Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 16-17
In our reading today we read about a few men (and about 250 flowers) who were Levites, that questioned the right of leadership of Moses and Aaron, and why they should be set above the rest of the leaders amongst the Israelites.
(16:3) They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “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?”
This bothers Moses greatly, and angers God. This kind of jealous behaviour is not from God but from Satan.
These men were already Levites, which means they were given the honor of working in the tabernacle and helping with ministering to the rest of the Israelites (16:9). But they wanted more.
God goes on to send a sharp reminder to all the Israelites when He uses an awesome display of His power by opening up the earth around these rebellious leaders and having them swallowed up and gone, without a trace. The followers were consumed by fire, which also would have been an awesome sight that anyone who would have witnessed this would never forget.
Later in chapter 16 God makes it clear again to the leaders of the twelve tribes who He has appointed as leader, by the budding of Aaron's staff.
This whole reading was a reminder to me about our pastors, who also are appointed by God to lead us. Do I work with them, or do I complain about how they do things? I'm ashamed to say that I've complained before about silly things like worship service format. Quiet complaints amongst the congregation can lead to major issues that our pastors have to deal with. I'm glad the earth doesn't open every Sunday and swallow up the sinners! We can make things right by seeking forgiveness and working to build up the church.
A good reminder to pray for our pastors, who aren't perfect but are appointed by God to lead us. A good reminder also to try to help and not criticize.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Numbers 18-20
3 comments:
This reading also made me think of God's appointed leaders today too. It is much easier to grumble like the Levites, than it is to come alongside the leaders and try to gain understanding. We need to remember that God has placed them with purpose, and like Nathan said, we ought to pray for them.
What surprised me in this passage was that the earth swallowing up dissenters wasn't even enough to stop the jealousy and complaining!
Great reminder to pray for our leaders and to remain humble as we walk under their leadership.
Some people will not be convinced by anything.
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