Insurrection: an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government.
1 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent
2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.
3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”
Numbers 16:1-3
In this section, Korah who was part of the Levitical line, leads a revolt and convinces a few Reubenites to go along with him who are Dathan and Abiram. They came to oppose Moses and Aaron on the basis that they were to harsh of leaders.
Numbers jumps from giving laws to this rebellion. The book does not specifically say what set off this rebellion. But, if the previous chapters are indications, the people rebelled in chapter 14 after they received the report regarding the land of Canaan. The report was not good. Giants were in the land and there were well fortified groups.
Fear had struck the Israelites that this was an unwinnable battle. So, they rose up against Moses and Aaron and wanted to setup new leadership that would take them back to Egypt (14:4). But God had promised them the land as Caleb and Joshua had told them who came back with a more positive report. God had promised them victory despite what they were seeing. What were the people expecting to see? A cake walk?
Well from their point of view, they had come out of Egypt, hauled this tabernacle all over the desert, were under pressure to do exactly what God wanted less they be cut off from the people or worse be stoned, and they put their faith in God and Moses whom was their leader. And now, after all the effort they put into this dogmatic leadership, they get this report back that the land that which God has given them is going to take pain and suffering and much turmoil to acquire.
They already paid their suffering tax. Why was God requiring more suffering? This did not add up. Unless, Moses and Aaron were off their rocker and got some sort of kick making them work for their blessing which they deserved! Because of this, their faith in God and in Moses becomes shattered and in addition God tells them that they will now not inherit the land due to their lack of faith at which point they go up against Canaan anyway and against Moses’ orders and are miserably defeated.
Jump forward to chapter 16. This cancer of rebellion did not end after their defeat and God’s judgement. God had desired to punish them more severely but Moses interceded and God forgave them. The grumbling amongst each other must not have ended here and was probably the catalyst for Korah’s revolt. There were probably talks among various groups, secret meetings, and plans of who would take over and when.
Korah’s says in verse 3, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set your selves above the Lord’s assembly.”
This passage shows this was no small revolt. They came with 250 well known community leaders and when Moses tried to persuade Dathan and Abiram back to his side, they would not come. They said “Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert?”
What? I thought the land in Canaan was the land flowing with milk and honey? Actually, it was as God had promised but do you see how they take God’s own words and turn it against him and use it to define that which is not in their best interest? The world does this all the time, taking the same terms God uses to justify sin. This shows this is the same train of thought from Numbers 14 where they still think going back to Egypt is a better idea. The old life, the old ways always seem better when things get tough. This is why dads take off and run from their obligation. This is why frustrated workers go postal.
Moses points out that Korah was trying to get the priesthood and that he was not content with being a part of the special group of Levites who were in charge of carrying the holy things of God. Moses brings this to the real issues. Korah wanted power and he uses a smoke screen of calling all the people holy to lure them to his side. Citing that Moses and Aaron are setting themselves up above all he people makes them out to be prideful power grabbers. This of course, took the focus off of Korah. He wanted the power that Moses yielded but he did not understand this power was not simply wielded and controlled but flowed through Moses as a servant of the living God. God was ultimately in control. Korah was setting himself up to be God!
Back in Egypt, they controlled their gods. Their gods went with them and had only the power they gave them. Korah still did not grasp God’s true power and that it only flowed through a life of servitude. He thought he could wield it just as Moses did. However, God was about to prove him wrong. Eventually, Korah and his family were swallowed up by the ground. It seems like such a harsh punishment but these were very serious accusations that Korah and his followers had accused God’s leaders of. God’s punishment was surely justified. And, you can even think of it as grace because God saw this coming but did not punish them until their sin was in full light.
The lesson from Numbers 16 is this, that we can’t yield God’s power with forceful prayers, formulas, mustering enough faith, or going to church. We can only do that with a true relationship with the Father. God’s power will move through us to others when we are ready for a relationship that is not one sided. I’ve seen many Christians struggle with living with Holy Spirit in their life because there are no clear defined formulas. For example, If I pray this prayer 10 times I will get an answer. But God does not work that way. God is more concerned with our heart than our will. God’s laws for us are based on principles, not formulas. Principals cause us to stop, think and grow. Formulas make us a numb robot which is not God’s plan. If you want a mindless religion, Christianity is the wrong choice.
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