5-17-26 Who Has God Put in Charge (Numbers)

Join Pastor Ken as he looks at Numbers 16.

Transcript

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I think, you know, there's always that kid in every high school class, probably junior high class, that if the teacher says do A, they don't do B, they do Z. They are so busy rebelling against everything and going back and forth to the office and dealing with things like that that they really don't have much focus on academics at all. And in the words of that great modern philosopher, John Cougar Mellenkamp, I fight authority, authority always wins. Well, I fight authority, authority always wins. Well, I've been doing it since I was a young kid, and I come out grinning. Well, I fight authority, authority always wins. I call up my preacher. I say, give me strength for round five. He said, You don't need no strength. You need to grow up, son. I said, growing up leads to growing old and then to dying. Oh, and dying to me doesn't sound like all that much fun. I fight authority, authority always wins. We had a kid in our class whose nickname was Popper. It probably tells you everything you need to know. Every secretary, every principal, everybody in the office knew Popper very well because he visited almost on a daily basis. And he was a likable guy in some ways, but nobody ever voted for him for student counsel or to be in charge of anything or any kind of office in the class or anything. Well, guess what? Moses and Aaron dealt with those kind of people, too, in particular a fellow named Korah. So look with me at Numbers chapter 16. And please stand as you're able as we read God's word. Numbers 16, 1 through 14. Now Korah, son of Ishar, son of Kohaz, son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abaram, sons of Iliab, and An, sons of Pilah, son of Reuben, took 250 Israelite men, leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men, and they confronted Moses. They assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, You have gone too far. All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. Then he spoke to Korah and all his congregation, saying, In the morning the Lord will make known who is his and who is holy, and who will be allowed to approach him, the one whom he will choose, he will allow to approach him. Do this, take censors, Korah and all your congregation, and tomorrow put fire in them and lay incense on them before the Lord, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You Levites have gone too far. Then Moses said to Korah, Hear now, you Levites, is it too little for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to allow you to approach him in order to perform the duties of the Lord's tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and serve him? He has allowed you to approach him and all your brother Levites with you, yet you seek the priesthood as well? Therefore you and all your congregation have gathered together against the Lord. What is Aaron that you rail against him? Moses sent for Dathan and Aberan, sons of Eliad, but they said, We will not come. Is it too little that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? That you must also lord it over us? It is clear you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come. This is the word of Lord for the people of the Lord. Please be seated. Now we already know by looking at Exodus and Numbers that the Israelites in the wilderness excel at rebellion and doubt. They are pretty much experts of taking anything that's going on and making it a reason to rebel against God, to doubt God, to question God, to attack God. They've already completely messed up their future by refusing to trust the two spies that told them that they could take the land, and they've already been condemned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the older generation is gone and the new generation grows up. They've lost out on the land promise. They've lost out on the promise of rest. They will die in the wilderness. They should have learned their lesson, but no, they really haven't. I was talking to Dave the other day, and he made the point about somebody that I hope they learned the lesson from this and take that through the rest of their life because some people learn the same lesson 50 times over in their life. They have to have it repeated over and over again, and that's the picture of Israel. And at this point, the people are very, very vulnerable to the ones that would lead them in a different direction, the ones that put themselves forward as different, the demagogues who are always saying, Well, you know, Moses did it this way, but I could do it better. If it had been up to me, we wouldn't have had that problem. If I had been in charge, everything would be rosy and wonderful. If you just trust me. Look at that Moses in there, and they're just lording it over people. Number 16 really has four different rebellions rolled into one. And so it's a little bit confusing because of that. First of all, Abraham and Dathan are rebelling against Moses' leadership, and they want to replace him. Secondly, the Levites are rebelling against Aaron and the priests, and the chieftains are also involved in this rebellion, the 250 that get their little incense things that's supposed to be part of worship. And then finally, all the people are connecting with Korah and rebelling against Moses and Aaron as their leaders. And Korah seems to have a finger in every one of these rebellions. He seems to be the one that's stirring things up in every single case. And the question they pose over all of this is who has God put in charge? Those of you that grow up with brothers and sisters, do you guys ever have that debate? You know, I had a little brother, and I'd say, I'm in charge, because I'm the oldest one, you know. And then sometimes when parents are going to be gone, they put somebody in charge. But that doesn't mean that they're really in charge because the other brothers and sisters say, How come you think you're in charge? How could you lord it over us because we're the same as you? And so they could accuse Moses and they say, you know, what gives you any special thing to put you in charge? Americans have problems with this. We don't like authority. I mean, let's be honest about it. We really don't like authority unless it's our own authority that we're using somewhere else, you know. We don't like other people to tell us what to do. We have this rebellious spirit, and there's this constant message in our individualistic society that says, question authority, rebel against authority. The democratic process doesn't make it any easier because every few years these people run for office and their opponent tells you everything bad about them. And everything that they say is