Numbers 16–17: How humility teaches leadership

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The Torah reading קֹרַח Korakh (“Korah,” Numbers 16–18) can be quite chilling, especially for those of us who have serious challenges with authority. We also see a display of the adage “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future” coming to fruition right before our eyes. I used to scoff at the idea of knowing who you are by the friends you keep, but it is so true. Your friends inevitably rub off on you, just as Korach’s rebellious and insolent spirit rubbed off on Dathan and Abiram and then trickled down to the entire congregation.

We’ll explore how Moses’ and Aaron’s humble intercession for these rebels teaches us about Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).

Here are some of the  lessons to glean from the tragedy of Korach:

• Guard yourself against envy, jealously and covetousness for position, authority and esteem.
• Praise the Father for what you do have, rather than complaining about or yearning for what you don’t have.
  • Be thankful for the blessings and the mercy you have not earned.
• Be careful of what you absorb from the culture around you, because it could be spiritual poison.
• Respect authority, and welcome correction.
  • Don’t trash-talk or undermine parents, leaders or others.
• Forgive (let Heaven handle vengeance), and seek reconciliation.

Korach’s bald-faced Lie

Korach is Moshe’ and Aharon’s first cousin. His rebellion starts as an intra-tribal squabble but Korach didn’t want to launch his rebellion alone. Lashon hara is like a wildfire driven by strong winds, spreading quickly, singing those who are closest to the fire first.

The Reubenites were neighbors of Korach’s so they were the first to catch the contagion of envy, jealousy and rebellion.

Numbers 16 is one of the saddest chapters in the Torah. Korach was speaking with such arrogance and yet such ignorance at the same time.

Moshe calls Korach out and asks him a very direct question.

“and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also?” (Numbers 16:10 NASB)

Moshe could have also asked Korach “Do you really know what the priesthood is and what it demands? In this we are reminded of the Apostle James blunt warning.

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1 NASB)

The priests are the servants of the people. They bring the people’s sacrifices and their confessions to God.

One might ask “How did Korach get to this point of acting so irrationally?” They may have been going through the different stages of grief as they were processing the fact that because of their sin, they were not going to enter the Promised Land.

They even slandered God and the promises of Canaan by speaking of Egypt, the land of their servitude, as a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Numbers 16:13).

Let’s turn to the Gospel of John to see ridiculousness of their “nostalgia” over their bondage in Egypt.

Sometimes it seems easier to accept the bondage we know then the uncertain blessings we don’t know.

Why is that Pesach is at the beginning of the agricultural cycles. Pesach is just the beginning of the journey out of the house of bondage. We are on a journey to learn what God wants from us and then to take God’s words and work them out until we produce a bountiful harvest of many different grains and fruits.

The first generation out of Egypt died in the wilderness because they did not have faith.

When we resist and reject authority, we are not walking in the fruits of the spirit. We reap a weak harvest rather than a strong one.

“Each of you take his fire-pan and put incense on it” (Num. 16:17 NASB)

Incense is symbolic of prayers and the act of taking a fire-pan and burn incense was the quintessential job of the high priest. The High Priest used the incense to cover himself as he entered God’s presence.

Incense in the censer was symbolic of a covering for the priest approaching God’s presence. What covering do these priest wannabes have? Do they know why the incense is important?

“Korach assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting” (Num. 16:19 NASB)

The tabernacle was a place where the congregation was to come with the singleness of purpose to be closer to God. The people bring their korban and the priests bring it to the Lord. But Korach was sowing division by poisoning people against the high priest and the prophet.

The pattern that was shown on the mountain was not just about the architectural specs of the tabernacle but also included the roles that the men (and women) played in the tabernacles sacred services and its upkeep.

The pattern shown on the mountain, in a sense, goes all the way back to when God called Moshe to leadership at the burning bush. We also see it when God tells Moshe that the people would see him as an “elohim” and see Aharon as his prophet. At the mountain, the people instinctively understood that Moshe had a special connection with God and asked Moshe to intervene between God and them. However, the children also keep dreaming of Egypt whenever they experience even a slight bit of difficulty.

We are repeatedly warned in scripture that we shouldn’t speak evil against the leader of your people. Is it on our shoulders to #Resist or will we be the kindling in the furnace stoked seven times hotter?

