The first reading today is taken from Numbers. It is during the time of the wilderness trek when Moses and the people have long since departed from Egypt but have not arrived in the Promised Land. There are lots of people on the trek and as you might expect, there are lots of problems and complaints. The Lord directed Moses to select 70 elders to help with the burden of leadership. As promised, the Lord gave the elders the gift of the Spirit and they immediately began to prophesy. At the same time there are two others, not selected as elders, who receive the same Spirit and they too are prophesying. Do the elders rejoice because the Spirit of the Lord is spreading among the people? Seems not. I guess human nature being what it is, the elders complain that the two are not officially elders. I guess their thinking is that the gift of the Spirit is only for elders. Moses corrects their misconception: “Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Continue reading →