THE PLAGUE was already killing people; their sin had been great; God’s wrath was also great—so, too, was the compassion of Moses great. He prayed before the Lord, and then directed Aaron: “So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.” (Num. 16:47-48) Nevertheless, an astounding 14,700 died, “in addition to those who had died because of Korah. ” And then, “the plague stopped.” (Num.16:49-50)
Discontent will always find a cause to rally behind, and the cause will always find a leader to step to the front. The cause is most typically in conflict with the established order, and the leader of the order must confront the leader of the discontent. So it was between Moses and Korah and the sons of rebellion. The grumbling started fairly soon after the Hebrews watched the waters of the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba (or perhaps the Reed Sea, further north?) close over the armies of Pharaoh. “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Num. 11:5-6)
The grumbling eventually found a leader in Korah, and the outcome would be either the maintenance of order or a descent into chaos. The outcome in was never in doubt, for the grumbling was rebellion against God. Moses, with prophetic foreknowledge, made an example of Korah and his followers: “But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt. As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them.” (Num. 16:30-32) But that alone, as dramatic an event as it was, was not enough to remove the underlying discontent, and so many more died, until Aaron ‘offered the incense and made atonement.’ Moses, ever-compassionate, ever-faithful, was ever-consistent before the Lord in pleading for the welfare of the people.
It has always been God’s purpose, ever since the gates shut to the Garden of Eden (cf. Gen. 3:24), to reconcile all people unto himself. “I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hos. 2:23) To Israel, his chosen, always he says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isa. 43:1) And to everyone the Lord says, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’” (Isa. 45:23-24) Also through Isaiah, God then makes this incredible promise, a messianic prophecy: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isa. 49:6) And through Peter, God says “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Christians believe that God’s will is the basis of order, but that our natural will is in opposition. The human condition remains today the same as at the time of Moses, as it has always been since the Fall from Grace. We understand that “the wages of sin is death,” and also that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23) In reflecting upon the intercessory scene of Aaron the high priest, as we see him in the Tabernacle swinging the brass censer with the smoke of the incense swirling out and up from it, standing figuratively between the living and the dead, we foresee Jesus: “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Heb. 7:24-25)
We are ever thankful to the Father for the finished promise of salvation, the ongoing works of sanctification, and the future promise of glorification that are ours in Jesus. We are grateful that Jesus stood where we were dead, and beckoned us from there into not just life, but eternal life with the Father. Because of him, our blindness has become sight, our grumbling has become gratitude, and our willfulness has become worship. * “Hineni.”
Q. At the core of my being, who is my Leader?
*“Hineni:” “I am ready, my LORD.” (Leonard Cohen, “You Want it Darker” – 2016)
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