our crowd!

Caution is always wise! That we must not condemn. Walk "circumspectly" Paul teaches us.

But God can certainly use those "different" people, those "eccentric" preachers ... who still preach the Word of God without compromise! "Loners" in the Ministry!

What a truth to remember today!

I do suspect that overall the Bible says a lot more about "separation" than "cooperation" even.

So, with this unusual emphasis today ... take careful note!

Calling fire down from Heaven is not always the answer!

                                                                                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 4, VERSE 28:

With seventy men, all newly anointed by the Holy Spirit of God, now preaching to the people of Israel, little could be wrong!

So one would think!

But there is a problem!

Or Joshua believes it to be a problem anyway!

Two of the men, Eldad and Medad, did not attend the meeting Moses held out at the Tabernacle. That holy Tent was not installed in the center of Israel's congregation, not just yet anyway. It was still "outside" the camp.

Yes, these two "independent" Brethren, again I mean Eldad and Medad, remained "in the camp" and preached.

Anyone could have easily seen that "the place to be" was out at the Tabernacle. That's where the excitement was!

What non-conformity does Eldad and Medad seek to promote?

Why are they so non-cooperative?

Surely they must be rebuked!

Therefore: "Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them." Numbers 11:28

The name Joshua is beautiful! It means "Jehovah is Salvation!"

In fact, it is the Hebrew forerunner of another Name we all love, Jesus!

The noun "servant" is enlightening too. "Sharath," not being the word for one who is in abject slavery, suggests one who "ministers" to the needs of another! But "sharath," unlike its counterpart "ebed," often carries the idea of religious service.

Plus the designation "young man," which is "bechuroth," means a "select" young man, "special" and significant! "Bachar," the root stem here, means "to try, to judge or to select!"

Even when addressing Moses, Joshua uses the term "lord." And "adon" means one with authority, one who rules! No problem here! Commendable, Joshua!

Thus far we see young Joshua only in a good light!

And rightly so!

But today, in our Text here, we do see a weakness in Joshua's life. Perhaps it is a small shortcoming, but it must be addressed nonetheless. The Bible records it clearly.

Moses, stop these two men!

"Forbid them!"

This verb is spelled "kala" and means "refrain, shut up, withhold, or restrict!"

In other words, not because of their message, but because of where they were located, stop these men from preaching!

They are not in our group!

They are not geographically sanctified!

Well, Moses wisely denies Joshua's request ... promptly.

Joshua will learn his lesson and things will be fine!

Much like the Disciples did one day with Jesus! "And the Lord messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village." Luke 9:52-56 records this lesson learned!

Or again, "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." Mark 9:38-41

Little lessons to learn!

How to become more mellow, more gracious, less abrasive!

That is, to others who faithfully preach the Word of God!

Who are filled with the Spirit of truth!

As were Eldad and Medad obviously!

Let's not forbid those whom God has not forbidden!

Of course, again in Joshua's favor, the first time we meet him he's fighting, fighting for the Glory of God too! He's a General in the Lord's Army, the Israelite forces!

Joshua, the first time he's mentioned in Scripture: "And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand." Exodus 17:9

Furthermore, Joshua loves Moses dearly. He is a most loyal follower! And if he thought for a minute that those two, Eldad and Medad, were disrespecting Moses' authority, trouble would have been on the way. Again, bravo, Joshua!

But there is no sign such in out Text. No harm meant to Moses!

Eldad and Medad gave no cause for concern regarding heresy or insurrection! Neither in our Text today or in the years of ministry that followed.

And one last thing, still in Joshua's defense perhaps, that young man loved the Tabernacle, God's House!

For these two upstart Preachers NOT to attend that installation service was an affront to the younger Man of God! Could it have been a sign of incipient isolationism? Joshua will watch carefully! He and his house will be serving the Lord! Here's our dear Lord's account of Joshua's church attendance habits: "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle." He seldom left the Tabernacle, loving that Place, according to Exodus 33:11 here.

Joshua, forbid not God's men the preaching of His Word, wherever they do that! As long as God is smiling upon their action!

And son, even more so, keep on living for God! Really, here's Joshua's life goal: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." How can anybody fault that, Joshua 1:9?

Thank God for Joshua!

Thank God for Moses!

But also thank God for Eldad and Medad!

Thank Him for all His true Bible-honoring, devil-fighting, godly-living Preachers everywhere!

Amen!

                                                                                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 5, VERSE 29:

Moses could be so gracious!

At least, at times he could!

His forgiveness of others, his intercession for the Jewish people, his overall meekness, his faithfulness to God ... all glorify the great Lord who saved him and called him!

And today in our Text we have another sterling example of Moses' magnanimity, his greatness. New word? "Magnanimous" means ... "of big or great (magnus in Latin) soul or heart or mind (animus)." A giant of a man in character!

That's the kind of person with whom God fellowships freely! "And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Exodus 33:11

The incident we've been studying shows Moses at his best.

