33. THE PUNISHMENT FOR DISOBEDIENCEDoes God favor some people over others?
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Being a prophet is a great honor. One of the most famous prophets of all time was Moses. In the first ve books of the Bible, the experiences of Moses can be found in great detail. We have already learned how his mother put him in a basket on the river to save him from execution and how the pharaoh's daughter found him. We also learned that Moses tried to save Israel by force, killed a man, ran to the desert, and lived there for 40 years. Then we read how God brought him back to Egypt and performed miracles to set the Israelites free. Yes, Moses was God's prophet and means of communication to the people of Israel. In Exodus chapter 33, verse 11, the Bible says that God spoke with Moses face to face as a man speaks to a friend. Moses was privileged to go up into the mountain and receive special instructions from God for the people. When he came down from the mountain after speaking with God, the Bible says that his face glowed and the people were afraid to even approach him.
Being a prophet is also a great responsibility. God asked prophets to lead, warn, instruct and rebuke people. All of which make prophets very unpopular at times. The prophets were rejected more often than they were accepted and were well acquainted with hardship and trial. Do you remember what happened when Moses was called to bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Many of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They accused the two leaders of trying to kill them. If you were in Moses’ place would you manage to keep your temper with these complaining people?
Yes, Moses was called to an important task and he had special privileges that others did not have to help him carry out that task. But when it comes to righteousness does God treat people differently? Can a prophet break God’s law and not suffer the consequences? Can a prophet disobey the Lord or even attempt to take the glory that only belongs to God without suffering repercussions? Does God show special favor to prophets by overlooking their sins?
To help illustrate our questions let’s look at a story of favoritism from a purely human standpoint.
Eda was taller than the other girls in her 6th grade class. She wore her shiny black hair long and when she wasn’t in her school uniform she wore white and black clothes a lot to complement her olive colored skin. Being a little taller than the others she could sometimes pass as an eighth or even 9th grader. Good grades came easy to her and she never took a book home with her to study. In fact, she spent more time listening to her Ipod than doing schoolwork. She liked to sit close to the teacher, but not up front and the boys were always competing for her attention.
On the first day of class, Eda was caught talking to her friend Kutsal who was in the row behind her. The teacher, Nilufer Hanim, scolded Kutsal but said nothing to Eda.
“Kutsal, why are you talking during my lecture? Do you have something to say that everyone should hear?” she asked sternly.
Kutsal shrank in her desk.
“See to it that I don’t hear your voice again today when I am talking” the teacher added.
Most of the kids were pretty sure that the teacher saw Eda talking also and wondered why Eda got away with talking in class and
Kutsal did not. It didn’t take long for the students to think of her as the teacher’s pet. Eda consistently turned her homework in late, but her grades were never lowered and her papers were never refused. Eda’s classmate Sinan was shocked.
“Eda, I don’t know what it is with you, but Nilufer Hanim won’t take my paper even one minute late. You get to turn in your paper the next day or next week. How is that?”
“I don’t know” said Eda, “She just likes me better I guess.”
Eda’s classmates got used to the idea that Eda could do no wrong in the teacher’s eyes. Eda really didn’t try to court the teacher’s affections. She didn’t try to butter the teacher up with attering words. But for some reason the teacher always favored Eda over the other kids, especially when it came to praise.
“Children, did you see Eda's composition? It was excellent!" She would say. “If only you children could be more like Eda.”
The other kids at rst were resentful but after awhile they realized that this was the way it was and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The teacher just liked Eda better than the others. Whatever rules there were they did not seem to apply to Eda. She could talk in class, come to class late, even skip class occasionally and there were no repercussions. Eda was pretty but not the most beautiful girl in class. She was a good student but not the best. The other children tried to gure out why Eda received special treatment but there didn't seem to be a reason.
How do you feel about that story? Does it remind you of a situation you have seen in your own life with a teacher, coach, or boss? Yes favoritism creates jealousy. There seems to be an injustice at the very core of favoritism. Yet some people say that God plays favorites with the prophets. Does He? Does God have two standards of righteousness? Does He have two measuring sticks? Is there one standard for "normal" people like you and me, and another one for prophets? No, one thing is certain, God has one and only one standard of righteousness.
