Title People of the Spirit
death in droves
The text we read today may be a very natural story, or it may be a story beyond our comprehension. It seems natural because it is about the Spirit of God, but the story behind the phenomenon is not that simple. In particular, the cynical reaction of the 72 elders to Moses that Joshua advises him to ban such behavior over the ecstasy of enchantment with the spirits, and his cynical response to the advice, clearly suggest that there is a complex story involved. . What the hell is that story?
The incident at Mount Sinai marks a turning point in the 40 years Israel spent in the wilderness during the Exodus. They fulfilled several laws, including the Ten Commandments, on this Mount Sinai. This means that even if they enter the Promised Land of Canaan, they have secured the foundation of the spiritual world enough to not be pushed by the Gentiles of Canaan. The event at Sinai is described in Exodus 19, in the entirety of Leviticus, and in Num 10:10. Now, Israel, with its status as a legal code community, begins a boring second wilderness life again. Today's text is at this juncture.
11:1 points out precisely what the background of today's text is. “The sound of the people's grieving and murmuring reached the ears of Yahweh. When the LORD heard the sound, he was very angry, and he dropped the fire and consumed the edge of the camp.” We are well aware of the fact that the Israelites in the Exodus lived with complaints for 40 years in the wilderness. When they felt deprived of water and food, they immediately blamed Moses. If you remember the days of slavery in Egypt, it may seem strange that they complain that they have little to eat, something to be thankful and praised all the time, but it's perfectly normal. Rather than the fact that they were freed from slavery in Egypt or the life of Canaan that was promised in the future, the issue of living right now was a problem for them. Minjung theologians say that the subject of history is Minjung, but that is only partially true. When they are led by God's hand, they can become agents for justice and peace, but if not, they sell justice and peace because they eat and drink backwards. Unless we completely depend on the hand of God, whether it be individuals or people, we have no choice but to sell our minds to the fire that fell on our feet.
Hearing their complaints, Moses complained to God. “I cannot take responsibility for this many people on my own. It's such a heavy load. If you really want to do this, please kill me. But if you don't hate me too much, don't let me see you like this anymore” (Numbers 11:14,15). Maybe it was because the burden on Moses was that great, or because his trust in Yahweh was so clear that Moses prayed like a child. If you want to keep hearing complaints like this, you have to either kill yourself or ask for a solution. Rather than Moses himself complaining like this, the Bible writer must have interpreted Moses' mind in that way.
Yahweh God, who heard Moses' prayer, solved it. He said that he would make the people clamoring for meat eat meat enough to make them sick (11:20). After verse 31, Yahweh God made a wind and drove the quails and gave them enough to eat. The promise to eat meat was kept, but it is said that the wrath of Yahweh God came upon them that day, and many people died. Perhaps this is how the incident of eating wrong meat in the wilderness and killing them in droves was passed down to them. They remembered the horrific incident of exodus from Egypt and the death of all neighbors through the wilderness together with a place called 'Kibrothataawa' (34).
72 elders
Today's text is located between the complaints of the Israelites and their mass death. Yahweh, who heard Moses' complaint, said that he would solve the problem, and gave the order to gather 70 elders, the leaders of Israel, to the 'tent of meeting' (verse 16). Today's text is an event that occurred when the elders gathered according to that order. Seventy elders surrounded the tabernacle. It is said that Yahweh came down through the clouds and spoke with Moses, and he also imparted to them the Spirit that came upon Moses (verse 25). When the Spirit came, they fell into ecstasy, and it didn't stop there. In the Korean Bible, it is translated as “No such thing happened”, but it should be viewed in the opposite sense.
The text mentions two people other than 70. The Spirit fell on two men, Eldad and Medad, who were on the list of elders but did not go to the tabernacle. When Joshua saw this, he suggested to Moses that such a thing should be banned. But Moses put it this way. “Are you jealous of me now? Rather, I wish the Lord would give His Spirit to this people, so that they could all be prophets” (29). What role these two elders played in Israel's history we now know nothing of. However, they may be a group of people who were opposed to Moses in the fact that he was different from the 70 people and that he did not obey Moses' command to come to the tabernacle. So Joshua must have tried to end their ecstasy experience.
This story that the Spirit of God came upon them is similar to the incident of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in the New Testament era (Acts 2). If the Holy Spirit that came upon the early Christian community and the Holy Spirit that came upon the 72 Jewish elders in this wilderness time were the Spirit of Yahweh, there is no basis for saying that the Holy Spirit's activity began on the day of Pentecost. Also, in that the spirit that came upon these elders was already the spirit that came upon Moses, the presence of the Spirit was a much earlier event. More fundamentally, if Yahweh God made man out of dust and breathed His breath (ruah) into His spirit, then it must be said that the spirit is already active from the time of creation. In this sense, the Spirit is the ontology of God and the power of action.
