It's really too bad that the word epic has been overused and likely lost some of its power. It's also a shame that when I tell you Numbers 16 is epic, most of you will roll your eyes and choose not to believe. But this would make for some really cool scenes in a movie. Here it is;
Moses is being opposed by his followers and this time it's not about food and water. This time it's old-fashioned jealousy. The main guys opposing Moses are Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The Levites can't stand that Moses is so holy. Moses can't stand their whining, so like every smart child, they take it to the parent, in this case, God.
So God sets up a showdown. Everyone lights a censer, though they won't be needed, and are told to appear at the entrance of the Tent. God shows up and tells everyone to step away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram. It's at this point that one has to assume it's either because they are super-holy and no one should stand near them. Or it's because they are about to be smited by the Mighty Smiter. God smiting people always makes for great blogging.
Unfortunately for the threesome, it's the latter. Moses starts talking about how the unnatural death they will die shows that God has sent Moses. Before he finishes, God opens the ground beneath them and swallows the Terrible Three whole. Well, that indeed is unnatural.
What happens next is bizarre. The rest of the Israelite people blame Moses for killing God's people. Right, because Moses made the ground split apart. So God tells Moses and Aaron to step back from the people so He can do some more smiting. Thinking quick, Moses tells Aaron to take fire from the altar and hurry to where the people are so he can make atonement for their latest of sins.
We're told that Aaron runs into the midst of the assembly and stands between the living and the dead, in effect stopping the plague from killing anymore Israelites. The picture is breath-taking, Aaron with chest pounding, creating a one-man line between the living and the dead. It would be an amazing movie sequence.
All that aside, I think God may take His holiness and the calling of His people seriously. And I think that most of us would have no problem seeing God this way. We may not totally understand it. We may prefer to see and discuss a God of love. But we are quick to acknowledge it.
Yet how quick are we to acknowledge that God is Love? Despite the gross misinterpretations of what Jesus did, most will admit to seeing a different picture of God in the New Testament than we did in the Old Testament. If the Old Testament shows God's justice, then the New Testament shows God's grace and mercy.
If the last two paragraphs are true (albeit very, very basic) then why don't we take God's love as serious as His justice? We're so quick to assume that tornadoes and hurricanes are the judgment of God. There is no shortage of articles talking about America's impending doom because we're not treating Israel as we should. (They may be right, what do I know?)
But when good things happen, no one asks why they happen to bad people. We know how to live in fear. What we don't know is how to live in God's promises. God has told us He loves us and wants to give us good things. Maybe we should take Him seriously.
Moses is being opposed by his followers and this time it's not about food and water. This time it's old-fashioned jealousy. The main guys opposing Moses are Korah, Dathan and Abiram. The Levites can't stand that Moses is so holy. Moses can't stand their whining, so like every smart child, they take it to the parent, in this case, God.
So God sets up a showdown. Everyone lights a censer, though they won't be needed, and are told to appear at the entrance of the Tent. God shows up and tells everyone to step away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram. It's at this point that one has to assume it's either because they are super-holy and no one should stand near them. Or it's because they are about to be smited by the Mighty Smiter. God smiting people always makes for great blogging.
Unfortunately for the threesome, it's the latter. Moses starts talking about how the unnatural death they will die shows that God has sent Moses. Before he finishes, God opens the ground beneath them and swallows the Terrible Three whole. Well, that indeed is unnatural.
What happens next is bizarre. The rest of the Israelite people blame Moses for killing God's people. Right, because Moses made the ground split apart. So God tells Moses and Aaron to step back from the people so He can do some more smiting. Thinking quick, Moses tells Aaron to take fire from the altar and hurry to where the people are so he can make atonement for their latest of sins.
We're told that Aaron runs into the midst of the assembly and stands between the living and the dead, in effect stopping the plague from killing anymore Israelites. The picture is breath-taking, Aaron with chest pounding, creating a one-man line between the living and the dead. It would be an amazing movie sequence.
All that aside, I think God may take His holiness and the calling of His people seriously. And I think that most of us would have no problem seeing God this way. We may not totally understand it. We may prefer to see and discuss a God of love. But we are quick to acknowledge it.
Yet how quick are we to acknowledge that God is Love? Despite the gross misinterpretations of what Jesus did, most will admit to seeing a different picture of God in the New Testament than we did in the Old Testament. If the Old Testament shows God's justice, then the New Testament shows God's grace and mercy.
If the last two paragraphs are true (albeit very, very basic) then why don't we take God's love as serious as His justice? We're so quick to assume that tornadoes and hurricanes are the judgment of God. There is no shortage of articles talking about America's impending doom because we're not treating Israel as we should. (They may be right, what do I know?)
But when good things happen, no one asks why they happen to bad people. We know how to live in fear. What we don't know is how to live in God's promises. God has told us He loves us and wants to give us good things. Maybe we should take Him seriously.
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