Verse for the Day, 16 June 2016.

Numbers 16:1-45, “Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and 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 a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.  (3)  They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, "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?"  (4)  When Moses heard it, he fell on his face,  (5)  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….(20) And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,  (21)  "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."  (22)  And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?" …(41) But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."  (42)  And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.  (43)  And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,  (44)  and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  (45)  "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.”

In reading Numbers 16, one is inclined to lament, “No, not another rebellion!” Yet this is precisely what takes place, two rebellions back to back, each one followed by God’s judgement and punishment. The people of Israel are truly unrepentant and hard-hearted, for whilst they repent every time God punishes them, they do not repent from the heart as their ways remain unchanged.

What is it that lies at the centre of their constant rebellion, why have they not learned? Why do they continue to rebel, but at the same time make the assumption that God should only ever bless them and acquiesce to their every demand?

The answer is pride. Their hearts are proud, they feel entitled, as though God owes them and must constantly prove Himself to them, if He would have them believe in Him. Their pride leads them to only ever think about themselves, their wants and desires. Therefore, they constantly bicker, complain and argue against God for He is not giving them what they believe they deserve. Their pride leads them to give very little respect to God’s commands, and to display even less respect to those whom God has appointed over them as their leaders. So great is their pride that some of them think they are entitled to a higher office and therefore seek to oppose, even overthrow the God-appointed men. Pride has caused them to think that they are owed the Promised Land. Now that God has refused them entry and Moses leads them back into the wilderness, they accuse both God and Moses of cruelty and desiring after their suffering, demise and death. This is pure, undiluted, shameless pride.

Whilst the excessive, ugly and destructive pride of Korah, his followers and the nation is clearly visible, it stands in stark contrast to Moses and Aaron. There is a phrase that is repeated three times in this chapter, in relation to Moses and Aaron, “and they fell on their faces” (verses 4,22 and 45).

What is Moses and Aaron’s response to the pride and rebellion of Korah and the nation as a whole? Their response is one of humility, fear, to contend for the glory of God and to plead with God to be merciful. In fact, this is their immediate response, before they speak or act, they fall to their faces before God. Why? The sin of Korah, his followers and then of the nation as a whole, has called God’s sovereign wisdom and will into question and has accused God’s appointed servants as being proud, arrogant, power-hungry and evil men. By virtue of their accusations, they are directed more against God, than Moses or Aaron, and is based upon the foolish assumption that Korah knows better than God.

Moses and Aaron had seen how God responded to such insolence and rebellion before and realise that such accusations and actions are sure to invite God’s wrath and judgement. Secondly, Moses and Aaron both knew that they did not chose or appoint themselves to these positions. Moses was a shepherd, Aaron a slave and it was God who had called and appointed them. I am certain that these men, especially Moses, knew how unsuitable and unworthy they were to have received such a calling. Therefore, they respond with humility, falling on their faces, lying in the dust before God. They seek to humble themselves, they urge the people not to rebel in this manner and when they continue in rebellion they ask for God to vindicate His glory, honour and sovereign will. At no point do they try to defend themselves, or prove that they are worthy of the office they have received. Moses and Aaron humble themselves, before God, urge the people not to rebel, call upon God to establish His glory and defend His cause, but also for God to be merciful, compassionate and forgiving. They intercede on behalf of the people, they even offer up a sacrifice so as to make atonement for the people in order to satisfy God’s justice and turn back His hand of judgement.

Numbers 16 clearly demonstrates to us the ugly, destructive, man-glorifying nature of pride in contrast to the grace, life giving, and God-glorifying nature of humility.

Humility is the path way to salvation, the Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:3&5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” It was out pride that kept us far from God prior to our salvation, pride that God had to confront in us and humble us. We should be grateful that God has chosen to be so gracious towards us when He confronts our pride, instead of causing the ground to swallow us or fire to consume us. Such is God’s grace to us in the midst of our pride, that He comes to take our judgement upon Himself.

We need to learn from this passage the grave danger of pride, and to understand that as Christians we are not immune from it. Pride is something which we will have to battle against every day, and humility does not come naturally. But if we constantly remind ourselves of who God is, the great and awesome God, the God who is to be feared above all others, the God who is holy, holy, holy, the God who is all-knowing, seeing and powerful, and that we are but grasshoppers in comparison to Him, that will help us to keep our pride down and pursue after humility. If we keep in our minds the majesty of God and then the humility of God as He came in love, mercy and grace to redeem us. If we focus on how Christ humbled Himself and was obedient to the point of death. If we constantly consider the work of Christ on our behalf, that which brings us salvation, it will help to put our pride to death and keep us humble and thankful.

In humility before God, we will find life, for we will find God. In humility, we will find spiritual nourishment and growth, for we will realise our need to constantly know more and more about God. In humility, we will find strength, for we will know that God is our strength and His grace is sufficient for all things and in all things. Let us pursue humility daily and be active in seeking to put our pride to death.

Most glorious God, may we like Moses and Aaron, constantly falling down before You in humble worship, never presuming we have the right to approach You on the basis of our own efforts. May we constantly remember how pride was leading us to our death and eternal damnation for it led us away from Christ. Thank You that You have humbled us through the Gospel and the work of Christ, but we pray that You will help us to remain humble and put pride to death. Keep our eyes, minds and hearts fixed on how awesome and great You are, and may we learn to fear You, for that is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Amen.