Merarites

Num 4:27-38         10/19/2017

Authority is a curious business. Especially for the western world – especially for Americans. I am an American.

My experience suggests to me that the only time I don’t intuitively chaff against the idea of authority is when I am the person in authority.

Whimsical and terrifying.

The priests came from Levi.  God spoke.  The rest of the clan who weren’t priests were placed under the authority of these three priests, namely: Aaron and his two surviving sons. Before these seemingly arbitrary distinctions were drawn, they were all just one clan. Other than God’s calling, there was nothing about Aaron or his sons that should give cause for their authority to lead and guide. (This is, after all, the same Aaron who made the golden calf!!!)

The Truth:  I would be suspicious and reluctant. It’s just in me.

So maybe it’s the pitting of autonomy versus authority. Would I rather be beholden to no man and in absolute control of my destiny or would I use the authority placed over me to enter fully into the possibility of my life?

My answer will be conditioned by my experience. Do I trust God? Can I trust God? What happens if I chose wrong? Who is this God anyway – how shall I know Him?

If God is like my father, and my father is untrustworthy, or unkind, or not present, then is God also these things?

Will the narrowness of my experiences limit God – limit my understanding of God – limit my ability to respond to God?

There it is. That’s the question.

No, it mustn’t. God is the best person you’ve ever met times infinity. If your high school football coach was a better person for you than your father, then call God “Coach”.

Let not the moral failings of our ancestors jade us out of the possibility of our lives.