Moses said to [Joshua], "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the
LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon
them!"--Num. 11:29 (RSV)
Another Elijah-Elisha pair in Scripture is Moses and Joshua. Moses was a powerful man of God, the Lawgiver, the Prophet, the "Friend of God," arguably the most important figure in the history of Israel between Abraham and Jesus. Yet it was Joshua who ultimately led the Lord's people into the Promised Land, not Moses. He was the successor, the one who got the job done, but it wouldn't have been possible without the work of Moses.
There is an interesting sequence of events in the Book of Numbers that reveals a lot about Moses. He's completely overwhelmed by his responsibilities and says to the Lord, "I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me." (Num. 11:14) The Lord offers to share the anointing that is on Moses with 70 other men, so that they may share the responsibility with him.
These men were all supposed to gather with Moses at the meeting tent, but two of them remained in the camp. However, since they had been on the list, they also received the anointing and started prophesying in the camp. Moses' young assistant Joshua feels threatened by this new development. He wants Moses to stop them, but Moses refuses.
Although Joshua doesn't say why he felt threatened, Moses identifies his problem as jealousy. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines jealousy, or envy, as "a sorrow which one entertains at another's well-being because of a view that one's own excellence is in consequence lessened."
Moses is clearly not a jealous person. He's not power-hungry. He does not need to be known as
having a unique relationship with God. When the Lord offers to share his
anointing with 70 others, he doesn't complain, but cooperates fully
with God's plan. His only concern is that God's people be cared for and God's plan accomplished.
In his response to Joshua, Moses provides him a valuable lesson, both by his words and more importantly by his example. Through the prayers and example of Moses, may all Elijahs provide a similar example of selflessness to the Elishas that follow us.
