“On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel
complained against Moses and Aaron, saying,
‘You have killed the people of the LORD’” (Numbers 16:41).
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| Numbers 16:1-50 |
Aaron and Moses just dealt with the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram who had challenged their authority, an authority God had given them. God chose between Moses and Aaron and Dathan, Abiram, and their families by doing a new thing. God opened the earth and they were swallowed up with all of their possessions while Moses and Aaron were unscathed. The peoples’ reaction to this was to accuse Moses and Aaron of killing them.
Solomon wisely stated, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This is a common thread among discord in the church when it arises and it is always rooted in a spirit of rebellion and a desire for control. Here we have Israelites in the desert who are serving a God they cannot control and He is the first God they have ever known Whom they were not able to control. This was the first God they met which they had no control over. All of their other gods Egypt were man-made gods – idols – appeasable and controllable to the extents their imaginations would allow.
Here they were in the desert and they were already judged unworthy to enter the Promised Land for their faithlessness. Dathan and Abiram rose up in attempt to take over this “god” from Moses and Aaron, but to their surprise this God opened the earth and swallowed them up! Yet the course had already been set by the rebellious few and mob mentality had taken over.
The Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for the deaths of these men, because on one hand they could not fathom a God whose ministers did not control Him and on the other hand they had no intentions of submitting to this God. There is a flavor of power and control, which is the same flavor Satan had when he attempted to exalt himself above God (Isaiah 14:13).
I believe there is a deeper root to consider here, though. I believe the deeper issue is a faith issue. This has everything to do with what one believes or does not believe about God. Do we believe God is bigger than earthly decisions whether right or wrong? Do we believe God is bigger than mistakes made by leaders? Can we not, by faith, assume God will use “all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)?
The next time you are confronted with change or leadership decisions you do not agree with may I suggest you find your footing on faith? May I suggest you look to see what the Lord is going to do through the circumstance? Trust He is able to make things work together for your good and for the good of those you serve and serve with. When we react with negative attitudes and actions, what we are really saying is we are just like the Israelites in the desert. We are saying we lack faith and trust in our Self-Existent One. We are saying we think man is in control and God is not and we make Him an idol and our hearts grow cold.
I don’t know about you. I have not always gotten this right and in some ways, I have learned the hard way. Yet, what I know as I write this is, I want to be a person who supports her leadership no matter my own discomfort. I want to be a person who knows God is bigger than all of it and trust He will make a way even when there seems to be no way (Isaiah 43:19). I actually think this is His specialty. I want to be a person who meets difficult circumstances with eyes fixed God with expectation as I watch to see how He will make the way straight before me. I don’t want to wriggle and squirm out of my uncomfortable situations; I want to allow those rough times to mold me into His image more and more.
I invite you to accept your next challenge with a spirit of faith and expectation as well as a heart surrendered to your loving Father. He is for you and not against you (Romans 8:31). I invite you to look at the uncomfortable situation and ask God how you can minister to those around you in and through it. I invite you to look upon your next challenge with excitement to see what the Lord will do. If you will join God in what He is doing you too will say, “This was the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in [my] eyes (Psalms 118:23).
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all.
(1Chronicles 29:11)