Numbers 16:36-40 A Reminder!

 36Then the LORD said to Moses, 37“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames and to scatter the coals far away, because the censers are holy. 38As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.” 39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

A Reminder!

“This was to be a reminder to the Israelites”.....

“Can you imagine the scene? True priests are picking among the bodies, charred flesh, stench, smoke, smoldering embers, and twisted parts. They are to make a count. There were 250 censers; not one is to be lost. Each one is recorded, each one cleansed, each one holy.” (Allen)

 

Satan tries to remind you of your past to convince you that you aren’t worthy of salvation!

Jesus reminds you of salvation because of what He did for you on the cross to prove His love 💕 for you!

The Bible reminds you many times over, with examples of repentance that the Lord is waiting on you to come to Him! His arms are open waiting patiently for his prodigal son or daughter! 

Which reminder are you pondering today? 🤔 

Stay focused on Jesus any way you can, pray, read the Bible, have fellowship with Him and kick Satan to the curb. If that isn’t enough use Jesus’s words, “Get behind me, Satan! Matthew 16:23

Blessings 

Numbers 16:28-35 Contentious

 28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing: 29If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”                31As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. 33They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. 34At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” 35And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

Sheol

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to describe the realm of the dead is sheol. It simply means “the place of the dead” or “the place of departed souls/spirits.”

Contentious people in the church.

Titus 3: 10Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, 11knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Romans 16: 17Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Have you ever experienced contentious people in the church? We have and you usually experience them when you are leading a ministry. On one such occasion my wife was the Nursery Coordinator overseeing the infants through the three year old’s. A two year old had wet her pants so my wife cleaned her up and installed a church supplied diaper. The father became irate because he was trying potty training her. Then they started gossiping within the body of Christ. It wasn’t fun, but expect it if you’re in a leadership position. 

I believe if Moses was there, the Lord could have opened the earths mouth and put an end to it! 😇

Have you ever been contentious in the church?

Blessings 

Numbers 16:23-27 Uh Oh 😧

 23Then the LORD said to Moses, 24“Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 25So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” 27So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.

Uh Oh 😧 

Ever have one of those moments when you knew you stepped in it like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram?

I have, I was driving home one day from work and someone in front of me threw something out of the passenger window that ricocheted off my windshield. I must have said something and the person that threw it must have been a lip reader. I stopped at the store and next thing I knew I had an irate, intoxicated person in front of me yelling and screaming.

All I felt was “move away” so I turned and walked through the glass door to the store. Next thing I heard was a big bang, everyone turned to see what the noise was including myself and the guy had punched the glass door and then ran. That was my uh oh, move away moment.

What will happen to these men and their families? Stay tuned!

Upon death many will have an uh oh 😧 moment because the road to hell is wide and they didn’t have life and fire 🔥 insurance! 

I’ve taken out my policy and the underwriter is Jesus Christ!

Have you taken out your life and fire insurance policy?

Blessings 

Numbers 16:15-22 Separate Yourselves 🐑 —🐐

 15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.” 16And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. 17Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.” 18So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 19When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation. 20And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” 22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”

Separate Yourselves

“God used the censers with fire and incense in this test for a good reason. A censer is a metal pot used to burn incense, and they were used in the priestly worship of God. Since Korah and his companions questioned Moses and Aaron’s right to lead the nation and conduct the priesthood, each group would come to the LORD as worshipping priests - and God would show which group He accepted.” (Guzik)

As Christians we are called to separate ourselves from the world.

And by this (love) they (the world) will know you are Mine.

Notice the reason the LORD said to Moses and Aaron to separate themselves, “so that I may consume them in an instant”! 

One day the Father will say enough! And the earth as we know it will cease to exist.

Then the LORD will separate the sheep 🐑 from the goat’s 🐐!

The question I ask is.... Which group will you be in, the sheep 🐑 or the goat’s 🐐?

Blessings 

Numbers 16:8-14 Stirring the Pot!

 8Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi! 9Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? 10He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. 11Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”

12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! 13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us? 14Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

Stirring the pot. 

All it takes is one person to upset the whole apple 🍎 cart! 

For the last five months my wife had trouble at work. No one who tell her what she supposedly did and her supervisor would only say there was nothing specific that was said. She was written up for communication issues but no examples were given. She was targeted but then they got a new general manager. Long story short, the plot was revealed. The Lord turned their words and actions back around on them! 

It was one person who created a hornets nest and the supervisors and assistant managers fell in line like the pied piper! What will happen to this “one person” and the supervisors and assistant managers? Time will tell.

What will happen to Korah and his allies? Stay tuned!

Have you ever been responsible for stirring the pot?

Blessings 

https://beldinggroup.com/how-to-deal-with-the-pot-stirring-employee/

Sodom and Gomorrah, Sinning with a HighHand?

Genesis 18: 20Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,

Genesis 19  24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.

Their sins were sodomy and not helping the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16: 49Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. 50Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

Leviticus 18: 22You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

Jude 1: 7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

Sinning with a High Hand.

“Literally, to sin defiantly (presumptuously) means to sin “with a high hand.” It speaks of a flagrant rebellion against God, the law of Moses, and the nation as a whole.” (Guzik)

Today while watching television, a commercial aired for a credit company featuring a gay interracial couple with two children and at the end of the commercial the gay couple were in bed together. 

When a business produces a commercial that is antagonistic to biblical truth and biblical conviction are they Sinning with a high hand? 

Are you prepared to stand against the tide or will you drift with it?

Blessings 

What About Enoch. Jude 1:14-16

 I found this in gotquestionsdotorg and found it very interesting: 

The Book of Enoch is any of several pseudepigraphal (falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded) works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah; that is, Enoch son of Jared (Genesis 5:18). Enoch is also one of the two people in the Bible taken up to heaven without dying (the other being Elijah), as the Bible says "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:24; see also Hebrews 11:5). Most commonly, the phrase "Book of Enoch" refers to 1 Enoch, which is wholly extant only in the Ethiopic language.

The biblical book of Jude quotes from the Book of Enoch in verses 14-15, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’” But this does not mean the Book of Enoch is inspired by God and should be in the Bible.

Jude’s quote is not the only quote in the Bible from a non-biblical source. The Apostle Paul quotes Epimenides in Titus 1:12 but that does not mean we should give any additional authority to Epimenides’ writings. The same is true with Jude, verses 14-15. Jude quoting from the book of Enoch does not indicate the entire Book of Enoch is inspired, or even true. All it means is that particular verse is true. It is interesting to note that no scholars believe the Book of Enoch to have truly been written by the Enoch in the Bible. Enoch was seven generations from Adam, prior to the Flood (Genesis 5:1-24). Evidently, though, this was genuinely something that Enoch prophesied—or the Bible would not attribute it to him, “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men” (Jude 1:14). This saying of Enoch was evidently handed down by tradition, and eventually recorded in the Book of Enoch.

We should treat the Book of Enoch (and the other books like it) in the same manner we do the other Apocryphal writings. Some of what the Apocrypha says is true and correct, but at the same time, much of it is false and historically inaccurate. If you read these books, you have to treat them as interesting but fallible historical documents, not as the inspired, authoritative Word of God.

Jude 1:14-16

14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them:

“Behold, the Lord is coming

with myriads of His holy ones

15to execute judgment on everyone,

and to convict all the ungodly

of every ungodly act of wickedness

and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.”

16These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.