#44. Numbers 16-19 | Real People with Real Church Hurt: Can You Relate?

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Welcome to the Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

I'm reminded of fresh that these

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aren't just words on a page.

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They're real people who faced

real hurt and opposition.

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If you've been hurt by a friend, family

member, or someone in your church,

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and it hurt even worse because they

were your brother or sister in Christ.

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I pray that you find encouragement.

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You're not alone.

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Today's reading is on numbers

Chapter 16 through 19.

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A couple chapters ago we read that Moses

was more meek than anyone on the earth.

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He was a servant hearted

leader, and he was humble.

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Still, there were people that

rose up against his leadership.

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Let's look at Chapter

16 beginning in verse one.

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Now Cora, the son of Azar, son

of Coap, son of Levi and Dathan

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and Ab Byrum, the sons of Eliab

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and own

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Steph: the son of Peth.

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Sons of Reuben took men and

they rose up before Moses with a

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number of the people of Israel.

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250 chiefs of the congregation chosen

from the assembly, well-known men.

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They assembled themselves together

against Moses and against Aaron, and

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said to them, you have gone too far for

all in the congregation are holy, every

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one of them, and the Lord is among them.

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Why then do you exalt yourselves

above the assembly of the Lord?

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When Moses heard it.

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He fell on his face and he said

to Cora and all his company in the

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morning, the Lord will show who is

His, and who is holy, and will bring

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him near to him, the one whom he

chooses He will bring near to him.

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Do this, take sensors, Cora and all

his company, put fire in them and put

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incense on them before the Lord tomorrow.

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And the man whom the Lord

chooses shall be the holy one.

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You have gone too far.

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Sons of Levi and Moses said to Cora here.

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Now you sons of Levi.

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Is it too small a thing for you

that the God of Israel has separated

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you from the congregation of Israel

to bring you near to himself to do

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service in the tabernacle of the Lord?

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And to stand before the congregation

to minister to them and that he has

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brought you near him and all your

brothers, the sons of Levi with you,

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and would you seek the priesthood also?

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Therefore, it is against the

Lord that you and all your

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company have gathered together.

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What is Aaron that you

grumble against him?

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And Moses sent a call, Dathan and

a Byrum, the sons of Eliab, and

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they said, we will not come up.

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Is it a small thing that you have brought

us up out of a land flowing with milk

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and honey to kill us in the wilderness?

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That you must also make

yourself a prince over us.

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Moreover, you have not brought

us into a land flowing with

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milk and honey, nor given us

inheritance of fields and vineyards.

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Will you put out the eyes of these men?

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We will not come up.

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And Moses was very angry and said to

the Lord, do not respect their offering.

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I have not taken one donkey from them

and I have not harmed one of them.

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Let's pause there.

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Remember, the Levites were particularly

chosen to serve in the tabernacle

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and the Alite were in charge of

carrying the sacred pieces they had

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privilege and honor, but it wasn't

enough for them, and some from

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the tribe of Reuben also rose up.

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Remember, Reuben was the firstborn

son of Jacob, later renamed as Israel.

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It could be that they were resenting

Judah's place of honor in the camp.

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And felt they should have it because

they were in the line of the firstborn.

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And this isn't just one or

two people, 250 chiefs of the

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congregation, well-known men.

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These are probably some of the most

respected people in all the community.

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And they say, if we're all a holy

priesthood, then why do Moses and

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Aaron get to tell us everything to do?

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They will even be as bold

to say that Egypt was a land

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flowing with milk and honey.

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They keep remembering it

with rose colored glasses,

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painting a reality that just wasn't

true, and using God's own words about

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the promised land I could be mistaken,

but this seems to be the first time

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that Moses intercedes negatively and

tells the Lord to not listen to the

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people and not accept their sacrifice.

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Every other time he has stood in the

gap, abating the anger of the Lord.

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I didn't really understand what it

meant by put the people's eyes out,

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but I get it now, they're saying.

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That Moses' leadership has been so

fruitless that he would have to cut out

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the people's eyes for them to believe

that he had actually benefited them.

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Ouch.

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Moses tells God, I haven't benefited

from anything I've led with integrity.

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Let's remember that Moses

was raised as a prince.

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He left all of it because he

couldn't handle the unjust way

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his people were being treated.

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He returns to lead them out,

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and this entire time he's been in the

wilderness in the same living conditions

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as them eating the same foods they eat.

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But he keeps coming back to

the dwelling place of the Lord.

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and Moses told those standing

with Cora to each light a sensor.

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If you're a survivor fan, you know when

you're voted off the island, Jeff probes

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comes and he snuffs out your torch.

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Moses is saying, we're gonna see who's

gonna get snuffed out and who will remain.

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Then the glory of the Lord

appears to all the congregation.

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This happened in our last reading

when people were coming against

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Caleb and Joshua and ready to stone

them, but the glory of the Lord

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appeared at the tent of meeting.

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It is like in a movie when you're

watching and a kid is getting bullied

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and all of a sudden the principal

or the dad shows up right behind him

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and the bully runs away.

