Numbers 16: 1 – 50
Sowing seeds of iniquity
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 rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. 6 Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!” 8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; 10 and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11 Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?” 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us? 14 Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!” 15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the Lord—you and they, as well as Aaron. 17 Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. 20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 22 Then they fellon their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?” 23 So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ” 25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.” 27 So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children. 28 And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. 29 If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.” 31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. 33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!” 35 And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense. 36 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. 38 The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, 40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses. 41 On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting. 44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 46 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.” 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. 50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
Today’s topic deals with ‘iniquity’. This word means a lack of justice or righteousness; wickedness; injustice. Also it refers to a wicked act; sin
In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3 we read about this evil conditions and some accompanying detestable traits;”3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
Please notice that our Precious Holy Spirit gives an example of two men who in their lives portrayed this type of behavior. Their names were Jannes and Jambres. So, first thing I think we all want to know is who exactly were these two guys?
The Bible does not give us much information on Jannes and Jambres. In fact, the names of these two men appear only once in the entire Bible, in 2 Timothy 3:8. In a passage describing the wickedness of the last days, Paul says, “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone” (verses 8-9).
Long-standing Jewish tradition says that Jannes and Jambres were the two chief magicians who withstood Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7. “Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs” (verses 10-12). Later, these same sorcerers duplicated the changing of water into blood (Exodus 7:22) and the production of frogs (8:7). However, the sorcerers were powerless to duplicate the other plagues (8:19).
The names “Jannes” and “Jambres” appear in the Talmud as well. According to one midrash, the two magicians left Egypt with the Israelites after the first Passover (Exodus 12:38) and were later instrumental in promoting the worship of the golden calf that Aaron made (Exodus 32). Another midrash identifies the “two servants” of Balaam as Jannes and Jambres (Numbers 22:22). According to the midrashim and other sources, Jannes and Jambres continued to exert a wicked influence on Israel until the time of Phinehas (Numbers 25)
Paul confirms the traditional names of the sorcerers who challenged Moses without lending credence to the legends found in apocryphal works. His intention was to use the wickedness of Jannes and Jambres, as presented in the Torah, as an illustration of a widespread, active rejection of the truth.
Jannes and Jambres were not alone in applying the iniquity sins within the camp of Israel. We are going to see some other people who to a large extent were blessed above most people and yet being not satisfied sowed their evil seeds among the camp
It cannot be accidental that following the chapter in which offerings and sacrifices were called for, properly offered; the demand was made that unwitting sin be properly dealt with; and that high handed sin be punished by being cut off from among the people; and the people were called on to wear the mark of Yahweh to show that they were His holy people, we have a chapter where high handed sin is openly manifested, and those most guilty are indeed cut off, while it is clearly revealed that His people are only holy through His good services.
In the previous chapter one man defied Yahweh and was cut off real quick. He was stoned to death by the entire camp. In this chapter many will defy Yahweh and they too will be cut off. The judgment imposed on them will be different as we will soon discuss.
There can be no doubt that historically speaking it was also a dangerous situation that could have resulted in the end for Israel. It was not just a theological dispute. There was open rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and finally against the only Living and real God Yahweh, seething in the camp.
Turning back from Canaan and going back into the wilderness had necessarily shaken Israel to the core. All their hopes and dreams had collapsed, and they had seen before themselves a bleak and unenviable future. And they may well have laid much of the blame on the fact that Moses and Aaron had not allowed them to take the Ark with them into battle (14.44). If the Ark had gone before them, they possibly thought, would not all their enemies have scattered and fled before it? (10.35). They were disillusioned with both the secular and religious leadership.
Thus the impetus that had mainly bound them to Moses when all seemed hopeful could be seen to have gone. Indeed if he was not needed to lead them into the promised land of what need was there to follow him? And if he was discredited so was Aaron and his High Priesthood. So their thoughts would run. And they would begin to question the whole basis of their society. It was probably on the basis of this dissatisfaction of the people that two sets of people began to plot against Moses, Korah and the Levites on the one hand, who coveted promotion to the priesthood and control of holy things, and Dathan and Abiram with their fellow Reubenites on the other, who had political power in mind.
