Psalm 106:32-39

”They angered God again at Meribah Springs; this time Moses got mixed up in their evil; Because they defied GOD yet again, Moses exploded and lost his temper.” The Message.

Leaders can get angry (32, 33). They can be sorely tried by their people and say what they shouldn’t. The story of Moses is sobering. I feel great sympathy for him. What a job he had. He endured more than most. But God held him accountable for doing wrong. The Israelites drove him to it, you might want to argue, but there was no excuse for Moses. He was responsible for his words (which are always the index of the heart). He reaped the consequences of his sin and was barred from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 20:1-13). So Hebrews 13:17 has a relevance here. You might like to have a look at it, then pray that you will not be the cause of a church leader sinning!! But there was something far more important than their making Moses angry; it was the fact that they angered the Lord by their rebellion against the Holy Spirit.

There is always good reason to do what God says (34-39; see Ex.34:11-16; Deut.7:1-6). He knows what the purpose is even if we don’t. It remains true today that if you get too close to the wrong sort of people you are liable to become like them with potentially disastrous outcomes. ‘Mingling’ can quickly lead to ‘adopting’ someone else’s way of life; and even to worshipping their gods. Be warned that any ‘idol’ (and it doesn’t have to be a physical statue that you prostrate yourself before) will become ”a snare” to you. The Israelites were meant to be the instruments of God’s judgment on the Canaanites, and not friendly neighbours dropping in for a cuppa and a chat! The psalmist can say that the Israelites ”prostituted themselves” (39) in that they forsook their true love; their Heavenly Husband, God, and went after other ‘lovers’. They committed spiritual adultery with the false gods of Canaan.

”They didn’t wipe out those godless cultures as ordered by GOD; instead they intermarried with the heathen, and in time became just like them…Their way of life stank to high heaven; they lived like whores.” The Message.

”Refusing to become a separate people, they became a compromised people…- it is always so.” J.A. Motyer: New Bible Commentary p.555

Prayer: Lord let me not be influenced by others towards evil, but always influence them for God and for good.