Weekly Torah

As a child of a Baptist pastor (until my dad’s death on 4 July 2000), this week’s Torah Portion has always conveyed a certain amount of “delicious” irony for me – especially chapter 16. Chapter 16 opens with three members of the tribe of Levi (Korah, Dathan, and Abiram) confronting Moses regarding his leadership abilities and the direction he is taking the people of God.

Moses reacts (v. 4-7), not by forming a sub-committee or by calling a congregational meeting/vote on the charges made against him, but by calling on God to decide who is correct and who is in the wrong. Moses asks God to show through the burning of incense who should be the leader of the people.

Korah brings all the people (v. 19) to the tabernacle the next day in anticipation of what I would like to call “let’s vote to get rid of the ‘preacher.’” It should be noted that in the Hebrew text, it actually reads that Korah caused all of the people to be gathered against Moses (Hiphil Imperfect 3MS). However, God shows up in His glory and causes Korah to end up being cast into Sheol, along with all his family and the families of Dathan and Abiram (v. 20-35). This is a story of individuals struggling for power and control but discovering that the only person truly in control is God Almighty.

I think the lesson from this portion is fairly obvious – God picks his people for His intentions for their lives. The Israelites assumed and presumed, but ultimately God had selected Moses to lead His people, and that decision should have been respected. Korah was obviously a voice in his community and could draw the attention of the people. However, Korah was not God’s choice for prophet and leader of the Jewish people, regardless of his power and influence.

Too often, especially today, we are guilty of the sins of assumption and presumption as to who would make a good leader or what is the best choice. This is sometimes evident in the choices organizations make for religious leaders. We choose by appearance or style (much as Samuel tried to do when he would have picked anyone but David to be the future king), and we forget the heart of the person. The best looking, smartest and most capable are not always the ones God chooses for the spiritual mission, but He does know who is best, and His lead is the one to follow.

Incidentally, my wonderful dad was not tall and did not have a deep, resonant voice, but he was a wonderful pastor. In fact, at his funeral, several of his former churches either attended or sent messages to my mama to let her know that they discovered what a wonderful pastor Jack Downey was after he left, because they never were able to have someone of his high pastoral quality again. It was important for my mama to hear, but a lesson the churches learned a little too late. Anyway, and back to the Torah portion, the Israelites discovered the high cost of rebellion – 14,700 lives lost (v. 49) – but there is no reason we cannot learn from their experience. Follow God, follow God’s leaders (but make sure they are His), and go in His direction and not your own. Shalom and blessings!