Is there any harm going for an evening stroll, picking up a few sticks along the way? There is if God explicitly says not to do that. It doesn’t help that ALL of God’s people were concentrated into one nation. Further more, all of the punishments from God were harsher during this time. Consider, if Satan could’ve led those people astray the promise of the Savior that God had made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would have been lost. He didn’t just make that promise to the Savior, but to all of us.
When we see one rebellion after another it can be hard to believe at times! What are these people thinking. Know this. We don’t always have a time frame in the book of Numbers. We’re reading the events – back to back to back. There could be months or even years in between the events. Memories can fade quickly. Consider the current political climate. Do people remember what a public figure did six months to a year ago? Maybe it was front page news at the time, but a few years later and we’re casting our vote for that same person.
This rebellion is a doosy. It’s one of the biggest ones in the book. The point that the people bring up is an interesting one. The leaders of the rebellion claimed that Moses didn’t have a right to be the leader of the people. They would be correct if it wasn’t for the direct call that Moses received from God.
All Christians are part of the Royal Priesthood and rights and responsibilities that go along with it. We are charged with reaching our with our witness to everyone who will listen. We are Holy before our God only because Jesus died for us. That qualifies us seek out opportunities for service. Another name for all this is our personal ministry. Want to learn more? Watch this week’s Bible study taken from the book of Numbers: Counting on God – Saturday evening stroll.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.