As we begin to follow Christ and dedicate our lives to Him we may have a tendency to expect ourselves (or others) to be somehow perfect in submitting to God. Quite frankly, this is not possible. None of us is perfect or can be expected to get everything right. We need help from the Holy Spirit and from other believers.
Even Moses did not always have all the answers or get everything right. Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, had just been executed by God because of their rebellion or carelessness in how they failed to follow God’s instructions regarding sacrifices. Moses became angry at Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s two surviving sons, because they let the goat of the sin offering burn up. The scripture actually records this statement with an exclamation point.
Ultimately, Aaron explains to Moses why this was done and Moses is satisfied. He needed Aaron’s help to get it right. (For more detail regarding this event, consider Elliot’s commentary.)
12Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the LORD’S offerings by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13“You shall eat it, moreover, in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due out of the LORD’S offerings by fire; for thus I have been commanded. 14“The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your due and your sons’ due out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15“The thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving they shall bring along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the LORD; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the LORD has commanded.”
16But Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17“Why did you not eat the sin offering at the holy place? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear away the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD. 18“Behold, since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.” 19But Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the LORD?” 20When Moses heard that, it seemed good in his sight.
Let us take care not to be too hard on others, even leaders, or ourselves in our ability to follow Christ. None of us can achieve perfection, though we should put forth significant effort and do the best we can, always striving to be better and praying for help. If Moses benefited from some help every now and then, I certainly need to cut myself a little slack for when I get things wrong… which is often enough to keep me humble for sure!
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