Korach
Korah
“Inevitable Challenges”
Numbers 16:1-18:32
1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume III
Every year as one studies the testimonies of the Torah, there is an annual reminder that the challenges of ministerial leadership always persist—and such a reminder gives added meaning to the words written by the Apostle Paul, regarding the benefits of reviewing these ancient writings (1 Corinthians 10:11). Last week’s Torah reading Shelakh-Lekha (Numbers 13:1-15:41), dealt with the bad report and missteps of the ten spies, and the subsequent poor choices of a faithless horde of Israelites, who attempted to enter the Promised Land without the blessing of the Lord. Now, the record turns to the infamous report about one significant affront to Moses and Aaron’s leadership role, by Korah. Here, for two chapters in the Book of Numbers, the specific details of the rebellious confrontation and ensuing punishment are recorded for all to consider, with an additional chapter devoted to emphasizing the solemn responsibilities placed upon those called into the priesthood. Needless to say, everyone who reads and studies this parashah, should seriously consider his or her own respective roles and callings in the contemporary Body of the Messiah, and be mindful that the Holy One has expectations of each of us, with our gifts, talents, and skills.
Human jealousy and envy are emotional traits of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), which can be generated when people believe they are something they are not. In the case of Korah and his family (Kohathites), who were given the exalted responsibilities to handle the most holy sacred objects (Numbers 3:29-31; 10:21), the temptation to challenge the leadership of Moses and Aaron overcame them. Apparently, the charismatic Korah, a son of Levi, was so persuasive in his argument with other Israelites, that by the time he chose to confront Moses, he was able to gather a number of cohorts, namely: Dathan, Abiram, and On (Deuteronomy 11:6). Being descendants of Reuben, they might have thought that being of the line of the firstborn son of Jacob, naturally gave them some leadership privileges. However, we see that their concerted effort to elevate themselves, was soundly and tragically rebuked by the Lord. When reading this passage, note how Moses’ initial reaction to Korah’s insubordination, was to fall on his face appealing to the Lord—which was an identical response to what he and Aaron did earlier, when the Israelites, riled up by the bad report of the ten spies, demanded new leadership (Numbers 14:4-5). From such two incidents, depicting the eventual grumbling of complainants from the assembly or envious self-serving individuals, modern-day servants of God have been given a tremendous example of how to properly seek Him for His response—to the inevitable challenges, to either their leadership roles, or whatever challenges may be presented to the faith community:
“Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took some men. They rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, ‘You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and the LORD is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above the LORD’s assembly?’ When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. He said to Korah and to all his company, ‘In the morning, the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him. Do this: have Korah and all his company take censers, put fire in them, and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow. It shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!’ Moses said to Korah, ‘Hear now, you sons of Levi! Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? Do you seek the priesthood also? Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against the LORD! What is Aaron that you complain against him?’” (Numbers 16:1-11, WMB).
In Moses’ initial response to Korah, he reminded him that as descendants of Levi, the Kohathites had already been separated from the congregation of Israel, and given unique roles regarding the transport of the holy objects. But apparently, those responsibilities were not sufficient for Korah, and he was jealous of Aaron’s priestly position, to the point of instigating all of the grumbling. Then, to justify their complicity with Korah, his willing allies Dathan and Abiram fell back on the earlier congregational complaint that Moses had not yet led Israel into the Promised Land. The implication was that Moses had failed in his leadership role, and that he was simply taking advantage of his position, to benefit him and his family. This accusation was rebuked by a stern reminder that Moses had never taken so as much as a donkey, and certainly had done no harm to anyone. At this point, Moses turned back to Korah with how the Lord was going to personally resolve this dispute, by showing just who had His favor. Of course, when the glory of the Lord finally appeared to verify the actions taken, Moses and Aaron once again prostrated themselves on their faces, in order to plead with Him for mercy on the balance of the congregation:
“Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, ‘We won’t come up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us? Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up.’ Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, ‘Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.’ Moses said to Korah, ‘You and all your company go before the LORD, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. Each man take his censer and put incense on it, and each man bring before the LORD his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each with his censer.’ They each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron. Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. The LORD’s glory appeared to all the congregation. The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!’ They fell on their faces, and said, ‘God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?’” (Numbers 16:12-22, WMB).
