How incredible is it that one day after the earth opened up
and swallowed the leaders of the rebellion, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and the
Lord ordered the priests to take those men's censers and beat them into a
covering for the altar as a sign of their rebellion that the people grumbled
against Moses and Aaron and accused them of killing those people? They had seen an unbelievable event, the
Lord's judgment against this idea of challenging Moses and Aaron as God's anointed
and the destruction of the families.
Clearly this was punishment for sin from God so how is it that the
people can now say Moses committed murder?
His prayer had been very specific as to his desire for God's wrath in
the matter. The people now have a sense
that Moses' relationship with God may not be completely beneficial but they
don't have fear of that relationship. Do
you see that when they make the accusation they turn to the tent of meeting,
the place where Moses met with God? They
are also accusing God of being not good, unjust, a murderer. Moses and Aaron know it and they again fall
on their faces. Ultimately the wrath of
God is poured out but in the midst of that Aaron intercedes for the people and
the destruction is not complete.
The sovereignty of God means that sometimes what He chooses
to do will seem unfair to us. In the parable, Jesus compares the Father to a
man who owns a vineyard and needs laborers for the harvest, hiring some early
in the morning at the prevailing daily wage and others later in the day at the
same wage. Those who came early see the
owner paying these latecomers and assume he will increase their agreed upon
wage when it comes their turn for payment.
They are disappointed not because what the owner pays is not fair or
agreed upon but because the others don't deserve the same because they didn't
work as long. We have no idea about the
relative production of the groups. The
answer is whether we are satisfied with Him and the reward we have been
promised, not what others may get. In
the church planting world it is easy to be jealous of those who have larger
numbers or more money but it is a trap we have to avoid. None of us deserve anything but judgment,
that we are allowed any place, any service in the kingdom is something that
should make us fall on our faces and say we are not worthy and He is
immeasurably good.
We prefer to work and take credit for what we get. Paul reminds us that faith is the only way to
receive from the Lord, not merit.
Abraham is the father not of one nation but many nations and he is the
father of those who have faith. In the
outpouring of the Spirit and the opening of the kingdom of God to Gentiles,
Abraham becomes father to those who receive it by faith. You can see how this would arouse jealousy
among the Jews. Paul, later, will say
that he hopes that jealousy becomes the means by which the Lord will draw them
to Jesus. We who come in now come in at
the last minute, saved by grace from what would have been destruction but for the
cross and the Holy Spirit which allows us to know Him. Let us always give thanks for amazing grace
that saved wretches like us.
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