FBC Morning Light – March 8, 2023

Well, a good Wednesday morning to you. Today, in our Bible reading plan, we're reading in the book of Numbers, chapters 15 and 16, Luke chapter 4, and the 48th Psalm. I want to focus on this incident in Luke chapter 16, where Moses' authority as the divinely appointed leader over Israel is being challenged.

It's interesting to note who it is that's challenging him. One of the individuals is Korah, he is of the tribe of Levi, and then there's these three other ringleaders, or a couple other ringleaders, Dathan and Abiram, as well as On.

They're all of the tribe of Reuben. I think what's significant about that is the Levites were appointed by God to have a pretty significant role in the religious life of the nation. They worked very closely with the priests, and they had a great deal of spiritual responsibility and authority in their role.

The tribe of Reuben, now Reuben remember was the firstborn of Jacob, and there's this cultural sense that the firstborn should be the leader of the family, of the clan. That's not what happened. It's not what has happened here with the nation of Israel.

In the book of Numbers, the Israelites are still in the wilderness, but it is a Levite, Moses, who is leading the people, and the Reubenites, the sons of Reuben, are really relegated to a secondary role.

That goes all the way back to over 400 years earlier to Jacob's blessing of his sons. He did not give Reuben a place of priority in the blessing. I say all that to say that what's probably really going on in the minds of these sons of Reuben is a little bit of jealousy and resentment that they should have positions of authority.

Anyway, Korah and these sons of Reuben, they come to Moses and say to Moses, you're taking too much on yourself. To put it in modern parlance, you're just a dictator telling us everything we need to do.

We're all sons of Israel, we're all sons of Abraham, we should all have equal authority, we should have just as much authority as you do. Of course, what they're doing is they're attempting a coup to overthrow Moses.

His position, as you know from the book of Exodus and his calling, God put him in that position, God appointed him to that position. This isn't something Moses chose for himself. Nevertheless, these guys come at him and they want his job, they want his position.

If you know the rest of the story, if you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to go back to Numbers 16 and read it. God designs this little test, and basically those who rebelled against Moses' authority, they all get swallowed up in the earth and they are consumed.

They're taken out. What can we learn from this? I think there's a couple of things we need to learn. One of them is that, I think it's very important for us to develop a sense of contentment with the calling that God has given to us, the way he's equipped us, and where he has placed us in this world.

Some people just don't ever seem to be satisfied with the place that God has given to them. He's gifted them in a particular way, he's limited them in other ways, and they are where he wants them to be.

I've found this to be true in pastoring in a local church setting. I think there is a mistake that some authoritarian kind of pastors make in this particular passage. They equate themselves with Moses as the anointed that must not be touched, as if they can't be questioned, as if their ideas may not be the greatest ideas, and that other people can have an opinion and need to be considered as well.

I've been around long enough to know and have rubbed shoulders with enough pastors to experience those who have had that kind of an attitude that said, I'm God's anointed, you don't question me, you don't question my opinion, my opinion holds sway, as if there's some kind of a pope.

That's a misapplication of this passage of Scripture. But what is an appropriate application is to recognize that God does put people in different positions of authority and responsibility, and even in the pastoral work, pastoral ministry, it would be inappropriate to try to oust a man just because you don't like something he's...you don't like his approach, you don't like his leadership style or whatever, you don't like an opinion that he holds.

It's not the same thing as saying, I disagree, I think there's another way of doing this and having a conversation, that's perfectly fine and that's suitable. But the approach that says, I'm right, you're wrong, you need to go, that's inappropriate when it's a matter of secondary things, opinion things, not doctrinal things and moral things and such as that.

The bottom line here, lesson that we need to get is, where has God placed us? What gifts has God given us? What role has God given us to fulfill? Whatever the answer to that question is, let's be content with that, and let's not be selfishly ambitious for a place in life that is not ours to have.

That's the challenge. So Father in Heaven, I pray that from this very, very gruesome account in number 16, we would learn to be content. May we be content with what you've given us and where you've placed us, and we pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

All right, well listen, have a great Wednesday. I trust the Lord will bless you in it. Good.

Day.