God's righteousness is very different than Eda's teacher's standard of righteousness. Let’s look at a situation in the Bible where God reveals His impartiality. We can start in the book of Numbers chapter 20 verse 1:
1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the rst month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
The first month of the religious calendar would have been April and the grass would have been fresh and green from winter rains. The Lord had promised that He would bring the children of Israel into a good land and settle them there. The green grass should have lifted their spirits to receive the promise and served as a reminder that God still intended to give that land to them. They knew that they had been punished for their disbelief and that the 40 year punishment was about to end. The real question was whether or not they had learned a lesson from their dead fathers and grandfathers. Had they learned their lesson to trust God? Let's find out by reading Numbers chapter 20 verses 2-5:
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 "Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 "And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or gs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink."
Forty years earlier the people had made a similar complaint to Moses. Do you remember reading it in the book of Exodus? It took place in Horeb. Let's review it in Exodus chapter 17 verses 3-7:
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!" 5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
All those years in the desert, God provided the Israelites with water which was no simple task. According to the book of Exodus, there were 600,000 men not including the children and women. If every person used 8 liters of water a day for cooking, bathing and drinking, they would have needed 12 million liters of water per day. And that is a pretty conservative number. Let's remember that they also had animals. More than 12 million liters of water a day isn’t just a fountain; that is a river of water.
Everyday for forty years, God quenched their thirst and satiated their hunger. Both of which served as a continual sign of God’s care and protection. But suddenly there was no water. Had God forsaken them?
Apparently the children of Israel didn’t trust God any more than their fathers had trusted God. After 40 years of receiving food and water from God in the desert why would they think that God had abandoned them? It didn’t make sense. They should have seen the drying up of the waters as a sign that they were about to enter the promised land and would no longer need the water which had been miraculously provided. But instead they murmured against Moses.
And just as their fathers had done 40 years earlier they accused Moses and Aaron of trying to harm the people.
After working so hard to lead a people from slavery to freedom, living in the desert for 40 years, and constantly hearing their complaints, how do you think you would feel if at the slightest sign of dif culty they turned on you? Would you be able to keep your patience if they accused you of trying to kill them? Let's continue the story by going back to Numbers chapter 20 verses 6-8:
6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals."
The instructions given to Moses here were a little different than the ones that God had given previously. At Horeb God told Moses to strike the rock with the rod. Whereas here God told Moses to speak to the rock. The Bible doesn’t tell us why God did not ask Moses to strike the rock, but there must be a reason. Perhaps there was some meaning or symbolism to the method. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little to learn that one.
Let's see what Moses does in verses 9-11:
9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
Moses was supposed to speak to the rock, but instead in the midst of his anger he turned away from God's instructions to his own
solution. Taking the miracle into his own hands he struck the rock. In mercy toward the thirsty people, God made the water ow. But God was unhappy with Moses’ act of rage. He had broken a strong sign for the people by his disobedience. Here are God's words in Numbers chapter 20 verses 12 and 13:
12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." 13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.
There was a bigger problem than just not following instructions. God said to Moses and Aaron that they had not believed in Him! He said that they did not hallow Him in the eyes of the children of Israel. After working 40 years to bring the children of Israel to the promised land, Moses and Aaron would not enter themselves. They would die in the wilderness just like the rebels had! What went wrong? What is God doing?
The first thing we can say is that God certainly isn’t playing favorites. When Moses and Aaron did something wrong God did not wink at their sin. God dealt with their sin. Yes the prophet of God pays a consequence for wrong-doing just like everyone else. God is righteous and when it comes to righteousness there is not one standard for the people and another for the prophets. They are the same.
So what was Moses’ and Aaron’s sin?
We need to look closely. God had said that He would bring water out of the rock for the people. But Moses said,
"Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?"
The choice of whether the water would come out of the rock did not belong to Moses and Aaron. But Moses was behaving as if God would not do what He said He would do. Moses and Aaron put themselves in God’s place.
“Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Furthermore Moses and Aaron exhibited a passionate anger because they were personally insulted. They shouted,
“Hear now, you rebels!”
Yes sometimes God uses a prophet to rebuke the people but it should not be a personal issue with the prophet. Prophets are not to use personal insults. The prophets are to represent God before the people and they must exhibit patience and forbearance. In all these things they did not honor God and it gave the Israelites a reason for complaint.
Throughout the time in the desert the Israelites had complained against Moses and said that it was Moses who had brought them into various dif culties. They did not acknowledge that it was God who led them into places where their faith was tested. By drawing attention to themselves Moses and Aaron had given support to the argument that it was not God but Moses who was leading them. This was clearly a big mistake.