When we see the difference between Moshe and Korach, we see Korach say “Moshe how dare you take this upon yourself.” Do Moshe and Aharon say, “No, Korach how dare you?” No. Moshe and Aharon answer to their real boss, and fall on their faces before their true authority. Moshe and Aharon take the rebellion to the Lord.

“‘when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?’” (Num. 16:22 NASB)

Moshe again intercedes for the people, like he did at the golden calf. This time, Aharon joins him. Moshe didn’t God to restart with him. Moshe even said that he was willing to lay down his place in the world to come if God would relent from his plan to nuke all the children of Israel and start over with him.

The high priest who condemned Yeshua unwittingly invoked this plea to Heaven because he was more afraid of Roman power to prosper or crush Israel. This is frightening. God can accomplish His purposes through very wicked vessels. He can use you to accomplish His goals even if you are hell-bent on evil. Imagine that there will be people brought to heaven by people who won’t enter heaven themselves.

In Revelation, the dragon, beast and false prophet are like Korach, Datan and Abiram: They go down together with all those who are a part of their “household.” I suspect that what we see in Revelation is a mix of denial and rage that causes those who are outside the walls to presume to try to take the holy city, even though they know their fight is a futile task. They just want to exercise their anger and resentment.

The freedom of won’t

We need some Holy Spirit discernment to realize what our gifts are and walk in our gifts, not in someone else’s. We also need to be careful if we are coveting the gifts God gave someone else rather than appreciating our own gifts.

It’s a heart situation, but it’s hard to back away from what you want, instead of accepting what we have in gratitude. We need to look at our own potential to see where the Lord’s leading is, not where he is leading someone else. Follow your own gifting and potential not for what you want to grab from someone else.

What is the Lord’s path, actually? And are you trying to jump in through a window that the Lord has not opened?

If you want to have a discussion with with a secularist talk about them about freedom of won’t.

It’s one of the great things about the mapping of the mind is they’ve discovered a little thing that lights up in your head before you make a decision.

A thought pops in your head, and you say, “I want to do that.” But what they found is that if something pops in your head and you say, “I want to do that,” but then you decide not to do it? There’s no light that comes in when you decide not to take a course of action that just a moment before you found appealing.

So there are those ideas that come up and light up in your head. But you can decide which one you want to act upon? And how do you make that decision?

The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 10:5,

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (2 Cor. 10:5 NASB)

How do we know what thoughts lead us to “obedience in Christ”?

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18 NASB)

The Law teaches us how to crucify the flesh. Those little things in your head that just lighten up. Yeah, tell those wrong things that lighten up in your head to “Shut up!”

Because you basically hear what the word of the Lord is. It says, “Hey, is this is this going in that direction? No. Okay. The freedom of won’t, there you go the freedom of won’t.

Did Benjamin Libet’s experiments show that free will is an illusion?: https://egnorance.blogspot.com/2014/01/did-benjamin-libets-experiments-show.html

Light my fire

“Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.” (Num. 16:35 NASB)

Like what happened to Aharon’s sons Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10). Is this incense similar to the “foreign fire”?

“take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy” (Num. 16:37 NASB)

The instruments the wannabe priests used to seek positions not assigned to them became part the altar where the people’s hearts would go up to Heaven. Sadly, in a roundabout way, what was left of insurgent “priests” was actually placed on the altar.

Sadly, this was not the end of the spirit of insurrection and insolence in the camp of Israel. We see in Aharon the heart of a true servant when he runs headlong into the midst of a plague with only an incense pan and a little bit of fire.

“bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD” (Numbers 16:46 NASB)

Aharon could have stood back and let God take out the insolent rebels with the plague but instead he charged through to stop the plague.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11–12 NASB)

As we look forward in a few months to Yom Kippur, think about what a high priest does. He runs in the midst of the wrath of the Lord to stand between the living and the dead. When we think about Yom Kippur’s in the past and in the future, we see what the Lord has done. We have a great testimony that when the perfect offering is made, it is done, it is finished. When we look forward to Sukkot and the consummation fo all things, what a glorious day it will be. We do not want to follow the way or Korach or those who charge the city in the Day of the Lord. We want God to deliver us into the City, into His presence, not keep us out.

Summary: Tammy