Remember way back in Numbers 16, when Korah accused Moses of “exalting himself” above the whole congregation before the Lord?
Or in Numbers 12 when Aaron and Miriam confronted Moses and said that God spoke through them just as He did with Moses, which they felt entitled them to extra honor as well?
Turns out, all three of those people had the memory of a goldfish, because it wasn’t Moses that put himself in the seat of honor, but Israel.
Deuteronomy 5 is clear on this matter. Moses was invited by God to Mt. Sinai to receive the Law (which does show his God-appointed leadership, to be fair), then came down to the people to deliver the Law.
Their reaction is swift and final. They want to hear what God has to say, but they don’t want to hear it from God. Instead, they want to hear it from him. God tells Moses, Moses tells the people, and everyone goes home happy.
Their logic for this arrangement makes zero sense. They fully acknowledge that man can live even after hearing the voice of God (Deuteronomy 5:24), yet then turn around and say that if God speaks to them any further, they’ll die (Deuteronomy 5:25).
Why do they come to such a conclusion? Because, according to the next verse (Deuteronomy 5:26), no man has ever heard God from the midst of the fire (except for them, of course), and lived to talk about it.
So, here’s where their fear is at. Even though they’ve heard God speak to them directly, they worry that that was a one-time exception, so they make Moses the sacrificial lamb by forcing him to speak to God on an ongoing basis.
Is that the job that Korah wanted? Was he ready for that?
The role of the mediator is not a bad one. In fact, Israel’s decision saved them in the future, since Moses went to bat for them on numerous occasions.
But you could make an argument that it was at least somewhat unnecessary. Sure, it was Moses that went to God on the mountain, and it was the Levites that made the sacrifices at the Tabernacle.
But any one of them could have prayed to God. That’s the point the Hebrew writer makes in Hebrews 10:20-25: We should all come to God without fear.
If you’re going to give Israel credit for anything, though, it’s their reverence. Their respect for the presence of God motivated them towards obedience, to the point that even God wished that their attitude would remain forever.
Did it? Unfortunately not. But at least they started off on the right foot.