This resulted in these Levites and Reubenites, who both had their camps on the south side of the Tabernacle, coming together and deciding to take advantage of the disgruntlement of the people in order to advance themselves, probably having in view the taking of control over Israel and the High Priesthood.
There were clearly two groups involved, Korah the Levite, who very interesting was Moses’ distant cousin, along with fellow ‘sons of Levi’ (verses 8, 10), who enjoyed the special privileges of serving the Lord Jehovah, The leader of this revolt was whose main aim was to seek the full priesthood (verse 10). Then Dathan, Abiram, prominent Reubenites, with their ‘families’, whose aim was probably a coup so that they could seize political power. These were united in their opposition to Moses, probably with a joint plan that would benefit both. Korah would replace Aaron as High Priest, the others would replace Moses. In those days both religious and secular implications had to be considered in any coup. Moses could not be deposed while Aaron was still there. And that meant discrediting his unique status. Thus the uniting of two such opposing parties was to be expected.
Please note that there were ‘two hundred and fifty princes, men of renown’ who backed Korah, all seemingly Levites, for Moses speaks constantly of ‘you sons of Levi’.
The first thing that they did was to come together in ‘an assembly’ to officially challenge Moses and Aaron. The initial tack they took was to challenge Moses on religious grounds for they knew that if they were to be successful they would have to undermine the religious positions of Moses and Aaron. So while Dathan and Abiram were probably the most dangerous conspirators from a secular point of view, they were happy to leave the initial onslaught to Korah and follow his plan..
His argument was subtle. It was that, as all knew, Yahweh had declared all the people to be holy (Exodus 19.5-6). This had especially come home even more recently in the fact that their new tassels declared that they were ‘holy to Yahweh’ (15.40). Thus if all were holy, and even enjoyed a special uniform declaring them to be so, surely all could enter the Holy Place. After all Moses had constantly stressed that ‘Yahweh was among them’. Thus they wanted to know, in that case, by what right Moses and Aaron had lifted themselves above ‘the assembly of Yahweh’ as though they were especially holy? Why had they kept it as a family thing? Were not all the people holy?
Dathan and Abiram sat quietly by and said nothing. This was not their territory. They were scheming something much more revolutionary. But that could await the recognition by Israel of their allies as members of the sacred priesthood. The fact that they were the real final danger comes out in that in the event it was to be their wider families who were all destroyed. In the case of Korah and his Levites it was only the men themselves.
At this point Moses clearly sought a break in order to consult Yahweh, and he fell on his face before Him and sought His will (verse 4). Yahweh then instructed him on what to do and he acted accordingly. So they wanted to break into the priesthood in spite of Yahweh’s clear instructions? Well, they would not be denied their opportunity, as long as they were prepared to face the consequences.
So Moses called in Korah and his band of Levites (the 250) and instructed them that if they wished to put in a claim to be priests they should come the next day, each with a sensor in his hand, and burn incense before Yahweh. But he warned them that Yahweh would then demonstrate who was holy and would cause those whom He chose to come near to Him (verse 5). Then he made a plea to them that if they would only consider the matter, they would recognize that they were already highly favored. Had not Yahweh separated them from the congregation of Israel for holy service with regard to His special service, and allowed them to come nearer to Him than any other tribe in Israel? Did they then really wish to seek the priesthood as well?
Korah and his band of Levites seem to have gone back to their tents well satisfied. It seemed to them that their scheme was working. They would appear in the morning as he had said, with their censers in their hands. They did not consider the fact which Moses had drawn attention to, that if they saw themselves as being holier’ than the ordinary people, how could their side then use ‘equal holiness’ as a test of whether they should be involved in the priesthood? Having been given great privilege, and accepted it, they had testified to the fact that some of Yahweh’s holy people could be higher in holiness status than others. Thus their action was inconsistent with the status that they accepted.
