Thoughts on Rebellion

Happy New Year! I know that sounds funny, but this is a bit of a celebration for me. I started writing about what God was showing me in the Bible 6 years ago, and He’s still showing me things. But I’m learning something else: if I don’t stop and write down the thoughts He gives me, well, after a few days I will lose it.

So, this is the first thing that really got me as I’m reading the Bible through again this year. It’s about Korah’s rebellion. Do you know that story? Here it is: God has delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt, through Moses and Aaron, established the priesthood, given the law on how they were to live in relationship with God and each other, set up the tabernacle and been traveling in the wilderness for a while. One day Korah, from the tribe of Levi, conspired with two men from the tribe of Reuben. They decided to rebel against Moses’ authority by claiming to have their own authority to burn incense before the Lord. (God has already prescribed how this was to be done, but they ignored that.) So, a big showdown happens the next day between Moses and Aaron and Korah along with 250 of his followers. Well God ends up punishing the men who rebelled by having the earth swallow them alive. That may sound harsh to you, but rebellion against God isn’t something to treat lightly. What does this have to do with us? Well, we are told in the New Testament that all these things are written down as examples for us. We can learn from this and make different choices than they did! Here’s what I noticed that led to this poor decision:

-forgetfulness and ingratitude. Korah and his friends forgot that God had just delivered them from a life of slavery. They were slaves in Egypt not that long ago, with no free time at all! Now they were being provided for by God, and all they had to do was follow Him and trust Him to be their provider. And Korah, from the tribe of Levi, had already been honored as part of the tribe that was chosen to be near the Lord to serve Him before the people! So, in my own life, I notice that when I walked away from God, my life was marked be ingratitude! I wasn’t thankful for anything! When I had wandered long enough and gotten miserable enough by my own foolish choices apart from God, I started looking for Him. When I asked Him to draw near to me and open my eyes, this was the first thing He showed me: how good it is to be alive! How much freedom he gives me! And that was enough to cause me to want to know Him more.

-complaining with ungodly friends. Another thing we are told in the New Testament is this from I Corinthians 15:33: ‘Do not be deceived: Bad companycorrupts good character.’ We will become like the people we hang out with. Are your friends encouraging you in your walk with Jesus? Or do you just entertain yourselves with each other: talking about other people, complaining about whatever is wrong in your life? Well gossip and complaining is just like cancer that spreads. We are told that what started with these 3 men spread to 250 other leaders of the community, and that in turn affects all those in their circle of influence.  What does your circle look like? When I was that ungrateful person, I was also mad about everything. Everything! No one was good enough for me. It’s a little embarrassing to admit that, but that’s what happens when your life is set up in rebellion against God. I recently went to lunch with a friend. She told me a problem she was having and said that she wanted to be in love with the word of God like I was. That filled me with joy, and I prayed for her. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you start seeking God daily, you will find yourself less often in this complaining place.

-rewriting history. When Moses summoned Korah’s two friends, they refused to come and this is what they said: ‘We refuse to come before you! Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects? What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come.’ (Numbers 16:12b-14) Do you see what they did? It’s classic projection and gaslighting. They took God’s promise of bringing them into a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ and applied it to Egypt! They acted like they were kings in Egypt instead of what they really were: slaves. And slaves don’t get treated well in the dining room either. He also accused Moses of trying to kill them in the desert, but really, every delay was caused by their own sinfulness. They had just witnessed God parting the Red Sea so they could walk across on dry ground! And then they proceeded to treat God with suspicion. God doesn’t like that: He has shown us that He is trustworthy, and He wants us to trust Him because of His trustworthiness! In the end, they are the ones responsible for their own deaths. It was caused by rebellion. Rebellion is something we need to guard against:

according to God: ‘Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols.’

(I Samuel 15:23)

-stirring up an entire community. So, while Moses was trying to deal with the friends of Korah, Korah himself was busy stirring up the entire community against Moses and Aaron. And it worked. Now everyone was angry at Moses and Aaron, and why? Moses and Aaron were only doing what they were told by God. Even so, God was gracious to the people when He told Moses to tell them to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. And then the earth opened its mouth, and they went down alive to the grave. But the community still blamed Moses and Aaron and a plague started. In all, 14,700 people died because of this rebellion.

So, when I was in a place of rebellion against God, I surrounded myself with people who agreed with me. Whatever thing I was angry about was magnified and I had no one speaking truth into my life. If you find yourself here, ask God to come and get you and wake you up because this road only ends one way: ultimate separation from God!

Here’s the thing: we have a sin nature and an Enemy who wants our death and the destruction of our families. But my life changed when my view of God changed: the day He showed me how good my life could be if I followed Him was just the start! It didn’t happen overnight, and today it has been more than 8 years since He came and opened my eyes.  I started reading my Bible and I am still reading it every day to see what He wants to show me. And He keeps showing me new things! Follow Him, read your Bible and let Him speak to you, and then watch your life be transformed. In exchange for rebellion, you will find joy and peace and satisfaction.