bad about them, and they make it where they really undermine any idea that this person is capable of leadership. And no wonder kids don't listen to parents in our society. And often parents don't forcefully discipline, they do what Dave Berry calls rapidly escalating futile parental threats instead. And the kid knows they're not gonna do it, so they just keep on with the rebellion. And then the teachers try to intervene, and the teachers try to show some authority, and little Johnny goes home and says, My teacher said this to me, and the parents say, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna go up and straighten that teacher out. And they focus on the teacher as the problem, not the issue of rebellion against authority, which is very natural for kids to do, and then parents complain about it, and they say, Don't listen to the police officer. And, you know, we got these people that declare themselves a sovereign state. Have you ever run into that idea? And they get stopped by the police, they say, You have no jurisdiction over me because I'm a sovereign state. I don't have to pay taxes, I don't have to participate in anything. I'm my own government, basically. It doesn't go very far in the courts, but they put up a big show and it makes for a really interesting video to see them. And then how many movies are about government overreach and corporate control and sticking it to the man? I mean, isn't that what rock and roll's about according to School of Rock is sticking it to the man, rebelling against authority, no matter whether that authority is legitimate and making good decisions or not? I mean, we started as rebellious colonies, and we're not about to stop now as Americans. And yet, how much trouble and chaos does it get us into when we refuse to listen to legitimate authority? You see, without authority and leadership, you have chaos. It's just a fact. I mean, there was a difference between fighting Saddam Hussein's army and fighting every little militia in Iraq that was fighting against us. And it was a whole lot tidier and easier to whip Saddam's army than to deal with the chaos that came afterwards. Our nation is not a stranger to that chaos. We may have forgotten about it, but you can go back in your history books and learn all about it. Missouri, South, and Central Missouri became so chaotic during the Civil War, split between South, North, slave owners, slave opposed to slavery, that you had the rise of these people that were just basically outlaws, Bill Anderson, Jesse James, Quantrell, that went around killing people and a lot of killing went on that had nothing to do with the Civil War. It was just a chance for revenge against your neighbor that you're mad at. And by the time the Civil War ended, huge parts of Missouri were completely deserted because it was too dangerous to live in chaos. And neither side had control to put in a legitimate government. Good people don't thrive in chaos, folks. Evil thrives in chaos. People that are with bad intents thrive in chaos. Israel experiences later in their history, the book of Judges. The theme phrase in Judges is, and there was no king in Israel at that time, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And my daughter, when she started reading that as a child, 10, 11, 12 years old, came to me and said, Dad, did they really do that stuff? Because it is bad what happens when chaos rules. You end up with schools that have no learning because the class is so disrupted. You have communities that can't have festivals and parades and events because they're so worried about the fights and the things that are going to break out when they have that. You have parks where the kids cannot play, and crimes with no consequences, and places where business cannot happen because those that are full of chaos have taken control. And often parents don't understand that every time you undercut the authority of somebody else, you're undercutting your own authority as a parent. Unless there's a real legitimate reason for it, you are telling those kids when you say you don't have to listen to so-and-so, you don't have to listen to me either. And it has that impact upon them. There has to be a better way. And let's go ahead to the sad story of what happens when this rebellion reaches its fullness, starting with verse 15 and following and numbers 16. Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, Pay no attention to their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed any one of them. And then verses 20 and following. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said, and to Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment. They fell on their faces and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one person sin and you become angry with the whole congregation? And the Lord spoke to Moses, speak to the congregation, saying, Get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And then twenty-eight and following. And Moses said, This is how you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works. It has not been of my own accord. If these people die a natural death, or if a natural fate comes on them, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord. As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground unto them was split apart, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, everyone who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they, with all that belonged to them, went down alive into Sheol, the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. All Israel around them fled at their outcry, for they said, The earth will swallow us too. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred fifty men offering the incense. Whew, that's some judgment, isn't it? The earth swallowing them up, fire coming down from heaven. The lesson is pretty clear there that God's people accept the legitimate authority that God sends to them. You know, the Israelites focused the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, but they're really upset with God. They're really frustrated with God. It's just really hard to get back at God, as Captain Ahab finds out in Moby Dick. It's hard to fight against God, although it happens, and they're not about to blame themselves for their own failings, which is what has put them in the situation that they're going to die in the wilderness. I had a parishioner in one of my former churches, and this woman would make the absolute worst decisions in life. She would do stuff that you could see was going to be disastrous, and then when it was disastrous, she would say, Why is God so mean to me? Why is God always doing this to me? And it was like, you're doing it to yourself. Don't blame it on God. God defends Moses. And Moses defends Aaron in the full