民十六5　　……到了早晨，耶和华必指示谁是属祂的，谁是圣别的，……祂所拣选的是谁，必叫谁亲近祂。

　　太二十25~27　……外邦人有君王为主治理他们，也有大臣操权管辖他们。但你们中间不是这样；反倒你们中间无论谁想要为大，就必作你们的仆役；你们中间无论谁想要为首，就必作你们的奴仆。

　　求地位和权力的野心，对神的子民总是个难处。野心是个“地鼠”，暗中破坏神的计划，并败坏神的子民。……我〔李常受弟兄〕和倪柝声弟兄同在中国大陆的时候，看到他多次受攻击。他绝不作什么或说什么来表白自己，也绝不抱怨人。他曾告诉我，因为他是受攻击的目标，他很难说到自己而不表白，也很难说到别人而不定罪。所以他说最好的方法，就是不说什么（民数记生命读经，一八八页）。

　　Num. 16:5 …In the morning Jehovah will make known who is His and who is holy;…the one whom He will choose He will bring near to Himself.

　　Matt. 20:25-27 …The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave.

　　Ambition for position and power is always a problem to God's people. Ambition is a”gopher” that undermines God's plan and damages His people. When I was with Watchman Nee on the mainland of China, I saw him attacked a number of times. He never did anything or said anything to vindicate himself, and he never complained against others. As he told me, because he was the target, it was difficult for him to say anything concerning himself without vindicating, and it was difficult to say anything about others without condemning. So the best way, he said, was not to say anything. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 172)

　　对权力的野心和争夺权力乃是在我们的血轮里。这野心和争斗不仅在男人中间，在女人中间也有。米利暗和亚伦对摩西的背叛就证明这点。我相信这背叛是由米利暗鼓动的。……我们都要小心防备我们里面这只野心的“地鼠”。

　　头一代跟随基督的人，就受到争夺权力的困扰。在极重要的时刻，当主耶稣要往耶路撒冷被钉十字架的时候，祂告诉跟随祂的人将要发生在祂身上的事（太二十17~19）。他们听了，却没听见，也不在乎祂所说的。祂对他们说到祂的死，他们却在争夺权力。雅各和约翰的母亲（耶稣的姨母）甚至把她两个儿子带到主跟前，求祂在国度里，叫一个在祂右边，一个在祂左边（20~28）。其他的门徒就恼怒这两个兄弟。这指明门徒中间有争夺权力的事。

　　你若把使徒行传和书信读一遍，就看见召会生活从开始就有这种争权。亚拿尼亚和撒非喇（徒五1~4）这对夫妇欺骗神，实际上也是争权。他们想要在别人眼中更形重要，得以居高。在书信的末了，约翰提到一个争权的人—丢特腓（约叁9~11）。……基督教的历史就是一部争权的历史。这种争斗在我们每一个人里面。你可能不晓得，但它却隐藏在你里面。至终，召会生活会把我们真实的光景试验出来。只要我们在召会生活中，迟早我们会被试验并暴露出来。

　　请想想民数记里，以色列人中间的背叛者。有些背叛者是在营边界的人，有些是闲杂人，有些是与带头的摩西非常亲近的人。……在十六章，二百五十个首领背叛了。看到这一切，我们必须相信，每一个以色列人里面都有争权。

　　在十六章，摩西在面对二百五十个首领这么大规模的背叛时，乃是勇敢且忠信的。虽然他面伏于地，却仍然作了些事。他将这事公开地带到神那里，让神进来说话、审判并表白。

　　在这种背叛的情况下，最好什么也不作。主仍然活着。祂仍在宝座上，仍是主宰一切的。祂是主宰的主，也是最高的权柄。今天祂是基督身体的头。因此，我们必须一直把这些事交给祂，让祂作祂所是的。这是我们所能作的，也是我们必须作的（民数记生命读经，一八八至一九一页）。

　　参读：民数记生命读经，第十九、二十三至二十四篇；民数记概论下册，第二十一至二十二篇。

　　The ambition for power and the struggle for power are in our blood. This ambition and struggle can be found not only among males but also among females. The rebellion of Miriam and Aaron against Moses proves this. I believe that this rebellion was instigated by Miriam….We all need to be careful to guard against the”gopher” of ambition within us.

　　The first generation of Christ's followers was troubled by the struggle for power. At a very crucial time, when the Lord Jesus was going to Jerusalem to be crucified, He told His followers what would happen to Him (Matt. 20:17-19). They heard Him, but they neither listened to what He said nor cared about it. While He was telling them about His death, they were struggling for power. The mother of James and John (Jesus' aunt) even brought her two sons to the Lord, begging Him to put one on His right and one on His left in the kingdom (Matt. 20:20-28). The other disciples were indignant toward these two brothers. This indicates that there was a power struggle among the disciples.

　　If you read through the Acts and the Epistles, you will see that this struggle for power was there from the beginning of the church life. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-4) were a couple who lied to God. Actually, their lying was a struggle for power. They wanted to be more important, to elevate themselves in the eyes of others. At the end of the Epistles, John mentioned one who was struggling for power, Diotrephes (3 John 9-11). The history of Christianity is a history of the struggle for power. This struggle is within each one of us. You may not realize it, but it is hidden inside you. Eventually, the church life will be a test to our real situation. As long as we are in the church life, sooner or later we will be tested and exposed.

　　Consider the rebels among the children of Israel in Numbers. Some rebels were on the border of the camp, some were with the mixed multitude, and some were very close to Moses, the leading one. Now, in Numbers 16, two hundred fifty leaders rebelled. In view of all this, we must believe that the struggle for power was in every one of the sons of Israel.

　　In chapter 16, Moses was bold and faithful in confronting a large-scale rebellion, a rebellion of two hundred fifty leaders. Although he fell on his face, he still did something. He brought this matter openly to God, to let God come in to speak, to judge, and to vindicate.

　　In such a rebellious situation, it is better not to do anything. The Lord is still living. He is still on the throne and is still sovereign. He is the sovereign Lord and the highest authority. He is the Head of the Body today. Thus, we must always refer these things to Him and let Him be what He is. This is all we can do, and this is what we must do. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 172-174)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msgs. 19, 23-24; CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” chs. 21-22