Introducing “The Complaint Department”
We are all professional complainers, right? We all know how to complain. We all know how complaining makes us feel. Most of us know that complaining doesn’t solve anything. Back in the Old Testament, it was Moses’s job to listen to the complaints of God’s chosen people as they journeyed on their Exodus. However, their complaints didn’t result in feeling like we do. In our series, “The Complaint Department,” we are going through six different situations where God’s chosen people complained, leading to sinful behavior, and resulting in unfavorable action from them.
My goal for this series is to help us understand the impact of our own complaining, understanding how our complaints can lead to hardships that result in actions that don’t often benefit us. Using the stories found with God’s chosen people, I want us to look at the opposite of their complaints to see how things may have gone differently.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What does it mean to you to “complain”?
Review of Part 3
In Part 3, we looked at Numbers 16:3 and investigated the complaint about Moses’ and Aaron’s authority and leadership. Their sinful behavior (how they missed the mark of God’s ideal in how they should live) was to obtain greed for more power and authority for themselves. It resulted in certain goods being burned because of their worship of false leaders. The coupe that started with Korah was a challenge to God’s authority and whether Moses and Aaron were using their power and authority properly. God assigned both of them to their roles. Moses and Aaron did not put themselves in these situations, for they were following the commands of Yahweh. Moses was called to lead the people out of Egypt and create a holy community under God’s command. Aaron and his lineage was put in charge of the Tabernacle and the sacrificial systems. God calls us to live a life using the gifts, skills, and resources that are imbued within us. While Moses and Aaron were following God’s command under the old covenant, we are under the New covenant. We are called to progress each today into being a follower of Christ, knowing that God will guide us with grace, mercy, and faith.
With Korah, they were put to the test to see who God actually called to lead: Aaron and Moses or Korah and his crew. Turns out, Korah was not called – and God eternally separated Korah and his leaderships from the rest of God’s chosen people. Everything related to their leader burned and disappeared. The fire burned the 250 men and an additional fourteen thousand men afterwards. The judgment that God served was a warning against pride, self-appointed authority, and resisting God’s command. For us, it’s a reminder to stay attentive to God’s guidance and trust His ways over ours.
The Fourth Complaint
Let’s look at Numbers 16:41, and investigate the complaint about the deaths of Korah. We touched on it a little in Part 3, but this was its own issue altogether.
NASB – But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who caused the death of the Lord’s people!”
NRSVUE – On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
VOICE – Nevertheless, on the very next day, all of the Israelite people railed against on Moses and Aaron. ISRAELITES: You murdered Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families, those people of the Eternal One.
Even though they just watched the test result in God’s actions, they were still ready to blame Moses and Aaron for the death of Korah, Dathan, and everyone involved. When disaster happens, it’s easy to blame those around us – even when they may not have been involved or caused the disaster to happen. How did Moses and Aaron handle it?
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How would you react after watching the event that caused the death of many people?
Responding with Blame
Israel responded to their deaths with more fire for their rebellion. It spread to more people than just the initial crowd we talked about in Part 3. Moses and Aaron did not send the judgment to them. They went to God and appealed to His power and judgment, which supported Moses and Aaron as God’s servants. Opposing them equated opposing God’s authority and provision for Israel’s worship and leadership. The congregation blame Moses and Aaron for deaths God created. Calling the rebels “the people of the Lord” shows us that they still refused to honor Yahweh at the of it all.
It’s interesting to see that they would will blame Moses for those deaths, and Moses would still continue to lead the people as part of God’s plan for them. How would be able to still serve people that blame you constantly? What would that do to your mental health and confidence in leadership? Yet, the intercession from Moses is what kept them alive. Any time God wanted to send over His judgment, Moses interceded. Moses calmed down God. Moses asked God to spare those that were without fault. Moses put himself on the line on behalf of a people who have done nothing but complain for the last few chapters.
I want to talk about blame, from a biblical perspective. They weren’t taking ownership for what happened, but were instead ready to place that burden on the others. To blame someone describes the act of holding someone responsible for a wrong, typically attributing guilt to an individual or group. We see a common of blame in Genesis 3, where Adam blames Eve and Eve then blames the serpent for the disobedience in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:12-13). The Pharisees wanted to blame Jesus for MANY things, including, but not limited to breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy (see Matt 12:10-14 and John 10:33).
