Adult STS Lesson 98 Korah’s Rebellion and Approval of Aaron’s Priesthood
MEMORY VERSE: “And 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” (Numbers 16:26).
TEXT: Numbers 16:1-50; 17:1-13
The children of Israel had been delivered by God’s mighty power from slavery and bondage in Egypt.
They embarked on the journey to Canaan but wandered in the wilderness for about forty years. It was in one of these years Korah and his co-conspirators – Dathan and Abiram and On – led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Paran. This rebellion was strange because:
One, their long wilderness wandering was as a result of their unbelief and rebellion against God, Moses and Aaron (Numbers 14:2-3; 9-10; Deuteronomy 9:23).
Two, the leaders of the rebellion were men of influence, position and honour, “…princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown” (Numbers 16:2; 26:9).
Three, Korah, Dathan and Abiram progressed in their rebellion by convincing other two hundred and fifty leaders of the tribes’ “…princes in the assembly…” that the rebellion was a worthy cause. Consequently, they rallied the whole congregation against Moses and Aaron to usurp their authority (Numbers 16:2).
Four, they were not satisfied with their honored and privileged positions in the congregation. Korah, a Levite from the priestly tribe of Levi, was one who occupied the honorable office of bearing the ark and the sanctuary furniture. Dathan and Abiram were from the tribe of Reuben (Genesis 49:3,4), whose infamous rebellion attracted fatal consequences from God with a tragic end. God vindicated Aaron’s priesthood; his rod blossomed and bore almonds as God’s approval of his priesthood (Numbers 17:1-11; Hebrews 9:4).
- DEPRAVITY OF MAN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Numbers 16:1-3; 12:2; 2 Samuel 15:3,4; John 12:5
Rebellion is an opposition to constituted authority; being unwilling to obey rules or accept normal standard of behavior. It is a mark of depravity in man. It sometimes starts with a pretext of defending people’s opinion or right. For example, Miriams, Moses sister said, “…Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?” (Numbers 12:2). Korah said, “…all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them…” (Numbers 16:3). Absalom said, “…See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee… Oh that I were made judge in the land…” (2 Samuel 15:3,4). Israel had indeed suffered untold hardship because of the sin of rebellion, murmuring and lust (Numbers 11:1-3:21:4-9). One should expect that they would have learnt their lesson. Holiness and righteousness of life with contentment and fear of God should have been their watchword. But it was not so. Through Korah and his company, Israel degenerated again into another rebellion that attracted God’s anger. Indeed, the human race has rebelled against God and broken His law at will. All men, therefore, became slaves to sin, by nature and habit.
- MOSES’ REACTION AS AN EXAMPLE OF A SANCTIFIED LEADER
Numbers 16:4-50; Psalm 4:3; 2 Corinthians 6:17: Ephesians 5:7-9
Korah challenged Moses claiming that the entire congregation of Israel was holy and that the Lord was among them. He therefore accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves above the congregation. “And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face” (Numbers 16:4) and referred the matter to God. Throughout his interaction with Korah and company, he exhibited humility, indicating an attitude of a Sanctified heart. He gave them space to repent but they got even more rebellious. He asked Korah, “Seemeth 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? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?” (Numbers 16:9,10). Korah could have pondered on this and refrained from his actions. Leaders must appreciate the privileges God has given them to serve. They must not arrogate to themselves authority and responsibility that do not belong to them. It is utter evil not to be satisfied with the position God has placed a person. Two, workers in God’s vineyard must not covet or usurp the authority or privilege that is not theirs. Three, we must watch our actions and reactions lest God charges us for murmuring against the leaders He has placed over us. Our attitude towards them should be to “Obey them that have the rule over [us], and submit {ourselves}: for they watch for [our] souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief for that is unprofitable for [us]” (Hebrews 13:17). We are in the church to make heaven, not to fight for positions. Greed for leadership positions in the church or elsewhere should not obscure our vision of heaven. The height of rebellion was displayed when Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram who boldly said, “We will not come up” (Numbers 16:12,14). Instead, they accused Moses of personal ambition and enslavement of the people of God. The rebellion against God and His appointed leaders as played by Korah and his group prompted Moses to request non-acceptance of their offering. Because he was provoked to wrath, he “…said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them” (Numbers l6:15). This is a mark of loss of favour with the leader, who should have the interest of his people at heart. They further said Moses brought them out of Egypt, a land they described as flowing with milk and honey. They alleged that he neither brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey nor gave them inheritance of fields and vineyards. These were all false claims. Their entry to Canaan was delayed for thirty-eight years because of their unbelief. The promise of bringing them to a land flowing with milk and honey