Today’s Readings: Num 16:41‐18:32, Mark 16:1‐20, Ps 55:1‐23, Prov 11:7

Numbers 16:44-46 “…and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 ‘Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.’ And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them…’”

Observations:
• God tells Moses that he will “consume” the congregation.
• Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before God.
• Moses tells Aaron to quickly make atonement for them – intercede on their behalf.

Reading through the Torah the last few months, Moses’ intercession for the people he is leading has been a reoccurring theme. Moses sees the anger of God kindled by the Israelite’s sin. God tells him that he is going to punish them. Moses prays for the people. Some and sometimes all of the Israelites are spared, seemingly through his prayers.

Our western mind focuses on the individual. The corporate nature of much of the Old and New Testament cannot be avoided. Within this context, God’s ordained leaders are often responsible for corporate obedience and blessing of the people they lead.

Application:
Today, I will intercede with God for the resident and summer staff I lead at camp, the families I am assigned as a deacon in church, and the family God has given me to lead and love.

Are you interceding with God for the lives of the people you lead?