February 15, 2022: Day 35 – Numbers 16-19 and I Corinthians 3-4

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Three of the main families of the Levitical branch approach Moses and Aaron and let them know that they are not happy that only Moses and Aaron can approach the tabernacle and the innermost sanctum where the Lord resides.  The Levites, except for Moses and Aaron’s family, were given the gopher tasks and asked to do things that did not involve direct contact with the Lord or with those things that were considered the holiest of things.  You would think that when they see God speaking to Moses face to face that they would understand that maybe, just maybe, this was what God wanted.  But they complain and say that they should also have a part in serving God in this most intimate of ways.

Moses establishes a way in which to discern whom the Lord has chosen but the families refuse to take part in it.  As a result Moses and Aaron call upon the Lord and they perform the discernment ritual that they had said that they were going to do and the families which spoke out against Moses and Aaron were swallowed whole and alive by the ground and the others were consumed by fire.  But not to worry, their censors were kept in order for people to be reminded of the power of the Lord.  Then one more discerning act was done with the staff of Aaron and the staves of the others where Aaron’s staff buds and grows flowers and has tasty almonds on it.

The last two chapters of our readings this morning contain more rules and regulations that were to be followed especially in relationship to cleansing the unclean and the importance of making sure that if anyone or anything comes into contact with a dead body that they go through what they must go through in order to be cleansed.  

We then move to chapters 3 and 4 of I Corinthians and we find here Paul admonishing the Corinthian community to ensure that they do not choose sides between him and Apollos or any other laborer in the Lord’s field, because God and God alone is the foundation.  It is in these verses where we read that we are God’s temple.  Think about that for a minute or longer, what does it mean when you hear that you are God’s temple?  How precious are you in the sight of God that He would make you His temple?  That’s pretty significant and something that must turn our understanding of ourselves from being without value, to being precious in the sight of God.  

Paul’s reprobation of the church centers on those within the church who boast on their positions of power within the community and trust in those positions as if they will save them and provide them with all that they need.  Paul uses himself as a foil against them and states that he has shown the way in which we ought to interact with those around us: when reviled, we bless, when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we speak kindly.  This is quite the opposite of what we see happening around us, so this is a good measuring stick for us to see if we are able to hold up to the standards that Paul sets for us.