Foundations Week 10, Day 5

Scripture Read:  Numbers 16 - 17
Title: Korah Questions Moses' Authority

H.E.A.R. Entry
(H) Highlight verse:  "They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them,'You have gone too far!  For all in the congregation are holy, everyone of them and the LORD is among them,  Why then do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the LORD?'"  Num. 16:3

(E) Explain:  I will admit, this is another one of those passages that I read and when I finish it I am left scratching my head and wondering what the point of it is.  
Moses's authority is questioned by this individual named Korah and a group of men that are following him.  We do not know anything about Korah or the men except they were unhappy with Moses' leadership.  I translate their concerns as "Moses, who do you think you are?  What gives you the right to place yourself as our leader.  God is not with you more than He is with us."  Then Korah challenges Moses and Aaron to a competition I would call "Who is God's Chosen Leader?"  Of course, we are not surprised when we find that Moses is indeed the chosen one.  But after the competition is over Moses shows his true leader's heart as he intercedes for the nation once again.  Unfortunately for Korah and his gang, things don't end well.  But both Moses and Aaron's calling are confirmed.   

(A) Application:   The call to leadership is both a burden and blessing.  Often, if not regularly, leaders are criticized and their leadership is often challenged.  Fortunately, today we do not have to have competition to prove our worth that ends with carnage and death.  However, God does place a high calling on those He calls, especially in the realm of Spiritual leadership.  Moses was blessed by God to be the leader of the Israelites, but it was a blessed burden.  He dealt with complainers, his authority was challenged, and people rebelled against him regularly.  However, Moses was a righteous leader, he didn't have to defend his leadership, God did that for him.  He also had a heart of a leader as he rarely had his own self interest in mind.  Instead of criticizing and accusing the people who were against him, he prayed for them and he was patient with them.  Now, we will see this is not always the case for Moses, but a true spiritual leader always has the interest of the people he/she is leading over his/her own.  A true spiritual leader prays for the people.  A true spiritual leader allows God to be his/her defense.  A true leader doesn't have to tell people he/she is the leader, his/her actions speak for themselves.  Moses truly modeled leadership and I think we can learn a lot from him.

(R) Respond: Help me to be the Spiritual Leader you called me to be.  May I pray for people, may I be patient with those who oppose me, may I rely on your protection when people challenge me, but most of all may my actions speak louder than my words.