Having temporarily satisfied Korah and the Levites, Moses then turned his attention to Dathan and Abiram, the Reubenites, who had not been involved in that side of things. They seemingly had different motives. They were not ‘sons of Levi’. They had no ambitions for priesthood. They had rather taken the opportunity of Korah’s dispute in order to introduce their own differences and possibly gain power in other ways, and as the aftermath demonstrates, they were gathering a host with a view to a coup. They were after all members of the ‘firstborn’ tribe. Thus when, after they returned to their tents after the initial meeting, Moses sent for them so that he could talk further with them, they were in no mood to go. They spurned his orders from then on. No they would not obey him. Who did he think he was? On what grounds did he claim to be a Prince over them? (Verse 13). They would not come up to the Tent of meeting to meet with him. They no longer accepted his authority. After all how did they know that it was not a trick, and that once they arrived they would not be assaulted and blinded? Their reply was an act of open rebellion. It was treason. They were rejecting covenant responsibility and Moses’ leadership (which Korah had not done), which was why Moses probably saw them as the most dangerous.
The fact that the Kohathites and the Reubenites were both encamped on the south side of the camp, partly explains how they had got together. But the full possible impact of the rebellion was clear from the fact that Korah was able to call together ‘the whole congregation’ to gather at the Tabermac;e (verse 19). It had become a mass movement which to some extent involved the whole of the people, not just a small minority, although Moses does distinguish between their guilt and the guilt of the leaders of the rebellion (verse 22). But the people had come in order to discover what it was all about, and to find out what the result would be, not necessarily to side with Korah.
So when Korah came with his men and their censers, ready to offer incense to Yahweh before the Tent of meeting, the whole congregation was present to witness the event. All, that is, apart from the rebels (verse 19 with 34).
All those with censers then put fire in them and put their incense into the sensors ( a point to consider is that the incense was ‘their own’ not the incense prescribed by our Holy God. If they somehow gained control of ‘official incense then they committed their own death sentence).
At this point the glory of our Holy God Yahweh appeared to all. Korah and his men were probably delighted. It would appear to them that Yahweh was accepting their offering! He had not struck them down. But Yahweh then spoke to Moses and Aaron and warned them to get away from the congregation as He intended to destroy them all.
However, Moses pointed out that the congregation had not really done anything wrong, and that only the guilty should be punished. It is not that our Great and Mighty God needed this proper advice from Moses. He was developing His chosen shepherd. He then instructed Moses to inform the people that they were to get away from ‘the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram’, that is from the area on the south side of the Tent of meeting where they lived. Korah would be in the camp of the Kohathites while Dathan and Abiram were in the camp of Reuben, both on the south side. In other words the congregation was to demonstrate their lack of support for the rebels, by keeping them at a distance and avoiding their tents.
Moses then clearly at Yahweh’s instructions as comes out in what he later said, took the elders, who proved loyal to him, and approached the camp of Reuben (verse 25). Then he called on the members of the congregation who had gathered there to depart and get as far away as possible from the rebels, and not even touch any of their possessions. It was a declaration that the rebels were unclean in Yahweh’s eyes. And the congregation obediently did what he said. Moses would have felt quietly contented. He knew that he was gaining back the control that seemed to have been lost. Then Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents supported in their display of defiance by their wives and children, and at Moses’ word the ground opened up and swallowed them. So the rebellion was over.
But only those who ‘appertained to Korah’, that is who were involved with him in the rebellion, were consumed. They had committed treason as a solid body and received the punishment for treason. (This in fact possibly included Korah who may have raced ahead to warn them that Moses was coming, although his death is nowhere mentioned here, but see Numbers 26.8-10 which is the only place which mentions his death. At this the people who had been watching at some distance fled, lest they too be caught up in the catastrophe. And fire also came down from heaven and smote those who were offering incense on their censers It should be noted that the sons of Korah are not said to have been involved in these activities. They in fact were later declared to be alive (Numbers 26.11, 58).
However the mood of the people was such that they were angry at this slaughter of ‘their brothers’. They had not been present at the hostile assembly, nor had they known about the Reubenites’ defiance of Moses. What had happened seemed unnecessary and fuelled their already fierce resentment of Moses. So they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. Yahweh had been right about their mood after all.
