BETWEEN THE NUMBERS
ENEMIES
Numbers 16:1-35
-Years ago I was talking to a woman about a situation she was in.
-She was describing someone that was causing problems her in life and was asking me for advice.
-And she used A WORD that shocked me!
-People are usually pretty careful about what words they use around their pastor.
-She said, “That woman is a...ENEMY!”
-It shocked me because I’d never heard someone refer to someone else as their enemy.
-I’d never really given much thought about having personal enemies. Who they are. Why they are. And what to do about it.
-I know the word enemy is a biblical term…
-But in my mind enemies were always groups or nations.
-“Al Qaeda, the USSR, Beaver Nation.
-Up until the conversation with that lady I can honestly say I’d never really considered anyone an enemy of mine.
-We may not use that word but we have all had enemies.
-Today in Numbers we’re looking at an incident involving Moses and some enemies who arose in his camp.
-And my prayer is that this passage will give us some insights about dealing with our own enemies.
16:1 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.
-Some times we get bogged down in our Bible reading when we read about tribes and who was a son of whom.
-But if you pay close attention you catch these little details.
-Korah, the instigator of this conspiracy against Moses, was a grandson of Kohath.
-But Kohath wasn’t just the grandfather of Korah, he was also the grandfather of Moses.
-So the man leading the conspiracy against Moses was his first cousin Korah. Some of you may have cousins like that!
2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.
-It’s no small thing that Korah had done to Cousin Moses.
-He has gone out and actively recruited other prominent leaders to gang up on Moses and stage a little coup.
-We’ve all seen people do things like this.
-Instead of talking to someone and working out their differences, they start rallying support.
-They spread seeds of dissension. They start lobbying, lying and conniving to undermine the people in power.
-Maybe you’ve been part of something like this. It’s ugly stuff.
3 They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?”
-Korah was the one with the axe to grind. He was the one who was unhappy. He was the ringleader of the opposition party.
-And by the time he talks to Moses you’ll notice that he has designated himself the official spokesperson for all of God’s people. With a crowd, he was feeling confident.
-“Everyone is saying…everyone thinks…everyone is mad at you.”
-We’ve all seen this before.
-Somehow, for some reason, Korah and his crowd felt slighted by the prominent role of Moses.
-For some reason they had it in for Moses.
-For some reason he was threatened by the success of Moses.
-It’s important to note that Korah and all the Kohathites had a very important and distinguished role in Israel.
-Down in verse 15 we’re told that their job was to carry all of the most holy things when the Tabernacle was moved.
-Of all the Levitical priests in Israel only the Kohathites had this distinguished privilege of guarding the sacred temple objects.
-If you look down to verses 8-11 Moses brought this up to them:
8 Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them? 10 Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites.
-Korah was overlooking what he had and coveting (or resenting) what Moses had. He had a ministry but he wanted Moses ministry
-Church: Jealousy, bitterness, pride, and critical spirits are a proven recipe for creating enemies.
-Instead of sticking with his family, instead of supporting God’s chosen leader, Korah became an enemy of Moses that day.
WHAT QUALIFIES SOMEONE AS AN ENEMY? (vs 1-3)
-In our text we’re told that:
-Korah conspired against Moses…he was active in opposing him.
-Korah got other people to turn against Moses…250 other leaders
-Korah assassinated the character of Moses…saying things that weren’t true about him.
-We may not use the word “enemy” very often, but many of us have had people do these same kinds of things to us.
-Perhaps that’s why Jesus mentioned enemies over 20 times in his teachings.
-Enemies are people who oppose us. (Mt 5:44)
-This happens in big and small ways at work, with neighbors maybe even with family.
-If someone is always working against you, and they want to see you fail they could rightfully be considered enemies.
-Enemies are people who oppress us. (Mt 5:39-41)
-People who are forcing us to do something we don’t want to do.
-People who are keeping us from something we’re trying to do.
-People that have some type of leverage, power, or control over us and using it to their full advantage.
-If you know anyone like that…they may be an enemy.
