February 18
Numbers 16–17
Scripture Text: Numbers 16:1–17:13
Series: Read the Bible in a Year
A generation can make a difference. After more than a generation of wandering in the wilderness, well-known chiefs of Israel rose up against Moses and Aaron, seeking to overturn God's order. After all, they claimed, are we not all holy to the Lord? Who put you in charge? Indeed.
The sons of Levi had gone too far and there was to be a showdown in the morning. God would make it clear who he had appointed to lead the people. You know this will not turn out well for Korah and his comrades. Nonetheless, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram showed up and stood against Moses and Aaron — and God. For at that point, the glory of the Lord appeared to the people.
God told Moses and Aaron to get away from the troublemakers so that he could destroy them and the whole congregation who sided with them. But Moses and Aaron fell on the ground, pleading with God to spare the congregation (again). So, God instructed the people to get away from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram so that they would not be destroyed.
The ground split open and swallowed up the three and their households. Let them stir up trouble in Sheol.
Nevertheless, the people who were spared and who saw the Lord's judgment grumbled against Moses the next day. God, again, would consume the congregation in his wrath but Moses intervenes for the people. He has the High Priest stand between God and the sinners. This is precisely what Jesus does for us so that God relents from his wrath.
To prove again his choice of leadership, God instructs that all the tribes bring staffs and place them before the tent of meeting. The tribal leader whose staff sprouts is the one God has chosen. This "sign for the rebels" (Numbers 17:10) was to bring the grumbling of the people to a halt.
Do you think it will work? Will the congregation stop murmuring and complaining? After trying times, churches too, stop their grumbling for a while, but then, another Korah shows up and starts a new time of trial. Why do you think this is the case?
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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