The spirit of Moses

“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.…

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.

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!

And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.” (Num. 11:16,17,24-30).

I have always found this intriguing that the Lord would take of Moses’ spirit in order to anoint the 70 elders. Why didn’t He take of His own Spirit to anoint them? Because, Moses’ spirit was the Lord’s Spirit. Moses had been “filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph. 3:19). “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Ex. 33:11).

“Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold” (Num. 12:6-8). “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)” (vs. 3).

Moses had been anointed with the Spirit of God. He was more than a prophet. And the anointing the Lord gave the 70 elders was taken from Moses because the Lord needed to place the people’s trust in him as the designated leader from God. Moses was chosen by God to be their tutor and governor.

“Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” (Deut. 33:4,5).

Like his Lord, “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Ps. 45:7). Surrounded by 70 others with the same Spirit, Moses could lead Israel to the heart and mind that would be required to take Canaan, and re-establish the holiness and righteousness of God in His land.

What does this say about the Spirit? It was super-natural. But that didn’t necessarily mean it was from God. This concept is what made Joshua implore Moses to forbid the prophesying that happened to the 70 elders, especially by the two out in the camp. The prophesying was out of the ordinary and he must have suspected an Egyptian-style apostatizing. It defied good discipline and order. The elder men shouldn’t be full of “light, power, …and sweet love, joy, and peace.” Early Writings, p. 55. The men shouldn’t be so happy and noisy about it.

“O God, when thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:

The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was weary.

Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: Thou, O God, hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor.

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.

Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.

The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.

Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (Ps. 68:7-19).

But, the 70 elders only tasted a little of what Moses and David had drunk to the full. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11). When we continue in the Lord’s word and keep His commandments, we are His disciples indeed and His truth will make us free from earthly limitations and human-invented restrictions. Without any bondage we love the Law and soar above the sin-imposed constraints of this dark world.

Moses was a type of Christ. As Moses only spoke face to face with Christ and heard Him in the shekinah cloud, “from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto Him.” (Num. 7:89). Likewise has only Christ forever spoken face to face with God the Father. As Moses laid down his eternal life for his beloved rebellious people in Exodus 32:30-32, so did Christ in Gethsemane. And as Moses’ life of service was consummated on Pisgah because of the provocations of the people, so did Christ on Golgotha, yet without sin. “This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.” (Acts 7:37). “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken;… I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.” (Deut. 18:15-18).

Moses was Christ in similitude. And as Christ took of Moses’ Spirit, which He had bestowed upon him, and gave it to the leadership of the children of Israel, so did God the Father take of Christ’s Spirit and gave it to His newly established church of the remnant Jews. Without measure He had bestowed His Spirit upon His Son to give it in all power to His apostles, for the leadership of the Gentile children of God, even for the most unclean lepers and devil-possessed who wanted to receive the mercy of God through His Prince Messiah.

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:7-13).

This abundant Spirit was the gift from Christ in His heavenly sanctuary. “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” (1Pet. 1:10-12). This same dispensation of the Spirit of Christ upon the prophets in the Old Testament was the Holy Ghost that was sent down from heaven. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Per. 1:21).

Notice that Peter makes the Spirit of Christ synonymous with the Holy Ghost. It is the Spirit of Christ that poured down upon the prophets of old, just as It did upon the New Testament church. We see this also in the symbolism of Revelation. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:6).

But, the idea of Moses losing some of his spirit undermines the idea that what Moses had was a person, the third person of a Trinity and co-equal with the other co-equals, Father and Son. The Spirit in Moses lends Itself more so to being spiritual fruit of meekness, the “the gift of God,… living water.…”, a blessed rest from Jesus, “His rest” (Heb. 4:1,10,11) for the soul; and not a third being of a Trinity. Of the Spirit Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:10,14, cf John 7:37-39). That is what the 70 elders received. They received the water of life, the “refreshing…from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19). Refreshing from the presence of Christ, not the presence of a third person.

“And the Spirit [(of the Bridegroom)] and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17). At His wedding, the Bridegroom turns earthly water into heavenly wine, earthly life (which is death) into eternal life. This He does when we’ve finally grown weary of this world’s abundant fraudulent promises of happiness and the good life.

Disillusioned with this world, we say to Him, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but Thou hast kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10). Jesus saves the best for last; and the best He gives comes straight off His fiat winepress. The best is what Moses, David, and the 70 elders drank. And they couldn’t keep quiet about it, not even Eldad and Medad could be shushed among the multitudes. Out in that hot desert the 70 were drinking something refreshing they had never had before. They were drinking salvation from “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:19). “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isa. 12:3). The Spirit that He gave them was springing up into everlasting life.

“Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. No sooner does he come to know the Saviour than he desires to make others acquainted with Him. The saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.” Ministry of Healing, p. 102.

