Running into Judgment
But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.
Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord said to Moses, “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord ; the plague has started.”
So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.
He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. ’
If you check out the One Life Church podcast you’ll see why I picked this one for today.
This event happened in the midst of the Hebrews learning the character of their God and the character of their leader. In their sin, God brought judgment and a way to show the true character of the one that was leading them. Instead of giving up, Moses sent Aaron to bring atonement for their sin and stop the judgment.
That was exactly what God wanted him to do. God had revealed enough of His character to Moses, and Moses spent enough time face to face with God, to know the fullness of the situation. What looked like a disaster was an opportunity and Moses took it.
Because of Moses’ action, we get to see the salvation of God play out in the life of Aaron. Just as Aaron would run towards judgment to be the line between life and death, Jesus (God Himself!) would run headlong at judgment and death to safe His people.
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