In Numbers 11: 24-29, there is a short parenthetical story of two prophets who serve as models or types of the believer today. They are Eldad and Medad, two characters who show up this one time in scripture, and then disappear into obscurity.
Numbers 11:24-29:
And Moses goeth out, and speaketh unto the people the words of Jehovah, and gathereth seventy men of the elders of the people, and causeth them to stand round about the tent,
and Jehovah cometh down in the cloud, and speaketh unto him, and keepeth back of the Spirit which is on him, and putteth on the seventy men of the elders; and it cometh to pass at the resting of the Spirit on them, that they prophesy, and do not cease.
And two of the men are left in the camp, the name of the one is Eldad, and the name of the second Medad, and the spirit resteth upon them, (and they are among those written, and have not gone out to the tent), and they prophesy in the camp;
and the young man runneth, and declareth to Moses, and saith, `Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’
And Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, one of his young men, answereth and saith, `My lord Moses, restrain them.’
And Moses saith to him, `Art thou zealous for me? O that all Jehovah’s people were prophets! that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!’
The first note that should be pointed out is that when it is written that they were all “prophesying” it should not be understood that they were necessarily predicting the future, or screeching about the end of the world, or destruction or what not. In context, the reason why God took a portion of His Spirit from Moses, and put it on the 70, was because Moses was feeling worn out by the complaints and demands of the congregation. (Specifically, about the lack of meat). The 70 elders prophesying was the solution, in that they were going to provide the spiritual “moral support” for Moses at the time. Thus, we can expect that they were praising God, affirming God’s faithfulness and the like. In 1 Cor 14 3, we learn that prophesy is for the “Edification (upbuilding), exhortation, and comfort” of those who hear it. The goal of prophesy is the build up the listeners, to establish them in the faith, as well as challenge (exhort) and console them. In this sense, it is the same goal that we have as believers when we share God’s word with someone else. We need not think of it as becoming a “wild eyed” preacher of doom.
QUESTION 1: What was the MEANS by which the 70 Elders prophesied?
Obviously, it is was the addition of the Spirit, the anointing of God that enabled them. We mistakenly think sometimes that sharing the words of edification, exhortation and comfort are reserved for those with a Masters of Divinity, or Bible School degree. Not the case. The Holy Spirit does the effective enabling. In the story above, the 70 received the special and unique anointing, prophesied, and they stopped. The distinction between us and them is that we have the same Holy Spirit… but living ALL THE TIME on the inside of us. When the believers where filled on the day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit, they all prophesied and spoke in tongues. (The prophesying aspect we are told in 1 Corinthians 14 is the more beneficial gifting). As believers, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, “prophesying” to others is, or should be a normative thing. We should allowing God to use us to edify and encourage others. We sometimes are silent because we don’t feel we are qualified, or scared of saying the wrong thing. But it is God’s Spirit that makes us effective — our own intellect notwithstanding.
QUESTION 2: What was the MEDIUM or place of Activity that Eldad and Medad prophesied?
This is one of the things that set them apart. Whereas the 70 elders all prophesied up at the Tent of Meeting (think of that as our modern day “church”) … Eldad and Medad prophesied in the CAMP — that is, where everyone lived their day -to-day lives. Think of how that is analogous today. For us, it is very easy to say “Praise the Lord”, or quote bible verse in church. It very easy, even expected, to talk about what God has done for you— in church. But Eldad and Medad broke out of that box. It challenges us to think about what we will say and share with others at work, and at home, and with siblings, parents, or generally out in public. That is where it gets a little more challenging. Eldad and Medad serves as examples for us… believers who live out loud in the public square, not simply cloistered in a church.
QUESTION 3: What were Eldad’s and Medad’s motives?
When the young man ran to Moses and Joshua to complain about them, what was being called into question was their motives. The fact that they were continuing to prophesy and do it everywhere made some in leadership nervous. Perhaps Joshua was thinking that if the Spirit that was on Moses was now on Eldad and Medad, that his future as the heir apparent of Moses was now threatened. Or perhaps the two of them would stage a coup, like Korah had done. Moses answer to Joshua makes it clear that it was a concern for leadership roles that spurred on the request to make them stop.
Now the Bible doesn’t say anything specific about their motives. And you don’t see these two characters again. However, it is interesting that the Bible is very specific about the names of these two obscure characters. And many of us know that the Bible, in many cases, is very specific about names because the meaning of names was very significant. Between Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Barnabas, and scores of others, the placement of one’s name is frequently there to tell you something about the character. In this case or Eldad and Medad — the former name means either “God Loves” or “Loves God”, depending on what is the direct object in the phrase. Medad means “He is loved” or “He loves (others)” with the same caveat. So you could understand “Eldad and Medad” to be “Loves God and Loves Others”. And that might same something about their motives and character. After all, that is the so-called “Golden Rule” right there.
Eldad and Medad serves are a pattern for us. The depended up God’s Spirt… they kept prophesying and didn’t stop. They spoke out in the real world… not just reserving their words for those in church. And they were motivated by love for God and man, rather than a position, or title, or recognition. Moses says that he wishes that all of God’s people had that spirit and were prophets. Well on the day of Pentecost, that came true. Paul shares the same sentiment in 1 Cor 14, where he says that we should especially covet to prophesy, and he desired that everyone would.