In His mercy, the Lord instructed Moses to tell the rest of the people of Israel, to separate themselves from the rebels and their dwellings—in order to avoid the judgment which was imminent. In a remarkable revelation from the Lord, Moses warned the population that a miraculous opening of the ground would literally swallow up his challengers—and prove once and for all, not only how the Lord would deal with malcontents, but that He was absolutely with him and his brother Aaron:
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the congregation, saying, “Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!”’ Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, ‘Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!’ So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. Moses said, ‘Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then the LORD hasn’t sent me. But if the LORD makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall understand that these men have despised the LORD.’ As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods. So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly” (Numbers 16:23-33, WMB).
In perhaps one of the most dramatic scenes since the parting of the Red Sea, the ground opened up and consumed Korah, his misguided associates, their households, and all of their possessions. But the Holy One was not finished with His judgment on those, who were cleverly persuaded by Korah and his ilk. As the Israelites were witnessing and fearing that they might also be swallowed up, a devastating fire was released to consume the two hundred and fifty who had taken up the challenge to Aaron’s offering, by offering incense on improperly made bronze censors. The Lord instructed Moses to tell Aaron to have his son Eleazar take the bronze censors, and hammer them into a plating for the altar—as a reminder that no one, who was not a descendant of Aaron, should inappropriately offer incense, or suffer some of the same consequences as Korah and his company:
“All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, ‘Lest the earth swallow us up!’ Fire came out from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy, even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before the LORD. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.’ Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which those who were burned had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before the LORD, that he not be as Korah and as his company; as the LORD spoke to him by Moses” (Numbers 16:34-40, WMB).
Even after this horrific set of events, within a day, the Israelites were widely right back to complaining about Moses and Aaron, and blaming them for the death of the Lord’s people—despite the presence of His glory hovering over the Tent of Meeting. The Holy One was still angry with the impertinence of the people, and He threatened to instantly consume them—but, in what had to become a familiar protraction, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, and pleaded with the Lord for His mercy, and certainly His guidance:
“But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and against Aaron, saying, ‘You have killed the LORD’s people!’ When the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they looked toward the Tent of Meeting. Behold, the cloud covered it, and the LORD’s glory appeared. Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!’ They fell on their faces. Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the LORD! The plague has begun.’ Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the middle of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, in addition to those who died about the matter of Korah. Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped” (Numbers 16:41-50, WMB).
The Lord’s merciful response to Moses and Aaron’s humbling pleas, resulted in proper use of the approved censor, fired from the altar and filled with incense. This was to be taken throughout the encampment, in order to mitigate and eventually abort the plague which would kill a wide number of Israelites on account of Korah. In no uncertain terms, Moses and Aaron had displayed extraordinary, heroic leadership, appealing to the Holy One in what was described as literally standing between the dead and living—without any apparent concern for their own lives, and the possibility that the plague would affect them as well.
Then, in order to once again show a tangible sign that Aaron and his progeny were indeed called and selected by the Lord, to handle their priestly functions, representatives from each of the Twelve Tribes were to bring a rod from their ancestral households to the Tent of Meeting. The Lord would then allow one of the rods to sprout with buds and blossoms bearing ripe almonds, to absolutely indicate just which family line had His utmost blessing. Clearly, the Holy One remained angry with grumblers and complainers. In this miraculous sign, not only did Aaron’s rod bud, but it was also set in the Holy Place before the Ark of the Covenant, as a perpetual sign against the rebels, and as a warning that those who grumble would be judged:
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and take rods from them, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. You shall write Aaron’s name on Levi’s rod. There shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. You shall lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the covenant, where I meet with you. It shall happen that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud. I will make the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you, cease from me.’ Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, a total of twelve rods. Aaron’s rod was among their rods. Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. On the next day, Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony; and behold, Aaron’s rod for the house of Levi had sprouted, budded, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel. They looked, and each man took his rod. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Put back the rod of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their complaining against me, that they not die.’ Moses did so. As the LORD commanded him, so he did. The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Behold, we perish! We are undone! We are all undone! Everyone who keeps approaching the LORD’s tabernacle, dies! Will we all perish?’” (Numbers 17:1-13, WMB).
