[Numbers 16] Surviving a Church Fight. In this chapter, we find Moses in conflict with a wealthy Israelite by the name of Korah. Moses is challenged and criticized for not producing as promised. Two hundred fifty men rise up to remove Moses and Aaron, but God intervenes. Before the day is over, 14,000 people pay with their lives. Rebellion always comes with a hidden and terrible cost. Christians are masters of rebellion, criticism, and judgmentalism. By studying Korah’s example, you will learn how to come out of these horrible situations with your destiny intact.
[Num 16:1-50 KJV] 1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took [men]: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, [Ye take] too much upon you, seeing all the congregation [are] holy, every one of them, and the LORD [is] among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 4 And when Moses heard [it], he fell upon his face: 5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who [are] his, and [who is] holy; and will cause [him] to come near unto him: even [him] whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be [that] the man whom the LORD doth choose, he [shall be] holy: [ye take] too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 9 [Seemeth it but] a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? 10 And he hath brought thee near [to him], and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 11 For which cause [both] thou and all thy company [are] gathered together against the LORD: and what [is] Aaron, that ye murmur against him? 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 13 [Is it] a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. 15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. 16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: 17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each [of you] his censer. 18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for [I have] not [done them] of mine own mind. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; [then] the LORD hath not sent me. 30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that [appertain] unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that [was] under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that [appertained] unto Korah, and all [their] goods. 33 They, and all that [appertained] to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34 And all Israel that [were] round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up [also]. 35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. 36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. 38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates [for] a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. 39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad [plates for] a covering of the altar: 40 [To be] a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which [is] not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses. 41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. 42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. 46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Into every society, even in the kingdom of God, challenges will come. How you respond to provocation is a test of your character and a reflection of the influence of the mind of God upon your life. Who you are under pressure is much more telling than the composure you demonstrate in times of cooperation and blessing.
Who was Korah? Korah was a descendent of Levi, a member of the priestly family of Kohath. You will remember that the Kohathites were tasked with the honor of carrying on their shoulders the ark of the covenant and the other sacred artifacts of the tabernacle. In a very tangible way, Korah was a “carrier of the glory.” Yet in his station, he trespassed upon another man’s calling (specifically Moses) and paid dearly along with 249 other conspirators. This man had some powers of persuasion. He was no doubt charismatic and forceful in his personality. His arguments were rational and made sense. His protestations against Moses and Aaron appealed to an innate sense of humility – not his own, however, but his insistence regarding what HUMILITY Aaron and Moses should (in his view) have walked in.
When this resistance surfaced, Aaron and Moses were within their rights to say to Korah and his 250 collaborators, “you aren’t my enemy, are you? God fights against my enemies…” There are times when the pressure is on that we want to lash out against those we feel are responsible and particularly our leaders. Had Korah and his group paused to think of what they were doing, they would no doubt have reconsidered. There was a point they could have changed their mind, but in every rebellion, there is a moment that you are either “all in” or “all-out” – a point of no return when the consequences, good or bad, will be “bought and paid for” with no way to back out or avoid them.
What do we know of Korah? According to Rabbinical sources, he was a man of substance, wealth, and influence. The name “Korah” is explained by the Rabbis of Talmudic scholarship as meaning “baldness.” It was given to him historically after this chapter’s events on account of the gap or blank which he made in Israel by his revolt (owing to the resulting death of many thousands). Korah is represented as the possessor of extraordinary wealth, having allegedly discovered one of the treasures which Joseph had hidden in Egypt in that patriarch’s lifetime. According to Jewish legend, the keys alone behind Korah’s locked treasuries formed a load for three hundred mules.
What can we learn from this? Korah was a man who felt he could afford because of his affluence to gainsay the man of God and the purpose of God. We see this in the cult of celebrity in our society today. Men and women who have amassed great wealth often demonstrate a deeply held arrogance as though the truths that apply to the common man are somehow beneath them. They presume that their station in life and material gains authorize them as authorities in matters far beyond their reach. As a rule, they think nothing of railing against the sacred and the holy things of the kingdom.
Before we judge them too quickly, let us look in our own lives. The problem with these men is a matter of FALSE and OUTWARD dependencies. Do we not in our own lives make such errors when we look outwardly to resources and strengths other than who Jesus is on the inside of us? Idolatry proposes the dwelling place of God to be somewhere other than the human heart. When we anchor our sense of well-being in our family, our religious infrastructure, or any outward thing, we commit the sin of Korah and jeopardize the good things that God has in store for us. God’s plan for Korah and these 249 men of Israel was not that they perish in the wilderness, but their presumptuous choices provoked a deviation of their destiny and cost them their lives.
