NUMBERS 11, 16. 24-29
The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you….
So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.
However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
The apostle Paul writes, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Ever question that?
You are going through the roughest time of your life. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. You are trying to get control of the situation, but nothing seems to help. Everything you try, fails. The situation is getting worse by the minute. You don’t know what to do. You’re frustrated, frightened, and maybe even angry. And then a well-meaning friend, tells you, “Hey, don’t worry. Remember God doesn’t give you more than you can handle,” and smiles at you.
But instead of giving you peace and comfort, those words frustrate you more. You get angry at that friend. He doesn’t know what I’m going through, and he doesn’t deem care. We may even be getting mad at God, because God isn’t doing what He promised!
God has given me more than I can handle. I can’t handle the issues that face me. I am waiting to see that door through which I can go to get out of this problem, but there is no door. I keep waiting for the extra strength, or the extra wisdom, to help me find the way out. But there is none. And I find myself getting more frustrated, and more upset, and more frightened and more angry!
If you’ve ever been in that position, you’re in good company. I’m sure that most of us, have been there, sometime in our lives. But then, so was Moses! That’s right. Even Moses felt that frustration and fear! Just before the words we’re studying here, Moses was filled with frustration and fear and tells God, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now – if I have found favor in your eyes – and do not let me face my own ruin.” Wow! Even Moses seemed to be overwhelmed by the garbage that God allowed to come into his life.
So, what is God’s solution, WHEN YOU JUST CAN’T HANDLE IT ON YOUR OWN!”
I
So, what has Moses so frustrated that he is complaining to God that he can’t handle it? The Children of Israel have been out of Egypt for one year, one month and 5 days. 400 days, since God had led them out of Egypt. They had seen God miraculously part the Red Sea so they could cross over on dry ground, and then destroy the Egyptian chariots chasing them when they tried to do the same thing! They had heard and seen the glory of God, at Mount Sinai that terrified them to no end. Twice when they complained about having no water, God miraculously gave them water. They complained about not having food, so that night God sent enough qual into the camp for them to eat! The next morning God gave them Mann. They didn’t have to scour the wilderness searching for little bits of herbs or grass. God gave it to them right outside their tent door every morning except for the Sabbath for 40 years. All this took place within 400 days.
And now, the people complained about not having any meat. And on top of that, they complained about this Manna that God gave them. They wanted something different. And they were getting angry with Moses. They were demanding that Moses do something about this.
So, Moses finds himself in an impossible situation. The people demand meat! Something Moses can’t do. Everything he’s done for them in the past doesn’t matter. All the miracles he did for them wasn’t enough. He doesn’t know what to do. He can’t handle this, and God isn’t giving him any help. He wants to quit.
Ever been where Moses was! Sickness strikes our family. But when we get over one issue another one hits. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, when still another illness strikes. Another set of doctors! Another bunch of trips to the hospital! Another bunch of medical bills. It just doesn’t end. Or the company gets downsized, and I lose my job. I go through an employment agency and finally get a job that pays a whole lot less, but I take it because we need the money. I work as hard as I can because that is what God expects of me. Some lazy employees get jealous of my work ethic, share lies with the boss about me, and suddenly I’m out of another job. How am I going to take care of my family? I’m sure that if we had time, each of us could tell stories that would make our hair curl.
Yes, we’ve been where Moses was. So, what do you do, WHEN YOU JUST CAN’T HANDLE IT ON YOUR OWN!
II
Well, Moses complained all right! But at least he complained to the right person. He turned to God! And God’s answer? “You are absolutely correct, Moses! You can’t handle these people on your own.” But God had a better answer than having Moses die and get it over with.
God said, “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are know to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting that they may stand there with you.” The “way out” of this situation is not to have Moses die, but to get people to help him. So, they chose 70 men, elders, leaders of the people, men the people respected, men who had wisdom, and experience, who could help lead these people.
They chose 70 wise elders, and had them gather around the Tent of meeting. And then as God is talking to Moses, “he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.” Not only were these men chosen by the people, they were also called and equipped by God. God’s Spirit resting on them proved that.
And then that Spirit inside them gave an outward demonstration. Suddenly they were able to “prophesy.” When prophets of God, “prophesied,” they were simply preaching God’s Word and telling the people, “Thus says the Lord.” With these 70 elders there was something different. They were speaking in a heavenly language praising God. No one knew what they were saying, but they knew they were praising God with a special gift of the Spirit.
And even though there were only 68 Elders at the tent of meeting, God’s Spirit rested on all 70. For some reason two of these could not make it to the Tent of meeting. Maybe they had things to do and they just couldn’t postpone! Suddenly the Spirit of God rested on them, and they too, wherever they were, whatever they were doing, suddenly stopped, and began to utter praises to God by “prophesying.”
We’re told they never prophesied again. But I’m sure God’s Spirit continued to rest on them, giving them the wisdom, the courage, and the ability to do the work they needed to do to help Moses lead this nation.
That’s the lesson God wants to teach us when we are in a situation we just can’t handle, when out of frustration we think God hasn’t kept His promise and hasn’t provided us a way out. When we cry out to the Lord, “Lord, I just can’t handle this on my own,” the Lord’s right there telling you like He told Moses. “You’re right my child. You can’t handle this on your own. I didn’t expect you to handle this on your own! That’s why I have 70 elders filled with the Spirit, ready, willing, and able to help you.” God doesn’t always expect us to handle our problems on our own. Sometimes, He expects us to reach out to someone, to listen to someone else, to rely on a friend to help us.
Ever see that happen? You’re at the end of your rope, you don’t know what to do. And then out of the blue a friend comes along and just hangs out, and just listens as you share your tale of woe, and as you are sharing time together, suddenly the solution comes to mind. Or maybe you’ve been on the other end, where you are one of those 70 spirit filled elders who just happens to ask someone, “Hey, are you OK?” And they pour out their heart, and as you listen, God gives you words of wisdom to help them in their need.
It’s not that we planned it. It’s not that we woke up that morning and said, “You know what, I think today I’m going to be one of God’s Spirit filled Seventy Elders, and I’m going out to find someone in a difficult situation and I’m going to help him.” You just started out the day like you start out each day. You asked the Lord to direct your life today, and take you down the path He wants you to go, and suddenly God is working miracles and changing lives by using people like us to do His will.
That’s really the answer to this question. What should I do, WHEN I JUST CAN’T HANDLE IT ON MY OWN? Just like Moses did, get your eyes off yourself and put them on God, and suddenly everything makes sense. These weren’t Moses’ people! They were God’s people! Moses was not the one leading them! God was! Moses was not the one who needed to get them food to eat and water to drink, God was! And it was not up to Moses to save these people. It was up to God.
That’s the answer for us as well. When I’m frustrated, when I feel overwhelmed, when I feel that I just can’t handle this on my own, when I’m getting angry at God for not helping me, turn your eyes to God! My life, my health, my success is not up to me! Its up to God. And realize who our God is. He is the Creator of this universe and He can do anything to help you! Even work miracles! But He is also the God who loved you so much He sacrificed His own precious Son, to die in your place so that you can live with Him eternally. And if God thinks that much of you, do you think He’s going to make you suffer needlessly? Don’t you think He’s got a plan for you, even when He’s taking you through those frustrating times?
It’s going to happen! We will run across a situation that we JUST CAN’T HANDLE ON OUR OWN! So, what do we do? Realize that of course you can’t handle it on your own, God never intended you to handle these things on your own. Don’t even try. Turn to the one who has the power to help! Turn to the one who loves you with a sacrificial love that will prompt Him to help. Turn to Jesus, your Savior.