-Enemies are people who hate us. (Lk 6:22)
-Jesus warned us that some people would hate us just because we are followers of his.
-But an enemy might hate you for all kinds of reasons.
-Because of something you did years ago, or for something you didn’t do, or for no reason at all.
-Sometimes people hate other people because they just hateful.
-The kids say, “Haters gonna hate!”
-But besides all of the garden variety nonsense surrounding our enemies there is something even more insidious at work.
-Enemies are people who work for the Enemy. (Lk 23:34)
-Satan loves to stir up strife, discord and hostility among people.
-He loves to antagonize God’s people by raising up enemies against us. And they don’t usually know they’re working for him.
-He wants to rile us up and get us to be enemies of others.
-He wants you to become an enemy to your spouse, an enemy to your church leadership, and enemy to Jesus Christ.
-Jesus taught us how to handle enemies, but he certainly doesn’t want for us to be the enemy of others.
-Enemies oppose but Christians pray for the opposition.
-Mtt 5:44, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
-Enemies oppress us but Xians don’t try to settle the score.
Mt 5:39-41 “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
-People may hate us…but we aren’t in the hating business.
-We just count it all up as blessings. Jesus said in…
-Lk 6:22 “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.”
-Moses wasn’t being an enemy to anyone but you can be sure Satan was behind this enemy uprising.
-His enemies were opposing him and questioning him constantly, but he consistently prayed for them.
-That’s not to say these enemies didn’t have an impact on him.
-Imagine that you’re Moses and you’re in your office conducting business. It’s Tuesday and you’re writing on your scrolls, minding your own business and suddenly an angry mob of 250 leaders, led by your cousin show up to confront you.
-Do you think that might have had an impact on Moses?
4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.
-Instant overwhelming emotions for Moses.
-When we are attacked some of us get angry, some get a pit in our stomach, some go quiet, others cry, some get angry and yell or argue…but we all know how it feels to be attacked.
WHAT IMPACT DO ENEMIES HAVE ON US?
-Enemies cause us to question ourselves.
-Sometimes we think these biblical heroes were bullet proof but they were just people.
-Even if your outward appearance seems tough when enemies are attacking…we often begin to doubt ourselves and wonder if they are right.
-Numbers tells us that Moses was the humblest man on the earth and some of the commentators suggest he was doubting himself.
-He hadn’t done anything wrong, but may have been questioning himself and his own leadership here.
-Laura and I had to sit through a series of interviews when we were being considered for church planting.
-These interviews were done by a panel of church planting experts who would ask us questions about all kinds of things.
-On the morning of the third day of all this, they brought us in to tell us we had passed the assessment and they believed that we should plant the church here in McMinnville.
-But one guy, out of nowhere says to me in front of this whole panel and Laura… “Erik, do you respect your wife?”
-That seemed like kind of a trap question.
-I was kind of shocked by this but said, “Yes. I respect my wife.”
-And then he said, “Well you don’t always act like it.”
-Everyone looked at that guy like he was crazy. Several panel members came up afterwards and reassured me he was off base.
-My wife reassured me that she felt respected by me.
-But I have to tell you that little episode was in my head and my heart for weeks. I questioned myself as a husband.
-I had doubts about whether to plant this church.
-The Enemy intended that man’s critical question to cut me and deflate me, and diminish my confidence and it worked.
-Enemies have that effect on us.
-We can’t know for certain, but it’s likely that Moses experienced those same kinds of thoughts and emotions.
Enemies cause us to doubt God.
-If you ever been a leader it’s easy to let the critics get into your head and start wondering if you’ve misheard God.
-“Maybe I’m not a good leader. Maybe these people are right.”
-“Maybe I’m the one who’s got it all wrong.”
-Again, it’s only speculation, but Moses could have been experiencing those kinds of doubts.
-He fell on his face which means he was looking for God’s assurance and direction in this matter.
-Often times when people step into the front lines of ministry they get shot down by an enemy…who was sent by the Enemy.
-I want you to see how Moses dealt with these people. We can learn a lot about dealing with enemies from this story.
