You would have to be blind to not have noticed the seemingly large number of faith leaders that have been challenged or accused by members of their congregations or organizations in recent years. The news and social media have been filled with both accurate and inaccurate accounts by reporters, victims, witnesses, and by those who simply share whatever the most salacious events of the day happen to be.
I want to begin by saying that if you are hoping that I am going to use this blog today to name names and share details, you are going to be disappointed. Likewise, if you are hoping that I am going to rail against the accusers, you will also be disappointed. Rather than doing either of those two things, it is my intention to share two examples from the Bible which I hope will help us all determine how and when we should rise up and confront our rabbis and pastors.
The two examples I am speaking of come from Exodus 18 and Numbers 16. In both of these chapters, we find a man confronting and challenging Moses. In Exodus, the man confronting Moses is Jethro, his father-in-law, and in Numbers, the man confronting Moses is Korach, who is a Levite and someone whom the Bible calls a man of renown.
When Jethro confronts Moses, this is what he says to him:
Exodus 18:14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What’s this you’re doing to the people? Why sit by yourself, alone, with all the people standing around from morning until evening?” 15 Moses answered his father-in-law, “It’s because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have an issue, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, so I make them understand God’s statutes and His laws.” 17 But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you’re doing is no good.
When Korach confronts Moses, he says:
Number 16:3 They assembled against Moses and Aaron. They said to them, “You’ve gone too far! All the community is holy—all of them—and Adonai is with them! Then why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of Adonai?”
I believe there is an important lesson that we can find and adopt as guidance for how and when we should confront a leader within these two statements and the narratives that surround them. I know both of these confrontations are directed at how Moses is leading, and not based upon abuse or immorality, but the lesson holds true even if the circumstances are different.
Let’s start with Jethro. First, Jethro straight out walks up to Moses and says, “What you are doing is no good.” He doesn’t sugar coat his confrontation, he doesn’t beat around the bush. He says it simply and directly to Moses. It is important to note that Jethro first goes directly to Moses with his confrontation; he doesn’t first talk to 250 other men.
(Let me take a moment to say that if the confrontation relates to abuse or criminality, it should be reported to the correct authorities before confrontation takes place, and in those cases, it is absolutely proper when confronting a leader to have others with you.)
Second, when Jethro confronts Moses, his motivation isn’t about himself, Jethro. It is about the people and Moses. Jethro isn’t confronting Moses to make himself look good, to make himself more important, or in order to try to replace Moses. Jethro’s confrontation is not about Jethro at all. His motivation is truly to correct Moses so that the people would be better served, and so Moses would not wear himself out, nor the people.
Now, let’s look at Korach. First, when Korach confronts Moses, his motivation isn’t about the people; it is about himself and those who are rebelling against Moses’ leadership. Yes, he makes a statement that sounds as if he is standing up for everyone. But, the truth is brought out by Moses in Numbers 16:8-10:
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Listen now, sons of Levi! 9 Isn’t it enough that the God of Israel has set you apart from the community of Israel to bring you near to Him to do the work of the Tabernacle of Adonai and to stand before the community to minister to them? 10 So He brought you close, along with all your fellow sons of Levi. But you are seeking the priesthood, too!
Second, Korach does speak to at least 250 other men before confronting Moses. It is clear that Korach’s motivation is about himself. It is about Korach’s desire for notoriety. It’s about Korach wanting a position. It is about Korach being seen as equal to, if not greater than, Moses.
Before going on, it is important to note that as we read through Numbers 16, we can see that Korach fully believes what he is confronting Moses about all the way to his death, as the ground opens up and swallows him. However, just believing you are right doesn’t make you right, and even if Korach is correct in the reason for his confrontation (which he is not), his motivation and process is incorrect, which results in his own demise.
To wrap this all up, in almost every believer’s life, there are going to be times when we see a leader doing something wrong - actually wrong. When those times come, we have the choice on how we are going to confront those leaders and what our motivation will be when doing so. Will we confront them like Jethro because we are concerned about the people and the leader? Or will we confront them like Korach, as a method of gaining authority, position, or notoriety? The truth is that if we see a leader doing something wrong, biblically, we don’t have a choice to confront or not. We only have the choice of how and why we will confront.