Introduction:
A. One of my embarrassing ministry mistakes came early on, while I was still in school at Harding.
1. I was working part-time as a minister for a congregation outside of town named the Highway Church of Christ. (Yes, it was right next to the highway.)
2. Anyhow, I was teaching a class on Wednesday nights for teens and college students.
3. On the Wednesday night in question, we all arrived for services, and during the assembly period before classes, the elders announced that we were not going to have classes that night, but that we were going to have a singing.
4. When the singing period was about to begin, I stood up and announced that I was prepared to teach my class and that the teens and college students could come with me to class.
5. So I headed toward my class along with several of my students.
6. As we were getting settled in for class one of the elders came in and announced that the singing was for all the classes and that everyone needed to return to the auditorium.
7. I, of course, was a bit embarrassed and a tad bit angry.
8. The elder explained to me that they needed all the teens and college students in order to have an uplifting singing.
9. One of the lessons I learned that day was the importance of respecting those who have authority over me.
B. To rebel against authority is to wade into dangerous waters.
1. God has placed us under authority for our own good.
2. As Solomon writes to his children in the Proverbs, he points out over and over again the importance of listening to instruction, and accepting correction.
3. Neither of these things comes very easily to most of us. Am I right about it?
4. We want to be the boss. We want to do what we want to do.
5. And we often find ourselves rebelling against the authorities in our lives, whether that authority be God himself, our parents, our teachers, our spiritual leaders, or the government.
6. Most of the time, when we rebel against authority, we are making a terrible mistake.
C. It seems our culture doesn’t help us much when it comes to the issue of obedience.
1. John Leo, a columnist who writes for U.S. News and World Report, wrote an article in 1998 titled “The Selling of Rebellion.”
2. In that article he chronicled the many advertising campaigns that promote rebellion.
3. An ad for the Isuzu Rodeo showed a grotesque giant in a business suit stomping into a beautiful field causing a deer to run for his life, stomping skyscrapers, factories and signs into the ground. One of the signs he stomped read, “OBEY.” The narrator says, “The world has boundaries. Ignore them.” Trying to trample the Isuzu Rodeo, the hapless giant trips, and the Isuzu zips past him and runs over a huge sign that says, “Rules.”
4. Burger King ads say, “Sometimes, you gotta break the rules.”
5. Outback Steakhouse says, “No rules. Just right.”
6. Neiman Marcus ads say, “No rules here.”
7. Columbia House Music Club says, “We broke the rules.”
8. An NFL video game’s tag line is, “No refs, no rules, no mercy.”
9. A Spice Girls popular lyric was, “The rules are for breaking.”
10. So what is the obvious message? “We should all rebel against authority, social order, propriety and rules of any kind. Rules are bad, breaking the rules is good.
11. From all of this, I think we can see why the lure of rebellion is so strong, and why people often fall into that trap.
D. Today, as we discuss “Avoiding the Mistake of Rebellion,” I want us to look at a few examples of people who made that mistake.
I. Their Stories
Story #1
A. In the first story from Numbers 12, we see Miriam and Aaron opposing Moses.
1. This story occurs not long after Moses had led them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea.
2. They have received the Law, but have not yet moved to the land of Promise.
3. The Bible says, “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.” (Num. 12:1)
4. Scholars are not sure who this Cushite wife was.
5. Cush was the first son of Ham (one of Noah’s sons), and was the father of the southernmost peoples living in the Nile valley.
6. Moses’ wife Zipporah whom he married after he fled into the wilderness after killing the Egyptian, may be the person referred to here.
7. It is more likely, however, that the reference is to a new wife taken my Moses, perhaps after the death of his first wife. That’s why they were criticizing him at this point.
8. But either way, the attack on Moses’ wife was really a smokescreen, the real attack was against the prophetic gift of Moses and his special relationship with the Lord.
9. This passage troubles some people, because God stood in Moses’ defense, even though he had married a non-Israelite.
10. Hadn’t the Lord specifically forbidden any Israelite from marrying a Canaanite? Yes.
11. But this woman was a Cushite, not a Canaanite. No prohibition had been made against that.
B. Who are Miriam and Aaron?
1. Aren’t they Moses’ sister and brother? Yes they are.
2. Why are Moses’ older siblings starting a whispering campaign against their younger brother?
3. I think it’s because their pride is stirring up some rebellion.
4. The real problem may have been that Moses hadn’t turned to them to seek their counsel.
5. They considered themselves indispensable members of the inner circle, and they didn’t appreciate it when Moses made a decision without consulting them.
6. So they said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?...Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”
7. And we can almost hear everything go silent when the text declares, “And the Lord heard this.” (12:2)
8. Uh-oh! God hears everything.
9. But look at the wonderful comment Scripture makes about Moses at this point, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” (12:3)
C. The Bible says, “At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.’ So the three of them came out.” (12:4)
1. When I read those words, an eerie chill runs up and down my spine.
2. Remember the days when you were in school and you got a note to report to the principal’s office?
3. Well, here, God said, “You three come to My office. NOW!”
4. Then God said, “When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Num. 12:6-8)
5. So God, in essence, was saying, “I have a unique relationship with My servant Moses and no one will take his place. I have a face-to-face relationship with him. So leave him alone!”
6. And just to make sure no one misunderstood, God left a little calling card behind.
7. The Bible says, “When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; and he said to Moses, ‘Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.’” (12:10-12)
8. Why didn’t Aaron have leprosy? It is probably a sign that Miriam was the principal offender.
9. How did Moses respond? He humbly prayed for Miriam.
10. God responded and removed the leprosy, but confined Miriam outside the camp for seven days.
11. A period of 7 days was a standard time for isolation after being declared unclean.
12. Miriam and Aaron made the mistake of rebellion and they experienced God’s correction.
Story #2
A. In the second story that comes a few chapters later in chapter 16, we see Korah leading a rebellion.
1. The Bible says, “Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?’” (Num. 16:1-3)
2. Who is Korah, and what in the world is going on here?
3. Well, first of all, a lot has taken place between the incident in chapter 12 with Miriam and Aaron, and this incident in chapter 16.
4. In chapter 13, Moses sent the spies to explore Canaan.
5. And as you recall, 10 of them said, “It’s a great place, but we can’t take it.”
6. Joshua and Caleb said, “It’s a great place, and it won’t be easy, but with God’s help we can take the land.”
7. The people believed the 10 and rebelled against Moses, and were going to kill him and return to Egypt.
8. God intervened and declared that no one over the age of 20 would be allowed to enter then Promised land.
9. The Israelites would be forced to wander in the desert for 40 years until the older ones died off, then they would be allowed to enter the land of Promise.
10. The people did not want to hear that, and so the next day they tried to take the land without God’s help, and they were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites.
12. So it was after those experiences that Korah and his group decided to rebel.
B. Korah’s grandfather, Kohath occupied an important place in the ministry of the Lord.
1. Kohath’s family was one of three families appointed to serve in the sanctuary.
2. The Kohathites had the highest honor of caring for and transporting the holiest things in the Tabernacle.
3. They took care of the ark of the covenant, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, the altar of incense and the altar of burnt offering.
4. Whenever the Israelites were on the move, they were responsible for carrying the holiest vessels.
5. But that job didn’t seem good enough for him. He wanted to be a priest like Aaron and Aaron’s sons.
6. And he wanted to be the main leader like Moses.
C. The other three guys in Korah’s group, Dathan, Abariam and On, were from the tribe of Reuben.
1. Reuben was the oldest of the 12 sons of Jacob, and by law and tradition, would have been the leaders of the other tribes, but Reuben lost his place because of rebellion and sin.
2. And so, like Korah, they think their fore-father should have retained his position, and therefore they should be the leaders of God’s people, not Moses and Aaron.
3. Instead of accepting the place God had given them, these four men decided to try to over throw Aaron and Moses.
4. They got 250 other community leaders to join them.
D. So what was this groups charge against Moses and Aaron?
1. Verse 3 reads, “They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, ‘You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?’”
2. Later when Moses tried to have a meeting with Dathan and Abiram (On must have wised up by this point), they said, “We will not come! Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? Moreover, you haven’t 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!” (16:12-14)
3. They were essentially calling Moses a tyrant, a liar and a sadist.
E. How did Moses respond to their rebellion and false accusations?
1. The Bibles says, “When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers: ‘In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!’” (Num. 16:4-7)
2. What happened the next day?
3. The Bible says, “When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.’” (Num. 16:19-21)
4. But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said to the Lord, “Will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
5. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’” (Num. 16:23)
6. So Moses warned the people and they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
7. The Bible says, “Then Moses said, ‘This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.’” (Num. 16:28-30)
8. “As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, ‘The earth is going to swallow us too!’ And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.” (Num. 16:31-35)
F. What would you be thinking and how would you respond if you had seen all this?
1. I don’t think I would be in a hurry to rebel against Moses and the Lord. How about you?
2. But in verse 41 we read, “The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. ‘You have killed the LORD’s people,’ they said.”
3. So God showed up again and said to Moses, “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”
4. Again Moses fell facedown and intervened for them.
5. The Lord disciplined them with a plague, and 14,700 people died.
6. The mistake of rebellion can be so costly.
G. I wish I had time to talk about Absalom’s rebellion against his father, King David.
1. And on a positive note, I wish we had time to talk about David’s refusal to rebel against King Saul even though Saul was evil and had been rejected by God as king.
2. David refused to lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed.
II. Our Lessons
A. So that is their stories, let’s talk for a minute about our lessons.
1. I hope that to some degree the lessons for us are obvious.
B. God is the highest authority there is, and rebellion against God is just plain foolishness.
1. No one can oppose God and win. Amen!
C. And God has put authority structures in place for our own blessing, and to rebel against them is a mistake.
1. Please understand that I’m not talking about authority structures that are wrong and abusive.
2. Of course, those kinds of things need to be opposed and corrected in godly ways.
3. But when such is not the case, then our attitude toward those in authority must be one of respect and compliance.
4. That’s why there is so much Scripture about submission to authority.
5. Consider these verses from 1 Peter 2, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” (2:13-18)
D. Therefore, to honor God and avoid the mistake of rebellion, I want to encourage us to cooperate with and submit to the authority of the following:
1. To God. “‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God.” (James 4:6-7) That’s where it all starts.
2. To government and its laws.
2. To employers.
3. To our husbands, if we are wives. Paul writes, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” (Eph. 5:22).
4. To our parents, if we are children. “Children, obey your parents in Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” (Eph. 6:1-3)
5. To our Spiritual leaders. “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Heb. 13:17)
6. All these are in authority over us to lead us, protect us, and help us.
E. There is great blessing in humbling ourselves and no rebelling against authority.
1. Let’s be sure we avoid the mistake of rebellion.
