Numbers 11
Now notice this... God annointed the elders with the Holy Spirit. Man did not. There is no mention in this scripture that Moses had to go around and lay hands on every one of those 70 - in fact 2 of them were not even present in the assembly. God filled them with the Spirit, without Moses' help. So here I am going to say something that some of you may heartily disagree with... The laying on of hands by man as is taught by some is not necessary to receive the Holy Spirit. It is purely a work of God. The laying on of hands is a good thing, even a needful thing during various prayers, but it is not necessary for the reception of the Holy Spirit. It is totally up to God to fill someone with the Holy Spirit. We can lay hands on someone and pray that they receive the Holy Spirit. But, it is not necessary. We can kneel at our bedsides alone and pray for this gift and if God chooses we will receive the Spirit. God's actions, His gifts to us, do not depend upon anything that we might do. They are totally dependent on His grace, His mercy.
That's good news! Some more good news (at least for Pastors and Bishops) is that Moses doesn't have to carry the burden alone. That, I believe, is the reason we have councils and committees. God gives gifts of the Holy Spirit to many in our congregations in order to share the burden of caring for God's people. When these gifts are used, no one has too great a burden to bear and their is a whole lot less complaining.
The sad news in this story is that although the craving of the Israelites was satisfied, many (it appears only the rabble who had the cravings and complained) died of a plague and were buried in that place. Will the children of God ever learn to quit complaining? Will we ever learn to appreciate and give thanks to God for the gifts that He has given us?
Complaints! Moses gets to hear them all! The Lord hears them all! Delivered from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites have the manna to eat in the desert, but it's not enough. They want more. It is a temptation to always want more or something other than we need.
Led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, Jesus would respond to the temptation to turn the stones into bread so that he could eat: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4; also Luke 4:4). The Israelites have bread to eat. They have manna. They have the word of God, spoken to them through Moses. They have God's presence. They are aware of it in the form of the cloud and fire. But, they want more so God delivers them a months worth of meat to satisfy their cravings.
And Moses... Well, Moses is complaining too. He's a little tired of being the only one whose shoulders all the Israelites' complaints and burdens fall upon. He hears their complaints about their cravings not being satisfied and he complains that it all falls upon him to satisfy the desires of the children of Israel. And God... fixes that complaint as well. He has Moses pick 70 of the elders to help him bear the burden of the people. They gather together (all but 2 of them) and God took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 elders. Now notice this... God annointed the elders with the Holy Spirit. Man did not. There is no mention in this scripture that Moses had to go around and lay hands on every one of those 70 - in fact 2 of them were not even present in the assembly. God filled them with the Spirit, without Moses' help. So here I am going to say something that some of you may heartily disagree with... The laying on of hands by man as is taught by some is not necessary to receive the Holy Spirit. It is purely a work of God. The laying on of hands is a good thing, even a needful thing during various prayers, but it is not necessary for the reception of the Holy Spirit. It is totally up to God to fill someone with the Holy Spirit. We can lay hands on someone and pray that they receive the Holy Spirit. But, it is not necessary. We can kneel at our bedsides alone and pray for this gift and if God chooses we will receive the Spirit. God's actions, His gifts to us, do not depend upon anything that we might do. They are totally dependent on His grace, His mercy.
That's good news! Some more good news (at least for Pastors and Bishops) is that Moses doesn't have to carry the burden alone. That, I believe, is the reason we have councils and committees. God gives gifts of the Holy Spirit to many in our congregations in order to share the burden of caring for God's people. When these gifts are used, no one has too great a burden to bear and their is a whole lot less complaining.
The sad news in this story is that although the craving of the Israelites was satisfied, many (it appears only the rabble who had the cravings and complained) died of a plague and were buried in that place. Will the children of God ever learn to quit complaining? Will we ever learn to appreciate and give thanks to God for the gifts that He has given us?
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