Numbers 16

Teaching authority is an important part of raising children. This is what God is doing here. Korah and his sons challenge Moses and Aaron’s leadership. God’s judgement of this sin gets everyone’s attention. They learnt obedience to God alone sustains their nationhood. They would disappear as other nations in the ancient world without it. The authority of civil law keeps the lid on our destructive impulses. We, like Israel, must learn to bend before it.

Lord, keep me on the straight and narrow way. I fear my inclination to step off of it. You are my Lord, a jealous God. Keep me, please, focused on you.