Neville Goddard on Numbers 11:16-30 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Numbers 11 in context

Scripture Focus

16And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

18And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

19Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

20But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

21And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.

22Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?

23And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

24And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.

25And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

26But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

27And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

30And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

Numbers 11:16-30

Biblical Context

Moses is told to gather seventy elders to share leadership. When the Spirit rests on them, they prophesy, and Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Numbers 11:16-30, the inner drama unfolds. I, the I AM within, gather seventy elders—the numerous states of consciousness that claim to be 'the people' of my awareness—officers over my attention. When I call on the Spirit to descend, I take of the power that rests on me and press it upon them; the burden of the people is no longer mine alone, but shared by this inner council. The command to sanctify yourselves and to eat flesh becomes a symbol: God is not distant; nourishing visions arise from an inner sanctification and a ready imagination. The flesh acquired represents the appetites of thought that can be transmuted by inner instruction. Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp reveal that inspiration may appear anywhere, in the ordinary moments of day, not just in the center of the tabernacle. And Moses’ wish that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them, becomes a declaration I affirm: I would have every state of consciousness touched by the Spirit, alive with prophetic awareness.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and say, 'I gather the seventy elders within me; I place the Spirit upon them; I am fed by the Bread of Presence.' Feel the circle around your heart brighten as each elder lifts in awareness, and sense the whole inner circle prophesying through your day.