However, the phenomenon that appeared to the 72 elders who received the Spirit of God is rather peculiar. Of course, in the presence of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, unusual natural phenomena such as the sound of wind, sparks, and tongues occurred, but a similar phenomenon seems to have occurred in today's case as well. It seems reasonable for many to understand the Spirit in this way. Just as drunken people lose their senses, so too can the intoxicated person fall into a state of total self-transcendence. The phenomenon of shamans being possessed is similar to this. They are possessed by a certain power, and they commit actions that are beyond their physical abilities. They dance all night, having a good match, or walking on the sack. This self-transcendence experience takes place not only in religion but also in artistic practice. Everyone who gathers at the frenzied concert venue experiences a completely transcendental ecstasy during the few hours they are there. In extreme cases, this can lead to self-harm or even collective suicide. In particular, this often happens in pseudo-sects based on ecstasy.
How does the Bible really explain this ecstasy and the presence of the Spirit? We cannot find a clear explanation in the Bible because the experience of the spirit manifests itself in different ways. Even in the Bible, the experience of transcendental ecstasy is acknowledged, but such a phenomenon is rarely noticed. Even if you speak in a dialect, it is only a necessary phenomenon in a particular situation, not a core phenomenon. In today's text, 72 people who received the Spirit experienced ecstasy, but Moses, who received the Spirit before them, did not experience such an experience at all. The Spirit that came upon Moses made Moses dictate the law. In the end, the presence of the Spirit that the Bible speaks of is in the ‘Word’.
spirit
Why did Joshua argue that the 72-person ecstasy should be banned? We must find the reason in Moses' answer. “Are you jealous of me now?” (29). Joshua is gripped with a sense of crisis that Moses' authority might be undermined. Joshua must have thought that only Moses had to remain as a person who received the Spirit of God in order to have spiritual authority. There must have been quite a few people who challenged Moses' authority during the wilderness life. Even in chapter 12 that follows today's text, Moses' sister Miriam and brother Aaron criticized Moses, claiming that Yahweh speaks not only to Moses, but to us. It is no wonder that Joshua, who thought that keeping Moses' authority was the way to save Israel, tried to ban such a spiritual phenomenon from the 72 elders.
The German Bible translated by Martin Luther is an important work in the history of German literature, but more fundamentally, it is important that Germans now read the Bible in their own language. Prior to that, the Bible had only a Latin translation, so it could not be read by lay people and could only be accessed through explanations by priests. There are pros and cons to this. The fact that the Bible is monopolized by a specialized group of specialists is also problematic, but so is the fact that it can be misunderstood by being open to all. Many reasons for the number of Christian cults in Korea stem from a wrong understanding of the Bible. They all have their pros and cons, but if you have to choose one, you are less likely to be misunderstood than a monopoly. The reason is that monopolization closes the room for the spirit to act, but leaves room for misunderstandings to be corrected.
Moses tells Joshua: “I would rather the Lord give His Spirit to this people, so that they may all be prophets” (29). Joshua was only concerned that Moses' authority would be undermined, but Moses wanted the Israelites to become spiritual people even in that way. What difference did Joshua and Moses think? It cannot be said that Joshua was simply obsessed with the issue of Moses' authority. He may have even considered the possibility that the spirit could be distorted. Judging from this passage alone, Moses' spirit experience is clearly different from the spirit experience of 72 people. Moses always had a spiritual experience centered on the Word, but 72 people stayed in ecstasy. Spirit experiences in this way are in some ways a very childish and partial spirit experience, but because they appear so enthusiastically, they can act as a much more powerful force in our lives.
Nevertheless, Moses thought that it would be far better for the Israelites to receive the Spirit, even if there was such a risk. Why? The reason lies in the story that caused the incident in today's text. As I said before, Israel, who started living in the wilderness again after the Sinai incident, was not satisfied with the fact that they did not eat meat. The problems of these people who can't stand the inconveniences of everyday life and destroy the community cannot be solved without the Spirit. No matter how much our living conditions improve, our complaints cannot be resolved. The reason Yahweh God provided the meat and immediately punished them is the fact that eating meat does not change their attitude of life full of inconvenience. Only the experience of the Spirit can radically heal our inner being.
What does spirit experience, or spirit down, mean here? The Spirit makes us aware of the inner life rather than dwelling on the surface life. In other words, our spiritual eyes can never see the fact that our lives are not just about eating and living well on the surface in this world, but also about joy, freedom, and peace. Whether you're studying music, art or poetry, you need inspiration to experience the underlying world that lies within the sounds, pictures, and words that appear, too. No matter how long we attend church, not everyone has the experience of clearly recognizing that the kingdom of God is imminent. This inner world is to be entered only through spiritual epistemology. Moses wanted the Israelites to become “spirit men,” even if his authority was compromised. It was only then that Israel could communicate spiritually with God.