SCRIPTURE: NUMBERS 16
KORAH, DATHAN AND ABIRAM (vs. 1-50)
Korah, Dathan and Abiram became insolent and rose up against Moses. They, together with 250 Israelite leaders came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron. Since they were Levites, they considered themselves holy and would not subject to Moses and aaron’s authority. They wanted to get the priesthood too. So Moses told them to take ensers and put fire and incense before the Lord to see whom God chose to be the one who is holy.
Then, Moses summoned dathan and Abiram but they refused to come. And Moses told Korah to gather all this followers and appear before the Lord by taking censer and put fire and incense in it and present it before the Lord. When Korah and his followers gathered at the entrance tot he Tent of Meeting, the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. The Lord told Moses and Aaron to separate from the assembly because He will put an end to them all at once. But Moses cried out to the Lord not to be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins. So the Lord told him to say to the assembly to move away from the tents of Korah, Dothan and Abiram. So, the assembly moved away. Then, the ground under Korah, dathan and Abiram split apart and the earth opened it mouth and swallowed them with their households and possessions. The earth closed over them and they perished. Fire came out to consume the 2150 men who were offering the incense.
The Lord told Moses to tell Aaron to take the encers and hammer it into sheets to overlay the altar. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord or he would become like Korah and his followers.
Next day, the whole Israelite community gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting. Suddenly, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. The Lord wanted to put an end to the whole assembly but Moses told Aaron to make atonement for the assembly. Wrath has come out from the Lord and the plague has started among the people. When Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them, the plague stopped. But 14,700 people had died from the plague.
THOUGHTS:
A successful leader often encounters opposition by people who are jealous of him. But he won’t be intimidated if he took the matters to the Lord and let Him be the judge. God will vindicate His servants better then they can vindicate themselves.
When the entire congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron and accused them of being murderers, God stepped in and defended His servants by sending plague to destroy the people. But Moses commanded his brother to go oino the midst of the plague with his censer to stop the judgment. But he people did not realize the love and sacrifice of Moses for them.
Korah was a cousin of Moses (Exo. 6:21). But he was not content to assist in the tabernacle. He wanted the power of a priesthood to have great wealth and political influence. So he questioned Moses’ authority. His inappropriate ambition is greed in disguise. His rebellion is self-seeking and envy. However, Moses interceded for them by asking God to show mercy on them. Sometimes, our greatest enemies are people related or closest to us. We must not take revenge. Instead we should pray for them.
One of the easiest ways to fall away from trusting God is to look at our problems and exaggerate them. Dathan and Abiram and their followers lost their perspective when they began to long for better food and pleasant surroundings. When we take our eyes off from God and start looking at ourselves and our problem, we will begin to lose our perspective as well. Don’t let our problems hinder our relationship with God. Focus on God’s direction for your life.