But You, Beloved... Jude

 ¹¹Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

According to Jude (the half brother of Jesus) in the New Testament, there will always be men like Korah and his friends in the midst of the congregation. In the next few verses, Jude gave a description of these people with a warning that God will also judge these like he did Korah and others.

 ¹²These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

 ¹³wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

 ¹⁴It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,

 ¹⁵to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

 ¹⁶These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

It is no wonder that God hates grumbling and pride as seen in the story of Korah as it led to strife, division among the people and out and out rebellion followed by destruction of the grumblers. Jude ended his short letter concerning these evil people among them with a description as to how we can live by God's grace in contrast to them.

¹⁷But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 ¹⁸that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts."

 ¹⁹These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

 ²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

 ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

 ²²And have mercy on some, who are doubting;

 ²³save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

 ²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

 ²⁵to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

I am so grateful for the humble and loving example of Moses and Aaron through the whole awful story of Korah and the others who rebelled against them. They kept their cool and interceded before God for the people who rose up against them. Many more would have died if they hadn't fallen down before God on their behalf.

God, we praise You that You are always the same and that You have provided wisdom as to how we can live in this evil generation with rebellious people even in our congregations. We praise You that you are just and will judge evil. Cause us to keep from stumbling and to be blameless before You with great joy! Cause us to keep ourselves in Your love so we can love those who need to be rescued while hating the evil they do. We can't, but you can.