Numbers 16:8-35 “Then Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: (9) Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; (10) and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? … (16) And Moses said to Korah, "Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the Lord--you and they, as well as Aaron. (17) Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer." (18) So, every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. … (35) And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.”
There is another area that we need to discuss, which is the anointing. Every ministry gift has its own anointing. The anointing is the specific enabling of the Holy Spirit given to an individual to operate in the ministry gift that they have received. Every ministry gift is a supernatural endowment of God’s grace to be able to function in that office, and it is only by the Holy Spirit’s anointing that each one is able to function in their specific callings. For someone to attempt to function in an office that they have not been called to operate in would be one and the same as if they were operating in the flesh. For example, if someone who had been given the ministry gift of prophet tried to operate in the ministry gift of pastor, they would be stepping outside of their anointing and begin walking in the flesh. Under the old covenant, judgment fell very quickly on those who tried to operate in an office that they had not been called to. In the above quoted passage of scripture we have an account of certain Levites trying to operate as priests. God had separated the Levites from the rest of the tribes of Israel to serve in the Tabernacle, and God had further separated Aaron and his sons from the rest of the tribe of Levi to minister to Him as priests. And so, these leaders of Israel had decided that because they were all children of Israel that they were all able to operate as priests before God and not just Aaron. This account reveals to us that because these men presumed to step into an office that the Lord had not called them to, God judged them with death. We can see from this account that it is not a light thing for an individual to attempt to stand in an office outside of God’s calling for their lives.
2 Chronicles 26:11-20 “Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, … (15) And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skilful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So, his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvellously helped till he became strong. (16) But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. (17) So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord--valiant men. (18) And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honour from the Lord God." (19) Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. (20) And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so, they thrust him out of that place. Indeed, he also hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.”
In another example quoted above we see the account of King Uzziah who had been anointed by the Lord to stand in the office of king, and the Lord had blessed him in that office. But because the Lord had blessed him, he was deceived into thinking that the Lord would allow him to do as he pleased. And so, he presumed to operate in the office of the priest and offer incense to Lord himself. However, that was not his calling. And because he stepped into an office that the Lord had not anointed him for, we can see from this account that God judged him with leprosy. Under the New Testament we are under grace, and so the Lord does not judge us as quickly as under the old covenant, and He gives us time to repent. Nevertheless, if one tries to operate in an office that the Lord has not called them to, then the Lord will eventually judge that person. For you can readily see that someone trying to operate in a ministry gift in the flesh would cause damage to the body of Christ.
Michael E.B. Maher
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