Think broadly about rebellion. Think about it as a spectrum, from simple disobedience to full-on treason.
In terms of simple disobedience, we have the difficult, quarrelsome Israelites in the desert constantly rebelling against Moses’ leadership.
The Jews complain about the lack of water, bitterly and loudly.
God tells Moses to speak to a rock and it will give forth water.
Moses and Aaron go to the rock.
Moses orders the rock to give forth water, but he hits the rock as he does so – disobeying a direct order by adding to it.
Because Moses and Aaron are so great, their smallest punishment gets a harsh rebuke, and God tells them they will not enter the Land of Israel, despite leading the people in the desert.
But there is never a question in Moses’ mind that he will continue to lead the people and do as God asks.
The Israelites however are different.
Even after the miracle of the water flowing from the rock, they still complain about thirst, and God sends a raft of serpents to bite them, until they shut their mouths.
On top of this squabbling, the nations of the world rebel against what they know God’s plan is, and will not let the Jews pass through their lands on the way to Israel.
One king in particular pays an occultist to curse the Jews, but God forces him to bless the Jews instead.
We see all forms of rebellion here, and all of them are overcome, except the last one.
The Midianite women go out to seduce the Jewish men.
Although the zealot Pinchas puts an end to one particularly egregious episode, one which desecrates the holy place, the larger issue of infiltration is never truly put to rest.
A nation can fight every enemy.
But it cannot fight an enemy which worms its way into the heart of the people, and makes itself inseparable, such that the healthy cells of the body are then treated as a cancer.
In the end the truth will be revealed, and the harlots will be left in the desolate places. We know this from the Scripture.
Also in the end the honor of the righteous women will be restored to the Earth, and the dominance of the witches will forever and completely end.
Here’s to freedom 🙂
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By Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal. All opinions are the author’s own. Public domain.
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