Motivation for Holy Rebellion

Scripture: They were envious of Moses, yes, and Aaron too, the man anointed by God as his priest. Because of this, the earth opened and swallowed Dathan, Abiram, and his friends. Psalm 106:16-17

Observation: The psalmist is recounting the history of Israel in the wilderness, and reminds everyone of this scene. Some elders lead a rebellion against Moses and "his" rules, declaring a different path and worship practice. Yahweh immediately kills them - swallows them up in the earth - and even contemplates completely starting over with Moses as a new founder of the nation.

These elders rebelled against God because they were envious of Moses. They desired leadership, authority, honor, and comfort. As a result, they declared their own path and sought those who would follow their lead. Yes, since Moses was obeying God, this meant their efforts were opposed to God, but their first motivation was envy and jealousy of a man. They wanted what Moses had ... position.

Application: The concept of "position" will be the major conversation in the U.S. over the next 60 days. It is all about who will have what positions of authority in our government. It is SO critical to understand that the "who" isn't important. When it comes to authority to lead a nation, we should only care about one thing, and that is determining God's will for the nation, and who may follow it most obediently.

Of course, our major issue is that perhaps no one follows God's will when it comes to political leadership of the modern world, and that is a problem without an easy solution. For us, the conversation should be ... will we make our decisions based on prayer and guidance from the Lord, or based on anger, jealousy, and frustration over current circumstances?

Dathan, Abiram, and the elders took action based on these elements. They were frustrated over life in the wilderness, grew jealous of Moses being in charge, and took action that was clearly opposed to the Lord. Today, between pandemic lockdown, racial tensions, and secondary issues like economic uncertainty that results from those ... we have plenty of reasons to be frustrated over our current circumstances. Maybe the current officials are part of God's plan to address this, and maybe their challengers are instead. No matter, it is important for us to seek God's plan and God's will, and not act only out of our frustration.

I will not myself seek position or authority. I have no voice in any matter, outside of a voice the Lord may grant me to serve him and others. I hope we are prepared to follow the Lord through this matter, and not instead pursue some terrible rebellion.

Prayer: Lord, may thy will be done in the coming days. Please guide this land, and all nations, in ways that follow you plan. Amen.