What shall we say then, did God forsake Moses and Aaron? Did they lose their eternal salvation? In later chapters, it is apparent that God did accept their repentance. But it is equally apparent that He didn't allow the sin to go unpunished. After 40 years of traveling in the desert both Aaron and Moses died without ever taking one step into the Promised Land. God was clearly showing the people that He does not show favoritism. The standard of righteousness is the same for both the people and prophets. If anything, He requires greater obedience and trust from leaders because of their important in uence over the people. Yes prophets can sin and God sees their sin no different than anyone else’s. They have just as much a need to repent and turn from sin as we do. Let’s consider another story regarding favoritism.
In Ankara one of the ambassadors from another country was always parking in illegal places. But the police officers could not give him a ticket. He had what is called diplomatic immunity.
One day the ambassador parked right on the corner of the street with half the car sticking out in the street. A tourist bus came and couldn’t pass. The driver got out and tried to find the owner. He could not find the owner of the car but he finally found a police officer.
“Will you get this car towed?” he asked the policeman.
“Sorry, I can’t do anything. It’s a diplomat’s car.”
“What do you mean it is a diplomat’s car? Is a diplomat born from a virgin that he is different from everybody else? It isn’t fair. He is blocking the whole street. No one can go anywhere.”
Behind the bus there were other cars that were unable to pass. After a few minutes they became impatient and began honking their horns.
“Sorry, I can’t do anything” said the policeman.
“Look how many people are stuck here. Don’t you hear their horns blowing? What are you going to do about it?”
“Sorry, I can’t do anything.”
“Look” said the bus driver, “diplomatic immunity is just to protect the diplomats from being thrown in jail on false charges or from accidental cultural errors. It was never meant to be a license to break all the laws of the country.”
“It doesn’t matter” said the police officer. “They can do what they want and I can’t touch them.”
How do you feel when you see higher officials not having to obey the rules? Is it irritating? Does it seem unjust to you? If it is unjust
from a human standpoint, then it is certainly unjust from God's standpoint whose thoughts are infinitely more fair than ours.
Contrary to popular belief, prophets are not cut from a different cloth. They are ordinary people called to do extraordinary things with the help of God. They have no power of their own and owe their salvation to the grace of God just like everyone else. Therefore, God holds them accountable for their sin and if need be punishes them. God doesn’t give anyone a license to sin. He holds everyone accountable to His own standard of righteousness. While a prophet has a special job to perform, it does not put him above God’s law. God's law is just and righteous. Let's not belittle it by saying that some people are not subject to it.
Discussion Questions
1. Why does favoritism create jealousy?
2. Some people think that God made prophets in such a way that they cannot sin. Do we nd that idea in the scriptures or did that idea
come from somewhere else?
3. Since God’s standard of righteousness for us and prophets is the same, what is the set of rules that it is measured from?
4. Why do you think God asked Moses to simply speak to the rock and not to strike the rock with a rod?
5. Do you see any similarity between Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden and Moses' sin in striking the rock?
Being a prophet is also a great responsibility. God asked prophets to lead, warn, instruct and rebuke people. All of which make prophets very unpopular at times. The prophets were rejected more often than they were accepted and were well acquainted with hardship and trial. Do you remember what happened when Moses was called to bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Many of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They accused the two leaders of trying to kill them. If you were in Moses’ place would you manage to keep your temper with these complaining people?
Yes, Moses was called to an important task and he had special privileges that others did not have to help him carry out that task. But when it comes to righteousness does God treat people differently? Can a prophet break God’s law and not suffer the consequences? Can a prophet disobey the Lord or even attempt to take the glory that only belongs to God without suffering repercussions? Does God show special favor to prophets by overlooking their sins?
To help illustrate our questions let’s look at a story of favoritism from a purely human standpoint.
Eda was taller than the other girls in her 6th grade class. She wore her shiny black hair long and when she wasn’t in her school uniform she wore white and black clothes a lot to complement her olive colored skin. Being a little taller than the others she could sometimes pass as an eighth or even 9th grader. Good grades came easy to her and she never took a book home with her to study. In fact, she spent more time listening to her Ipod than doing schoolwork. She liked to sit close to the teacher, but not up front and the boys were always competing for her attention.
On the first day of class, Eda was caught talking to her friend Kutsal who was in the row behind her. The teacher, Nilufer Hanim, scolded Kutsal but said nothing to Eda.
“Kutsal, why are you talking during my lecture? Do you have something to say that everyone should hear?” she asked sternly.
Kutsal shrank in her desk.
“See to it that I don’t hear your voice again today when I am talking” the teacher added.
Most of the kids were pretty sure that the teacher saw Eda talking also and wondered why Eda got away with talking in class and
Kutsal did not. It didn’t take long for the students to think of her as the teacher’s pet. Eda consistently turned her homework in late, but her grades were never lowered and her papers were never refused. Eda’s classmate Sinan was shocked.