What was Moses’ response? In v. 4, we see Moses’ response to opposition. As a leader (and all God’s people are leaders in one capacity or another), how you respond to criticism is vital to the outcome of every challenge against you. What did he do? He fell on his face. He didn’t do this because he feared for himself but rather for the leaders against him who had so foolishly interfered and intruded into God’s plan and purpose in choosing Aaron and Moses as the leaders of Israel in the first place. What does it mean to fall on your face? The face in scripture is a metaphor for the spirit. When you are challenged, you may be tempted to become emotional or to fall back on your powers of craft and cleverness to think your way out of the situation. Moses was not a schemer, and in this instance, neither was he a hot-head. He didn’t try to intimidate Korah or to manipulate his way out of the problem. He fell back on his face, i.e., his SPIRIT MAN, and waited on God for a solution. When you are defied by your critics, how you respond will reveal your true dependencies. Are you trusting in God? The truth will always outlive the lie. The moment when others blame you is when you have the greatest authority in a circumstance. When others blame you, they make you “god” in the situation. Draw on your spirit man where God sits enthroned and not on the tactics of maneuvering and coercion. God will vindicate you whenever you refuse to “fight fire with fire.”
Notice that Korah and his band did not accuse Moses regarding his evident successes. They didn’t refer to Pharaoh’s army destroyed in the Red Sea. They didn’t accuse him of the successful departure from the land of bondage. They accused him of things that hadn’t come to pass yet. When others criticize you, the charges will be regarding areas of your life where you fall short or demonstrate a character weakness. It doesn’t matter whether the criticism is true or false. What matters is what motivates the challenge. The critical thing to remember is NEVER ANSWER YOUR CRITICS. When you answer your detractors, you will step out of your grace in the matter and fall into a natural (fleshly response).
Korah and his mob accuse Moses and Aaron of making themselves more than they really were. They bring censors of incense and their patriarchal staffs to see whom God will favor. We see this kind of challenge all the time in the church. The contest here is whose censor of incense will the Lord respond to with an outpouring of His glory? The focus at the moment is not on God himself – they aren’t even thinking about God. They are concerned with credibility and the regard of the people. They somehow believe that Moses is pulling a hat trick when the glory shows up and that they can do the same thing and take over the nation of Israel for their own gain.
Finally, God speaks to the situation, and the earth opens up and swallows them alive. The Father doesn’t say “convene a committee of inquiry to see if these charges have merit.” He didn’t stand alongside Moses and support him because he was above reproach because he was not. You never answer your critics, but what do you do when they don’t shut up? You separate yourself from them. This is true if you are a leader or if you are part of a group that is experiencing this kind of strife. You cannot get embroiled in trying to fix the problem because it isn’t about that. Korah didn’t want to solve a problem he wanted the attention upon himself no matter what the cost to the people or to Moses and Aaron. The only appropriate and safe response is to distance yourself. Many in this position remain in the ranks of the rebellious not because they agree but because family ties are involved, or past friendships or they simply “don’t want to make matters worse or get involved.” Those who made those decisions in this case paid with their lives alongside Korah. You cannot solve the problem on the level of the problem; you simply need to distance yourself NOT from the legitimate leader (which usually happens) but from the usurpers – the complainers, those who challenged God’s anointed men.
The ground swallows the rebels, and fire comes out from the Lord and devours the ring leaders. Notice that the fire that devours them is the fire that originates in their own censors of incense. In other words, the rebellion they instigated consumed them. There is a law of reciprocity in effect. It is easy to get people to rebel. It is another thing to keep that very rebellion from devouring and ultimately destroying your life. Does this mean you blindly follow and obey? Time and again, Jesus spoke of persecution and opposition against the people of God, saying when this happened to simply move on, to flee into the next city or situation. We often don’t want to do this because we have investments in the group we are a part of and are more concerned with men’s opinions than the purposes of God that are defamed by unbelievers because of the strife-mongering of the people called according to God’s purpose.
After the rebellion is judged and the rebels have paid with their lives, the fires of unrest continue to burn. Rather than understanding Korah and his band did this to themselves, the people blame Moses and Aaron and gather together against them. When this happens (and literally, their lives are in jeopardy), the glory of God falls upon the situation, and the cloud of God comes down to protect Aaron and Moses. You have to let the Lord fight your battles when you are challenged. If you take your hand and your mouth off the situation, God will move in your defense. If you keep trying to fix the problem, you will perish along with the rest because your dependency is on yourself and not God.
None of what happened this day was in God’s plan for Korah or the 14000 people who died at his side. We tend to think that God writes in stone, but He does not. He writes in sand. Things change, and people change, and God’s plan for our lives changes as a result. There is one thing that can cause your destiny in God to become an abortion – is when you put your hand and your mouth upon what God is doing or upon who He is using. Let your words be few in situations like this. The scripture says these things happened as an example to us. Let Korah not have died in vain but let us learn from their fate and not lose out on the good things God has for us.
