HEBREW WORD STUDY – GOD LOVES ME AND I LOVE GOD – ELDAD MEDAD  אלדוד  מדוד

Numbers 11:25-26,28  “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.(26) 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. (28) And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, [one] of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.”

Here is an interesting story. First, we open a can of worms in the first sentence of Numbers 11:25.  The Lord came down in a cloud, spoke to him (Moses) and then took of the spirit that was upon him (Moses) and gave it to the seventy elders. Yes, you read the Hebrew syntax right. God took the Holy Spirit that was upon Moses and gave it to the seventy elders and they began to prophesy. I’m putting the lid back on that can and will re-open for my All Access Hebrew class to chew on. https://www.chaimbentorah.com/all-access/

Now the word prophecy here is naba’ which is basically acting under the influence of a divine spirit, in this case, the Holy Spirit.  How does a person act when under the influence of the Holy Spirit?  Well, some actually foretell the future, some preach a good sermon, some just share a message from God, some dance and sing. Only through the context can you tell just how prophecy is manifested and many times you just can’t tell.  One common element in prophecy is that everything that is said or done is the result of the Holy Spirit.

I was reading one rabbi who said the difference between a spiritual gift and a material gift is the material gift cost the giver something. A spiritual gift cost the giver nothing because it is given by the Spirit of God.

So, Moses had called up seventy-two elders from the twelve tribes but only seventy could go with him outside the camp to receive the Spirit of God. Two could not go outside the camp, Eldad which means God is my beloved and Medad which means I am His (God’s) beloved.   You know like the old song, “My beloved is my and I am His.”  Twiddle dee and twiddle de dum.  Yes, names in the Bible are important and tell a story. In this case a story in a wordplay.  I am asking my Saturday All Access Class to tell me what story they see from these names so if you are a member of All Access, get ready.  But I digress.  According to the Midrash Rabbah Eldad and Medad could not go with the other seventy elders to the outside of the camp because they were charged with guarding the bones of Joseph.  Yet, they still got filled with the Spirit of God.

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In verse 27 we learn that some young man ratted on Eldad and Medad to Moses saying they were prophesying in the camp. Preaching? Teaching? I am not sure.  My guess this prophecy was having a Pentecostal breakdown. Joshua who was likely 40 years old at this time and not a young kid chimed and said: “Mercy Maud, how awful, they were not there when the Spirit came. Moses, you must forbid them.”  Moses’s response is one to think about. “I wish all the people would prophesy.

I gather two important lessons here. One is that you don’t need to be in a special place to experience the fullness of God and there are those who will question your experience if it is not just like theirs.  Secondly, if you are an Eldad Medad, one who loves God and God loves you-you will be filled with the Spirit of God.

Once our sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus there is no reason for the Holy Spirit not to dwell within you – if you let Him.

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