“Eda, I don’t know what it is with you, but Nilufer Hanim won’t take my paper even one minute late. You get to turn in your paper the next day or next week. How is that?”
“I don’t know” said Eda, “She just likes me better I guess.”
Eda’s classmates got used to the idea that Eda could do no wrong in the teacher’s eyes. Eda really didn’t try to court the teacher’s affections. She didn’t try to butter the teacher up with attering words. But for some reason the teacher always favored Eda over the other kids, especially when it came to praise.
“Children, did you see Eda's composition? It was excellent!" She would say. “If only you children could be more like Eda.”
The other kids at rst were resentful but after awhile they realized that this was the way it was and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The teacher just liked Eda better than the others. Whatever rules there were they did not seem to apply to Eda. She could talk in class, come to class late, even skip class occasionally and there were no repercussions. Eda was pretty but not the most beautiful girl in class. She was a good student but not the best. The other children tried to gure out why Eda received special treatment but there didn't seem to be a reason.
How do you feel about that story? Does it remind you of a situation you have seen in your own life with a teacher, coach, or boss? Yes favoritism creates jealousy. There seems to be an injustice at the very core of favoritism. Yet some people say that God plays favorites with the prophets. Does He? Does God have two standards of righteousness? Does He have two measuring sticks? Is there one standard for "normal" people like you and me, and another one for prophets? No, one thing is certain, God has one and only one standard of righteousness.
God's righteousness is very different than Eda's teacher's standard of righteousness. Let’s look at a situation in the Bible where God reveals His impartiality. We can start in the book of Numbers chapter 20 verse 1:
1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the rst month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
The first month of the religious calendar would have been April and the grass would have been fresh and green from winter rains. The Lord had promised that He would bring the children of Israel into a good land and settle them there. The green grass should have lifted their spirits to receive the promise and served as a reminder that God still intended to give that land to them. They knew that they had been punished for their disbelief and that the 40 year punishment was about to end. The real question was whether or not they had learned a lesson from their dead fathers and grandfathers. Had they learned their lesson to trust God? Let's find out by reading Numbers chapter 20 verses 2-5:
2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 "Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 "And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or gs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink."
Forty years earlier the people had made a similar complaint to Moses. Do you remember reading it in the book of Exodus? It took place in Horeb. Let's review it in Exodus chapter 17 verses 3-7:
3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!" 5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
All those years in the desert, God provided the Israelites with water which was no simple task. According to the book of Exodus, there were 600,000 men not including the children and women. If every person used 8 liters of water a day for cooking, bathing and drinking, they would have needed 12 million liters of water per day. And that is a pretty conservative number. Let's remember that they also had animals. More than 12 million liters of water a day isn’t just a fountain; that is a river of water.
Everyday for forty years, God quenched their thirst and satiated their hunger. Both of which served as a continual sign of God’s care and protection. But suddenly there was no water. Had God forsaken them?
Apparently the children of Israel didn’t trust God any more than their fathers had trusted God. After 40 years of receiving food and water from God in the desert why would they think that God had abandoned them? It didn’t make sense. They should have seen the drying up of the waters as a sign that they were about to enter the promised land and would no longer need the water which had been miraculously provided. But instead they murmured against Moses.
And just as their fathers had done 40 years earlier they accused Moses and Aaron of trying to harm the people.
After working so hard to lead a people from slavery to freedom, living in the desert for 40 years, and constantly hearing their complaints, how do you think you would feel if at the slightest sign of dif culty they turned on you? Would you be able to keep your patience if they accused you of trying to kill them? Let's continue the story by going back to Numbers chapter 20 verses 6-8:
6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals."
The instructions given to Moses here were a little different than the ones that God had given previously. At Horeb God told Moses to strike the rock with the rod. Whereas here God told Moses to speak to the rock. The Bible doesn’t tell us why God did not ask Moses to strike the rock, but there must be a reason. Perhaps there was some meaning or symbolism to the method. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little to learn that one.
Let's see what Moses does in verses 9-11:
9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
Moses was supposed to speak to the rock, but instead in the midst of his anger he turned away from God's instructions to his own
solution. Taking the miracle into his own hands he struck the rock. In mercy toward the thirsty people, God made the water ow. But God was unhappy with Moses’ act of rage. He had broken a strong sign for the people by his disobedience. Here are God's words in Numbers chapter 20 verses 12 and 13:
12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." 13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.
