March 27, 2024
Read Numbers 16, Psalm 86, Mark 10
Have you ever had a time where you did not want to do something, but because you were in charge or the leader you knew what had to be done? Maybe it was a task or perhaps even dealing with a relationship with someone that was not the most kind or easy to be around.
Moses was God’s chosen leader to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the land of the Canaanites. Israel had already messed it up with a bad report and it cost them 40 years in the desert before everyone over the age of 20, who was counted in the census would pass away and then they would enter. Now it seems that some of the leaders had not learned their lesson. Numbers 16 says that a group of leaders “became insolent 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council” vv.1b-2. These were not just typical members of Israel, they were leaders. They had gotten to the point where they thought Moses was no more special than they were. “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?” v. 3b. I can see why Moses “face down” when he heard this. He was doing a job that He didn’t want to do, but now was dealing with leaders who wanted to take his place.
God dealt with these leaders in a most unusual way. “The ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.” vv. 31-33. God wasn’t done yet either. Other people began to complain after this too. “The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the LORD’s people,” they said” v. 41. God sent a plague through the community, and it killed 14,700 people. The thing that blows mw away is the reaction of Moses to the Lord when God starts His judgment. They pleaded for God to stop, and they wanted to save the very people that were mad and complaining toward them. This shows you what kind of leader Moses was. He cared for the people under his leadership, even when they were difficult and hard to love. What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
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DId God Really Say... 