Korah, a notable leader (Num. 16:1-3)

1/8/2009 10:21 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Korah, a notable leader

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Numbers 16:1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶ 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 action, 2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown.  3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?’”

            I now come to the second of the main points or sections in Dr. Wiersbe’s book, “Be Counted,” which he entitles “The Authority of God’s Servants.”  The first sub-section is “The first confrontation” and it covers the first thirty-five verses in Numbers sixteen.  The first sub-section under it is what will be discussed in today’s SD, “Korah, a notable leader.”

            The first confrontation between the children of Israel and Moses is in these first thirty-five verses of chapter sixteen and involve Korah, who must have been prominent in the camp because they give part of his genealogy in verse one.  Numbers 27:3 suggest that there were other people from other tribes beside the tribe Levi who were involved here.  The Kohathites carried the furniture from the tabernacle and were camped on the south side of the tabernacle across from Gad, Simeon, and Ruben so the may be why some from those tribes were also involved.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that when these confrontations come up that there are two reasons, the “stated reason” and the “hidden reason” of the confrontation.  In this case the stated reason was why only Moses and Aaron were the ones in charge and not the getting input from the rest of the children of Israel, for after all in Exodus 19:3-6 it was told that all the children of Israel were to be a kingdom of priests.

            The hidden reason was that Korah wanted the same privileges as Moses and Aaron and his sons that is being priests.  Korah wanted to be in charge, but God had not put him in charge for He had put Moses and Aaron in charge and chose Aaron and his sons to be priests for the nation of Israel.  Someone has to be in charge and if people then and today will only follow the rules that God has made then things in this world would run smother.  Parents are in charge of their children, and in the Army there is people who are in charge of others, and in the workplace there are people in charge of others and so on.  Korah did not get this truth that he and his family were the ones who were to carry the furniture and because that is what God had given them to do then he and his family should be content in doing it.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I truly believe that when I was working for Ford that God was the One who called me to do the job of supervisor in the melting department and that was where He placed me to do His work.  I am sure that I did not always do what He wanted me to do all of the time, but I am also sure that I was content with that position and always believed that this was where God wanted me to be.  I believe now that God has called me to work at our church as it’s janitor and that I am to do the best that I can for that will bring honor and glory to the Lord.

            God has called each member of His Church and has given them all at least one gift in order to serve the others in the local body of Christ and each one is to be satisfied with their calling and be faithful to that calling whatever it is.  The most important thing is not status, but faithfulness, doing what it is that God has called us to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. I have the desire to know God better.
2. To be content.
3. To reach people in our neighborhood for the Lord.
4. To trust the Lord go guide my path.

Memory verses for the week:                                              Romans 6:16-19

16.    Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

17.    But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you become obedient from the heart to a form of teaching to which you were committed,

18.    and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19.    I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.  For just as you presented your members as slaves of impurity and lawlessness, resulting in more lawlessness, so no present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

1/8/2009 11:24 AM