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but in both situations, the

Israelites are being reminded

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exactly who they're sitting against.

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God says, get away from the congregation.

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Moses.

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I'm gonna consume them

and start over with you.

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But Moses and Aaron intercede once

again for the people they pray, oh

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God, the God of the spirits of all

flesh shall one man sin and will you

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be angry with all the congregation?

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This name?

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The God of the spirits of all

flesh is only used two times

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in scripture and it means God.

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You know everything you are omniscient

and you know the hearts of everyone.

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You can tell who's rebelling

against you and who isn't.

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So limit your consequence to just the

rebellious, their prayers are effective.

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God says, tell everybody to get away from

the tenses of Cora Dathan and a byrum.

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He's giving them an opportunity to say,

I am not standing with this rebellion.

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I'm choosing you Lord.

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And in verse 28, Moses said, hereby,

you shall know that the Lord has

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sent me to do all these works, and

that it has not been of my own accord.

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If these men die, as all men die, or

if they are visited by the fate of all

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mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.

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But if the Lord creates something new and

the ground opens its mouth and swallows

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them up with all that belongs to them.

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And they go down alive in a

shield, then you shall know that

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these men have despised the Lord.

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And as soon as he had finished

speaking all these words, the ground

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under them split apart and the earth

opened its mouth and swallowed them up

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and fire, came out from the

Lord and consumed those 250

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men offering the incense.

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But God tells Moses to have Azar,

take the sensors and hammer them down.

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They'll go inside the tent.

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As a testimony and in

classic Israelite style.

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They end up grumbling against

Moses and Aaron the next day,

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blaming them for killing the men.

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Again, God wants to consume

them and this is a rare moment.

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Instead of Moses interceding, as he

usually does, he tells Aaron to act

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and get fire from the altar and incense

to make atonement for the congregation

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because a plague has gone out.

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Aaron acts quickly and the

plague has stopped, but in the

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meantime, 14,700 were killed.

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In chapter 17, God reaffirms that he has

called Aaron to the priesthood by telling

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every tribe to write their name on a staff

and put them inside the tent of meaning.

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These are dead, dried up pieces

of wood, but in the morning,

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Aaron's staff has blossomed,

bloomed and sprouted ripe almonds.

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There was no doubt it was

the line that God had chosen.

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Generally the Lord speaks directly

to Moses or to Moses and Aaron.

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But in chapter 18, he addresses

Aaron alone telling him that the

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Levites are to be a gift to him

and that the priesthood is a gift.

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in 1820, the Lord tells him, you shall

have no inheritance in their land.

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Neither shall you have

any portion among them.

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I am your portion and your inheritance

among the people of Israel.

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God's presence is the greatest

blessing we could imagine, even if

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it doesn't mean earthly treasure.

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Our reading today

concludes with chapter 19.

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God graciously gives them new guidelines

to handle dead bodies without the

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costly sacrifice of an animal.

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Think about it, over the course of about

38 years, more than 1,200,000 people

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are going to die in the wilderness.

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This would've been about

31,000 a year, and about 87 A.

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Instead, the people get to use a

water and ash mixture, but to create

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it, there's an emphasis on red.

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There's a red heifer, then

cedarwood, which certainly has a

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red tint, and then scarlet material.

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And the hisp was what was used to

place the blood of the lamb over

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the doorpost on the Passover.

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It's the only sacrifice in which the

blood of the animal was to be burned up.

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Steph: all of this opposition to Moses and

Aaron makes me think of Elizabeth Elliot,

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after the death of her missionary husband,

Jim Elliott, she stayed to minister

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to the Wani tribe working alongside

Martyred Nate Saint's sister Rachel Saint.

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Elizabeth and Rachel had

different opinions about how

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to minister to the tribe.

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Rachel often pushing for westernizing

them and forcing early conversions.

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And Elizabeth preferring

a more gentle approach.

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Eventually it became too much,

and it was one of the reasons

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Elizabeth left the mission field.

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It wouldn't be until decades later

that the missions organization would

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acknowledge to Elizabeth their awareness

of Rachel's difficult personality.

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She had to wait for validation.

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When we have conflicts with

others, we might be the Rachel,

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we might be the Elizabeth.

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We may be innocent like Moses and Aaron.

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Or blinded to our ambition,

like the Sons of Quora,

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may Jesus's presence in all of it

be our portion and our inheritance.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for the

privilege to come before you when we

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face resistance or hurt, particularly

from those who claim your name.

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Help us to evaluate our own motives,

actions, And thoughts before you, rather

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than rising up in self-preservation.

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May we be meek interceding,

even on behalf of those that

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don't believe the best about us.

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and even

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Though this is often a

mature character trait.

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That is only learned by suffering.

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I pray that you would bless our kids with

this, that they would be people that

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advocate for grace and mercy to be shown.

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May each of us be a blessing in our

churches and in our communities, and

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may we elevate your name above our own

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and that.

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We are certainly following your example.

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Jesus.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.