Korah’s Rebellion
Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath son of Levi, along with some Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—conducted a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 men of Israel renowned as leaders of the congregation and representatives in the assembly. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! (Figuratively You have gone too far or You have appropriated too much authority to yourselves) For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him (God has visited and knows those who are His; cited in 2 Timothy 2:19) and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses, He will bring near to Himself. You, Korah, and all your followers are to do as follows: Take censers, and tomorrow you are to place fire and incense in them in the presence of the LORD. Then the man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. It is you sons of Levi who have taken too much upon yourselves!”
Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you sons of Levi! Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well. Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us? Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”
Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the LORD—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”
So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
Moses Separates the People
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants.
The Earth Swallows Korah
Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing: If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
The Censers Reserved for Holy Use
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the censers from the flames, because they are holy, and to scatter the coals far away. As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”
So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
Murmuring and Plague (Numbers 25:1-5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13)
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!” But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD said to Moses, “Get away from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” And they fell facedown.
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
So Aaron took the censer as Moses had ordered and ran into the midst of the assembly. And seeing that the plague had begun among the people, he offered the incense and made atonement for the people. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted. But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.
Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.”
There are three main leaders of this rebellion. Korah is a Levite; however, Dathan and Abiram are Reubenites, and they are joined by 250 other leaders from various tribes. It’s quite possible that Moses has appointed some or all these leaders to adjudicate disputes; in which case, they would feel even more qualified to lead worship. But God has already selected Aaron and his sons to the exclusion of all the other Levites to be priests. Nothing is said about Moses’ sons serving as priests, even though Moses himself is in authority over Aaron. God has specifically designated the remainder of the Levites to serve in the Tent of Meeting in various capacities. While serving God is a big honor, it’s not enough for these guys, who long to be front and center, wearing the fancy clothes and waving those censers where everyone can see and admire them. Maintaining the temple and cleaning up after burnt offerings, toting the ashes, and cleaning up bloody messes has no appeal for these men. Let somebody else do the grunt work!
Fueled by their own ambition, these rebels make several charges against Moses and Aaron: 1. All the Israelites are holy, so why are Moses and Aaron taking so much authority? (Are we talking about the same Israelites who are still hiding Egyptian images, amulets, etc., in their tents? The same Israelites who are ready to go off on an orgy at a moment’s notice? How holy are these people?) 2. Dathan and Abiram are claiming that Moses has brought the Israelites “out of a land flowing with milk and honey” to kill them and that Moses has failed to lead them into a rich land with fields and vineyards . (HUH? Moses has done his best to deliver these people from slavery. It’s these guys who have helped convince the Israelites that they are too small and weak to enter the Promised Land. Dathan and Abiram and the 250 other leaders were probably part of the group rejecting the testimonies of Caleb and Joshua.)
The following day, Korah, Dathan, Abiram and the 250 other leaders appear at the Tent of Meeting along with a mob of supporters. All these men plus Moses and Aaron take censers and put fire in them, and then God shows up in a cloud of glory. God is so angry that He is ready to wipe out all the Israelites; however, Moses and Aaron fall on their faces and beg God, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
Moses orders everyone to move far away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. The ground opens up and swallows these men, their families, and everyone cooperating with them. Next, God sends holy fire to consume the 250 leaders offering profane incense, leaving only their censers. Moses orders Aaron to have these bronze censers hammered into sheets to overlay the altar as a permanent reminder to the Israelites that “no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.”
You might think that after watching 250 men be burnt by holy fire and three entire families swallowed up by the earth, the Israelites would stop complaining. Wrong! The very next day, the Israelites accuse Moses and Aaron of “killing God’s people,” as if Moses and Aaron have made all these things happen. (If Moses and Aaron are so powerful, WHY are these people taunting and accusing them?)
At this point, God has had enough. A plague breaks out, and 14,700 people die. At Moses’ orders, Aaron puts fire in his censer and rushes into the center of the people, standing between the living and the dead, offering atonement for the people so the plague stops. (What kind of plague would kill that many people instantly? Possibly pulmonary anthrax or really bad cholera-the point is don’t mess with the Ruler of the Universe! Or perhaps God simply descends in holiness and those who are truly rebellious can’t stand to be near Him.)
APPLICATION: After all the complaints and all the rebellion, God has finally had enough! It’s quite likely that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram have been working behind the scenes for weeks to undermine the authority of Moses and Aaron. This thing did not start “today-today,” as the Ghanaians would say. Organizing 250 leaders to support your cause takes time and effort. The Terrible Three have probably been slithering around the Israelite camp, sounding out tribal leaders to find the malcontents.
Personally, my sympathies are with Moses and Aaron. One of the biggest miracles in this story is the willingness of Moses and Aaron to repeatedly intercede on behalf of the same people who have been castigating them for weeks. Moses and Aaron literally throw themselves on the ground in front of these people as a sign of humility, a quality sadly lacking in their detractors. I have worked in situations in which someone in authority has made poor decisions, leaving me to face the criticism. At least Moses and Aaron are representing a holy God who is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
How can we face scathing criticism? A line from the old Walt Disney shows about Davy Crockett seems to apply: “Be sure you’re right and then go ahead.” If we are serving the One True Living God, we can always seek His perfect Will. If we are following God’s guidance, then our part is to obey while He handles the results.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us find ourselves facing criticism for the mistakes of our superiors. Help all in this position to find their rest in You and to trust that You can and will bring things to a peaceful and successful conclusion. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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