The Split

 “The Split”

 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church – Sunday, June 30, 2013

Text: Numbers 16 // Series: “Crossing Over: Life on the Edge of Faith” Family Inclusive

Video: “Numbers Overview” (from ‘What’s In the Bible’)

Ah, the book of Numbers.  If you are new or visiting with us, this is a fantastic time to jump into things here at Jericho Ridge because this summer, we are continuing in our movement through the Old Testament with the goal being to give you a stronger sense of the chronology of the big God Story.  How God has worked in history and what that means for our lives today.  And so in the summers here at Jericho, we work hard to develop a more intentional Sunday morning experience that expresses our heart to learn and grow together across multiple generations.  We call this Family Inclusive and so kids going into Grade 3 this fall and up will remain in here with us and we’ll have some fun learning and growing through the books of Numbers and Joshua this summer. 

Last weekend, we started a series called “Crossing Over” by looking at the story of the 12 spies and Mrs. Ruth Ellen painted a wonderful piece of art that captures that story for us.  It was a story of God inviting His people, the children of Israel into the land He had promised to give to them but they refused to believe God’s promise and so they were left to wander in the dessert. And that’s where we find Moses and the children of Israel this week.  Now for our story this weekend, Sophie painted a beautiful canvas – and I want you to look at the similarities between the crossing over art, Mrs. Ruth Ellen’s art, and Sophie’s art…  Do you see any similarities?  Look at the middle section of each piece…  There’s a slit, a dividing line in each one, isn’t there?  And we’re going to talk about that spit today and ask the question, when it comes to respect for authority, which side of that line are you on?   

So, kids.  To start off our morning together, I have a question for you.  How many of you have cousins?  How many of you are going to see your cousins this summer?  I saw all of my cousins this spring.  And I’m the oldest cousin on one side of the family – any oldest cousins out there?  How many of you have ever had trouble with your cousins?  A real disagreement?    In our family, the story is told (I’m too young to remember it but it comes from reliable sources) that when my cousin Sean and I first met each other when we were toddlers, I was so mean to him that I pushed him down the stairs.  I can’t remember doing it.  I can’t remember why I did it… I was all of 18 months old at the time.  BUT apparently my cousin has a good memory because the very next time we saw each other, he remembered what I had done and he came kicking and screaming at me and pushed me down the stairs!  Well, now as adults, we get along great.  The only problem we have now is that we both like to be in charge.  Have you ever had a disagreement with one of your cousins over who is really in charge?  Well that is the setting for our lesson today.  It’s found in the Bible, in that fun, fun book of Numbers, chapter 16.  Turn with me there in your Bible or go there on your phone.  I’m going to be reading the story out of the New Living Translation.  You can follow along up on the screens.

2 slides (verses 1-7)

So you get a sense that there’s a bit of a showdown shaping up here, isn’t there?  On the one side, we have Korah, Dathan, Abiriam and On PLUS 250 of the prominent leaders from the various tribes of Israel.  On the other side we have Moses and Aaron.  And this guy Korah, he’s Moses first cousin!  And Korah and his crew, they come and say to Moses “Who do you think you are that you’re so special?  You act like you’re the one running the whole show!?”  You see God had set apart Aaron and his family for a special job earlier in the book of Numbers – they were to be the priests who represented the people to God under the Old Testament system of worship.  They had special tools for this, one was an incense burner like this one is this picture.  And Aaron and his family would go into the tabernacle, the place where God would meet His people, and they would light a fire in their burners and there would be some sweet smelling stuff in there like different spices and that was part of the way that God had said to worship Him.  But in the Old Testament, God said that that job was specifically and only for the priests.  It was a way of reminding people that God is holy – He is majestic and powerful and created everything and that He deserves our respect.  Sop Moses says to them… (Slide: Verses 8-11) 

You see Korah and his buddies were the ones who had stepped over the line.  They were the ones that had gone too far.  God had already given them a special job – to be the helpers in and around God’s special worship house.  They already had a special place and special jobs but that wasn’t enough for them.  They wanted more.  And so they started a rebellion.  And in verse 11 we begin to see the real issue.  Dathan and Abiram had complaints against Moses’ leadership – they felt he wasn’t’ effective because he hadn’t led them into the promised land yet – but Korah’s complaint was different.  His complaint against Moses and Aaron was really a smokescreen.  Korah was displeased by the limitations put on him as a Levite.  He wanted to be even more special.  He wanted to be a priest.  So we see that the real issue here for Korah is his heart: The real issues, as they often are, are Power and Pride.  And so it really is a revolt against God’s authority and structure that He has set up. Verse 11 Moses calls it like it is and says “Korah, it’s God you have ganged up on, not us”.

So Moses proposes something.  That if they want to be priests, that they act like priests.  They should bring their incense burners out and they’ll see who God chooses.  And here’s where the story really gets interesting…

[5 slides – Numbers 16:16-35]   

WOAH!  That’s intense!  Can you imagine?  This isn’t a great picture, Sophie’s is better – you can see the tents and the people falling right into the chiasm that opened up in the ground!  In many ways, the punishment fits the crime.  Korah and his crew wanted to create a split and so God literally splits the ground open and deals with them.  This incident is so significant that it becomes emblematic of rebellion and the consequences of a rebellious heart all throughout Scripture.  It is mentioned again in the book of Jude verse 11 is says “like Korah, these people who defy authority, will perish in their rebellion”.  Why is their consequence so severe?  Well its because their rebellion isn’t really against Moses or Aaron’s leadership: it’s against the Lord. 

