Jonathan Switzer: Dangerous! Jealous to be Thought Holy

Danger! Danger! Jealous to Be Thought Holy

When push comes to shove, many of us are inclined to shove back.

Inauguration day 2009. I left from my house at 7:45 and headed south on Rt. 15. Immediately, I got stuck in a traffic jam caused by two separate accidents within a half mile of each other right before Rt. 15 connected with my turn onto Rt. 340 S. After taking a good twenty minutes to get past the rubberneckers, I headed south another 15 minutes to the MARC train station at Point of Rocks, MD. I met my friends and we got on the train headed into Washington D.C.

Surprisingly, the train that was supposedly sold out was only half full. Apparently, the cold and 2 million people expected on the mall that day had scared off the other ticket holders.

Once we arrived at Union Station in Downtown D.C., we entered the crowds. My friend, who works in an office that overlooks the White House, deftly maneuvered our little group of four (his wife and mother were with us), down streets that would keep us out of the massive crowds. We walked the quarter mile or so from the train station through the cold January weather to his office. Once inside, we watched the inauguration with his fellow officemates in a warm corner office overlooking the White House and filled with great food and drink. Later that day, the inaugural parade was scheduled to go by right in front of the office windows.

I was reminded, with all of the crowds and my friend’s high powered office mates, how small one person is. Specifically, me. Having voted against the incoming president, I also was a bit on the outside politically that day.

I got to feeling a bit insecure and wondered if I should boldly express my convictions. Here was a chance to be a martyr for my political convictions. I was tempted to blow up my importance and act bigger than I was. Had I done so, I would have made a complete fool of myself. I would have also been acting like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

The Pharisees felt crowded by Jesus’ great popularity with the crowds. Their jealousy of His spiritual authority and popularity was very similar to that of Korah who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, in the desert, just after the Exodus.

I’d like to examine the similarities between Korah, the Pharisees and my inauguration day temptation. It is good for a little guy like me to remind myself of the important lessons to be learned about contentment and trusting God’s purposes.

Korah
Korah was Moses and Aaron’s cousin. All of them were in the Kohath clan of the Levite tribe. All of them left Egypt at the great Exodus together. God had heard their cry and rescued them.

So, when Moses became the great hero of the Exodus and leader of the nation as they headed into the desert, Korah might have felt pretty important. He was a first cousin of the champion of the nation, Moses himself!

Then, unfortunately, many of the Israelites turned wicked at Mt. Sinai and started to worship the golden calf. Korah, though, might have been right there with his cousin Aaron wondering if it was okay to worship the golden thing. Korah, as a Levite, very likely was one who strapped a sword to his side and started to slay Israelites with passion as a response to God’s judgment on the nation for their idolatry. His passion along with that of the rest of the Levites ended up winning them a special place in God’s favor.

As a result, God gave them responsibility for the tabernacle. They would get no inheritance in the Promised Land but rather, God would be their inheritance. They had willingly stood together for God when the nation turned wicked. They were very special indeed. God honored them highly.

Moses and Aaron, in response to God’s commands, set up the tabernacle and organized the tribes around it. The Levites, Korah’s tribe, were given to Aaron to help with the Tabernacle. The Kohathites, Korah’s clan, were specifically responsible for carrying all the articles of the Tabernacle. They actually got to carry the holy things whenever they moved.

So, the Kohath Levites were really important. Korah was one of them. So far, so good.

However, things continue to be a bit stressful out there in the desert.

Hard Times Come
About ten months later, the ten spies brought back a negative report about the Promised Land which led to all the people rebelling against God. As a result, God judged the nation and sentenced them to forty years wandering in the desert. No one alive would be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Their children would, but they would not. Murmurs began to circle of stoning Moses and Aaron.

Apparently, somewhere about this time, Korah began to get jealous.

Even though he was special, of the clan of Kohath, the tribe of Levi and one of those responsible for carrying the holy things of the tabernacle, he was still not actually allowed into the tabernacle.

That was reserved only for the most holy ones; for Aaron and his sons…and Moses.

At some point, after the ten-spy rebellion, Korah felt he had had enough. He gave in to his jealousy. The nation had lost the Promised Land. They were facing decades, the rest of their lives, in the desert. Sure, Moses and Aaron had led them out of Egypt with all the great signs and wonders, but now, their leadership seemed to be faltering. Perhaps, God needed a better leader like Korah talking to Him in the Holy Tent.

So, Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron. He and those with him said, Num 16:3
"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?"

The reality is that Moses had not set himself above anyone. God had called and purified Moses and Aaron. They were simply obeying God’s commands. They were holy and played a special role, not because of any great perfection, but rather because of their humility to obey and serve God alone.

Korah, on the other hand, was being driven by jealousy. The result of his jealousy was that Korah was destroyed by fire from God’s presence. Those of his followers who refused to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle were swallowed up by the ground itself. The gold censers belonging to Korah and his 250 followers were hammered over the altar as an enduring warning against jealousy driven rebellion.

Then a plague broke out because the rest of the Israelites wanted to blame Moses and Aaron for the Korah tragedy. After 14 thousand plus died, God stopped the plague, in response to Moses and Aaron’s intercession, and set up a system to show who was God’s chosen for the priesthood. Aaron’s rod that budded was the result of that process.

All this happened because Korah gave in to jealousy. All because he wanted to be considered as important as Moses and Aaron. Korah’s jealousy, led him to rebellion, which led to his early and dramatic demise at the hand of a holy God.

Aaron’s rod that budded was and is a powerful reminder to all. We must not let jealousy, the desire to be thought of as holy without doing things God’s way, get out of hand.

Jealousy
Jealousy, lust and covetousness are always the desire to have something that someone else has, but to have it without paying the proper price for it. Jealousy and covetousness are basically a lazy, and therefore unacceptable, effort to be holy.

I want a nice car to drive around, but I don’t want to work hard enough and save enough to get one. I want a nice house with a big yard, but don’t want to work hard enough and save enough to get it. I want a different wife, but am not willing to do what’s necessary to properly love the one I have. I want to be respected at work, but I am not willing to work on my character to be worthy of respect. I want to be considered holy by the church and saints but am not willing to submit to the Holy Spirit’s work in my heart.

Cain and Abel also represent this classic struggle. One did what was right, sacrificed a lamb, and the other one did what he wanted to do and brought vegetables and fruit. One was accepted and the other was not.

As a result, Cain got jealous and killed Abel.

How is it that Abel, who did what was right, ended up suffering as though he was the one that did wrong? Jealousy had led Cain to let sin master him. Death was the result.

Jealousy, lust and covetousness are dangerous and very powerful motivators. They skew our perspective and drive intense and evil actions. James 4:1-3 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

When we want something but can’t get it, that is when we need to pay careful attention to our attitudes. If we do not, we will allow a covetous attitude to slip into our heart. Then, instead of taking our desire to God in prayer, we will be tempted to take matters into our own hands, eventually excusing sin in order to get what we want.

Similarly, consider Eve in the garden. The serpent had just focused her attention on the forbidden fruit. He had made it seem very desirable. Did Eve go to God about it and ask if she could have it? No. Instead, her desire turned covetous and she chose to disobey God and take it on her own. Her covetous action was sin and brought death to all mankind.

The exact same thing happened with Cain and Korah.

Cain wanted to be accepted. He was jealous that Abel got accepted. Did he go to God and ask what would help him to be accepted? No. Instead, his desire turned covetous and he killed Abel in order to feel better.

Korah was jealous of Moses and Aaron’s special position before God. Did he go to God and ask how he could be closer to God? No. Instead, his jealousy created a rebellion and thousands died.

Going to God to Ask/Talk
We need to ask God when we want something. We need to deal with God. We need to quit avoiding the issue and deal directly with God. He will tell us what needs to be done and how to do it. He will provide the grace necessary to do what’s right. He will accurately confront our bad attitudes. He alone is able to do so.

Until we turn to God, until we let Him change our attitudes, our mind will naturally veer toward jealousy, lust and covetousness and lead us to bitterness, hate and resentment. When that happens, lying, cheating, stealing and even murder are not far behind.

So, often I am the cause of conflicts. Though, I want to place the blame on others, my attitudes are the cause.

Like the Pharisees
This description of Jealousy accurately describes the Pharisaical approach to righteousness. They did not want to do it God’s way, but their own. They did not want to deal with the Temple. They had closed the door to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Key of Knowledge. They had not entered themselves and would not let others enter.

As a result, they wanted to kill Jesus. Just like Cain and just like Korah. They had to pull down someone else in order to feel good about their own lives.

Conclusion
When I left Washington on the metro to go home, I was back among my equals. The train going down was for those with more money who wanted a special seat. I was on that train because of my friend’s generosity and invitation.

So, as the metro thundered through the tunnel, the intercom periodically identifying each new stop, I was reminded that God has a purpose for me, just as I am. He could have made me a high-powered lawyer influencing the great issues of the day in Washington, D.C..

But He didn’t.

I was born the third son of a 2nd generation preacher who came from farmers in the finger lake region of New York. I didn’t go to Harvard, Yale or Cambridge.

None of those facts limit God’s ability to use my obedience and faith for great things in His Kingdom. I don’t need to try to jealously pull others down in order to make myself more important in God’s plan. I don’t need to be insecure and give in to bad attitudes.

Rather, I can choose to be content with the role God has given me.

One of Korah’s distant grandsons wrote Ps 84:10-11, “10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

Though Korah didn’t get it, his distant grandsons did. God withholds NOTHING from those whose walk is blameless. Jealousy is simply unnecessary with God. Instead of wishing that I was living someone else’ life, I have great reason to be content with mine and seek God’s will for me.

In the words of Gandalf, “that’s his path, not yours.”

That day, as I walked out of the metro and climbed into the waiting Honda minivan, I was greeted by my four boys and smiling wife. The warmth of their love was palpable. The closeness of their excitement contrasted with the massive crowds in D.C. Though the van was full, it was not crowded. I was with my family. This was my path.

If I ever need anything more, I’ll go to God with my request. After he helps my attitude to be right, I know He will do what is best for me.