YEAR 2, WEEK 14, Day 3, Wednesday, 2 April 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=numbers+16

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 2 April 2025:

Numbers 16:1-12 – And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?

People depart from God when they demand a higher or different assignment or position than what God has given them. Do the work God has given you to His glory, and you won’t have to be worry about fighting for position. Your excellence will promote you without you needing to be a self-promoter.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 — Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
• Luke 16:10 – One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
• Micah 6:8 – He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
• James 4:10 – Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
• Mark 9:35 – And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 – Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
• Matthew 25:40 — And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

God calls us to be faithful stewards of what He has given us, not to seek recognition. True exaltation comes from God, not from striving for personal glory.

Numbers 16:4-5 — “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, ‘In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.’”

We must be very careful not to project our own sinful motives onto others, judging their actions from the context of our own sinful motivations. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram judged Moses as ‘self-seeking’ because they were self-seeking — they projected their own faults on him. They evaluated Moses’ actions based upon how they made decisions, selfishly. They automatically assumed that Moses had to be lifting himself up and empowering himself for personal gain, because that’s what they would have done and were, in fact, now doing in their challenge. As is so often the case, they were calling their selfishness spiritual – “all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them.” In their selfish defensiveness, they caused a problem that should not have occurred and incited others to disunity.

We often assume the worst in people because we see them from our own frailties. We are often ungracious to other sinners because in them we see our own sin and feel threatened.

Also, in our relationships, we often take things as personal attacks when, in fact, the behavior of others may have nothing to do with us. We must stop and remember the attributes of love: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Seek first to understand before being understood. Before we judge another person and their behavior, before we search our Bibles for verses to prove their sins, perhaps we should seek to humbly understand what motivates them to do what they are doing, getting to the heart of the problem. Remember, we are called to a mission of reconciliation.

At the heart of this conflict was that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were not getting what they wanted quickly enough (because of their own failures), and they blamed the leadership – “Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards (Numbers 16:14).” James had this to say, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!” How many times have selfish passions divided churches, families, friends? Our hearts are deceptive, and we are all susceptible to self-centered, passion-based sin. Best, therefore, to be overly gracious and let God recover what you think you may have lost in the process.

• Romans 12:3, 9-21 — For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned…. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 April 2025: Today, stop trying to do something big for the Lord and do something small but in a great, God honoring way. Instead of comparing yourself to others, compare yourself to your Master to gave His life to others with joy. Be like Him!