You see the Bible gives us pretty clear instructions around authority and the consequences of rebelling against those in authority.  The reason for this is that All Authority is DERIVED Authority

All authority comes from God.  Think about what Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20 (which you’ll learn this week in Day Camp, kids)…  All authority in heave and on earth has been given to me, says Jesus.  So any authority that anyone else has is derived from or subservient to the authority that God has and that God has given to them.  Let’s think of a few examples:

Family Authority 

“Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.”                                                      (Ephesians 6:1)

As a child and as an adult, God has placed you in a family which has authority structures built into it.  As much as you don’t always agree with them, kids, your parents do have legitimate authority that has been given them to exercise for your well-being.  Their job is to guide and nurture you, keep you safe from harm and see you grow into a responsible, mature adult who follows Jesus and is a contributing member of society. (What, no Amens from parents over that one?!).  So obeying family authority is a way of expressing obedience to God. 

Let’s look at another example… 

Spiritual Authority 

“Authority given to us by the Lord to build you up”                                                   (2 Corinthians 10:8)     

In your spiritual journey, there are likely people who have built into your life in significant ways.  Teachers or mentors or people who have been placed in your path by the Lord to challenge, admonish, teach, correct, rebuke and train you.  They could be people from a long time ago or people right here at Jericho Ridge.  God has given these people places of authority in your life in order to see you come to a place of maturity and wisdom.  The lines are a little less clear cut here, perhaps, than in some other realms of authority. A bit less positional perhaps, but no less legitimate.  For example, as one of the pastors of this church, I come under the spiritual authority of the elders here at Jericho.  The role of the elders is to exercise collective spiritual authority and discernment – sometimes this involves challenging people that are divisive and sometimes it involves great joy like blessing Bailey Davies’ upcoming baptism down in WA State on July 14. 

Let’s look quickly at another clear example of how and to whom God delegates some of His authority. 

Civil & Governmental Authority

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.  So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.” (Romans 13:1-2)

“For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed.” (I Peter 2:13-14a)

This week, your property taxes are due.  Pay them.  Why?  For a number of practical reasons, but also because God has given the state a realm of authority to exercise.  They are to do it to create and keep peace, to maintain justice and promote the well-being of those whom they have authority over.  Do they always get this right?  Absolutely not!  So don’t hear what this text is not saying: Romans 13 is not saying that the authority of the state is absolute and unquestionable.  Only God’s authority is always rightly exercised and always righty.  So if I have an issue with some aspect of government, in our society as a democracy, there is certainly room for you and I to voice our opinions that may be different than the municipal, provincial or federal government or an agency thereof.  But as Christians, when we do so, we always do so with respect.  With passion. For sure.  With vigor.  Absolutely!  Particularly when there is a sense that the laws or rules are divergent in some way from God’s ideal and His heart.  But always with a sense of respect.  Parents, in particular, you have a role to play here because you children will relate to authority in ways that you relate to authority.  Just look at this cartoon…        

Teachers, don’t laugh too hard – you know that cartoon reminds you of some families that you just left behind for a few months J

But if the philosophical framework is that God is the source of all authority, there’s still a very practical question for us:

Why Obey Legitimate Authority?

Because it is tied to blessing in our lives

“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”           (Ephesians 6:2-3)

My great Grandma Nan lived to be 104 years old.  I can remember driving down to the coast on long weekends like this one to her place in Guildford and I would sit up on her lap and ask her “Grandma, how did you get to be so OLD?”  And she would raise her craggy finger, put it right up in my face and say “I obeyed my parents!”  She was right… God links our obedience to those in authority to very real blessing in our lives.  When we obey, things go well for us. 

“God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment.”                              (1 Peter 2:19)

Notice here how we are often tempted by the same things Korah was tripped up by: pride and power.  If someone else is in authority, then it means that I am NOT in authority and this doesn’t sit well with us in our culture.  We like to be in charge.  We like to call the shots.  Especially if we feel we are being unfairly treated by those in authority.  But a discussion of biblical authority reminds us that God has orchestrated the world in such a way that there are authority structures and that when we live within those, things just go better.  Let’s illustrate this with one of my favorite games.   

Slide: Photo of Stop Light – GAME: Go, Go, Go, Go, Go… Stop. 

(need volunteers.  Someone to be it.  Explain rules.  Don’t apply to me – either as participant or as leader) (?) What didn’t work about this game?

What about when I was in charge?  A Word to Those in Authority

Don’t Abuse or Misuse Your Authority

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord”                                    (Ephesians 6:4)

Sometimes authority, governmental, spiritual, family, school or other authority can be exercised in profoundly unhealthy ways.  While being respectful, there are times you need to remove yourself from this situation.  Situations of abuse or power being used to coerce or manipulate is not a legitimate expression of authority.  This has led entire generations to question authority and its legitimacy.  But perhaps the real

A question for Authority

Comes from our text in Numbers 16… 

What is your usual response when people CHALLENGE your Authority?  

“When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground” (Numbers 16:4)

“But Moses & Aaron fell face down on the ground.”                    (Numbers 16:22 & Numbers 16:44)

Turns out there is a bit of an equation for authority:

The Authority Equation:

If the source of authority is legitimate

 +       it is being legitimately exercised

=    My response:  Respect & Obedience

Don’t let a critical spiritual toward those in authority take you out from under God’s blessing.  Korah did.  His pride and his desire for power and authority led him to be divisive and caused a split.  But in the end, that split came back to haunt him and he had to live with the consequences or his rebellion.  Because it wasn’t against Moses or Aaron.  It was against God. 

I want to teach you a little song I learned in Sunday School to help us remember this truth.  Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.