THE REBELLION OF KORAH IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE REBELLIOUS FALSE TEACHERS - Jude 1 v 11(c)
In a previous message we looked at Cain and Korah together. This time only Korah is in the spotlight and the account has been expanded.
Jude 1 v 11 Woe to them for they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay, they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
[A]. INTRODUCTION
There are three parts to this verse, different episodes, but all having one thing in common. These three were examples of being out of step with God, and rebelling against the declared will and direction of God. Jude uses these examples because they are all applicable to the problems false teachers were bringing to the churches. In verse 10, a description is given of these base men who were so self-willed, they acted like animals of instinct. Things they did not understand, they reviled. These men were intemperate, proud, and headstrong, following their own determinations, without any recourse to others, or to God. In his letter, Peter adds they count it a pleasure to act riotously in the daytime, and are stains and blemishes. They revel in their deceptions, patting themselves on the back for how clever they are. He says their eyes are full of adultery and they do not cease from sinning. They entice unstable souls, and they have trained their hearts in greed. Then Peter says they are accursed. Jude is reflecting on his description in verse 10, and begins the next part with “Woe to them”. These false teachers have a woe pronounced on them. The Lord used “woe” several times in the Gospels; and in Revelation, it is used 15 times. Between the Gospels and Revelation, it is used just twice – one by Paul when he said, “Woe be to me if I do not preach the gospel,” and this occasion by Jude.
[B]. EXPLANATION
In this last single message we looked at Cain and murder. This time we look at Korah and rebellion. The false teachers that Jude had to battle with had all those features – they were murderers and they caused the spiritual death of their followers and acted in disobedience. Korah we will see was rebellious and that caused his death as well. God hates disobedience and rebellion. That is why these false teachers of Jude’s time and in our present age are so obnoxious. They falsify the gospel. Jude has a number of descriptions for the,. Some we have done, and some to come up in the remaining verses of his letter.
Disobedience, rebellion and greedy men who defame the gospel of Christ are a disgrace in God’s eyes. The two words, murder and rebellion, are applied to Satan who is described in the following way – {{John 8 v 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.”}} and who, before sin entered the world, led the rebellion in heaven against Almighty God. These 2 sins go way back to the very foundation of sin, and with pride, make up the three, initial deadly sins.
Last time we looked at Cain. We traced from that, the evil of murder – what I did not mention last time, is that in the United States, the country with the motto, “In God We Trust”, there are 93 people shot to death (murdered) every single day in the USA; and then we examined the story of Cain to see why he would be included in this Jude verse. We looked at “the way of Cain” to understand this more. Cain was a hard worker but that did not make him acceptable to God. He gathered the best he had to present to God, but that did not make him acceptable to God. God even spoke gently to him to instruct him as to his way, but he refused to listen to that, because He ignored God. He rose up in hatred and envy, and did away with his brother. THE WAY OF CAIN is the wilful decision to go one’s own way in the matter of religion. “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the ways thereof, are the ways of death.” Cain chose his own way, the way of logic and reason, the way of the flesh. He did it all his own way, all by his own effort.
You know Christianity is the most exclusive religion in the world. Yes, people pride themselves with exclusive memberships of clubs and sporting bodies at great expense, but if you belong to Christ, you have an exclusive membership at great expense (the blood of the Lamb), in the Church of the Living God. But . . . there is a great paradox here, for while Christianity is an exclusive religion it is also the most inclusive one.
Let me explain. Jesus said, {{“I am THE way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)}} There is NO other way to God except through the way of the cross. I think the latest figures in the USA in evangelical churches, is about 60% who say Jesus is A WAY to God. That is the thinking of Cain! He thought he could plan HIS way to God. It will not work. There is one way only. God excludes all those who think their way will find God, but includes every one who come through the Lord Jesus Christ.
(C). PERISHED IN THE REBELLION OF KORAH. THE INCIDENT
{{Numbers 16:1 “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 action, Num 16:2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of renown Num 16:3 and they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst, so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”}} This is insurgency. Korah and his company rebelled against Moses and Aaron, but by doing that, the men were rebelling against God. When one opposes what God has decreed, and tries to bring in a new way, or new revelation, or new doctrine, then it is rebellion, and not tolerated by God. These rebels had all the pious talk, and all the false teachers do also. To challenge God’s leaders is to challenge God Himself. What God says to the false teachers of Jude’s time, is that their actions are rebellion against God Himself.
THE CHALLENGE
{{Numbers 16:4 “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face Num 16:5 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 bring him near to Himself, even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. Num 16:6 Do this: take censers (firepans) for yourselves, Korah and all your company, Num 16:7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”}} In a previous message we saw that Michael disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, and Michael handed it over to the Lord with a “The Lord rebuke you.” Moses himself is doing the same thing – handing it over to the Lord. He will let the Lord make the decision. The example is a good one, for Elijah employed the same method with the priests of Baal.
THE REPRIMAND
{{Numbers 16:8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, Num 16:9 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of 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 to them, Num 16:10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you, and are you seeking for the priesthood also?}} They wanted power and rule and to rise to a ministry that was not their calling. They already had a privileged position in the priesthood, just like Satan had a privileged position in heaven as the anointed cherub. It was conceited pride, and the false teachers wanted leadership in the meetings of God’s people and were introducing all manner of false doctrines and behaviour, and it was those men, Jude opposed. They crept into leadership and ruined the gathering of Christians. In everything they did they were rebelling against the clearly declared teaching of God.
