Sending

When God Sends, He Protects

1 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent [h] 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3 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?"
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

28 Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, [j] then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."

-Numbers 15:1-4, 28-30

Just yesterday, Numbers 12 commented that "Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth." Now, this is humorous in and of itself if Moses wrote it! (Like the person who won a badge for being the most humble person in the office and got it removed the next day for actually wearing it.) However, if we think about it in context, it's probably quite right based on what we see in Moses' character (interceding for the Israelites, reasoning with the people) and as it's compared to the Pharaoh that they were used to ruling over them. Even if Moses wasn't "the most humble person on the face of the earth," his character seems much more humble than that of Pharaoh.

So Moses' humble attitude might have taken the people off guard and in this passage several times people from the assembly (here: Korah, Dathan and Abiram) try to overtake Moses' authority. They must've thought this humble guy and easy push-over. But while it might've been easy to push Moses over, there was no pushing over God. God set Moses apart in this position of power and authority. Since the authority came from God, not from man, God protected him from those that would question his position. When God sends, He protects.

When God Sends, He Provides

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil[b] spirits.
8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."

12They went out and preached that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. -Mark 6:6-13

Now we have Jesus calling and sending the 12, sending them out 2 by 2, giving them authority. It seems meaningful to me that Jesus called, sent, gave authority and also gave them companionship. Moses wasn't even in his position of authority by himself, but accompanied by Aaron and Miriam.

But he also told them not to take anything. Can you imagine leaving home without a savings account, without your possessions, your suitcases, nothing? But, they were to stay in the homes of the people. A few weeks ago, the Luke Bible Study commented on a similar passage, and most people agreed that it doesn't mean that we today should leave and make everyone else provide for our needs. But, I think there is something special that we see here. There is a very real message that God provides for His servants. While we may not need to rely on material positions or housing, we may recognize that God will provide the faith, confidence, abilities to those whom He sends.

Additionally, I've been praying that God would call out new leaders for GCF, as we look to next year. This week we read Romans 10:15- 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Just as Jesus sent the twelve, assuring them that He would provide, I pray that He would continue to call His servants to work in GCF leadership and use us to continue that process of calling out leaders.

My church has done a particularly good job at doing this. Recognizing gifts and talents, the COB calls on everyone who is a part of the congregation to have a role in the ministry of the church, practicing very actively the 'ministry of all believers.' And I continue to pray about my call to ministry... where and when and how, recognizing the 'sending' that my church has done throughout many years of my life- from sunday school teaching to servant evangelism to youth ministry to BVS to a call to ordination in the COB and seminary. "And how can they preach unless they are sent?"

So, this morning I am reminded both of the value of sending and of being sent... because when we are sent, God protects and provides us... if we are obedient to His call.