For and Against

For and Against

Exodus 6: ²⁰ Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. ²¹ The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. ²² And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. ²³ Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²⁴ And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. ²⁵ Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

 

²⁶ These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.”²⁷ These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.

 

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Continuing with the abrupt genealogy, Moses gets to his parents. We see that Aaron is older, then he states that his father lived to be the same age as Levi. At first it looks like another list of names. But the list has gaps, so the list may be saying something other than history.

 

My Observations:

• Hebron, Kohat’s son, is missing from this list.
• Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, did not have any detail.
• Korah was mentioned prominently and so was Phinehas.

 

“Why these two people?” I had to ask. Later we will see that the Korahites rebelled against Moses and Phinehas was trustworthy. The missing names make sense when looking at this list from the root of the problem and the root of the solution, point of view. Moses may have written this book after going through the rebellion written in Numbers.

 

Phinehas killed an Israelite man, Zimri, and a Midianite woman, Kozbi, who were committing sin in the camp. Korah, on the other hand, eventually challenged Moses and Aaron’s leadership and priesthood. The Korahites were swallowed up by the earth after the rebellion. “Where is Hebron, Miriam and other people that should be on the list? You may ask. I believe this list is not about lineage but about where did the problem begin and who stayed by my side.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about this list of people?
• Have you been in crowds who were for GOD and crowds that seemed against HIM?
• Are you looking at GOD’s calling on your life or looking at what is happening with other people?