Worth Repeating - July 27, 2017

Exodus 28: 1 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you . . . along with his sons . . . so that they may serve me as priests.” (NIV)

Ideally, each member of the body should follow the instructions of the head and function as a harmonious whole to accomplish God’s purposes.*

According to myjewishlearning.com, the Bible doesn’t say anything about Aaron’s birth, early life or upbringing. I did a little research of my own and I can’t find any mention of him before Exodus chapter four. We don’t know when he first became involved in Moses’ life, but we might infer that since Pharaoh’s daughter let Moses’ mother take him back home to nurse him, Moses probably maintained a relationship with his birth parents’ household.

Based on the facts we have, we might also surmise that the brothers were close. It may be reading too much into what the Bible doesn’t say, but when Aaron is thrust into public service as Moses’ mouthpiece, he appears to have no objection. Aaron was Moses’ co-star for the next 40 years and except for an occasional family squabble (which often included sister Miriam), neither brother seems to betray any jealousy and, in fact, they appear to be happy for one another.*

God chose Moses to be the deliverer of his people. But God chose Aaron for a special ministry as well.  Moses may have gotten most of the glory down through the ages, but in order for God’s plan to work, he required both of them to be obedient, to be leaders, and to make personal sacrifices for the sake of their congregation.

Not everyone who serves the Lord with valor and success goes down in history by name, but each of them counts. Don’t be discouraged if your efforts on behalf of the Kingdom get less attention than second-fiddle Aaron or even third-string Miriam. We may wrestle with our need to be appreciated, even applauded,* but Jesus cautions us about performing our acts of righteousness in order to be seen (Matthew 6: 1). So serve the Lord with gladness and humility because your Father sees and will reward you (Matthew 6: 4 and 6).

“Don’t worry about the assignment I have given someone else. Your job is to follow me and feed my sheep.”*