Humble before Man and God

In Numbers 16, Korah led a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. He stirred up 250 leaders to challenge their authority.

"We are all holy. What gives you the right to rule over us?" was their argument.

Moses and Aaron responded by falling on their faces before these men.

They humbled themselves.

They plead with these men to remember the position of service that God had given them in the tabernacle. And then they challenged them to a duel.

"Come in the morning with your censers and we'll let God decide," was the challenge.

The next day, God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the people. He would wipe them out for their rebellion.

Moses and Aaron responded by falling on their faces before God.

They humbled themselves.

They plead for mercy, asking God to punish those who were guilty, not all the people.

Korah came before the tabernacle. Moses said to the people that if these men died natural causes, then they were innocent. But if the earth swallowed them up, then they were guilty.

The earth swallowed them up.

Some of the accusers challenged the authority even further by refusing to come to the duel.

They were burned by fire from the tabernacle.

The next day, the people came back to Moses and Aaron and grumbled, "You have killed the people of the LORD."

Again, God told Moses and Aaron to separate from the people and He would just kill them all.

Again, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, pleading for mercy.

Moses sent Aaron out into the camp with the censer to appease God and stop the plague that had already started.

About 15,000 people died in those two days.

Moses and Aaron illustrated humble leadership.

They put the honor of God and the benefit of the people before their own power.

They could have stepped aside and said, "Okay, God. We're tired of them, too. Let's move on without this dead weight."

But they remembered God's promise to bring this people to the promised land. They remembered the glory that God had revealed in Egypt and how that glory would be diminished if the people died.

They remembered that they were servants of God, not partners. They were to do His will, not their own.

How are we leading in the realms where God has placed us?