Numbers 16

REBELLION – The Bible tells us that it is as the sin of witchcraft in the eyes of God. It is not something that the Lord tolerates! Webster defines rebellion as open resistance to lawful authority. Today we could word it something like this; “openly fighting against the established authority that has every reason and right to be there.”

Korah’s rebellion was on 2 levels. First it was a rebellion against Moses, but because Moses was appointed by God, it was really a rebellion against God. Rebelling against God is never good, and Korah is about to find that out the hard way. As we look at this story today, I want us to look at two specific things: what rebellion did to the heart of Korah, and the Godly way that Moses dealt with it. We cannot look at this situation in depth because of the time it would take, but we can grab a few basic principles.

KORAH – The first thing we notice about Korah is that He had a problem. Korah had a problem with Moses; he simply did not believe that Moses was God’s man for the job. Occasionally we may have a problem with someone… the question is, how will we deal with it? Korah dealt with his problem the wrong way, Korah SPREAD his problem by taking it to others. What he should have done was simple; first, he should have taken it before the Lord, then as led by the Lord, he should have gone to Moses HIMSELF.

Too often we create problems that don’t really exist because we don’t deal with things biblically. If you have a problem with another person, you should bring the problem before the Lord. Pray about it, talk to the Lord about it, examine your heart and make sure you aren’t digging at someone’s speck while ignoring your own log. Then, if you are sure that your heart is right, go to the person you have the problem with, and in a loving and gracious way, confront them with the truth! None of this going and spreading your problem around, filling the hearts of others with YOUR bitterness… It is NOT PLEASING to the Lord!

MOSES – I love how Moses responds to Korah… he doesn’t punch him in the face, or call for him to be stoned, he simply goes to the Lord in prayer. Not defensive, not offended, Moses seeks the face of God! I believe Moses sought God for 2 reasons; to make sure that the accusations of Korah were not true, and to seek wisdom as to how he should respond. This sets a wonderful example for us when we are on the receiving end of an accusation. We should first bring the accusation before the Lord, looking to see if there is any truth to it… then we should seek wisdom for how we might properly respond to it.

If I was in Moses shoes, I probably would have killed Korah right there on the spot, but I would have had a HUGE PROBLEM then. Follow the example here… whether on the giving or receiving end of an accusation, be led of the Lord, and don’t let pride get in the way… Pride was the unraveling of the life of Korah.