Haftarah Korach
“Affirmed Man of God”
1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
With the wilderness journey of Israel prolonged by the lack of faith, instigated by the ten spies’ bad report, tensions began to mount in the camp. Even though the Levites had been given their respective responsibilities regarding the Tabernacle, there was some growing jealousy about the leadership of Moses. The rebellious nature of Korah, one of the Kohathites, and his co-conspirators Dathan and Abiram from the tribe of Reuben, voiced their complaints by challenging Moses before the congregation of Israel. We see this pattern, of various recalcitrant people speaking out or working against God’s anointed servants, repeated centuries later as recorded in our Haftarah selection from 1 Samuel. The connection between Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32), and things witnessed in Samuel’s life, direct our attention to what might be considered righteous indignation by both Moses and the Prophet Samuel.
In Korach, we see Moses defending his leadership. He stated how during his tenure as Israel’s leader, he never took a single donkey from the people he has served:
“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?’ 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’” (Numbers 16:8-15, WMB).
Similar to this, when the aged Samuel defended his actions, he asserted how he had taken neither an ox nor a donkey, nor defrauded anyone during his time in leadership:
“Samuel said to all Israel, ‘Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.’ They said, ‘You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.’ He said to them, ‘The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.’ They said, ‘He is witness’” (1 Samuel 12:1-5, WMB).
From what else we know about both Moses and Samuel, there is a distinct connection between their leadership roles, whether it was during Israel’s transition from slavery to freedom, or Israel’s later transition from the era of the judges/prophets to rule by kings. The Psalmist noted the correlation, by expressing their qualities of justice, equity, and righteousness, imbued upon them by the Almighty:
“The LORD reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved. The LORD is great in Zion. He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy! The King’s strength also loves justice. You establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the LORD our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy! Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who call on his name. They called on the LORD, and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies, the statute that he gave them. You answered them, LORD our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings. Exalt the LORD, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for the LORD, our God, is holy!” (Psalm 99:1-9, WMB).
We also see Moses and Samuel lauded in the prophecies of Jeremiah. As he heard from the Lord about the fate of the Southern Kingdom, and specifically for the sin of the wicked King Manasseh, the Lord evoked the names of Moses and Samuel as potential righteous intercessors for Judah. Yet, the wickedness was so bad, that even if Moses and Samuel were to intercede, God would not be able to heed their pleas, and would still be required to bring down His justice upon the people:
“Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay! We acknowledge, LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you. Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake. Do not disgrace the throne of your glory. Remember, and don’t break your covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, the LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind would not turn toward this people. Cast them out of my sight, and let them go out! It will happen when they ask you, “Where shall we go out?” then you shall tell them, “The LORD says: ‘Such as are for death, to death; such as are for the sword, to the sword; such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. I will appoint over them four kinds,’ says the LORD: ‘the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, the birds of the sky, and the animals of the earth, to devour and to destroy. I will cause them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem’” (Jeremiah 14:19-15:4, WMB).
Finally, both Moses and Samuel were given the title “man of God” in the Scriptures, as an honorificate of their service.
Moses was given this title by the narrator of Deuteronomy, immediately before his death:
“This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God [ish ha’Elohim] blessed the children of Israel before his death” (Deuteronomy 33:1, WMB).
Samuel was referred to as a “man of God” by Saul, prior to becoming the king of Israel:
“The servant said to him, ‘Behold now, there is a man of God [ish-Elohim] in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says surely happens. Now let’s go there. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.’ Then Saul said to his servant, ‘But behold, if we go, what should we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our sacks, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?’ The servant answered Saul again and said, ‘Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God [l’ish ha’Elohim], to tell us our way.’ (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, ‘Come! Let’s go to the seer;’ for he who is now called a prophet was before called a seer.) Then Saul said to his servant, ‘Well said. Come! Let’s go.’ So they went to the city where the man of God [ish ha’Elohim] was” (1 Samuel 9:6-10, WMB).
As you reflect upon the account of Korah and his rebellious comrades this week, and then consider how the Ancient Israelites disregarded the advice of Samuel, and turned themselves over to human kings like the other nations (1 Samuel 8:11-20)—do you identify with either the selfless sacrifice of Moses and Samuel, or rather with the baseness of the Israelites? Have you ever been in a position of leadership where you knew your motives were pure, and yet you were questioned or rebuked by your subordinates? Or on the other hand, can you remember times when in your heart you were unable to follow the instructions of others, because you thought you might know better or have a better way of doing things?
Is it possible that like most, you can remember times on both sides of the equation? Perhaps these were times when you were misunderstood, or when you simply decided that you would not follow the lead of those in positional authority over you?
In the case of Moses, the dramatic way the Lord showed his contemporaries that He was on Moses’ side, resulted in the death of his detractors.[1] In the case of Samuel, his vindication came when he prayed for rain during the wheat harvest, and rain suddenly appeared. A reiteration of the people’s choice of a human king, and the consequences which resulted, notably preceded the sign of God’s approval of Samuel’s request for rain:
“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, the LORD has set a king over you. If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the LORD your God. But if you will not listen to the LORD’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the LORD’s sight, in asking for a king.’ So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. All the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.’ Samuel said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn away from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Don’t turn away to go after vain things which can’t profit or deliver, for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself’” (1 Samuel 12:12-22, WMB).
Today, we are not necessarily witnessing the ground opening up and swallowing people, or less frequently rain immediately appearing when prayed for on the spot. But, we are certainly able to notice the fruit of someone’s labors in the field of serving God. Both Moses and Samuel exemplified integrity, justice, and His blessing. Although questioned by their peers and followers, their examples have stood up through the test of time, as the Psalmist, Jeremiah, and many others rightly recognized them as “men of God.”
In time, no matter what side of the equation we fall upon, we should hope that our own service in God’s Kingdom will be recognized as beneficial, eternal fruit! Let us follow the examples of these great servants of God, who endured with integrity during their respective walks of faith!
NOTES
[1] Numbers 16:23-35.
