11/10/11 AARON SAVES THE PEOPLE
AARON SAVES THE PEOPLE
Numbers 16:36-50
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Key Verse: 16:48 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
“ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.”
Dear Lord heavenly Father, thank you for your love and your grace in sending Jesus to die for me and thank you for your grace continually poured out on this sinner, each and every day. I pray that you may bless the manuscript ministry,. Help the 35 people, who receive the manuscript to be moved by the word of God. May they grow to be disciples of Jesus. I also pray that you may help us to part of the NIU campus culture. Please raise up leaders among us who can lead the students of NIU to faith, to Jesus and to discipleship. Please grant me one word deeply in my heart. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
1. A sign of holiness (36-40).
Verses 36-40 read, “ 36 The LORD said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the LORD directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or he would become like Korah and his followers.”
The malignant spirit of rebellion that erupted almost destroyed the people. Moses and Aaron worked to restore spiritual order. The censers of the dead rebels were holy, and the rebels paid for their rebellion with their lives. God told Eleazar to hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar so that the people could remember that God is holy.
God is holy and God must be worshiped in his way. We can not rebel against Jesus and the ways of God and think that everything is OK. It is not OK. God does forgive us and bear with us in this New Testament age. But the standard is still the same.
Do I rebel against God and his sovereignty and against the ways of God. I basically do, when out of tiredness and despair I decide to ignore what God wants me to do. I ignore a discipleship ministry making many excuses. I basically ignore the ways of God. This is not pleasing to God. I can only repent and claim the blood of Jesus and try again to do it right before God.
2. Standing between the living and the dead (41-50).
Verses 41-50 read, “ 41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the LORD’s people,” they said.
42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[a]
The people did not repent of their rebellious spirit. They ignored God’s hand of judgment and blamed Moses and Aaron for the deaths of their 250 leaders. Suddenly, God’s wrath and glory burst forth from the cloud and a terrible plague began. Aaron rushed into the midst of the people with a censer of incense from the altar. He stood between the living and the dead and made atonement for them, and the plague stopped.
It was not Moses and Aaron who caused the death of the people. It was God who did it. The people were grumbling against God. They should not do that. They should respond in humility and repentance, faith and obedience. When we see disaster coming, we must respond with repentance and faith and not rebellion. What about America and her economic crisis? Should we not respond with repentance and faith and draw near to Jesus. It can get a lot worse. We could be growing potatoes in our front lawns. We could be living three families to one house. There could be more homelessness. But may God open our eyes now so that disaster may be averted.
We also need shepherds who could pray for the people. Aaron cared. He prayed and stood up and made himself vulnerable in order to pray for the people and have them saved. We need such bold leaders today. I pray that God may help me to stand in the gap and pray for the people of our land. May each of my kids stand in the gap and be prayer servants. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for interposing the blood of Jesus between my passive rebellion and your judgment.
One Word: Stand in the gap
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