After the earth swallowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and after fire destroyed the 250 men who rebelled with them, we were told, "The assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting." The people blamed Moses and Aaron for the deaths of their fellow countrymen instead of acknowledging that the dead men brought their punishment upon themselves because of their sin. It looks like a mob has formed against Moses and Aaron at the tabernacle, just as a mob formed against them earlier in the book of Numbers. And, as was the case with the previous occasion, I think the people want to kill Moses and Aaron.
The Lord's anger burned toward the people as we closed yesterday's passage and He warned Moses and Aaron to stand back from them so they would not be harmed when He brings destruction upon this multitude. At this, Moses and Aaron fell to the ground in prayer as a plague began to break out among those assembled against them. This is where we pick up our study today.
Moses receives an answer while he's on his knees before the Lord, so he instructs his brother what to do to turn the Lord's wrath away from the assembly before everyone gathered there is consumed. "Then Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.'" (Numbers 16:46)
We don't know what this plague was but it brought death swiftly, as we'll see momentarily. In the original language the word translated as "plague" also means "a blow, a strike". So we see that the people are being "struck down" but we can't say whether the plague was an illness, as we typically think of a plague, or whether Moses means the people were falling dead one by one as if an unseen swordsman were moving methodically through the assembly. I'm reminded of the way the death angel moved through Egypt on Passover night, striking down the firstborn males of the Egyptians and of their livestock. The Lord doesn't have to send a plague of disease in order to remove from this life those who are gathered together in anger against Moses and Aaron. If the Lord didn't "hold our souls in life", as Psalm 66:9 confirms He does, we would all drop dead. It's the Lord who gives us the next breath in our lungs. It's the Lord who wakes us up every morning and takes us through the day safely. So many perils come against us this life, both natural perils and manmade perils along with the perils of evil, for the Bible says Satan's intentions toward us are to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) Every time we make it through a day safely, we've made it through by the mercy and power of the Lord. What we're seeing in our text today may simply be that the Lord stops holding these people's souls in life by taking His hand of protection off them.
Now, before we go further, I want to point out that I'm not saying every death is a punishment from the Lord. Every human being is destined to die. (Hebrews 9:27) Both unbelievers and believers face death eventually because we all live in mortal human bodies. We may die according to the Lord's timing, when He allows it to happen naturally or we can bring an earlier death upon ourselves by sinful living or by unhealthy living. What's happening here in Chapter 16 is that people in the congregation are bringing an earlier-than-normal death upon themselves by fiercely opposing the Lord. By turning against Moses and Aaron and wanting them dead, they are opposing the Lord who has clearly demonstrated to them that He has chosen Moses and Aaron to be the political and spiritual leaders of the nation at this time in history.
Moses loves the people who have made themselves his enemies. Aaron loves them too, and he doesn't walk but runs to perform his priestly atoning duties on their behalf. "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." (Numbers 16:47-48) Moses intercedes for the people by prayer. Aaron intercedes for them by performing an atoning ritual. These men lived many centuries before Christ but they are doing what Jesus would do, for Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44)
It's easy to love those who love us and to pray for those who are good to us. The Lord Jesus, living in a human body, understood this. He also understood, living in a human body, that it's possible to overcome (with God's help) our human tendency to hate our enemies. That's why He said: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that you to? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:32-36) If we want to look like the children of God, we must do the things God would do. If we don't do the things God would do, we have no hope of leading anyone to Him. Do we have the right to be angry when we're mistreated by our fellow man? Yes, there is such a thing as "righteous indignation". It's normal to recognize things that are wrong and to feel righteously indignant over them. The Lord doesn't expect us to go through life without ever feeling angry over things that are wrong; He does, however, instruct us how to deal with those feelings, which is why the Bible says to believers, "In your anger do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26a) In other words: it's understandable to be angry about things that are wrong, but two wrongs don't make a right. We aren't to handle our feelings in sinful ways.
Moses and Aaron love and intercede for men who want them dead. These two guys look a whole lot like the children of God right now, don't they? They are loving like their Father. They are merciful like their Father. Like their Father, they are being kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. You and I may never be called upon to pray for someone who wants us dead, but as we walk through this life there are going to be people who don't like us, and people who talk about us behind our backs, and people who take advantage of us, and people who tell lies about us, and people who do something mean and spiteful to us anytime the opportunity arises. How are we to respond? Like Moses and Aaron responded. If they could beg God for mercy upon men who actually wanted them dead, can we not beg God for mercy upon someone who has gossiped about us or has cheated us out of something?
I have to tell you, this passage really speaks to me today. Something shocking and upsetting happened yesterday that affects my household in a big way---in a bad way. My husband and I are hurt and angry over what happened because what happened was wrong. It's normal to feel angry over something that's wrong, but how are we to deal with these feelings? The Bible says we are to pray for the person or persons who wronged us. I don't think that means we have to pray that life will be all sunshine and roses for wicked people; I think, though, that it definitely means we are to pray for wicked people to turn to the Lord. The only thing I can think of to pray about, in my own personal case this morning, is that the persons who've hurt us will come to salvation. They need the Lord. We find Moses and Aaron trying to save the lives of all the men who hate them because they know these men need the Lord. I don't think Moses and Aaron are asking the Lord to bless these men abundantly in every way in spite of how sinful they are. I think Moses and Aaron want the men to keep on living in hopes that the men will turn to the Lord in time.
The Lord spares the vast majority of the men who are assembled against Moses and Aaron. "But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped." (Numbers 16:49-50) 14,700 men is a lot but we learned earlier in Numbers that there were over 600,000 men in Israel of the age and physical condition to fight in the army. This means there were men too young to join the army (aged 18 and 19) and men who weren't sound enough in body or mind to serve in the army. The Bible doesn't tell us how many men formed an angry mob to confront Moses and Aaron but we can be certain there were far more than 14,700 in the group. There could have been half a million or more. This means the Lord spared far more men from the plague than He allowed to die. Why did He allow some to die while sparing others? We can't say for certain, but perhaps the 14,700 were the worst offenders. Maybe they were the ones who incited the others against the Lord and against Moses and Aaron. Perhaps they were the ones who most fiercely wanted Moses and Aaron dead. It could be that they had already rejected the Lord more times than the others and, because He knew they always would reject Him and were capable of enticing others to reject Him, He removed them from the assembly for the sake of those who hadn't yet turned permanently and irrevocably away from Him.
The Lord is good and everything He does is right. We aren't always given an explanation for why He handles certain things in certain ways. A lot of times I don't think we could understand the explanation if He gave us one, for His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Just as my little dog wouldn't understand my explanations of why she can't have a whole bag of treats at one time or why I have to take her to the vet for her yearly shots or why I have to give her baths and toenail trims, we wouldn't understand God's explanations for everything He does. Even if He sat us down and tried to tell us why He allows certain things to happen, in a lot of cases I don't think we'd be able to see the big picture in the way He sees it. We don't have to see the big picture as long as we keep in mind that God is good. My pup knows that everything I do for her is for her own good and that it's coming from a loving heart. We are to keep in mind that everything God allows into our lives has a purpose to it and that our every circumstance comes from a loving heart because, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
Our passage today is exactly what I need in this season of my life. I desire your prayers for my household and your prayers that we would respond to our current circumstances in a way that honors our Lord. I hope our study today has ministered to you too.
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