There are so many lessons to be learned and applied in life today from the Old Testament. For this reason, God allowed the writers of Israel’s history to include the good, the bad, and the ugly in the narratives. Not only do we learn from those who modeled faith but we also have much to gain from those who turned their backs on God’s purposes and commands. Paul is going to use one such story in his letter to Timothy.
Just as Paul struggled from the destructive work of the Judaizers during his years in ministry, he knew Timothy and those he was training would also face similar attacks to their character and work.
The focal verse.
We’ll talk more about the lesson Paul was trying to drive home in a minute, but let’s look first at the verse in question for today:
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness. (2 Timothy 2:19 CSB)
What was made known in centuries past was still true in the first century A.D.—The Lord knows those who are his. He is the discerner of men’s hearts. He made us and nothing is hidden from his knowledge. He knows those who have accepted Christ as Savior and repented of their sins, and he knows the ones who haven’t. Jesus had teachings about this issue, including a parable about the wheat and the tares and a metaphor for the separation of peoples as sheep and goats.
The background.
This quote shared with Timothy is taken from the book of Numbers. The sixteenth chapter gives us the story of Korah. Moses had already faced one rebellion from his sister Miriam and brother Aaron in the twelfth chapter. Their complaints about his Cushite wife did not sit well with the Lord, and Miriam was struck with leprosy. Two chapters later, there is a rebellion of the people after a report from the spies. Again, there was judgment, and the people would wander in the wilderness for forty years.
Now, in chapter sixteen, the Word tells us that Korah and some other guys became insolent and rose up against Moses. They didn’t think only Moses and Aaron should have the privilege of being in the holy presence of the Lord. They were just as good as Moses and Aaron! Wow, what presumptuousness. It wasn’t good enough that God had chosen them as Levites to serve in the tabernacle, they wanted more.
Moses, saddened and distraught over their insolence, would leave it to the Lord to judge.
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!” (Numbers 16:4-7)
God would make it clear who belonged to him by striking down Korah and his group by opening up the ground below their tents and then closing the earth over them. Those who witnessed this were terrified and also grumbled against Moses and Aaron, which led to God sending a plague on them in anger. Aaron and Moses pled for the people and God’s wrath subsided, but not before almost fifteen thousand had died.
God’s way still stands.
This harsh lesson against rebellion would come up many times in Scripture, and as Paul wrote to Timothy, he knew that as a leader in the church, he too would be confronted by those who worked to destroy the Body of Christ from within. He encouraged Timothy to teach those he was raising as leaders the truth of the gospel, knowing that there would be increasing struggles until the day of Christ’s return.
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to fight about words. This is useless and leads to the ruin of those who listen. Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness, and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are ruining the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:14-18)
Already, Paul saw two, who like Korah, were not teaching truth, hindering the faith of the new believers in their midst. Still, in quoting the verse from Numbers, Paul encourages Timothy to remember that God will have the final say. He knows those who are his, and they will be called out and separated in due time.
While Moses spoke the truth against Korah and his rebellious lot, he allowed the Lord to decide how best to determine their fate. This is our lesson as well. Speaking the truth against those who are openly rebelling against the work of God and his servants is crucial. We, however, must do so in humility and while yielding to the Lord to have the final say. He knows the ones of us who are his. Our job is to be sure of on which side we stand.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Learning from the Past post, click HERE, or start the series from the BEGINNING.
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