Chapter 16

Last week in Brisbane, we heard that Suncorp Stadium was underwater.

Owing to an electrical fault, it was also on fire.

Could things get any worse? I’m guessing an alien invasion is about the only way things could deteriorate any further.

Similarly, in Numbers chapter 16, things have deteriorated so much that you’re thinking that a meteor shower right onto the desert where they’re staying would be fairly par for the course.

I find this a genuinely difficult passage to understand. I said yesterday that the God I saw there was hard to correlate with the God I know and love; today’s passage is even more so.

Numbers 16 is where God gets ANGRY.

Much has been written on whether or not God’s wrath is justified here. But I’d like to take a slightly different tack here. God has been offended – grossly so – by the actions of some of the Levites.

Do you remember several chapters ago we talked about how the Levites represented the firstborn of all Israel? They were ordained as priests, and given the task of directing the worship of God. And it is THESE VERY PEOPLE – the ones whose main role is to intercede between the people and God – who have become the ringleaders in ANOTHER rebellion! This at least gives some context to God’s anger.

Starting from the beginning we have Korah, in vs 1 – 5, asking Moses what right he has to speak for God.

At first this seems like a fair question, until you put it in context. This isn’t a normal situation. Back in chapter 11 we listed the miracles that had happened to bring the People to where they were. We need to ensure that we understand, these people aren’t acting in isolation. They’ve seen all this, and even after God has led them so ably through Moses and Aaron – yes, and even after both of these men have sacrificed so much – they still rise up against the leadership God has appointed.

Now, remember – here in the desert, Unity is critical. The people are in grave danger of completely falling apart, and if they scatter, people will die.

It is hard to understand God’s anger, but it needs to be understood in this context – if God can punish effectively enough to deter further rebellions, it will ultimately keep the rest of the Assembly united enough that they make it to the Promised Land intact. Remember also that they are now having to stay together for another 40 years, so unity is now more important than ever.

And it is in this situation that Korah foments rebellion.

That would be bad enough, but look at verses 12 – 14. Two of Korah’s co-conspirators, Dathan and Abiram, are so disrespectful of Moses that they refuse to come to meet with him, so as to settle the issue. More than that, they offer God the ultimate insult. They suggest that EGYPT is in fact the land flowing with milk and honey, and accuse Moses of firstly wanting them to die in the desert, and secondly of wanting the people of Israel as his slaves.

Do you see the irony? They have things completely backwards.

Now, God’s dealings with this rebellion make uncomfortable reading, and even though I know that in the ancient world a man was explicitly connected with his family – the idea of an individual being legally independent of his family is actually a post-Christian concept – I am still not at all comfortable with understanding God’s wrath against them as well as their fathers (of whom it can at least be said that they bear the penalty for their own actions). Nor can I easily accept God sending a plague against the rest of the people for the actions of a few. I am willing to trust God and understand that in this circumstance there are issues that I don’t get that might change how I see it, but it is still very disquieting.

But even in all this, there is still something that we can apply to our own life. It’s this – when Moses’ position is questioned by the religious leaders (i.e. the people who should know better), he doesn’t try to argue them around. He doesn’t bully them, try to shut them up or avoid them. No, he pulls them into a public meeting, and asks GOD HIMSELF to be the judge.

I wonder how different the history of the Church would be if we were willing to do this. Church has risen against church so many times over the last 2000 years. My own family come from Northern Ireland, and my grandmother used to speak of what her folks called “The troubles,” but what you and I would call “Civil war.” That was the Protestant vs Catholic divide, of course, but there’s been plenty of protestant vs protestant and catholic vs catholic conflict too. Admittedly a lot of it didn’t actually become open war – but it DID lead to open sores in the leadership, people and emotions of Christians around the world. It usually starts with someone trying to force someone else to see how they’re wrong; and regrettably we can’t, so violence (whether physical or emotional) is often the result.

If we would only let God sort out our differences – in His time. It would certainly lead to a whole lot less schisming over minor nonsense!

So if you find yourself in an argument with another Christian about some issue of doctrine, it is important to remember what Moses did – rather than trying to handle it himself, he went to the God who judges justly and asked HIM to deal with the situation.