Why does God give leadership roles?
(Numbers 11-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13) Blog July 4-10, 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: In the beginning God gave humanity work to do, but with it he also gave us daily and weekly rest from labor. The first day began with night and the first week ended with the Sabbath rest (which was Adam and Eve’s first full day of life). God wants us to understand that true rest is found only in being rightly related to him, and that even amid daily cares and unforeseen disasters he must be our rest.
Questioning God’s Provisions
1. In Exodus 16 when the children of Israel started to complain upon remembering the abundance of flesh and bread they had in Egypt, what did God do? God gave them quail in the evening & manna, bread from heaven, in the morning (Ex. 16:12-15).
2. What was one of God’s purposes in giving manna to his people? God planned to use the manna as a test for his people (Ex. 16:4).
3. About a year later, after leaving Mount Sinai, what complaint again arose in Israel? They complained saying: “Who shall give us flesh to eat? … there is nothing at all, besides this manna.” (Num. 11:4-6).
4. How did Moses respond to the people’s complaint about the manna? Moses told God to kill him for he was not able to bear the heavy burden of all that people (Num. 11:13-15).
5. What did God do to provide help for Moses? God inspired seventy elders to assist Moses in governing the people & he sent masses of quail for a month (Num. 11:16-20).
6. What lesson should we learn from the people’s complaint? We should never question God’s provision for God has given us an ideal diet just like he gave an ideal diet to Israel (Num. 11:5-10).
7. What lesson should we learn from God’s response to the people’s complaint? We should learn that God takes very seriously the complaints of his people regarding what he has given them (Num. 11:10, 33-34).
Questioning God’s Servants
8. Why does God give leadership roles to some individuals over others? Leadership is heaven’s ordained method of maintaining order & progress. There are ranks of angels & even a leadership order in the Deity (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:21-22).
9. Give Bible examples of people that God has given leadership roles over other people: Adam, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, parents, & masters (Gen. 3:16; 18:19; Ex. 3:10; Deut. 31:3; 1 Sam. 16:13; Eph. 6:1-5).
10. Both the Apostles Paul and Peter speak of people who should be in submission to other people (wives to husbands, servants to masters, children to parents), so what is the meaning of “submission” in the Bible? Submission in the Bible is not a command to passiveness but rather it is the act of taking an active, supportive role under a leader (Gen. 2:18; 16:9; Psa. 18:44; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13).
11. What leadership gift of the Spirit does Paul list and what caution does he give to those who exercise it? Paul lists the gift of “ruling” & he cautions that those who rule should do it with diligence (Rom. 12:8).
12. What unlikely persons began to question Moses’ God-given leadership over the children of Israel while traveling towards Canaan? Moses’ own sister, Miriam, together with their brother Aaron questioned Moses’ leadership role (Ex. 32:34; Num. 12:1-2).
13. What authorities has God currently placed in human society? God has placed Kings, presidents, governors, mayors, & police in authority over other human beings (Rom. 13:1-4; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).
14. What authorities has God placed in the church? God has placed elders & deacons in positions of authority in the church (Acts14:23; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1-5).
15. How can we, like Miriam, oppose God’s plan of forward movement for his people? We can hinder God’s plan for his people by manifesting a spirit of envy & insubordination towards God’s appointed leaders in the church (James 3:16).
16. When the children of Israel rejected Caleb and Joshua’s report about Canaan and wanted to stone them what did God do? God’s glory appeared in the camp & he told Moses that he would grant the people’s request to die in the wilderness (Num. 14:6-39).
17. How does God view the sins of insubordination and rebellion? God regards these sins as extremely serious, even as bad as witchcraft (1 Sam. 15:23).
18. When those in authority in God’s church are not led by God’s Spirit, how are we to respond? We should first go directly to the person that we feel is in error, if the problem is not resolved take other witnesses, & finally take it to the church (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Tim. 5:19).
19. How did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrate respect for authority while honoring God’s Law? Daniel’s three friends obeyed the command to gather on the plains of Dura & peacefully submitted to arrest & being bound, yet they refused to worship any god but Jehovah (Dan. 3:12-18).
Questioning God’s Order
20. What is the purpose for having rules? A rule is a proscribed guide for conduct or action & brings harmony, rest, & peace where it is enforced (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
21. What is God’s attitude towards government? God loves government, he has one, & he gives kingdoms, powers, strength, & glory to earthly rulers (2 Chr. 20:6; Isa. 40:10; Dan. 2:37;).
22. Where does the Apostle Paul tell us that we should learn from the stories that happened to Israel? In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul points out that those stories should teach us not to desire evil things, nor worship substitute gods, nor commit fornication, nor tempt God, nor complain about his providence, nor his servants (1 Cor. 10:1-13).
23. How does the Apostle Paul teach us that we can overcome our natural discontent? Paul says that contentment is something that we have to learn for it does not come naturally. May God help us to lean that in less that forty years like he gave Israel in order to learn this attitude (Phil. 4:11-13; 1 Tim. 6:6-8).