Things might have become dangerous, but Yahweh struck the people with a plague where they stood, and it was only the intervention of Aaron at Moses’ command in making atonement for them through his censer that prevented the whole people being destroyed. The contrast between his burning incense and bringing relief to the people contrasted vividly with those who had died for burning incense in their censers. Aaron’s position was firmly established.
I thought it was good for me to give you an overview of all that was happening. So, let’s now look at the Lord’s Holy Word in more detail.
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 rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.
Korah is mentioned first because he acted as the front man. It is because he was connected with the tribe of Levi, and made claims on that basis, that his fuller genealogy is given. He was a Kohathite, and a distant cousin of Moses and Aaron. Thus he shared in the important task of bearing the sacred furniture of the Tabermacle, including the sacred Ark. He should have known better than to dispute the priesthood. His sons are not said to have joined with him in the dispute.
Dathan and Abiram were closely related, being sons of Eliab. On was the son of Peleth, but he disappears from the story immediately. He was probably mentioned so as to make up a threesome, emphasising the completeness of the rebellion of the Reubenites. All three were of the tribe of Reuben. Thus they played no part in the question of the sensors and the priesthood. They had a deeper motive.
It was in fact very much common sense for Dathan and Abiram, in planning their coup, to recognize that they had to consider the religious aspect. They had two obstacles to deal with, Moses the overall leader and Aaron who provided the religious support. No rebellion could be successful which did not succeed in both fields. Furthermore, by allowing the ambitious Korah to act as they could present themselves as simply wanting to honor Yahweh and see fair play. The account brings their duplicity out well.
3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
The four leaders appear to have called together an assembly in order to meet with Moses in order to level their accusations. This would probably be at the Tabernacle and there they attacked Moses and Aaron with the claim that they were making too much of themselves.
Their argument, probably the idea of the Levite Korah, argued that as all Israelites, ‘every one of them’, were holy (Exodus 19.5-6), and now even wore tassels which declared that they were holy (15.40), and as Yahweh was among them as a people. Moses and Aaron therefore had no ground for claiming special holiness and ‘lifting themselves up above the assembly of Israel’. This argument was only carried through by Korah and his ‘sons of Levi’. Thus it would appear that as far as Dathan and Abiram were concerned it was only a ploy. But to the others it was deadly serious.
Moses recognized that they were intending to trespass on holy things. He knew only too well the consequences of such behavior. It was not he and Aaron who had done the lifting up but Yahweh. And the Levites should have known that, for while their status was lower than that of the priests, they did have a holy status that was above that of the other tribes. He was also aware of the hostility of the Reubenites, and that this was not just a technical argument. Thus he recognized that he needed to confer with a higher authority. He no doubt told them that he would consult Yahweh, and went into the Holy Place where Yahweh spoke to him from the mercy seat (7.89).
4 So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face;
It is unlikely that this means in the assembly, and as at this point Dathan and Abiram with their Reubenite followers withdrew (verse 12) it suggests that he went into the tent of meeting in order to do so. Falling on the face was an act of total submission. We are left to recognize that Yahweh spoke to him, for the next we hear is of the message that he brought back to them.
5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.
He came back and gave his reply to Korah and the two hundred and fifty princes, for apparently Dathan and Abiram had retired to their tents in the camp of Reuben. They were willing to leave the first positive action in Korah’s hands.
In his reply he assured them that on the very next day Yahweh would demonstrate who were His, and who were holy, ‘and will cause the ones whom He chose to come near to him’. That should have given them pause for thought, but they were too taken up with their ambitions to consider the possible consequences. Korah and the other Levites coveted the position of the Aaronic priests.
6 Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
The test would be simple. Korah and his two hundred and fifty were to take censers for themselves next day, and put fire in them, and then put incense on it to burn ‘before Yahweh’, that is, in the courtyard to the Tabernacle. It seems to me that when you are fully into the sin of iniquity you lose your commons sense. All had learned that the use of incense was to be in the Holy place not in the courtyard. They did not realize in their sin that they were in violation of the Lord’s policies.
