DCLM Daily Manna 26 August 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — The Cost Of Rebellion
TOPIC: The Cost Of Rebellion
TEXT: Numbers 16:1-11
1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
KEY VERSE: “And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?” – (Numbers 16:3)
MESSAGE:
When Sarah’s maid became pregnant for Abraham, she despised her mistress who was then barren. But when Sarah “dealt hardly with her”, she ran away. The angel of God found her and instructed her: “return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands” (Genesis 16:6,9). God does not encourage rebellion in anyway.
In our study, we see the gang-up of Korah, Dathan and Abiram with “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation…” against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. They accused them of lifting themselves up above the people. Moses as usual fell on his face in prayer to God. He then told them that God would confirm those He had actually chosen. He instructed them to take censers, put incense in them and fire, and present themselves before the tabernacle of the Lord. He also reproved them for not being grateful and content with the ministry God had given them as they still sought the priesthood also.
Conspicuously displayed on the table of a CEO was a maxim, “The boss may not always be right, but he is the boss”. As one thinks about leaders and leadership, one thing comes to mind. Leadership emanates from God. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God…” (Romans 13:1,2).
Dathan and company met their untimely death because of this act of rebellion. Leaders are humans and are prone to mistakes. Let us pray for them, and be instruments of encouragement to them, “for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17). Let us appreciate our leaders.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Don’t attempt to pull down your leaders.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 36-38
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
