"Room Enough for All"
Sermon Presented May 11,
2008
Pentecost Sunday
Numbers 11:4-30
For years, we have read of food shortages in several African nations - shortages that cannot be overcome by the native populations. Additional food is needed to save lives! A week ago, a cyclone hit Myanmar leaving 100,000 dead and millions homeless, and there is no food or water available for the survivors. In the latter catastrophe, the military government of Myanmar has rejected offers of food and other disaster relief. The people are starving and have no safe water to drink, and yet government roadblocks stop the movement of aid and aid workers.
In our text this morning, we find that the people of Israel have adequate food to meet their dietary needs, but they're sick of eating the same thing every day! They eat manna at every meal - seven days a week - 52 weeks a year. They want meat, and so they complain to Moses. Their rumblings are too much for Moses to bear! He needs help, so he turns to God.
You probably wonder why I chose this Hebrew text instead of the usual Pentecost text from the second chapter of Acts. Well I was wondering the same thing as I began working on this sermon. One reason I chose it is that I didn't think I could say anything new about the Acts text. I have preached it every Pentecost Sunday since I began preaching! This morning I hope to relate this Hebrew text to what occurred on the day of Pentecost. I'm reading Numbers 11:4-30 from The Message by Eugene Peterson. The lectionary text is only 7 verses, but I have expanded it because I want you to hear the entire narrative. Numbers 11, beginning with verse 4.
Moses has a problem with success! After liberating his people from slavery, he now is responsible for them. He is their undisputed leader and must see that their needs are met, their conflicts resolved, and that they continue on their journey. He's responsible for more than 600,000 people, and that's just too many for one man to lead. He desperately needs help!
Those following him have forgotten the horrors of slavery and lack of food they left behind in Egypt and only recall nostalgically the food they once had - fish, onions, leeks, cucumbers, melons and garlic. Isn't it amazing how we dream of certain foods that we love when we can't have them? I know I will never keep my weight in check until I stop dreaming of Key Lime Cheesecake!
But let's go back to the Israelites. Suddenly a few loud voices of discontent emerge, causing others to join the cry. They are no longer grateful for what they have; they want more variety in their diet. And let's face it; most of us would complain too if we ate only one single item on a daily and yearly basis. The wandering people of Israel have enough to eat, but they're sick of it. The manna comes with the dew at nightfall and is gathered, ground into meal and made into cakes for the daily meals. When the groundswell of discontent rises to a fever pitch, Moses is a candidate for a nervous breakdown.
Moses looks at the problem at hand and can see no way to resolve it! He's angry and his anger is directed toward God. "God, why are you treating me like this? I'm not their mother! Why should I be responsible for them?" He then expresses his deep depression by asking God to kill him because he can't take it any longer!
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with life that you wanted to escape - temporarily if not permanently? If we're honest, most have felt this way or know another who has experienced these feelings. As adults, we may have wished we could run away from home! Moses is at a point of desperation, and he sees no way out except death.
God steps in and gives Moses instructions: "Gather 70 respected and responsible leaders and bring them to the Tent of Meeting. There I will distribute my Spirit to them so they are empowered to help you. Then tell the people to prepare themselves because they will eat meat for a month!"
Because Moses can't imagine this scenario, he questions God! "What do you mean? There aren't enough flocks, herds or fish in the sea to feed these people for one day, let alone a month!" When we can't see a way out of a situation, we assume there is no way out! We don't leave room for God to work!
However, in spite of his doubts, Moses follows instructions, calling 70 leaders to the Tent of Meeting where they wait for God. God shows up - speaks to Moses and then shares the power of the Spirit with the 70. Those who receive the Spirit prophesy - an ecstatic utterance that confirms the Spirit's presence. However, that is the only time they exhibit a physical manifestation of the Spirit.
Meanwhile, two men who had been chosen and didn't show up at the Tent also begin prophesying - and they don't stop! God's Spirit isn't confined to one location but spills over the boundaries and lands on Eldad and Medad. Someone reports this to Moses, and Moses' assistant Joshua wants Moses to stop them. However, Moses is so delighted to receive help, he could care less. "Would that all God's people were prophets! Would that everyone received God's Spirit!"
Moses sees the prophesying of Medad and Eldad as part of God's answer. God expanded the boundaries of action beyond the tent to two men on the outside - men who didn't obey the order to come to the tent, and yet they receive and use the prophetic gifts they are given.
The value of this story from Numbers is the simple and clear explanation it gives for why the Spirit was given to more than a few people. God wants the burden of service to be shared. The more who are empowered to serve, the greater the good that will be accomplished. To emphasize that simple insight, Moses refuses to support Joshua's demand that Eldad and Medad be silenced.
The crowning statement of this story comes from Moses when he says: "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them." Moses has no desire to hog the limelight! He needs help and recognizes God's response to his cry. The presence of the Spirit means empowerment in a variety of gifts. Whatever helps share the burden of the people can be counted as a gift.
This is like the Pentecost Luke pictures in the story in Acts. Here, anonymous people are willing to use the opportunities and power God gives to spread the Good News. Luke's Pentecost is the wish of Moses coming true on a much greater scale.
If seemingly anonymous people could do what they did simply because they trusted the Spirit, what can we do when we let the Spirit lead us? There is no limit to what can be accomplished! However we have reason to be skeptical of those who claim to be instruments of God. We see abuses perpetrated by people who truly believe they possess the prophetic and healing power of the Holy Spirit. In yesterday's paper we read of Wisconsin church leaders being criminally charged for instructing the children of a dead 90-year-old woman to leave her on a toilet for more than two months while they prayed that she would come back to life! The parents of a 12-year-old Wisconsin child who died of diabetes are being charged with her death because they refused to take her to a doctor, believing God would heal her. Many people demand obedience by falsely claiming to have the power of the Holy Spirit living in them, and churches split as a result. It is important to test the spirits! We must seek discernment and then use the intelligence God gave us.
There is room for everyone to receive gifts from the Spirit and to utilize them in the church and community. The gifts of all are needed. The gifts of each are necessary! However, we don't all have the same gifts. Thank God! Some are gifted with skilled hands. Some have engineering gifts, and others have gifts of leadership, music, art, writing, financial expertise, secretarial skills, teaching and preaching, creative worship and compassion. Some people inspire others because they are prayer warriors who can be counted on to pray when they say they will pray. In Christ's Church, the gifts of all are needed, and they are all present.
In our text, the author writes that God places God's Spirit on 70 leaders to empower and lead the people of Israel. In the book of Acts, Luke writes that God sends God's Spirit to thousands of people to empower them as the Church of Jesus Christ. These people weren't empowered so that the spotlight would shine on them; they received the Spirit to help others. Both Moses and the Early Church needed God's Holy Spirit. We also need the Spirit of God to empower us. And the Spirit comes in unexpected ways, places and times to strengthen the work of God in community. "Would that all of God's people would receive the Spirit of God and prophesy." There is room enough for all of us and our gifts in the Kingdom of God! So let's use our gifts to benefit others!