"And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto Moses, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: 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. And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!" Numbers 11:25-29, just to keep the Text close to our discussion here.

Young Joshua, loyal to the core, was fearful that Eldad's and Medad's not coming out to the Tabernacle was a big mistake!

That their independence was an insult to Moses!

The verb "enviest" is interesting here. Joshua, "enviest thou for my sake," asked Moses. "Qana" is primarily a word indicating zeal, to be zealous! It's used in that light three times in the King James Bible too. And usually, in a negative sense, the word for "zeal" can easily become the word for "jealousy" or "envy." Here "qana" is a Piel participle too, dramatic and vigorous action being demonstrated on Joshua's part!

Technically speaking, envy is defined as "a desire for gain!" A wanting of that which another has! While jealousy is best defined as "a fear of loss!" Losing that which I genuinely treasure!

Here's the first time "qana" appears in Scripture. "For Isaac had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him." You can get a good idea of its real meaning in this Genesis 26:14 setting.

Did Joshua want what these men had, an abundant fullness of the Spirit of God!

More of Him, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead!

If so, although perhaps misplaced a bit, he longs for a Good Thing!

However, maybe Joshua longs for the Spirit to have remained on Moses his hero! Loss of a seventy-fold "touch" of God could be devastating! Remember that we have clearly been told that the Lord: "took of the spirit that was upon Moses, and gave it unto the seventy elders." Is this the reason for Joshua's reaction?

But let me interject this. I doubt the Spirit of God can be so quantified. Moses could be "full" of Him and so could each of the sixty-eight men out at the Tabernacle ... plus Eldad and Medad in the camp also!

The Spirit of God is in no way diminished by impacting and filling yet another Believer in Christ! He is illimitable! He is inexhaustible! He is God!

"Joshua, do not envy for my sake," kindly replies the Lawgiver of Israel.

The verb in force here, that God would "put" His Spirit on all the people, is "nathan" and simply means "to give!" Sounds like a premature hunger for Pentecost, doesn't it?

And the desire that all the Lord's people were Prophets may have reflected the coming Age of Grace! Our time, folks! After Pentecost, when every Believer can now testify and witness and pray and sing praises to the Lord!

When anyone whom God so determines and calls can preach the glorious Word of God!

No apparent jealousy in Moses at all, not here!

And what a lesson this is for us to learn!

We too much look at the success or approval or blessings others have in the work of the Lord! Like Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 10:12, "Comparing ourselves among ourselves, we are not wise."

Let God bless as He sees fit!

After all, like Jesus asked in that great parable of the workers in Matthew 20, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"

Yes, Lord!

Bless all Your people, we pray!

One more time, just because we need to hear it again, "And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"

Amen!

That would be the end of jealousy forever, down at God's House!

                                                                                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

CONCLUSION:

The Lord had taken of the Spirit that rested on Moses and had placed that same sweet Spirit on seventy godly men, elders or leaders in Israel. They would now help Moses carry the load of caring for the many Israelites.

Yet God did so in an unusual way, this transfer of the Spirit I mean. "And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone." Here, in Numbers 11:17, the Lord Himself tells us this transfer process is completed as He "talked" with Moses! "Dabar" means "to speak or converse" and is here framed in the Piel stem. That suggests intensive action, God is really talking, powerfully so!

This indicates that God's very Presence is the medium through which the Holy Spirit is transferred. At least on this occasion! And if you will remember when Pentecost occurred Jesus prayed to the Father Who then poured out the Spirit on those in the Upper Room! God the Father is The Dispenser!

Not by flashing lights or roaring noises or tingling feelings ... but by the Voice of God alone ... that's how the Holy Spirit comes!

Then notice that Moses' gracious response is match elsewhere by this great Man of God. Close by too, in the very next chapter, Numbers 12! After Aaron and Miriam "spake against" Moses, and she contracted leprosy, Moses forgave them with all his heart, no questions asked! In reality Moses' intercessory prayer for his grumbling sister is a classic, seeking God's touch of healing on her jealous heart!

That's the very attitude that pervaded this Eldad and Medad event too!

That's the way God's Men must learn to behave!

And Paul the Apostle saw a similar event in his life. While in prison, apparently in Rome, some men who were evidently preachers, hated Paul and fought his ministry fervently! They were enemies of the great Apostle, preaching Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to his bonds.

And what was Paul's attitude toward these contentious men? Here are his exact words, meek as they are! "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Philippians 1:18

In summary ...

Moses, did you know that Eldad and Medad are not here at the Tabernacle? They're different! Rebuke them! And Moses responded: "And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"

Moses, your sister and brother have spoken against you. God judged her, she apparently being the ring-leader, with leprosy! What do you say? "And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee." Numbers 12:13

Then Paul, as we've just seen, responding to his enemies who had sought to intensify his suffering in a Roman prison cell: "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." Again, this is Philippians 1:18.

That's how we respond to wayward Brethren, and not so wayward ones too!

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."  2nd Timothy 2:24-26

Amen!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell