Scripture
1How great is the Lord,
how deserving of praise,
in the city of our God,
which sits on his holy mountain!
2It is high and magnificent;
the whole earth rejoices to see it!
Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!
3God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers,
revealing himself as its defender.
Psalm 48:1-3
Observation
How great is the Lord! This powerful declaration of the strength of our God takes on even more poignancy when you consider who wrote and who sang this Psalm. We are told the descendants of Korah wrote this Psalm. Their ancestor had been more focused on his own greatness and self -promotion. When they talk of the nations rising up against God and his city only to run away in defeat and terror you can’t help but wonder if they aren’t also referring to their own ancestors who rebelled against God and his chosen leadership through Moses and Aaron. In Psalm 48 they sing of God’s greatness to the generations, but their ancestors rose up to declaring their own greatness.
*Korah had positional authority for he was a great-grandson of Levi, the third of Jacob’s twelve sons, and a first cousin to Moses and Aaron, the Jewish leader and High Priest.
*Korah had relational authority for he was born in Egypt, at the time when the Jews were enslaved to King Pharaoh. He experienced the miraculous Exodus from Egypt and journey through the Red Sea on dry land and received the Torah at Mount Sinai along with the rest of Israel.
*Korah had financial authority for he was extremely wealthy.
The problem was that God chose Aaron to be High Priest instead of him and his jealousy led him to his downfall… literally. Korah used all of his authority to stage a rebellion that he hoped would lead to a coup and result in his being appointed as the High Priest. He was certain he would and could run things more effectively than the current leadership and he had 250 would-be fellow priests with incense to back him up. The only problem is that when God isn’t backing your power play, when your authority comes from man, no matter how great you think you are the only direction you will ultimately be going is down. While Korah sang his own praises Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and asked God to choose. “31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.” (Numbers 16:31-36) As a permanent reminder to the nation of the disastrous outcome of jealousy and rebellion, Aaron’s son Elazar was instructed to melt the pans and craft them as plates to cover the Tabernacle altar. So, every time sacrifices would be made and worship raised the priests and the people would be reminded of some powerful lessons: The safest position to take before the Lord is humility. The truest declaration to make is of God’s greatness and not my own. And, as in the case of Korah, the power of God’s redemption you simply cannot shake, is that no matter how low you have gone, God can raise you up and restore you. The descendants of Korah were now walking in the authority their ancestors had abused and misused. They were consumed in the worship of the King over all things!
Application
Let me never forget that if I’m not being consumed by You I will be consumed by every other thing. “27The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:27-29) The earth may not be opening up under me but there’s a whole lot of shaking going on. I’m either going to be swallowed up by pride seeking my own praise or swallowed up in praise seeking to humbly give all I’ve got to God. What am I being swallowed up by right now? What is consuming my attention? Is it jealousy or joy? Am I able to rejoice in someone else’s success or position? How am I using the authority God has given me? To collaborate or to compete? To tear others down or build others up? It’s easy to forget that the authority God has given me isn’t actually about me, but is about serving those God has brought around me. Am I being swallowed by fear of the future or the Fear of The Lord? There’s so much posturing and politicizing and power-grabbing that it’s easy to forget this is not the way of the Christ-follower.
Prayer
Thank you for the redemption of Korah. Their redemption is my redemption. How often you have revealed the pride, arrogance, and jealousy of my heart not to crush me but to cleanse me. This morning I stand before the altar looking at story after story of Your ability to redeem story and bring my focus back to You. I want to be swallowed up in giving You glory rather than seeking my own. I want to be taken up in singing your praises rather than seeking my own. I want to be swallowed up the security of knowing I’m your son instead of having to prove my worth. I want to walk in Your authority that has been given. Not to lord over others but to call others to Your Lordship. I come under Your Lordship Jesus.
Comments