chapter. And they re-establish that God has put them in charge. You know, we have this negative view of power often, but power, when it's used right, is the ability to get things done. It allows order to happen, it allows community to happen, it allows things to be done in such a way that people have the freedom and the safety and the ability to be able to live with one another. Moses makes it clear. He reiterates even to God, he's not used his power to enrich himself. He's not taken their goods, he's not used his power to lord it over them, to feather his nest, to get on some power trip. His whole focus has been caring for them. And he and Aaron show again when God's ready to wipe out the whole lot, they intercede for them, they pray, they stand between God and the people and say, please, Lord, please forgive them, and once again show that they're using their authority and power for good to save the people. It's a good use of power. And God has no patience with rebellion against appropriate good authority, with power used to build community, to use to bless people, to use to care for people. The ones who are accusing Moses are really trying to do what they accuse him of doing. They want the control, they want the benefits without the responsibility. They want to be in charge. In verse 3, they say to Moses, you have gone too far. And Moses responds to them in verse 7 saying, You have gone too far. You have gone beyond the bounds of what is necessary. To want the benefits without the calling, to want to be in control without the responsibility, to want to have power without working for the community and caring for the people that have trusted you with that power. Often the problem is not authority, it's recognizing legitimate authority. But this is the Old Testament, right? Let's take a look at what it says in the New Testament. Paul, in his most important letter, Romans 13, verses 1 through 7, says, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, for it is God's agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain. It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authority are God's agents, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due to them, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Kind of sounds like what Jesus says when he says, Render unto Caesar the thing of Caesars and God the things of God. Christians recognize and submit to legitimate authority, to God-based authority. You know, there's a huge difference between the American Revolution that was done by leaders that had authority in America against the British Empire, and was done on the basis of giving power and authority to the people to choose future leaders versus the Russian Revolution that was a small group of people making themselves tyrants and grabbing power over everybody else. Huge difference in the focus, in the basis, in the understanding of authority and of government. Paul reminds us, God appoints authority in church and in society. God is a God of order. God wants community to flourish. He wants good people to be safe. He wants people to be able to love one another and care for one another and live good lives. And the only way you get that is to have authority that puts curbs on evil, that stops people from manipulating and attacking and undermining one another. Freedom is not, as many people in our society seem to think, the freedom to just sin anytime you want to and hurt anybody you want to and do whatever you want to and flout any authority and say nobody can tell me what to do. Freedom is the ability to live in community, to be safe, to have good choices, to make good choices, to live under God and in harmony with one another. It doesn't mean that we become sheep without rights. Paul used his rights and Philippi when they beat him and put him in prison and then they want to let him go, and he makes them come and apologize for him. He uses his rights to appeal to the emperor so that they cannot let him be basically shanghaied and lynched in Jerusalem and to go to Rome to be able to do that. But he recognizes that God is the ultimate authority. Ultimately, we answer to God, but God also appoints earthly authority. And when they glorify God and when they give us the opportunity to live our lives in relationship with God, then we are to submit to them too. So the question for a Christian doesn't become do I like this? Do I accept this or fight against it? Should I second guess this? It is, would God have me to submit in this place or not? And it's a pretty narrow range of times that God would have us not submit. Is this best for the community and others, or am I just all about me in this circumstance? In other words, am I seeing it from the eye? Eyes of faith that recognize the power and authority of God and God's ability to choose leaders or appoint leaders that have that role on earth. Because the last thing we want to do, folks, is end up fighting God. Right? It does not end well when you end up fighting God. We see this in Dathan and Abiram and Korh's fate. When they haul John and Peter in front of this council, and they say, you know, we've got to stamp this Christian movement out. And Gamaliel, who's one of the rabbis, says, wait a minute. Let's see what happens so we don't end up fighting God. You can't win when you fight against God. And if God has a pointed authority and you fight against that, then you're going to lose. The voices of demagoguery, the voices of rebellion, the voices telling you I can do it better are already always there. The question is, is this a spirit speaking or is this a force of evil, of disruption, of chaos, of negative, of selfishness? The spirit gives us the ability to discern. The spirit, if we listen to God's Spirit, gives us guidance so that we don't end up making really bad choices and ending up being that person who fights God and loses every time. Will you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your incredible love. We thank you for the way that you use that to build up community, to bless, to care for us. Help us to be your people that stand for what is right, that are able to understand that submission done in the right situation glorifies you and serves you, that we're able to understand those situations where we should say, we can't go along with this because this is against our God. That understand and support authority when it's proper and legitimate authority, that we might have good community, that we might bless our kids rather than cursing them, that we might be the people that serve you and glorify you, and that we might create those opportunities for people to come to faith in you. Lord, thank you that you loved us enough to send your son to die for us. Help us to be good disciples of Jesus Christ, for we pray this in his name. Amen.