DEALING WITH ENEMIES
Moses prayed about his enemies. (vs 4)
-Before he argued with them. Before he pointed out the flaw in their thinking. Before he did anything he prayed.
-He turned immediately to God. Immediately.
-First thing. Fell flat on his face and prayed.
-Moses does this 6 times in Numbers. Falls down in humility, in desperation, seeking God in the situation he’s in.
-Many painful mistakes could be avoided in our lives if we’d follow this kind of example.
-Have you ever had someone attack you and you just let them have it? How might that have turned out different if you’d have stopped and prayed first?
-Ever had someone send you a scathing email, or say something hurtful to you oe Facebook and you just unleashed the wrathful fiery typing fingers of death upon them?
-What if you would have stopped and prayed first?
-The truth of the matter is humbling to admit. We often create enemies by our response to critics and criticism.
-Some of us have enemies that didn’t have to become enemies.
-Moses was certainly praying for guidance but he was also praying for those people who opposed him.
-When the enemies of Jesus were nailing him to the cross he said, -“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
-When our enemies go on the attack…we pray for them.
Moses surrendered the matter to God. (vs 5-7)
5 Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence. 6 Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. 7 Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the Lord. Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”
-Instead of defending himself, instead of making apologies for things he didn’t do, instead of arguing or pointing out flaws in these attacking enemies….Moses appealed to God.
-He said, “I’m going to let God be the judge in this matter.”
-He knows my heart, he knows your heart, let him decide who’s in the right. God knows who’s in the right.
-There is a great lesson here for those who feel like they have to defend themselves against any criticism or attack:
-Sometimes it’s enough just to know you’re right, instead of trying to prove you’re right to someone who says you’re wrong.
-Ps 7:8 “Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.”
-That’s how we take the high road with enemies, by turning the matter over to the Lord.
-Moses summoned those leaders to this mini show down and of course some of them said, “we’re not coming.”
-And in vs 15 the ever patient Moses finally starts to lose his composure a bit. But I want you to notice what he does.
15 Then Moses became very angry…and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”
Moses vented his frustration/anger to God. (vs 15)
-Again and again, Moses just keeps taking it back to God, taking it back to God, taking it back to God.
-And while is trying to be a good guy and handle things right…
19 Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance.
-The whole nation has now joined in the witch hunt, they’re ready to unseat Moses and Aaron from leadership…probably kill them.
-vs 20 God shows up and is prepared to destroy these enemies.
-But surprisingly, in vs 22 Moses pleads on behalf of his enemies.
-He never lifted a hand or spoke a word against them.
Moses left vengeance to the Lord. (vs 31-35)
-You can read about the fate of Korah and his followers in the end of this chapter. The earth opened up and swallowed them alive.
-And you know, many times when you leave turn your enemies over to God, things have a way of working themselves out.
-Paul said in Roman 12:19 “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.”
-During the Revolutionary War there was a pastor in Ephrata, Pennsylvania whose name was Peter Miller.
-In that same town was a man named Michael Wittman who hated Pastor Miller. He’d delighted in humiliating, and assaulting this man of God who would never fight back.
-As it turns out Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and was sentenced to hang.
-Upon receiving this news Pastor Miller traveled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to ask General Washington for a pardon.
-Washington heard the old preacher out but said, "I cannot grant you the life of your friend."
-"My friend!" said Pastor Miller. "He's the bitterest enemy I have." George Washington said, "What?" "You walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy?”
-He was so moved by this request that he granted the pardon and the two men returned home as friends.
-Before we get inflated with self-righteousness in the face of enemies… Before we seek to settle the score…
-Before we take matters into our own hands and go on the attack
-Before we demand that justice be served…
-We should remember…that Jesus died on a cross to save the lives of his enemies.
Romans 5:10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
-Jesus went to the cross for his enemies. And by his great mercy we have can now be called his friends.
-If you have enemies…pray
-When critics attack…turn it over to God
-When you want to retaliate…leave vengeance to God
-And always remember that your enemies are probably under the influence of the ENEMY
-And your Savior, wants to be their Savior too. What they see in you may determine, what they believe about him.
