Numbers 16:4-354And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 5And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 6This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 7And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 8And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 9Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from 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 unto them? 10And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 11For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? 12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 13Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 14Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. 15And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. 16And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: 17And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. 18And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. 19And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation. 20And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 22And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 23And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 24Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 25And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 26And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 27So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 28And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. 30But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. 31And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. 35And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. (Numbers 16:4‑35)
WHEN MOSES heard this accusation of Korah and his company he fell upon his face. What a lesson for us! The proud, haughty words of these men, instead of inviting Moses to reply in the same spirit, only had the effect of humbling him before God. He told Korah that the Lord would show who are His, and who is holy. They were all to take censers, to put fire in them and incense and then come before the Lord on the morrow.
Is it a small thing to you, he said, that the God of Israel has separated you to bring you near Himself to do the service of the tabernacle — and do you want to be priests also? Instead of appreciating the honor God had conferred on them they despised the Giver. Unsatisfied, they grasped after what He had not given — they would be as Moses and Aaron. May we have grace to be satisfied with our lot, with that which God has given us, for this imparts real peace and happiness to the soul.
Dathan and Abiram who joined with Korah in the rebellion say nothing about the congregation being holy. They charge Moses with not fulfilling his promise. But this charge was really against God. The riband of blue was to keep them in remembrance of Him but this was all lost now. They speak of Egypt now not as a land of bondage, but as a land “flowing with milk and honey;” it was as good as Canaan. They blame Moses for not bringing them into the promised land, when the truth of the matter was the Lord had brought them there and their own unbelief had shut them out. Moses, they said, wished to be a prince over them, that he had deprived them but now they were aware of his designs. And yet this was the same Moses who had said to God “Blot me out of Thy book!” rather than that Israel should be consumed. How terrible was the evil of their hearts! Theirs was not a sin of ignorance; it was altogether open rebellion, upon which the judgment of God was swift to follow.
Moses, whom they had so falsely accused, and Aaron, again fall on their faces before the Lord and intercede for the people, saying, “O God, the God of the spirit of all flesh, shall one man (no doubt Korah, the leader) sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?” God told them to warn the congregation to separate themselves from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.
So there stood Korah and his company with their censers, in their pride daring the judgment of God. In their tent doors stood Dathan and Abiram, equally proud, with their wives and children. Then came the sentence of death, not the coon death of man, but “a new thing” from the Lord, so that all might understand “that these men have provoked the Lord.”
Suddenly the earth opened her mouth, “and all the men that appertained unto Korah went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them... And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.”
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10:3131It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31). May we watch against the first workings of pride in our hearts; how little we know what they are capable of! The Lord give us grace to keep low down and to walk humbly before Him.
ML-11/18/1973