The Real Target
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
And Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?" (Numbers 16:8-11).
The story of Korah and his cohorts reminds me of Eve in the Garden. Like Eve, Korah and his men used seeds of truth as the basis of their attack on Moses and Aaron:
They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and self-righteously exclaimed to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:3).
And similar to Adam’s response to Eve, some of those who were on the edges of the conflict started thinking Korah and his gang had a point.
Korah and his friends are correct. The Lord is among the congregation. But the next statement is false: Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?
Their words drip with judgment and condemnation, but the core issue is pride rooted in discontent.
Korah and his cohorts attack Moses and Aaron, but who is the real target of their vitriol? Moses and Aaron did not choose their roles. Moses makes it clear: God is the One Who placed Moses and Aaron in leadership:
Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together (Numbers 16:11).
The Israelites knew God appointed Moses and Aaron. The “chiefs of the congregation” should have known better than to buy into the cries of, “Unfair! Unfair!” Their presentation complaint targeted Moses and Aaron. But the Lord’s response reveals Moses was not their target. He was.
The enemy’s tactics have not changed since the Garden of Eden when the serpent whispered lies in Eve’s ears. He cloaked his lies in seeds of truth, enough to convince Eve his accusations against God were reliable:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths (Genesis 3:1-7).
LIFEGIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
I am seventy-two years old, and the enemy continues to try to trap me into taking up an offense for someone else without knowing the whole story. He still tempts me to believe ill with judgment of another when judgment is not mine to make. The enemy regularly uses a tiny seed of truth wrapped up in lies to catch me off guard. Scripture warns me that every single time I take the bait, chaos will disrupt my peace and sometimes the peace of others.
A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul (Proverbs 18:6-7).
The enemy twisted truth, and Eve doesn’t seem to think twice about believing him. Instead of replicating Eve’s downward spiral, may we pray:
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! (Psalm 141:3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Thursday, 09 June 2022.
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