Rebellion
Today we come across
Numbers 16, and this is a really neat passage.
We see the sudden and supernatural death of a group of people, we see
continued arrogance, and we see Aaron outrace a plague of death among the
people. You couldn’t ask for a more
interesting story from Hollywood – yet we get it right here in this Bible!
What we have here is
rebellion. We have discontentment among
the people – discontentment with God.
After all, Korah leads a rebellion against Aaron because as a Levite he
wants more than just an assisting role with tabernacle functions – he wants to
be a priest himself! But the priestly
appointments were made by God. So
Korah’s rebellion – although he directs it against Moses and Aaron – is really
an affront to God and God’s mandate. So
often the people with whom we have issues are merely a disguise with a larger
problem within: identity crisis. When we
are unhappy with whom God has created us to be, we have issues with those
around us.
What’s interesting is
that the mention of Dathan, Abiram, and On are descendants of Reuben. They have no right to claim anything remotely
like priestly duties. Being Reuben’s
descendants, they were more than likely wanting to be in leadership of the
Hebrew people. Again, though, this is an
affront to God. God appointed Moses as
leader, so to desire to depose Moses is also a desire to go against God’s
decree.
So what seems to be
going on here is that there is a priestly insurrection against Aaron and a
political insurrection against Moses.
The two rebellious factions likely join forces and confront Moses and
Aaron together. But what they don’t
grasp is that in doing so they are actually confronting God. And, God is not someone you really want to
provoke to anger.
Rooted in Truth, Bearing Fruit in Falsehood
Now, let’s step back
a second and see how this scheme works.
The words that Korah brings begin in truth. “All the nation is holy before the Lord.” That is true.
God has chosen the Hebrew people to be separate from among the
nations. Time and time again in this
blog I have offered up parallels between God’s choosing of the Hebrew people
and our New Testament concept of the priesthood of all believers. So Korah’s argument is rooted in truth.
But it is truth
misapplied. It is truth that is twisted
and leads to deception. Although all the
Hebrew people are holy, it is not right to say that all are equal! I’m reminded of my 9th grade
English teacher who drilled into my head that our country is based on the
principle that ‘while all people are created equal, some people are more equal
than others.’ Certainly Korah begins in
truth, but he loses sight of the fact that just because everyone is holy
doesn’t mean that we can all do what we want.
We may all be holy, but we are not equal.
I’m reminded here of
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:14-30. In
that parable the king gives one servant five talents, another two talents, and
another one talent. Equality is not a
point of that parable of God’s blessing; it is not a point of the Hebrew people
wandering in Egypt either. Human beings
want equality, but the reality is that we all have unique gifts and abilities
and we all have them to different measures.
We are called to do
as God appoints for us. After all, is
not God’s plan more important than ours?
Are not God’s ways and God’s jobs for us to accomplish more important
than our self-determined ways and our self-determined jobs? We are followers of God, not advisors for
God. We are to be obedient to God as He
calls, not as we see fit.
Defense
Again we see Moses
and Aaron do not defend themselves. They
let God do the defending. Now, it is one
thing to defend oneself against physical threats. We see the Hebrew people do this all the time
– especially in the conquest of Canaan.
But in a spiritual battle, an argument, a discussion, and things like
these it is important to note that God defends Aaron and Moses.
Yes, Moses and Aaron
stick up for what they believe. But they
do not slander Korah and his allies.
They do not rise up against them.
They state their case, align themselves with God, and wait for God to
take care of the rest. This has been
true many times in my life. People have
risen against me. Sometimes I react and
defend myself, and those times usually end poorly. Other times I simply state my case, reaffirm
my belief, and let God sort out the details.
Usually those instances are times when God defends me and God handles my
vindication for me. I do admit that
allowing God to defend me is a difficult task to accomplish.
Greater Rebellion
All of this being
said, we still see a greater rebellion among the people. Instead of the people seeing the judgment as
a righteous vindication from God’s hand, they accuse Moses and Aaron of being
murderers. As if they are the ones who
caused the earth to swallow up the rebellious leaders!
If Aaron and Moses
were vindictive people, they could have let the resulting plague burn through
the people! How many times now has Moses
had the opportunity to let God’s wrath burn against the people – and he does
not? Aaron runs and intercedes before
the plague can spread throughout all the people.
Now that is true
spiritual leadership. Anyone can stand
up and enjoy life as God’s wrath burns against those who oppose you. But a true spiritual leader rises up in
defense of those who stand condemned before God because they love their
enemies. After all, is this not what God
does with us? While we were condemned
enemies of God, God sent Jesus to this earth to stand up and intercede on our
behalf. Moses and Aaron demonstrate true
leadership here. They know that they are
in the right. They know that God knows
they are in the right. Yet they still
love the disobedient people enough to intercede when they deserve to die.
You want to pick up
your cross and follow Him? Then pick it
up and start loving the people God has called you to love – even when they rise
up against you and you have every right to swear them off and abandon them to
their complacent sinful behavior.
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