Daily Manna 26 August
KEY VERSE: “And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?” – (Numbers 16:3)
TEXT: Numbers 16:1-11
Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
4 So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. 6 Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; 10 and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
When Sarah’s maid became pregnant for Abraham, she despised her mistress who was then barren. But when Sarah “dealt hardly with her”, she ran away. The angel of God found her and instructed her: “Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:6,9). God does not encourage rebellion in any way.
In our study, we see the gang-up of Korah, Dathan and Abiram with “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation…” against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
They accused them of lifting themselves up above the people. Moses as usual fell on his face in prayer to God. He then told them that God would confirm those He had actually chosen.
He instructed them to take censers, put incense in them and fire, and present themselves before the tabernacle of the Lord. He also reproved them for not being grateful and content with the ministry God had given them as they still sought the priesthood also.
Conspicuously displayed on the table of a CEO was a maxim, “The boss may not always be right, but he is the boss”. As one thinks about leaders and leadership, one thing comes to mind. Leadership emanates from God. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God…” (Romans 13:1,2).
Dathan and company met their untimely death because of this act of rebellion. Leaders are humans and are prone to mistakes. Let us pray for them, and be instruments of encouragement to them, “for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17). Let us appreciate our leaders.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Don’t attempt to pull down your leaders.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 36-38
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – The Cost of Rebellion – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 26 August 2021
