The situation described here is as current as issues faced in the church today, and just as volatile!
Numbers 16 gives the story of a rebellion led by Korah. The malcontents had found a leader in this Levite. A grandson of Kohath, he therefore was a steward of the coverings (Num 4:4-15), responsible for guarding God’s glory. This is similar to the responsibility of women in the church (see 1 Cor 11:1-16). Korah marshalled 250 princes and three sons of Reuben, the rejected firstborn. Their complaint? “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?’” (Num 16:3). This is identical to the arguments raised today. Why should the women not also do what the men are called to do? Aren’t they holy? Isn’t the Lord among them? Rather than seeing the roles as complementary, they are taken as competitive. But whom did Moses and Aaron represent? “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus” (Heb 3:1). This is the passage where Moses and Aaron are compared to Christ. Moses was God’s apostolos, or messenger, communicating His word. Aaron, His High Priest, was to accomplish His work. Did Christ “take too much” upon Himself? Do the men today? Clearly men in the assembly are to represent Christ while the women represent His Bride. How did Moses and Aaron, picturing Christ, display their headship? By laying down their lives in service, as men should do today. And how do the women honor the Lord in representing His Bride? Contrary to the spirit of our age, “with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet 3:4).