David would famously write, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps 23:4). Comfort by a rod? The Lord decides, once and for all, to settle the leadership issue. “Get from them a rod from…all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. And you shall write […]
Do you know who “treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God”? It’s Jesus! What wreckage is left in the path of those who defy God! Not only do Korah and his Reubenite co-conspirators go “alive into the pit” (Num 16:33), but “fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two […]
Read More… from September 14, 2022 — The Justice Of God’s Wrath
We need to be careful before we charge God with being cruel or unfair. The sons of Korah agree. On first reading, the judgment on Korah in swallowing him directly “into the pit” (Num 16:33) seems to have included “their households” (v 32). But such a judgment would be premature. When Moses warned the crowd, […]
There is only one place of safety. Everyone else is under “the wrath of God” (Jn 3:36). It’s time to put Korah’s boast to the test—that they have as much right to enter the tabernacle as the priests! Does God think so? “Every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, […]
Read More… from September 12, 2022 — Showdown At The Tabernacle Door
Dathan and Abiram, didn’t you know? Being wrapped up in yourself makes a very small package. As Numbers 16 continues, Moses clarifies the issue. These rebels weren’t fighting against Moses! “You and all your company are gathered together against the Lord” (Num 16:11). He then called to meet with “Dathan and Abiram” (v 12) but […]
Read More… from September 9, 2022 — It’s All Your Fault, Moses!
Moses won’t argue for his God-given position, but he will give the rebels something to think about. So Korah and his complaining crowd had thrown down the gauntlet. Who do you think you are, Moses? they said in derision. “Why…do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” (Num 16:3). And Moses, the man […]
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 […]
Read More… from September 7, 2022 — Is It “Exalt Yourselves” Or “Humble Yourselves”?
God’s instruction makes good fashion sense. Heavenly blue is a great addition to any outfit. Between the execution of the sabbath-breaker (Num 15:32-36) and the rebellion of Korah (ch 16), we get a breather. Isn’t it great when you have the chance, in the midst of a busy day, to look up into the blue […]
From Numbers 14:26 through chapter 19, we have a historical hiatus. Just three events are noted. Between Israel’s sad failure at Kadesh and when the new generation appeared back at the same place 38 years later (Num 20:1), only three incidents are recorded. There is the stoning of a sabbath-breaker (15:32-36), the rebellion of Korah […]
Read More… from September 5, 2022 — The Presumptuous Rest-Breaker