Honor Those God Has Placed Over Us

"The Lord will show who are His, and who is holy." Numbers 16:5

The Israelites had left Egypt and had to travel through the desert for a long time. There were no buildings or towns or even a village. They called it the wilderness. Moses and Aaron were leading them and God was taking care of all the people. God kept them safe and gave them food everyday. But there were two angry men in the camp, Dathan and Abiram, and they got tired of being in the wilderness. They grew angry at Moses and spoke out against him. 

"We are just as good as Moses," they said. "Why should he be our leader?"

They continued to cause conflict in the camp and would not repent. So God punished them. He made the earth open under their feet and they fell into a hole. They were swallowed up by the earth in front of all the Israelites. They died because they wanted to argue about Moses and set themselves over him, even though God had placed Moses in this position.

God has set people over us - our parents, our pastors and teachers, our government leaders. It's our duty to obey them as He tells us in the Fifth Commandment. We should honor them because God has placed these people in that special position. 

It's not likely that we would be punished the way Dathan and Abiram were, but their death should help us remember that God wants us to obey those he's placed over us. 

QUESTIONS

1. What is the Fifth Commandment?

2. What is the explanation of it in the duty to our neighbor?

3. Who was set over the Israelites by God?

4. Where had he brought them from ?

5. Where was he leading them to ?

6. How should they have behaved to him?

7. What bad men were there among them ?

8. Whom did they not care for ?

9. What did they say?

10. Why was it wrong of Dathan and Abiram not to obey Moses?

11. What happened to them?

12. Why was God angry with Dathan and Abiram?

13. What makes Him angry?

14. Who did God set over you?

15. How should you treat them?