Complaining, Fear and Rebellion
Today, we had some electricians come to work on our basement remodel. It is good to see this project beginning to move forward. I was able to get to the fitness center for a workout with my trainer before going to Greeley for a radio interview. I was able to be a guest on a radio program for seniors that airs on Sundays through KFKA in Greeley.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship.” Numbers 11:1 HCSB
The first ten chapters of Numbers read like an extension of Leviticus. They have to do with the organization, structure and additional rules for God’s people. They are now ready for the trip to the promised land. But the journey forward instead of being faced with trust, confidence and expectation, is laced with complaining, doubt, fear and rebellion.
It begins with complaining about God’s provision of manna and the lack of meat. Even Moses is at his “wits end” and doesn’t see how the cravings of the people will be satisfied. In each situation we see God’s response or solution. In this first case what is interesting is that God took care of Moses, before He took care of the people. The Lord sees Moses consternation and has him appoint 70 men on whom God places His Spirit and they begin to prophesy.
Then the Lord brought quail into the land and the people began to kill the birds and eat, but in their gluttonous actions, the Lord strikes them with a plague.
Next we see Mariam and Aaron begin to criticize Moses. Moses had married a Cushite wife, and Moses’ brother and sister didn’t like it and so they attacked Moses authority and leadership, “They said, ‘Does the Lord speak only through Moses? Does He not also speak through us?’” (Numbers 12:2 HCSB)
The Lord defends Moses and strikes Mariam with leprosy. It seems Aaron escaped the judgment and in fear quickly repented. Mariam is put outside the camp for seven days, while everyone waited for her punishment to end.
We can observe that sometimes those closest to a leader can cause the greatest problems. We also see that when judgment comes, those who are innocent are inconvenienced and bear the consequences as well.
Next we see the spies sent into the promised land. When they return they give a report, but only Caleb and Joshua express faith and confidence in the Lord’s power to deliver. The rest…. “who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!” So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted…” (Numbers 13:31-32 HCSB)
The people responded in fear and believed the worst, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!... Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:2-4 HCSB)
The Lord judges those who gave a negative report and strikes them dead. The Lord also decrees that those who said, “we will die in the wilderness” would die in the wilderness and their children would be the ones to enter the promised land.
Finally we see another rebellion against Moses, “Now Korah… took 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” (Numbers 16:1-3 HCSB)
Once again Moses faces criticism and rebellion from the leaders of the community. Once again the Lord comes to his defense and in this situation the ground opens up and swallows Korah and those in rebellion against Moses. The people’s response? “The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” (Numbers 16:41 HCSB)
The Lord judges the congregation and over 14,000 died in a plague. The plague is stopped when Aaron takes action. “So Aaron took his firepan Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was halted.” (Numbers 16:47-48 HCSB)
In all of this the Lord makes provision to help His chosen leader. The Lord used both practical solutions and divine intervention. We also see the Moses, continually called on the Lord for the people in spite of their rebellion and threats. The lack of revenge, demonstrates true character and meekness. We know Moses in the past had demonstrated his temper and outrage, but in these situations, he puts the people first above his own emotions or interest and desire to defend himself.
We see in Moses the attitude the Apostle Paul encouraged followers of Christ to take, “..never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.“ (Romans 12:19 ESV) That advice is good for us to remember today. It may not happen when we want it to, or how we want it to, but if we walk in forgiveness and trust in the Lord, we are in the best place possible. We also need to see that doubt, complaining and rebellion always put us in a position against the Lord, and it brings harm to our lives.