READING FOR OCTOBER 4, 2024: NUMBERS 16, ACTS 20, PSALM 105:7-15                        NUMBERS 16 This chapter tells of the rebellion of Korah. Before drawing observations from it, read the observations from Jesus’s half-brother: “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.  For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into indecent behavior and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe...and perished in the rebellion of Korah”  (Jude 3-5, 11). What’s the point? I recently saw this quotation (lower left). The part about 

remind us not everyone who seems to be part of the faith community is correct. As with the Bereans in Acts 17, we must consider all nice-sounding phrases against Scriptural teaching. As with Korah, perhaps most often we need to defend/contend for the faith among those who are currently within our group but have, even unwittingly, turned ”the grace of our God into indecent behavior.”  No one should take pleasure in this. No one should ever belittle anyone in this. No one should judge others, in the sense of saying those who disagree are not Christians. But not to defend/contend for what ”was once for all time handed down to the saints” risks a Num. 16 result. That can’t be considered loving, can it? Jesus’s half-brother Jude didn’t think so. 

Interestingly, the first part of the statement by Korah and company was true: “For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst.”  It’s the next question where the grave sin is committed: “Why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”  This is just another version of what Aaron and Miriam asked in Numbers 12: “Is it a fact that the Lord has spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” After having witnessed the discipline Miriam received, a better question is, how could Korah have made the same mistake so soon? Moses’s and Aaron’s prayer to God was beautifully selfless: But they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of humanity, when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”  Even after this the people blamed Moses for those who did die. This resulted in a plague that again was diminished due to Moses’s fast action. Are we a hopeless case? NO! “Now to Him [Jesus} who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy” (Jude 25). 

READING FOR OCTOBER 4, 2024 CONTINUED: ACTS 20, PSALM 105:7-15                                     ACTS 20 If space allowed, a nice map could be inserted here to track Paul’s progress. To sum up, he sailed to Troas where he spoke to a gathering on a Sunday. As he spoke past midnight, a young man sitting in a windowsill sank into sleep and fell three stories. He was pronounced dead, but Paul embraced him back to life and finished his message through daybreak. Long sermons are nothing new. Paul’s group sailed to Miletus and called the church elders over for a meeting. (Note that in verse 28 he also called elders overseers and shepherds. These words are used interchangeably.) He reminded them of the prior plots against him by the Jews but also his teaching in public places and houses. This was his teaching: repentance toward God and faith in Jesus.  This must be our primary teaching as well.  Once again, Paul indicates he knows what the Holy Spirit wants him to do: return to Jerusalem. The Spirit also revealed that prison awaits him there. Paul’s awareness of the Holy Spirit’s communication to him is acute. 

Paul’s rather valedictory talk to them expressed that his greatest desire wasn’t longevity, but finishing the course of his ministry. How are we doing on that count? Are we still on courseto finish? Since Paul was on course, he could honestly say he was “innocent of the blood of all men.”  When we share the Gospel with those God puts in our path, we can say the same. What if we haven’t shared the Gospel with them? Are we then somehow guilty of their blood?Paul then reminded them to be on guard for themselves and the flock. As mentioned when Num.16 was discussed, the threat to their faith could come from outside or inside the church: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.”.

PSALM 105:7-15 These verses provide a poetic history of God’s relationship with His chosen people from Abraham until their time in Egypt. Wouldn’t it be interesting to do a poetic review looking back on different periods of our lives or our church’s history and how God was faithful to meet those specific situations. Probably some of us with a literary bent could do this. First is the powerful observation in verse seven that their Lord is also the judge of the entire earth. Yes, He had this intimate relationship with Israel, but He is the universal judge—not one religion among legitimate beliefs. He made a covenant with Israel’s forefathers (vs. 8-9) that was good then, is good now, and will be good forever, through its fulfillment in Jesus. This promise of a homeland was forged when Israel was only a single family moving among different lands. Throughout these early years of migration, God did not allow His people to be oppressed or His prophets to be harmed. When God makes a promise, it will take place. Count on it. “I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be” (John 14:3).