‘Sons of Levi’ may refer to all the two hundred and fifty, either because they were so, or sarcastically because that was what they were attempting to become. Or it may refer to a group of Levites who were leaders, with Korah, in the attempt to promulgate the participation of the two hundred and fifty.
8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them; 10 and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?
Moses now added a further warning to them and especially to their leader. It was not too late to withdraw. Let Korah consider this on behalf of his followers. Did they consider the privileged position that they had been given to do the service of Yahweh, and to act as ministers to the congregation, to be a small thing? He was well aware that they did not. Let them remember that God had separated them from the congregation of Israel for special service, and had brought them near to Himself, by allowing them to camp around the Tabernacle as its guardians, and to enter the courtyard of the Tabernacle to fulfill their functions. That was a huge privilege. No other tribe of Israel had such access to that holy place. And this was not only true for him, but for all who were truly sons of Levi. If they then saw their position as privileged, because they had been chosen and ‘made holy’ in preparation for it, would they not recognize that in seeking to act as priests they were stepping outside their calling. They were well aware that Yahweh Himself had chosen the sons of Aaron. Would they then seek that priesthood for themselves contrary to Yahweh’s express desire? Let them think about it, and beware.
11 Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”
It was in the seeking of the priesthood which was at Yahweh’s disposal that they had gathered together ‘against Yahweh and against Aaron’. Let them consider that their action was in the face of Yahweh’s direct commandment. It put them ‘against Yahweh’. After all, what was Aaron that they should murmur against him? He was only doing what Yahweh had commanded him. He and they were in the same position. They each ought to do what Yahweh chose them for, and what He had set them apart for, and commanded them to do.
It would seem at this point that Korah and his band of Levites were satisfied with the offer and were ready to retire to their tents in the Levite camp ready for the morning. They disregarded his warning. Moses’ warnings had simply passed over their heads because they were gripped by covetousness but Moses recognized that he had only dealt with half the problem.
He then turned his attention to the Reubenites who had previously withdrawn. He recognized that they would not be satisfied with such a test. They were more concerned with gaining leadership of the confederacy than with becoming priests. It was necessary somehow to pacify them and deal with their fellow-rebels.
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?
So Moses, aware of what Yahweh had said to him, then sent for Dathan and Abiram so that he could discuss matter further with them. They were seen as the master minds in the rebellion. But they refused to come, in itself an act of rebellion. The message that they sent back emphasized their treason. They saw Moses as someone who with his false promises had brought them out ‘from a land of milk and honey’, so as to kill them in the wilderness. It was in this sarcastic way that they described Egypt. With such cynicism did they describe what he had accomplished? This reflected how deeply they felt about the fact that they were doomed to wander in the wilderness until all were dead. They were never to enjoy the promises that had been given, and they considered that what they had was worse than what they had had in Egypt, the horror of which had now lessened in their minds. And having done this to them he now wanted to be accepted as the Leader over them? They had accepted him as Prince because he had promised them such good things. Now that those good things had failed they no longer considered him to be their Shepherd. They did not want him as prince over them. They rejected his claims to authority.
14 Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
For the fact was that Moses had not brought them into the land of milk and honey that he had promised them. He had not given them the inheritance of fields and vineyards that he had so vividly described. In their eyes he had clearly failed. And now they were doomed to wander in the wilderness. They did not consider that the problem lay in their own failure. Such people always blame someone else.
15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”
Moses was very angry at their reply and the position that they were taking up, and he cried to Yahweh not to accept anything that they brought as an offering to Him. He was calling on Yahweh to reject them and not recognize them as people of the covenant. For he pointed out that they had rebelled against his authority and that it was not because of anything that he had done. He had not even taken one donkey from them. He had not hurt a single one of them. The implication was that this was all happening because of what Yahweh had commanded him.
16 And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the Lord—you and they, as well as Aaron.
Moses then turned his attention back to the Levite conspirators, and bade Korah with all his band of Levites to come to the Tabernacle in the morning, into the courtyard ‘before Yahweh’. They were to be there along with Aaron so that a proper test of their acceptability with Yahweh could be determined. He would deal with the others later.
17 Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.”