was made by God, not Moses. These accusations angered the man of God. He then spoke of his integrity “…I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them” He told Korah to bring his entire companions in the rebellion before the Lord with incense and fire and stand in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. As they obeyed and gathered, “the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation” (Numbers 16:19). God’s wrath was to be unleashed on the whole congregation in an instance. So He commanded: “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment” (Numbers 16:21). Again, Moses and Aaron’s intercession spared the congregation from the judgment. The congregation were to separate from Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their companions. In order to prove that he (Moses) did not takeover power on his own nor did the works by his own making as the rebels claimed, he asked the Lord to visit the sins of these men in an uncommon way. His request granted. “And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation” (Numbers 16:32,33). The congregation that stood with Korah and his company fled from then. The device of the wicked, even in the church, never stands nor prospers. The scripture strongly affirms: “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous” (Proverbs 11:21; Psalm 37:17). One would have presumed that God’s judgment in the presence of all the children of Israel would have ended their constant rebellion, conspiracy and murmuring. However, it was not so. The next day, all the congregation of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying, “ye have killed the people of the LORD” (verse 41). God quickly visited them with the judgment of a plague and would have consumed them in a moment, but Moses and Aaron interceded again. Moses told Aaron, the high priest, to go and “…Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense… and make an atonement for them…” Aaron “…ran into the midst of the congregation; and stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed’ (Numbers 16:46-48). But that was not before fourteen thousand, seven hundred people had died. In the death of Korah and his company, we see the shameful end of those who, out of pride, would not accept and respect divinely appointed leadership. The Bible warns, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1). It further stresses that, “the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off (Psalm 37:38). Since the way to avoid problem is to run from sin, God decided to help the rest of the congregation of Israel. He instructed Moses to ask Eleazar the son of Aaron to take the censers of the rebels with which they made offerings before the Lord and make broad plates for a covering of the altar. This is to be done as a sign to the Children of Israel. “And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered: and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses” (Numbers l6:39,40).
- APPROVAL OF AARON’S PRIESTHOOD
Numbers 17:1-13; Exodus 6:16-26; Leviticus 8:1-7; Hebrews 9:4
Aaron was the first high priest from the priestly tribe of Levi (Exodus 6:16-26) and he started Israel’s formal priesthood (Exodus 28-29; Leviticus chapters 8 and 9). He served as a symbol or type of the perfect Priest (Psalm 110:4), where the future King was described as eternal Priest. God appointed him. He ordered Moses to bring a rod each, according to the house of their fathers. The name of the head of each house was written on the rod for identification. Aaron’s name was written on the rod of the house of Levi. The rods were laid “..in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony..” (Numbers 17:4), that is, before the ark and the mercy seat, which symbolized God’s presence. God said, “And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel whereby they murmur against you” (Numbers 17:5). It was a miracle to principally help the children of Israel to quit murmuring against God and His appointed leaders over them. Thus, the priesthood of Aaron was divinely determined and confirmed by a miracle of the budding, blossoming and fruiting of Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17:8,9). The lessons here include:
One, Aaron was distinguished from the rest of the princes or heads of tribes.
Two, the miracle of the fruitfulness is an evidence of divine call (Psalm 92:12-14).
Three, the buds and blossoms of the rod pointed to the lifespan of the priesthood of Aaron from generation to generation. With the divine miracle, the children of Israel realized Aaron’s priestly standing before God. “And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?” (Numbers 17:12, 13).
They submitted to the divine will, wisdom and choice of God. All contentions and murmuring in respect of the priesthood were put to rest. There was no struggle over the priesthood of Aaron anymore. All sinners are rebels. God calls all of them to total and complete repentance from all known sins to a life of holiness and righteousness. The rebels against God’s words can only be helped out of their predicament by exposing them to the gospel message that brings total rescue and deliverance from the power of Satan, sin and snares of the world.
Questions For Review:
- What is rebellion? How does it start?
- Give examples of people who rebelled against constituted authority and its consequence.
- What is the consequence of sin on man?
- What judgment did God bring on Korah and his company? How should we avoid it?
- What attitudes are we supposed to exhibit towards divinely appointed leaders?
- What do we learn from the miracle of budding of Aaron’s rod?
- What was the significance of the miracle?
