Going Too Far

Numbers 16:2-3,7b,12-14: "250 Israelite men (were) 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?' . . . . When Moses heard this, he fell face down . . . (Moses said), 'the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!' . . . . Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. but 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 . . . . No, we will not come!' "


The Numbers 16 passage is quite telling of a people who suffered Divine judgment for their rebellion against God and His chosen leadership. In Numbers 13-14, we find that the Israelites are on the verge of entering God's Promised Land, a land full of the blessing of vegetation and livestock. Although God had commanded the people to enter the land, assuring them that He would provide victory over any people who would try to stop them, the Israelites were not willing to step out in faith to receive God's blessing. They were fearful that this "land of giants" would destroy them as they entered. They could not accept God's promise that He would lead them and provide deliverance no matter how great an opposing army might be.


For their disobedience, God in turn shut the door of opportunity for them to enter the blessed land, and dictated to Moses that he must lead the recalcitrant people back into the barren desert to wander for 40 years. The Israelites then realized their missed opportunity and decided to attempt to enter the Promised Land without God's divine blessing; this act brought the attack of the Amalekites and Canaanites. These armies beat the Israelites, driving them back to the wilderness area of Hormah.


One would think that the Israelites would have seen their sin of disobedience and responded with repentance; instead, they decided to start playing the blame game. The 250 "well-known community leaders" began to question if they needed to have Moses as their leader; and as a result, they collectively approached Moses to blame him for taking them out of Egypt into the desert. They had forgotten that Egypt was a place of oppression and slavery, for they now referred to Egypt as a land "flowing with milk and honey" (16:13). In turn, they accused Moses of leading them into the desert to kill them, and they blamed Moses for failing to get them into the Promised Land. The Israelites would take comfort in finding Moses culpable for their lack of God's Divine blessings; this responsive attitude of the people eliminated their need for painful introspection of their own sin of disobedience.


These community leaders told Moses that he had gone too far in usurping authority over them, and they decided that they would lead themselves. In response, Moses told these Levites that they had gone too far in their desires to thwart God and His chosen leader for His people. Specifically, Moses said, "It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together (16:11)."


As these leaders stood before the tabernacle in opposition to Moses and Aaron, God decreed judgment upon these men for their challenge of His Divine decree. In later portions of the chapter, God caused the earth to open upon these leaders and their families, swallowing them and then closing back upon them. This unnatural and untimely death of these leaders was a Divine statement that disobedience against God would result in His responsive judgment.


Okay, so what can we learn from this sobering story of rebellion and subsequent Divine wrath? I believe that this tragic story began with a people who first were disobedient to God's commands for their lives; and instead of repenting of their sin, they decided to blame others, namely Moses. When they weren't able to get the blessings of God (i.e. the Promised Land), they decided to abandon loyalty to God and take control of their own lives. Their anger and frustration continued to mount until abject rebellion was the eventual outcome. God was unwilling to relent from His righteous anger toward these people, and many died as a result of their sin.


Today, I see many people who follow the path of these rebellious people mentioned above. God may have a prescriptive plan for their lives; however, they do not follow obediently in faith. As the window of Divine blessing closes for a lack of obedience, people today respond with these words, "God, if you're not going to help me or answer my prayer, I'm not going to follow you." They get mad at God for not giving them what they want and start to blame Him for not getting the answers for which they are looking. They see God as a cosmic bell-hop that should give them what they want, and if He's not willing to provide, then they don't need Him.


God does not cower to those who would be rebellious against Him. In His Divine Holiness, God will bring to account those who would defy Him. Galatians 6:7-8 proclaims what disobedience will produce: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction."


Our response to sin should be repentance and submission to the Lord. Don't permit the seed of sin the opportunity to germinate within your soul; rather, recognize that you have been disobedient to the Lord and have treated with contempt His Holiness. God is Holy and worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. It is His Will to which we must yield; to attempt to thwart God is to bring His judgment. Keep your sin in check and avoid going too far.