And they were to take every man his censer and put incense on them, and bring it before Yahweh, and Aaron would be there too with his censer. From our study of previous chapters we know even without reading on that there could be only one conclusion. They were rebelling against Yahweh’s strict instructions, and coming into His presence in doing it. It would be sin at a high level.
18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
And next morning they did exactly that. They all came, every man with his censer, and stood with Moses and Aaron, and put fire in their censers and laid incense on them. And in such gross disobedience to Yahweh they stood at the door of the Tent of meeting.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.
These rebels were not there alone. Surrounding the Tabernacle were the whole congregation of Israel. Korah had called for them all to come, and they had responded. It demonstrated that their hearts were at least partly with him. They too were sore at being sentenced to die in the wilderness.
Then the glory of Yahweh appeared in the Sanctuary which was seen by all the congregation. At first the Levites, aware that they were still alive and that in spite of the fact that Yahweh had come, probably saw it as a triumph. Yahweh had not struck them down! The congregation might well have felt the same. Nothing spectacular was seemingly to happen here.
20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
He told Moses and Aaron that they must remove themselves from among the people, for He intended to destroy them all. He knew their hearts, and that instead of blaming themselves for the consequence of their unbelief which had barred them from the land, they were blaming Yahweh Himself and His true servants. Not one of them was worthy to remain alive.
These words conclude the first part of the narrative, but lead on immediately into the second part. They are pregnant with significance. At this point Yahweh brings out not only the rebellion of those in open conflict with Moses and Aaron, but also the rebellion in the hearts of all the people, which will manifest it openly later.
22 Then they fellon their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?”
At His words Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before Yahweh. All the antagonism and argument had been directed against them, but their hearts were full of compassion for the people. They recognized the justice of God in acting against the blasphemers with their censers, but they themselves saw the people as not to blame. (They were later to learn how wrong they were (verse 41)).
They asked Yahweh if He thought that it was right to blame the many for the few. Was He not the God of the spirits of all flesh? Did not all the life within (the ‘spirit’) belong to Him? Had He not created them and given them life? Would He then destroy life unnecessarily? Surely He would not destroy the many for the one? He was the life-giver, not the life-taker.
23 So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
And Yahweh, in response to their prayer, through Moses offered the people a chance.
24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”
They were to tell the congregation to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram’. If they wished to survive the people were to demonstrate their loyalty to Moses and Aaron by deserting those camps where they had been previously revealing their support for the action against Moses.
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
Then Moses left them and made for the camp of Reuben to face up with the rebels. He alone knew what Yahweh planned to do. ‘And the elders of Israel followed him’. Possibly belatedly they were demonstrating their support. Or they may simply have been following in order to see the outcome of the confrontation. None of them would have had the least suspicion of what was about to happen.
26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”
Moses found there were not many supporters of the rebels. So he begged them to go and leave the area of the tents of these activists. He warned them not to touch anything that was theirs. This ominous warning was immediately understood. Dathan and Abiram were as good as dead. So, to touch the possessions of the dead would render a man unclean. What was more, by such familiarity; they would identify themselves with the rebels and would share their fate
27 So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children.
The events had helped to focus their minds. They remembered what had happened to those who had opposed Moses in Egypt. So they hurriedly removed themselves from the vicinity of the tents of the rebels. They no longer wanted to be identified with them. Then Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their whole families. They were making a show of strength. The point in the description is in order to stress that both they and their households were all of one mind. All were rebels. All opposed Moses, and challenged Yahweh. All were guilty and shared the corporate guilt. It was not an act of contrition but an act of defiance. But they were no doubt put out to discover that most of their supporters had melted away.
28 And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. 29 If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.
Moses wasted no time on the rebels. He addressed the waiting crowds. By this they would know that what was about to happen was not of his choice or of his doing, but was the choice of Yahweh Who had sent him. If these men died an ordinary death, even though it be by plague or lightning, then Yahweh had not sent him. He was staking his whole reputation on Yahweh’s promises. It was like standing before Pharaoh again. The point he was stressing was that he himself intended to do nothing to them. He was leaving them in the hands of Yahweh. This would then demonstrate whose side Yahweh was on.