Obviously, the righteously jealous Holy One, was very concerned about just who specifically represented Him to the community of Ancient Israel. None of us as Torah readers can deny the unique and honored role of the Levitical priesthood. The final chapter of Korach is necessarily dedicated to further elaborating the relationship between God’s choice of Aaron and his family for the priesthood, and some of their specific duties and responsibilities. In order to fully appreciate the role of the separated and dedicated Levitical priesthood, I have gone ahead and reproduced all of Numbers ch. 18, so that everyone can appreciate the gravity of being called into the Lord’s full-time service:
“The LORD said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. Bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of the Testimony. They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you. They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you. You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel. Behold, I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.’ The LORD spoke to Aaron, ‘Behold, I myself have given you the command of my wave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel. I have given them to you by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, as a portion forever. This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. You shall eat of it like the most holy things. Every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you. This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it. I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to the LORD. The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it. Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours. Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to the LORD, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals. You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs. But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to the LORD. Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours. All the wave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD to you and to your offspring with you.’ The LORD said to Aaron, ‘You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting. Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, “Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”’ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, “When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. Your wave offering shall be credited to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the wine press. Thus you also shall offer a wave offering to the LORD of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of it you shall give the LORD’s wave offering to Aaron the priest. Out of all your gifts, you shall offer every wave offering to the LORD, of all its best parts, even the holy part of it.” Therefore you shall tell them, “When you heave its best from it, then it shall be credited to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor, and as the increase of the wine press. You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting. You shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have heaved from it its best. You shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you not die”’ (Numbers 18:1-32, WMB).
As one can read in this lengthy chapter, being called into the Levitical priesthood—or for that same matter being born into the Tribe of Levi—was not without a considerable amount of care and concern, to do things according to His Holy Word. Since the Levites and their descendants were called into a very unique and valued role in the community of Ancient Israel, they were denied any inheritance in the Promised Land, and were to be totally dedicated to the Lord’s work, looking to Him for sustenance and provision. Through the very offerings of the balance of the rest of the population of Israel, their needs were to be met, as they performed their ministerial duties. Among many duties they would perform, they were to model the responsibility of tithing, by giving a tenth of whatever they received unto the Lord.
So what can be taken away from this annual trek through the tragic episodes of leadership challenges, and how God wanted those in responsible positions within the assembly, to react to inevitable confrontations? We need to first recognize how whether it is from the disappointed and impatient assembly at large; or misguided, envious, and charismatic individuals; or small cadres dissatisfied with a leadership style or approach—that today, eventually everyone in ministry leadership is going to be subject to challenges.
When the confrontations come—and they will—it is critical to follow the example of Moses and Aaron, and humbly fall on your face, in prayer and supplication for guidance—accompanied with intercession, for those who come in opposition to the decisions which are being made. Since the accountability of leadership is so critical for the well being of the congregation, if you are in a position of leadership, then the principles expounded upon in Numbers ch. 18, as originally given to the Levites, might be useful to consider. Remember that Moses and Aaron were honored and protected when challenged, but only because they were obviously fulfilling their respective calls appropriately—depending on the Lord for His guidance on how to handle complaining miscreants. As will later be discovered, when a leader deviates from the Word, there are serious consequences, such as when Moses struck the rock twice, rather than simply speaking to it as the Lord commanded (Numbers 20:6-12).
May the Lord give each of us the heart and willingness, to fall on our faces for guidance from Him—no matter if our leadership roles range from family to congregation, or if we are simply trying to best manage our own individual lives. After all, the challenges are inevitable. How we handle them should be from the Lord!
