28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”
Numbers 16:28-30
Picture this: God’s people on the right who oppose those who are on the left who are… well, God’s people. Both claim to be in the “know” with God and cast judgment on the other. So who is right? How do we find out which one is really God’s people and following the right path? One sure fire way is for God to just wipe out the side that is wrong.
This is exactly what happens in Numbers 16 when Korah rebelled against Moses. He did so with 250 well known community leaders who were appointed to the council. Their view of God was not as harsh as that which they saw through Moses. This was the way the wind blew. Everyone was thinking this way. All thought Moses and Aaron had gone too far with their rules, laws, and punishments. There was a growing discontent.
If I were a young Israelite man, it would seem logical to join these men. These were leaders who mingled with the masses. I would talk to my friends and those I knew and they would tell me that these 250 men knew what they were talking about. The arguments would be backed up with lots of stories and seemingly truthful facts. Not knowing much other than what I heard, I would be tempted to join this group in their rebellion.
Why would I join them? They were well-known, to everyone. Every family, leader, person of power, shop owner, both high and low knew these guys. But there was one fatal flaw, they were not well-known to God. They did not have a personal relationship with him that kept their illogical in check. There is a tendency of the mind for us to wonder and even stack up evidence in favor of a train of thought that leads us away from God’s laws and his holiness. This is the flesh.
There are three things that fought against Korah and war against our Christian lives: The World, our flesh, and Satan. The world tells us what to think, our flesh desires to accept it, and Satan coordinates it all so that the gate that leads to destruction is wide and attractive. So strong is this pull that it causes it’s followers to jump right off the cliff. For Korah, it was a cliff that opened up below his very feet. The ground opened up as Moses had predicted and swallowed up Korah, his family and a few followers and their families.
Even after God puts to death Korah and a few followers, the 250 well-known men along with the assembly came to Moses and Aaron and told them they killed God’s people! What? God’s people? Didn’t God just settle this “who God’s people are” idea? The logic seems crazy. But, that is what they believed because they allowed the seed of rebellion to infect their hearts. God then started putting the entire community to death to end this rebellious attitude. But Aaron, as instructed, stood between the living and the dead and stopped the plague. In addition the 250 well-known men were also put to death.
Through out the Gospel, God keeps his remnant close to him. In this case the remnant was Moses, Aaron and a few faithful like Joshua and Caleb. The rest had been deceived by the words of Korah. In order to avoid this in our lives, we must be ever mindful about focusing on God’s still small voice that is inside us. If we build a solid relationship, this voice will be thunderous and we will easily pick out in the world that which opposes our walk. Many Christians and Churches today are quick to accept the world views. They have listened to the voice of Korah. The reason? They don’t want to be viewed as judgmental by the world. But, standing for what God wants is never judgmental. It is just simply right no matter how small the crowd.
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