30 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”
But if a new thing happened, and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with all who were following them in their rebellion, so that they went down alive into the underworld, the world of the dead, then all must recognize that these men had fought against our Holy Ruler Yahweh.
He pictured the earth as being like a great monster whose mouth opened wide in order to devour (Isaiah 5.14). This was Yahweh’s earth, which He had created. If it opened its mouth on His behalf it could be due to no one but Him. And it would reveal that the judgment was His.
31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.
No sooner had Moses spoken then the earth suddenly caved in around where the tents of Dathan and Abiram, and their families, were. It ‘opened its mouth and swallowed them up’, taking in all who ‘appertained to Korah’, that is all who were a part of the rebellion, together with all their goods.
33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
All in the camp who were connected with them in the rebellion went down alive into Sheol (Isaiah 14.9). ‘And the earth closed up.’ They had been buried alive and had just disappeared. Not a trace was to be seen. They perished from among the assembly. They were Israelites no more. God’s mouth had, as it were, swallowed them without trace.
34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”
A great cry of fear and terror went up from the rebels as they realized in those brief moments exactly what was happening, and it was such a terrible cry that the people around fled. They were fearful less it also happen to them.
35 And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.
Then fire devoured the band of Levites who were offering incense.This seems to have been the especial fate for offering incense wrongly. As Korah would have been offering the incense with them it is possible that he was included in this destruction although not mentioned specifically.
We must assume that the non-mention of Korah was deliberate, however he died. The point being made is that he was now a non-man, a non-mentionable, his name had been blotted out of Israel. It was left to all to recognize that he either perished along with his band of Levites, or with his fellow-conspirators (26.8-10).
36 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. 38 The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”
Having been used in the worship of Yahweh, even by such false ‘priests’, the sensors and the fire in them were holy. They could not just be tossed away or destroyed. They had been offered before Yahweh and were therefore ‘holy’. But nor could they again be used. So they were told that they must scatter the burning ashes ‘a good distance away from the camp’ and that Eleazar must take the censers of the men who had given their own lives in order to use them, and make of them beaten plates which could be used as a covering for the altar. The word used for ‘plates’ regularly means ‘snares’. Whenever men looked on them in future they would remember what had happened to the men who had been ensnared by evil and had tried to supplant the Aaronic priesthood. They would be a ‘sign’ to the children of Israel of the legitimacy of that priesthood.
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, 40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.
Eleazar did as Yahweh commanded. He took the brazen censers which had been offered to Yahweh by those who had been consumed with fire, and ‘they’ (the priests or possibly the Levites) beat them for a covering for the altar. They were to be a memorial to the children of Israel, a warning that no one other than a descendant of Aaron should come near to burn incense before Yahweh for were they to do so they would end up like Korah and his band of Levites as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
The whole account is a warning against rebelling against Yahweh’s true servants, and against using false methods in order to approach God. For now there is only one way of access, through our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can approach in no other way.
41 On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
As would be expected the incidents of that day were the talking point of the camp. It may well be that the rebels had given the people new hope, even if it was probably groundless, and thus what had happened angered them. It had been one thing for Moses and Aaron to devastate Pharaoh and Egypt, quite another when they used their strange powers to attack the people of Yahweh. They felt that a part of them had been cut off. Many would not forget the dreadful sight of the pit opening up and the fire coming from heaven.
So the next day the camp was seething with anger and discontent. And they charged Moses and Aaron with killing ‘the people of Yahweh’. They had seemingly been convinced by the claims made by Korah. Here, they believed, were holy men whom Moses and Aaron had chosen to destroy. This reveals how deeply the rebels had seized the hearts of the people, and how much Moses and Aaron had lost face as a result of the debacle of the invasion of the land.
42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
As a result they gathered together around the Tabernacle where they were planning to have it out with Moses and Aaron. But as they looked towards the Tent of meeting they saw the cloud descend and cover it and the appearance of the glory of Yahweh. It would remind them of what had happened days before (16.19), which had resulted in all that they were complaining about. They should have taken warning that when this happened at times when Moses and Aaron were being castigated; it was a sign of worse to come. Instead of being the welcome sight that it would have been when they were at peace with God and His chosen servants, it was a warning of what could lie ahead.
