278. KORAH, DATHAN AND ABIRAM
"The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up"
Following their defeat by the enemy as they tried to force their way into the Promised Land, the Israelites returned to Kadesh, dejected, angry, and inclined to blame Moses for the failure of their venture. Moses had refused to go with them, knowing that God was not with them.
It was therefore a complaining and bitter nation that left Kadesh to wander in the wilderness for thirty-eight years (Deut. 2:14). Typical of this was the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, when they tried to oppose the principle of the Divine selection of Israel's priesthood.
The aim of this lesson is to see that God's arrangements and appointments must be respected.
NUMBERS 16 & 17
YEARS OF WANDERINGS.
Altogether, Israel was condemned to wander 40 years in the wilderness. They had already been two years there when the spies returned with their evil report (cp. Num. 1:1; 9:1). Then, turned away from the Land of Promise, they were to wander in the wilderness for 38 years until all those over 20 years old had perished from among them, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua (Deut. 2:14). This did not mean that God had left His people: He still spoke with them through Moses (Num. 15:1,17, 35); fed them with manna daily; supplied them with water and clothed them (Deut. 8:2-4; 29:5-6).
But it made little difference, for still they continued to disobey God. The Law was broken € the rite of circumcision was discounted (Josh. 5:4-8); the Passover was put aside; the Sabbaths were profaned (Num. 15:32; Ezek. 20:10-26); and idolatrous practices were persisted in. Whatever the current difficulties, they could then at least have looked forward to the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. They could have lived in hope of resurrection to life eternal. But, by and large, they seemed unable to rise above the difficulties of their present circumstances.
MOSES AND AARON CHALLENGED (Num. 16:1-17).
The disappointment at having been turned back to wander in the wilderness created a tense atmosphere. Moses had apparently failed and a situation had arisen in which ambitious men could easily fan the flames of sedition. Korah, a prominent leader and cousin of Moses (Ex. 6:18, 21), seized the opportunity along with Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben. The conspiracy soon gained momentum as 250 princes, "famous in the congregation", defected from Moses. The popular cry was, "Ye take too much upon you (Moses and Aaron), seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them." Soon the whole congregation was in rebellion against Moses and Aaron (v. 19). Like communism today, they pandered to the people by telling them they were all equals. But their motive was not equality. They envied Moses and Aaron and yearned for pre-eminence (v. 7; Psa. 106:16). They had not learned the lesson that had been so dramatically spelled out to Miriam and Aaron so shortly before (Num. 12).
Moses was dismayed by the challenge and fell upon the ground. He called upon the conspirators to appear before the Tabernacle on the morrow with censers, incense and fire. There and then Yahweh would reveal whom He had chosen. He reminded Korah and the Kohathites of the great honour which was theirs in being separated for the service of the Tabernacle and to minister on behalf of the congregation (Num. 4:4-20). Placing his finger on the true motive, he said, "seek ye the priesthood also" (v. 10).
Dathan and Abiram refused to come to the Tabernacle. They were completely faithless towards God and imputed carnal motives to all Moses had done on behalf of Israel. The promise of a land flowing with milk and honey was, they argued, only an allurement on Moses' part, so that he could bring them into the wilderness and make himself a prince over them. Moreover, they refused to come out to the Tabernacle because they adjudged he was going to cruelly punish them himself, "wilt thou put out the eyes of these men?" (v. 14).
EVENTS OF THE MORROW: MOSES VINDICATED (Num. 16:18-40).
In the meantime Korah had rallied the support of the congregation and assembled them at the door of the Tabernacle. Then the glory of Yahweh appeared before all the congregation and Yahweh called upon Aaron and Moses to separate themselves from the congregation that He might consume them in a moment. They fell on their faces and appealed to Yahweh to spare the congregation: "shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?" (v. 22).
Yahweh spared the congregation and commanded them to remove themselves from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Moses declared that Yahweh would prove that he had been divinely commissioned by the unnatural death of the rebels: "If these men die the common death of all men... Yahweh hath not sent me. But if Yahweh make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up... then ye shall understand that these men have provoked Yahweh" (vv. 28-30). When Moses finished these words, there was an immediate response by God in exactly the way Moses had prescribed. The earth clave open beneath the rebels and all that pertained unto them went down into the pit. Their cries struck terror in the hearts of Israel. How easily they could have suffered the same fate. Moses' prayer had saved them (v. 22). While the congregation fled, a fire came out from Yahweh and consumed the 250 princes who offered incense on brazen censers.