THE CHALLENGE REINFORCED
{{Numbers 16:16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron, Num 16:17 and each of you take his firepan, and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans. Also you and Aaron shall each bring his firepan.”}} The scene will be set for the Lord’s decision. This is similar to the challenge Elijah set the prophets of Baal, a test of fire to consume the sacrifice. With Elijah, it was ONE with God against 400; here, it is TWO with God against 250. I know whose side I’d be on.
THE SCENE SET
{{Numbers 16:18 “So they each took his own censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. Num 16:19 Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. Num 16:20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, Num 16:21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly,” Num 16:22 but they fell on their faces and said, “O God, You God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?” Num 16:23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, Num 16:24 “Speak to the congregation saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”}} They came for the challenge, but more so, they wanted to overthrow Moses and Aaron. God’s anger wanted to destroy the whole congregation, which was a rebellious people themselves, but Moses intervened for them.
THE CALL TO SEPARATION
{{Numbers 16:25 “Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, Num 16:26 and he spoke to the congregation saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be swept away in all their sin,”}} Identification with sin is considered to be participation in it. The person will be held to be just as guilty. God calls for the faithful in the congregation to separate from those who are evil and rebellious. There is a verse in Revelation – “Come out of her, my people” – spoken to the Tribulation saints in connection with the teachings of Babylon the Great. Zechariah 2 v 7 is the same. I believe there is a strong message here where God’s people are called on to depart from churches where these rebellious false teachers are in control. The Korahs were starting to take over in their rebellion in Jude’s time.
THE DECISION
Numbers 16:30 (Moses speaking) “but if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.” Num 16:31 Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open Num 16:32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions, Num 16:33 so they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.{{ Do not play around with God. He is holy and righteous and will not tolerate evil to have its day. He will never approve the rebellious heart and sooner or later, His judgement falls on the rebellious. The evil teachers have gone the way of Cain, and they will perish in the rebellion of Korah. The three examples Jude uses in verse 11, are all drastic ones, for to oppose the will of God is a drastic move.
THE COST OF REBELLION
{{Numbers 16:35 “Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. Num 16:41 On the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD’s people.” Num 16:42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Num 16:43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, Num 16:44 and the LORD spoke to Moses saying, Num 16:45 “Get away from among this congregation that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces, Num. 16:46 and Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it. Then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD. The plague has begun!” Num 16:47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people so he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. Num 16:48 He took his stand between the dead and the living so that the plague was checked, Num 16:49 but those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.”}}
This is a serious matter. God will not be mocked. Korah and the congregation were rebellious and eventually all of them perished in the wilderness as we saw in Jude 5. These evil false teachers who had gone the way of Cain, and were greedy for money as Baalam, were as rebellious as Korah and all of them will suffer the same fate. Note the insidious opposition from the people in verse 41. So rebellious was the congregation, that the people blamed Moses and Aaron even in the face of God’s miraculous judgement. Christians get the blame unjustly today. Nero blamed the Christians for the fire of Rome.
Rebelliousness is a curse, but the rebellion of Satan has been passed to all his offspring. We were all born as rebels to God. Korah’s rebellion was a defiance of God’s ordered pattern. God hates rebellion and all through the Old Testament, His people rebelled against the Lord. In the studies we are doing in the Minor Prophets, we see rebellion was always present, and resulted in both Israel and Judah being exiled from their lands. Moses had to put up with a sinful people all the 40 years of the journey to the promised land. At the end of his life he said this to them – {{Deuteronomy 31:27 “for I know your rebellion and your stubbornness. Behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more, then, after my death?”}} Moses spoke prophetically, because it got worse after his death.
I will only give a few passages – (a). {{Isaiah 57:4 “Against whom do you jest? Against whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of deceit, Isaiah 57:5 who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter the children in the ravines under the clefts of the crags?”}} (The people in our bible study will know about Moloch) (b). {{Jeremiah 28:16 “Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’” (c). Micah 1:5 “All this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?”}} (d). Paul recognises there are rebellious men moving through the churches, these same false teachers Jude exposes. {{Titus 1:10 “for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision.”}} (e). Here is a foreign king making observations (Ataxerxes) – {{Ezra 4:19 “and a decree has been issued by me, and a search has been made and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it.”}}
What Samuel spoke long ago, is as relevant today as it was then – {{1Samuel 15:23 “for rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”}} We were all rebels once. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb; we are clean. We must be very careful we don’t have the spirit of rebellion in us that would destroy relationships and even in this fellowship. It was the songwriter, Arthur Tappan Pierson (1837-1911), who received a glimpse of glory when he wrote this victory hymn recognising that we have been brought out of rebellion to become priests in God’s kingdom:
With harps and with vials there stand a great throng,
In the presence of Jesus and sing this new song.
He maketh the rebel a priest and a king,
He hath bought us and taught us this new song to sing.
Unto Him who has loved us, and washed us from sin,
Unto Him be the glory forever amen.
[We sang the first 3 stanzas 773]
God bless us all and give us the spirit of meekness in these last days of the Church age.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