43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.
Then Moses and Aaron appeared, and came to the front of the Tent of meeting. They were ready to face any threat that might appear. But in fact the threat came from Yahweh. In a sense this whole interlude of the rebellion was an important one. The disillusionment of the people after the failure to enter the land, and the cancellation of their prospects for doing so, was such that there had to be an emphatic response which brought them to their senses. Otherwise the future would have been bleak indeed.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
The message was one of doom. Moses and Aaron were to get themselves safely away from the congregation so that Yahweh could punish them for their attitude. As with Dathan and Abiram it would all happen ‘in a moment’. Having given them a second chance He was no longer willing to continue to spare them.
We must recognize in this that Yahweh was not being continually frustrated but was both proving the faithfulness and effectiveness of Moses and Aaron to the people, and at the same time demonstrating where the people would be (or would not be) without them. He wanted it to be clear to the people that the only reason why they were allowed to survive was because of His mercy and because of the faithfulness and intercession of His chosen servants whom He had appointed.
Once again Moses and Aaron threw themselves on their faces before Yahweh and begged for His mercy. The purpose in what followed was to demonstrate that Aaron with his censer was a totally different thing from the rebels with their censers. Aaron’s pleas were effective because he was the rightful intermediary for the people. In a sense he was the people. Theirs had been unsuccessful because they were frauds.
46 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a sensor and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.”
Moses had already been made aware that Yahweh’s judgment had begun and that a deadly plague was spreading through the people. There was no time for intercession. The judgment was already at work and spreading rapidly. He recognized that there was only one hope. He turned to Aaron and commanded him to take his censer, put fire in it from the altar, from the burning coals that had received so much of the offerings of Israel (Isaiah 6.6), and then to burn incense on it. He was to do it with all speed. Then he was to race among the Israelites, making atonement for them, as the incense ascended as intercession for mercy to Yahweh, burning in the coals from the altar which had regularly burned offerings, and offered by the one who stood for the whole people. All had to be hurry for Yahweh’s holy justice and aversion to sin was being revealed and the deadly plague had already begun.
47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.
Aaron instantly obeyed. He ran into the midst of ‘the assembly’ and even as he did so was aware of people dying around him. So putting the incense on to the coals in his censer he made atonement for the people. The incense smoke, and the smoke from the coals, rose upwards and as Yahweh looked down on His chosen representative offering atonement for the people His holy justice was appeased. Because of the multiplicity of offerings that had been slain and had been offered on the altar, and because of the intercession of His chosen servants, and in this case especially His High Priest, He was enabled to righteously forgive.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.
There Aaron stood between the dead and the living. The dead were gone, seemingly drawing others after them, but he brought hope and protection to the living. Death was driven back. As a holy intercessor he prevented death from reaching more of the people. Now all would know without any doubt who was the chosen of Yahweh, and who had the sole right to offer incense on behalf of the people.
One day Another would even more effectively stand between the dead and the living as He hung on a cross, and a greater plague would be stayed, for His death would be sufficient for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2.2). Indeed He would hold the keys of Sheol and of death, opening them and releasing all who were His (Revelation 1.18).
49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.
The number of people who died from that plague, on top of those who had died in the matter of Korah, was fourteen thousand seven hundred.
50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
Having done his duty Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting and the plague ceased. Hopefully the people would now settle down and return to normalcy.
The lessons for us are clear. They are that we recognize the importance of doing God’s work in God’s way, that we honor those whom He honors, and that we do not rebel against His chosen leaders who prove themselves worthy of Him, and whom He authenticates by the power of their ministry. The lessons are that we do not seek to trespass on things that are not God’s will for us, but accept from His hand what He is willing to give us. They are that we remember that He Is holy, and that we should walk carefully and reverently before Him, always recognizing His great holiness, for though greatly privileged we must never take God for granted.
From this we also learn of One Who can, as it were, come among us and offer up the incense of intercession and atonement on our behalf, ever living to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7.25). Thank you our Great High Priest Jesus Christ.
