THIS IS PART OF AN ONGOING SERIES on the gift of prophecy. Click here for the rest of the series.

When the Spirit Came, They Prophesied…

In Numbers 11, the Bible recounts a time in the life of Moses when he was overwhelmed with his responsibility for the people. Moses spoke with the Lord about the situation. The Bible says that the Lord came down in a cloud and placed His Spirit upon 70 elders.

Numbers 11:25-25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 

When the Spirit came upon these men, they prophesied.

Another example can be pulled from the life of Samuel and Saul. In 1 Samuel 10, Saul has sought out Samuel for some advice concerning finding a few lost donkeys. When Saul finds Samuel he says:

1 Samuel 10:5-6 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 

As Saul goes from Samuel, the very same happens. The Spirit comes upon him and he prophesies:

1 Samuel 10:10-11 When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 

Again, the Spirit manifested. While these episodes are uncommon in the Old Testament, they became very common in the times of the early church. The spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 (as we have come to call them) are not actually gifts at all. The gift is not the ability to prophesy, heal, work miracles, etc… The gift is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is present with you, these things will happen through you.

That the gift God has given is the Holy Spirit is mentioned in a few different places:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:18-20 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! (Peter attributes the manifestation of power in the way of healings, miracles, deliverance, and prophecy to the gift of the Holy Spirit)

Acts 10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

How else would Paul be able to go on and say in 1 Corinthians 14 to pursue prophecy, and that all can prophesy?

The Holy Spirit has been given to all believers, and it is given to all believers to prophesy. Even simply recounting what God has done in your life becomes a living prophetic word for the person you are sharing with.

Prophecy is the fruit of the in-dwelt presence of the Holy Spirit. And it doesn’t seem that it was just Paul that had that in mind. Jesus said similar things about the coming of the Holy Spirit. In John 16, He claimed that the role of the Holy Spirit in particular was to tell you about things to come:

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 

This is even evident in the heart of Moses back in Numbers 11. When the two elders upon whom the Spirit comes begin prophesying outside of the 70, a couple of men come to tell Moses and ask if those prophesying should be chastised:

Numbers 11:27-29 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 

Moses seems quite convinced that it is in the heart of God that all of His people would prophecy. Little did he know that a time was coming when they would (or did he?).

To be continued…