God commanded Moses to take up their brazen censers and to make with them "broad plates for a covering of the altar" (i.e. the brazen altar). He purposed that they would be a "sign unto the children of Israel" that "no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before Yahweh" (v. 40).
The lesson emerging from this is respect for authority. We are called upon to respect and give honour to those who hold positions of authority, both in the world and in the ecclesia (cp. 1 Pet. 2:13-17; 1 Tim. 5:17-19; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). Above all we must respect Yahweh Jesus Christ and His Father. We can show this by our attention to the Word and our obedience.
FURTHER REBELLION (Num. 16:41-50).
Even these remarkable happenings did not humble Israel. The people blamed Moses for the calamity, probably feeling pity for Koran. Crowding up to the Tabernacle with hearts full of anger and full of complaints against the leader appointed by God, they were smitten by God with a plague so that 14,700 died. The plague was only stopped by the intercession once more of Moses and Aaron (vv. 46-48).
How graphically Aaron foreshadowed the work of Yahweh Jesus Christ, the great high priest to come. There in the midst of the congregation (cp. Heb. 2:14 € Jesus, born with the same mortal nature), he offered incense (i.e. prayer, Psa. 141:2; Heb. 7:25), and made atonement (cp. Rom. 5:11), standing as a mediator between the dead and the living (cp. 1 Tim. 2:5).
AARON'S ROD THAT BUDDED (Num. 17).
To stop all further murmuring, and to show once and for all that He had selected Aaron as High Priest, God instructed each tribe to select a rod and to write on each rod the name of the leader of the tribe.
These were placed before the Tabernacle. On the next day it was seen that Aaron's rod alone had budded, brought forth blossoms and yielded almonds (v. 8). This showed conclusively that he was the man of God's appointment and that divine authority rested in him.
The budding almond rod was a token against the rebels to stop all murmuring against the authority of Aaron (v. 10). By it, the children of Israel knew that they would die if they tried to approach God other than through the High Priest He had appointed (v. 12).
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ROD THAT BUDDED.
In this incident a dead rod sprang to life by God's power and so attested who was God's High Priest. Here is a graphic foreshadowing of the appointment of Christ as the only mediator or high priest between God and man. He was dead but is now alive for evermore (Rev. 1:18); he is the "first-fruits" of them that slept and this fact assures us that he is the true Melchizedek priest (1 Cor. 15:23; Heb. 7:20, 23-28). The almond is the first tree to blossom. So was Yahweh the first begotten from the dead (Jer. 1:11: Rev. 1:5). Moreover the rod reproduced fruit after its own kind and, in like fashion, Yahweh will have many spiritual children who strive to uphold his way of life (cp. Num. 17:8; Isa. 53:10-11). Aaron's rod was kept in the ark in the Most Holy Place (Num. 17:10; Heb. 9:4), and in like manner Christ has ascended to "heaven itself" and sits in God's presence (Heb. 9:24; Psa. 110:1).
LESSONS FOR US:
- God finds pleasure in those who endeavour to give of their best in the things of the Truth € there is no room for the envious spirit of Koran, Dathan and Abiram.
- We must learn to submit to authority and not assert ourselves (1 Pet. 5:1-6). We must be humble and not presumptuous, "esteeming others better than ourselves" (Phil. 2:3).
- The rulers of the Kingdom of God will not be appointed by the voice of the people or majority vote, but by the divine selection of God, even as was the house of Aaron in Israel.
- Those who obey the Truth have in heaven a high priest who acts as their mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1).
REFERENCE LIBRARY:
"The Story of the Bible" (H. P. Mansfield) € Vol. 2, No. 6
"The Visible Hand of God" (R. Roberts) € Chapter 18
"Moses My Servant" (H. Tennant) € Pages 125-141
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:
- What punishment did God bring on Korah, Dathan and Abiram?
- Give two examples of times when Moses and/or Aaron prayed for the people so that God would not destroy them.
- How did God use Aaron's rod to show who was the divinely appointed High Priest?
ESSAY QUESTIONS:
- What were the causes of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Israel?
- What was the result of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram and what lessons do we learn from their rebellion?
- In what way does Aaron's rod that budded relate to Christ?