Blame removes our responsibility of a certain incident. Blame removes the ability to deliver justice properly. Jesus calls us to focus on forgiveness and reconciliation above blame. We are called to take responsibility for our actions. The Israelites were called to take responsibility for their distrust of Yahweh. Yet they couldn’t. They didn’t see anything wrong with how they were acting, for they were acting in their best judgment of their current situation. Sounds like us most of the time. We act in a way that is best in our own eyes.
Christians are called to live according to God’s standards, which is reflected through the life and ministry of Jesus. We aren’t going to be like Jesus. Jesus was perfect in all capacities, which made Him perfect to be the sacrificial lamb for our sins. Our responsibility is to progress each day to be more like that. We may take steps back. We may mess up. We may fall off the path. Yet, God meets us there with love and compassion. God doesn’t meet us like the Israelites did with Moses and Aaron. God meets us with a “forgive and forget mindset.” God wants us not to hold on to the guilt and shame, which is what the Israelites were trying to give to Moses and Aaron. We learn from our past, understand where we went wrong, learn how to correct it, and progress forward. It’s both simple and not, all at the same time.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Think of a situation where you wear blamed for something that you shouldn’t have? How did that make you feel? How did you overcome that blame?
Understanding God’s Judgment in Our World
So what happened as a result of their blame – destruction. Quite literally, they started destroying Israel. As we talked about in Part 3, more people had died as a result of their allegiance to Korah and rebellion to Yahweh. There was a plague that covered the people and 14,700 had died. Let’s talk more about the plague that came in Numbers 16:47.
NASB – Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
NRSVUE – So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. Head put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
VOICE – So Aaron rushed into the crowd with his sacred censer, even as people had already begun to suffer the plague. He stood there covering their sins with incense smoke,
The plague was God’s judgment for charging Moses and Aaron for the death of Korah’s company and refusing to acknowledge God’s power in appointing them. Judgment came swiftly, confirming the seriousness of rebellion against God and the danger of viewing the situations on human like terms. Plagues showcase God’s control over His creation and His ability to use natural phenomena to fulfill His purposes. Our lesson is to remind ourselves of our faithfulness to God and the dangers of idolatry and rebellion.
Now, as we talked about in each part of this series, how we can follow a God that would do this to His people. This is even a question that I still rack my mind around. Historians and theologians view the events of Numbers 16 is a real, factual circumstance for the people at the time of this event. Documentations from Josephus, 1 Clement, and the Qumran shares support of the historicity of this event. This event could have been a physical interpretation or a divine one. However, for us, we need to read this event in the lens of Jesus. The events of Numbers 16 happened at a specific time and place in a specific place of history. This may not apply to us, but it’s important to recognize the harm that occurred originally. When it comes to our relationship with God, our promises and covenant come in the New Testament through Jesus.
In the Old Testament, where we often read about God’s severity in these punishments, God is described as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and truth. God extends forgiveness freely, but will not allow a persistent, unrepentant rebellion without consequence. In the New Testament, we see Paul affirm God’s nature to include mercy for the humble and judgment for the unrepentant. Overall, we see this message: willful defiance remains under God’s judgment. Numbers 16 is an example warning against having a hardened-heart towards God.
For us, we will most like not see the events of Numbers 16 happen in our life. However, we do recognize and acknowledge that our decisions have consequences. When we intentionally turn away from God’s commands and persist stubbornly in rebellion, we will have to face the consequences of our decisions. We must also remember that this mindset comes from people that profess to be a follower of God. Those not in a relationship with God are not held to the same standard, and we cannot judge or condemn someone for not living to that standard if they are not in a relationship with God. These are God’s people making the choice to not trust God. God’s ways are counter-cultural, and it’s hard to accept that as a reality to live in. The ways of the world are temporary and ever-changing, where God’s ways are eternal and ever-lasting. God’s ways are good and helpful for the path that He created for us. God’s ways are full of love, grace, mercy, and justice to ensure that we are treated in the way that we are called to treat others. We don’t have to blame others for the lack of our actions. God wants us to take responsibility for our shortcomings and work towards repentance and reconciliation. When we do this, we will find our path into the Promised Land.
REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: As Christians, we are called not to rebel against God’s command. How difficult have you experienced this to be in our world today? How do you stay true to God’s ways when the world pushes a different narrative.
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