In The Word
Read: Numbers 16:1-35
Korah’s Rebellion
16 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, 2 and they stood before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and your whole group, 7 and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall bethe one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it too small an honorfor you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he, that you grumble against him?”
12 Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17 And each of you take his censer and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on it, and placed incense on it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, the God of the spirits of humanity, when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the areas around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”
25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areasaround the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not my doing. 29 If these men die the death of all mankind, or if they suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”
31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions.33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Korah, Dathan, Abiram thought that Moses had too much power. Therefore, they rose up in jealousy against him. Rather than defend himself, Moses wisely did not fight back. He brought the situation to God and allowed Him to take care of it. After falling on his face, he told Korah that the Lord would show who was His tomorrow. Moses then challenged Korah, who pridefully accepted. After Moses interceded for all of Israel, God then destroyed Korah and all those that rose up against Moses.
Sometimes in life we too will encounter opposition. We may get treated unfairly, talked about, or even lied to. Rather than take the matter into our own hands, God would have us fall on our face and trust Him. He even tells us in Proverbs 26:4 not to answer a fool in his folly. There is freedom in knowing we do not have to defend ourselves because God is our defender. We see here sometimes God may not defend us today, it may be tomorrow. But He is faithful in His own time. It is of godly character that we not take the matter into our own hands because the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Maybe you are in a similar situation now. Romans 12:19 tells us to allow room for God’s wrath. Remember, God knows you and loves you. He will defend you greater than you can defend yourself. Trust Him!