The transfer of “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9) from Moses to the elders we see in the New Testament also. Paul knew Timothy “to be [a leader] of the people, and [an officer] over them” (Num. 11:16). He wrote, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2Tim. 1:5). When this New Testament Moses had laid his hands on Timothy the youthful elder received a free, indomitable mind. “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Tim. 1:6,7). The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. The prophecy concerning Jesus was that “the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isa. 11:2). Paul passed Christ’s Spirit on to Timothy.

Another recipient of the Spirit from Christ in Moses was Joshua.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation:
And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.” (Num. 27:18).
“And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Deut. 34:9). 

But, Joshua didn’t receive the Spirit of Moses until he could recognize the full and true manifestation of the Lord’s Spirit. Joshua must know the word of the Lord for himself, through his service to the Lord. The up and coming leader must learn to not deny His God’s presence whenever He chooses to manifest Himself through His designated servants, as in the case of the 70 elders. “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!” (Num. 11:28,29). It seemed to Joshua that the 70 were robbing Moses of his glory and competing for his power. But, Moses wasn’t the least concerned, because he knew that the Lord had directed it.

 “And [Moses] said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them.

Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand: and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.

Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” (Deut. 33:2-5).

The Lord wants all of His people to be prophets as soon as He can justify, sanctify, and unite His people under His statutes and laws. He has always desired a kingdom of prophets and a holy nation. 

We may not be a prophet on the order of Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon, or Paul and Timothy, but “in the Spirit” (Rev. 1:10) we can “sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever” (Ps. 89:1), especially on His seventh day Sabbath. We will have a new song in our mouth, “even praise unto our God.” (Ps. 40:3). Like the sons of the prophets, we will come “down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp,” and with them in song we “shall prophesy” (1Sam. 10:5) and “be turned into another man” by “the Spirit of the LORD” (1Sam. 10:6).

“Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.… He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.… He that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would…that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.… Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.… If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.” (1Cor. 14:1,3-5,12,24,25).

The spirit of prophecy that Paul wanted to be seen in the churches was the Spirit had fallen upon Moses’ 70 elders. It was such a new thing that to Joshua it looked like blasphemous Egyptian demon possession. Yet it was not a cacophony; they acted in concord. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”(1Cor. 14:33). And, even though they were outside the confines of the tabernacle, the rejoicing and expressions of Eldad and Medad from the presence of God were graceful and edifying. We don’t have to be confined to a church building to testify of the goodness of God. We can tell of His goodness out in the world. That’s what Jesus wanted to teach Israel, and it is what He did when He walked among us in the flesh.

Jehovah pouring His gift upon some among the unsanctified multitudes was a preview of the free gift falling on the first believers among Gentiles. Peter got Joshua’s same reaction by the church leaders. “When Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.” (Acts 11:2). But, then he explained. “…And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (vss. 15-18). The church elders who still emphasized circumcision hadn’t yet heard what Peter had heard, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” (vs. 9). Similar to Joshua, the circumcised leaders still needed more circumcising of the heart and understanding of what the will of the Lord was.

The supernatural Spirit of Moses was the same Spirit of prophecy, and the same Spirit from Paul upon Timothy. Paul called it a cooperative element—“my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor. 5:4), “the Spirit…of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” It was the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. It is all that Jesus has to offer us. That is why Paul counseled, “covet to prophesy” (1Cor. 14:39).

“Those who take God’s word with reverence, seeking to learn His will that they may obey it, all is changed. They are filled with awe and wonder as they contemplate the purity and exalted excellence of the truths revealed. Like attracts like. Like appreciates like. Holiness allies itself with holiness, faith with faith. To the humble heart and the sincere, inquiring mind the Bible is full of light and knowledge. Those who come to the Scriptures in this spirit are brought into fellowship with prophets and apostles. Their spirit assimilates to that of Christ, and they long to become one with Him.” Testimonies for the church, vol. 5, p. 705.

As much as John was we should be “in the Spirit”. We should have the Law in our hearts so that it humbles our pride and brings us to Jesus for His Spirit. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6). And if we’ve been “kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (Gal. 3:23) then we can fall on the stone Law and be broken. And being broken, God will send to us the Spirit of His Son into our humbled hearts.

 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1,2).

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit....

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom. 8:5-10).

To be “in the Spirit” (Rev 1:10; Rom. 8:9) is to be “in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). It is to be “in the Lord.” (1Cor. 7:39; 11:11; Eph. 2:21; 5:8). “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.” (Eph. 1:10). “A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (Eze. 36:26-28). When “we shall all be changed” (1Cor. 15:51), then we will forever be in the Spirit. “And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” (Rev. 22:4).

“My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in Thy salvation.” (1Sam. 2:1). “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Cor. 1:31). “And now, little children, abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:28).

“The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:27). “And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” (1Jn. 3:24). “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” (1Jn. 4:2). “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” (1Jn. 4:13). “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1Jn. 4:15,16).

We love God because He has given us the Spirit of love and power and of soundness of mind. We have a sound conversion. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1Jn. 4:17-19).