There was a bigger problem than just not following instructions. God said to Moses and Aaron that they had not believed in Him! He said that they did not hallow Him in the eyes of the children of Israel. After working 40 years to bring the children of Israel to the promised land, Moses and Aaron would not enter themselves. They would die in the wilderness just like the rebels had! What went wrong? What is God doing?
The first thing we can say is that God certainly isn’t playing favorites. When Moses and Aaron did something wrong God did not wink at their sin. God dealt with their sin. Yes the prophet of God pays a consequence for wrong-doing just like everyone else. God is righteous and when it comes to righteousness there is not one standard for the people and another for the prophets. They are the same.
So what was Moses’ and Aaron’s sin?
We need to look closely. God had said that He would bring water out of the rock for the people. But Moses said,
"Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?"
The choice of whether the water would come out of the rock did not belong to Moses and Aaron. But Moses was behaving as if God would not do what He said He would do. Moses and Aaron put themselves in God’s place.
“Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Furthermore Moses and Aaron exhibited a passionate anger because they were personally insulted. They shouted,
“Hear now, you rebels!”
Yes sometimes God uses a prophet to rebuke the people but it should not be a personal issue with the prophet. Prophets are not to use personal insults. The prophets are to represent God before the people and they must exhibit patience and forbearance. In all these things they did not honor God and it gave the Israelites a reason for complaint.
Throughout the time in the desert the Israelites had complained against Moses and said that it was Moses who had brought them into various dif culties. They did not acknowledge that it was God who led them into places where their faith was tested. By drawing attention to themselves Moses and Aaron had given support to the argument that it was not God but Moses who was leading them. This was clearly a big mistake.
What shall we say then, did God forsake Moses and Aaron? Did they lose their eternal salvation? In later chapters, it is apparent that God did accept their repentance. But it is equally apparent that He didn't allow the sin to go unpunished. After 40 years of traveling in the desert both Aaron and Moses died without ever taking one step into the Promised Land. God was clearly showing the people that He does not show favoritism. The standard of righteousness is the same for both the people and prophets. If anything, He requires greater obedience and trust from leaders because of their important in uence over the people. Yes prophets can sin and God sees their sin no different than anyone else’s. They have just as much a need to repent and turn from sin as we do. Let’s consider another story regarding favoritism.
In Ankara one of the ambassadors from another country was always parking in illegal places. But the police officers could not give him a ticket. He had what is called diplomatic immunity.
One day the ambassador parked right on the corner of the street with half the car sticking out in the street. A tourist bus came and couldn’t pass. The driver got out and tried to find the owner. He could not find the owner of the car but he finally found a police officer.
“Will you get this car towed?” he asked the policeman.
“Sorry, I can’t do anything. It’s a diplomat’s car.”
“What do you mean it is a diplomat’s car? Is a diplomat born from a virgin that he is different from everybody else? It isn’t fair. He is blocking the whole street. No one can go anywhere.”
Behind the bus there were other cars that were unable to pass. After a few minutes they became impatient and began honking their horns.
“Sorry, I can’t do anything” said the policeman.
“Look how many people are stuck here. Don’t you hear their horns blowing? What are you going to do about it?”
“Sorry, I can’t do anything.”
“Look” said the bus driver, “diplomatic immunity is just to protect the diplomats from being thrown in jail on false charges or from accidental cultural errors. It was never meant to be a license to break all the laws of the country.”
“It doesn’t matter” said the police officer. “They can do what they want and I can’t touch them.”
How do you feel when you see higher officials not having to obey the rules? Is it irritating? Does it seem unjust to you? If it is unjust
from a human standpoint, then it is certainly unjust from God's standpoint whose thoughts are infinitely more fair than ours.
Contrary to popular belief, prophets are not cut from a different cloth. They are ordinary people called to do extraordinary things with the help of God. They have no power of their own and owe their salvation to the grace of God just like everyone else. Therefore, God holds them accountable for their sin and if need be punishes them. God doesn’t give anyone a license to sin. He holds everyone accountable to His own standard of righteousness. While a prophet has a special job to perform, it does not put him above God’s law. God's law is just and righteous. Let's not belittle it by saying that some people are not subject to it.
Discussion Questions
1. Why does favoritism create jealousy?
2. Some people think that God made prophets in such a way that they cannot sin. Do we nd that idea in the scriptures or did that idea
come from somewhere else?
3. Since God’s standard of righteousness for us and prophets is the same, what is the set of rules that it is measured from?
4. Why do you think God asked Moses to simply speak to the rock and not to strike the rock with a rod?
5. Do you see any similarity between Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden and Moses' sin in striking the rock?