16 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou hast known that they are elders of the people, and its authorities; and thou hast taken them unto the tent of meeting, and they have stationed themselves there with thee, 17 and I have come down and spoken with thee there, and have kept back of the Spirit which 'is' upon thee, and have put on them, and they have borne with thee some of the burden of the people, and thou dost not bear 'it' thyself alone. 18 'And unto the people thou dost say, Sanctify yourselves for to-morrow, and ye have eaten flesh (for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who doth give us flesh? for we 'had' good in Egypt)—and Jehovah hath given to you flesh, and ye have eaten. 19 Ye do not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days;— 20 unto a month of days, till that it come out from your nostrils, and it hath become to you an abomination; because that ye have loathed Jehovah, who 'is' in your midst, and weep before Him, saying, Why is this?—we have come out of Egypt!' 21 And Moses saith, 'Six hundred thousand footmen 'are' the people in whose midst I 'am'; and Thou, Thou hast said, Flesh I give to them, and they have eaten, a month of days! 22 Is flock and herd slaughtered for them, that one hath found for them?—are all the fishes of the sea gathered for them—that one hath found for them?' 23 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Is the hand of Jehovah become short? now thou dost see whether My word meeteth thee or not.'
24 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, 25 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. 26 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; 27 and the young man runneth, and declareth to Moses, and saith, 'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' 28 And Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, 'one' of his young men, answereth and saith, 'My lord Moses, restrain them.' 29 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!'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 11:16-29
Commentary on Numbers 11:16-23
(Read Numbers 11:16-23)
Moses is to choose such as he knew to be elders, that is, wise and experienced men. God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the employ, they should be made fit. Even the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. See here, I. The vanity of all the delights of sense; they will cloy, but they will not satisfy. Spiritual pleasures alone will satisfy and last. As the world passes away, so do the lusts of it. 2. What brutish sins gluttony and drunkenness are! they make that to hurt the body which should be its health. Moses objects. Even true and great believers sometimes find it hard to trust God under the discouragements of second causes, and against hope to believe in hope. God here brings Moses to this point, The Lord God is Almighty; and puts the proof upon the issue, Thou shalt see whether my word shall come to pass or not. If he speaks, it is done.
Commentary on Numbers 11:24-30
(Read Numbers 11:24-30)
We have here the fulfilment of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders. They discoursed to the people of the things of God, so that all who heard them might say, that God was with them of a truth. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, went not out unto the tabernacle, as the rest, being sensible of their own weakness and unworthiness. But the Spirit of God found them in the camp, and there they exercised their gift of praying, preaching, and praising God; they spake as moved by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God is not confined to the tabernacle, but, like the wind, blows where He listeth. And they that humble themselves shall be exalted; and those who are most fit for government, are least ambitious of it. Joshua does not desire that they should be punished, but only restrained for the future. This motion he made out of zeal for what he thought to be the unity of the church. He would have them silenced, lest they should occasion a schism, or should rival Moses; but Moses was not afraid of any such effects from that Spirit which God had put upon them. Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned, or restrain any from doing good, because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses wishes all the Lord's people were prophets, that he would put his Spirit upon all of them. Let the testimony of Moses be believed by those who desire to be in power; that government is a burden. It is a burden of care and trouble to those who make conscience of the duty of it; and to those who do not, it will prove a heavier burden in the day of account. Let the example of Moses be followed by those in power; let them not despise the advice and assistance of others, but desire it, and be thankful for it. If all the present number of the Lord's people were rendered prophets, or ministers, by the Spirit of Christ, though not all agreed in outward matters, there is work enough for all, in calling sinners to repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus.