Today's Scripture Reading (December 10, 2021): Numbers 16
In "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen makes a distinction between pride and
vanity. According to Austen, "vanity
and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A
person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of
ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." Maybe another
way of phrasing it is that pride can be healthy, but vanity never is. Pride is
involved in the things that we think we can do, and it allows us to try. But
vanity is different; it is tied up in people-pleasing because we are overly
concerned about what people think of us. And what people think of us is always
skewed; it is never the truth.
Moses and Korah were distant cousins. Korah was of the
tribe of Levi and the sub-grouping known as the Kohathites. And according to
Numbers 26, so was Moses.
Kohath was the forefather of Amram; the
name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to
the Levites in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses and their
sister Miriam (Numbers 26:58b-59).
Because Korah was a Kohathite, the people held him in high
esteem. Not only was he related to Moses, but the Kohathites were the group of
Levites who were tasked with carrying the pieces of the tabernacle whenever
Israel moved. And that meant that they were highly admired.
But Korah let what other people thought of him to go his
head. He started to believe, not just that he was related to Moses by being
from the same tribe (Levite) and sub-grouping (Kohathite), but that he was the
leadership equal of Moses. Every rebellion requires a leader to unite the
people, and Korah was the perfect leader for this movement because he had
allowed his vanity to influence his pride. The problem is that Korah was not a
servant of anyone. He believed that he was special and would not serve Moses,
but he also would not serve God. And that was the main difference between the
two men. Korah believed that he was the one who should lead, and Moses had no
such belief.
When God called Moses, Moses's reaction was quite different
from that of Korah.
Moses
said to the Lord, "Pardon
your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since
you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
The Lord said to him, "Who gave
human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them
sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach
you what to say."
But
Moses said, "Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else."
Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses
and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can
speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to
see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will
help both of you speak and will teach you what to do (Exodus 10-15).
Moses
understood something that Korah had missed; that the real leader of Israel was
God, and that when Moses was a success, it was only because he was obeying the
dictates of the God he served; the God of the burning bush and Israel.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 17
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