Step Away; Don't Be Swept Away

 Numbers 16:25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

Moses was not one who wanted to be leader and get all the credit.  Indeed, he did not even want the job in the first place. (See Exodus 3)  But he accepted this position as go between for God and His people Israel. It was hard enough in the beginning: convincing people to trust God's plan when that involved the task of making bricks in Egypt even harder. One would think that as God proved Himself over and over again as He sent the plagues, delivered His people out of Pharoah's hand, through the sea, and the provided food and water to sustain them that they would trust both God and Moses. But different parties kept rebelling. Moses was careful to step back when God showed His power, holiness, and righteous judgment in His way. May we learn to do the same.