BBD 09.09.13 Swallowed Alive (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
14,000 Subscribers
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Classic from 2006
09.09.13
Swallowed Alive
And Moses said: "By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to
do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die
naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men,
then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD creates a new thing, and the
earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and
they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have
rejected the LORD." Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these
words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with
all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit;
the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. Then all
Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the
earth swallow us up also!" - Numbers 16:28-35.
Imagine the headline, "Earth Swallows Man!"
Of course, we think, things like that just happen back in the days of the Old
Testament. Sadly, a 27 year-old man northeast of Sacramento, California has
been swallowed by the earth. A sinkhole suddenly opened up around 9:30pm near
the kitchen of his home and he fell ten feet into the hole. Rubble covered up
the man and he was killed. Thankfully, his wife who was also in the home at the
time was not injured. She called 911 but there was not anything anyone could do
to save her husband. A Placer County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, Dena Erwin, says, "It’s unbelievable. From the front of the house, it’s absolutely
normal. Then, in the middle of the house, is this enormous hole." The hole is now 30 feet wide by 20 feet in depth and is
still growing. The home has been condemned.
Why was Korah and many others swallowed up by the earth? Korah and the 250 other leaders who joined him, sinned
by challenging the authority of Moses. Moses was God’s chosen leader. They were
also trying to usurp God’s chosen leadership of the Levitical priesthood. It
was a warning then and it is now to be very careful when challenging the
authority of those who have been placed in leadership positions by God.
Was the man in California who was swallowed up by the
sinkhole guilty of challenging God’s chosen leadership? I doubt it. Was he guilty of some other sin? I do
not know. However, it is a powerful reminder that we are not guaranteed the
living of life to a ripe old age. We are not necessarily safe from disaster
even in our homes.
Life is very fragile and we should always be aware that
it could end very suddenly. In the book of James we are told, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you
do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought
to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that (James
4:13-15).'"
Knowing that our lives are so fragile and that sudden
disaster can come upon us we should be careful to make the best use of the time
we have been given. "Carpe diem" the Latin words for "seize
the day" is an excellent motto for Christians. Seize this day and
every day not for yourself but for the Lord. Then, you will not be
worried about the earth swallowing you up. Instead, you will have the peace of a life well lived in the
will of God.
Copyright © 2006-2013. Ed Wrather.
The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8,
1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed
Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Ed Wrather has retired from
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