Numbers 16:10, commentary and pictures

God had already brought the Levites near to Himself for the service of the tabernacle and set Aaron and his sons apart to the priesthood by His own appointment. To seek the priesthood also was therefore not a small desire but discontent with a great honor, grasping for sacred authority God had not given. That grasping came from pride and ambition for place, from envy, self-exaltation, and unwillingness to accept heaven-sent light. It was the same spirit that moved Lucifer against God's government, infused by Satan to breed distrust and rebellion. Their gathering was rebellion against the Lord Himself, not merely against Moses and Aaron, and its swift judgment and faithful record stand as warning and instruction for God's people to the close of time.

Levites Brought Near

God had already separated the sons of Levi from the congregation of Israel and brought them near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them. Moses therefore rebukes Korah and the sons of Levi for discontent and ambition, asking why, having been thus brought near with all their brethren, they seek the priesthood also. That further claim was not a right belonging to them, but ambition reaching beyond the service already given.

That nearness was already a gift and calling from God, an honored place and position of trust, not a small thing to be despised. God had honored them with a part in His work, yet they were not content and coveted the priesthood as well. Their charge that Moses took too much upon himself forgot that God and not Moses had placed them where they were.

God Himself had established the order, setting Moses as chief governor and giving the dignity of the priesthood to Aaron and his sons, with Aaron consecrated as high priest. Aaron did not take that sacred office for himself, but God placed him in it and made a distinction between Aaron and the other Israelites. To demand that office was therefore rebellion against the Lord and against His established order, not merely a dispute with Aaron.

Korah, a Levite dissatisfied with his position connected with the service of the tabernacle, desired to be exalted to the priesthood and determined to compel Moses to change God's order that he might be raised to it. To accomplish his purpose he drew Dathan and Abiram, descendants of Reuben, who reasoned that as descendants of Jacob's eldest son the chief authority held by Moses belonged to them, and with Korah they resolved to obtain the office of the priesthood. These three then influenced two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of renown, who were also determined to have a share in the priesthood and the government, so that the rebellion was extended and involved far more than two men. In self-confidence Korah and his company aspired to the priesthood, even taking censers and standing in the door of the tabernacle with Moses.

Seeking Priesthood Also

Though already brought near with all their brethren the sons of Levi, separated from Israel to serve at the tabernacle and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, Korah and his company were not content and sought the priesthood also. That seeking was grasping for a sacred office and further authority God had not assigned to them, a claim beyond the service and responsibility already given, not a right belonging to them. Their discontent with the place God had given revealed ambition against His appointed order, and their demand was rebellion against the Lord and not merely a dispute with Aaron. The account stands as instruction and warning against unbelief and rebellion, showing that resisting God's instruction and failing to separate persistent evil from His work dishonors Him, while work done from self will not stand and work done in God will endure.

They treated that nearness and trust as too small a thing, wanting to be commanders rather than servants in the calling already honored by God. Being honored with a part in the work led them to think themselves equal to Moses and a very essential part of the great whole, feeling that honor and credit should be given to them instead of Moses having it all. From dissatisfaction with his position connected with tabernacle service came desire to be exalted to the dignity of the priesthood given to Aaron and his sons while Moses was established as chief governor, and to improve on God's arrangements. Korah determined to compel Moses to change God's order of things that he might be raised to the priesthood, forgetting that God and not Moses had placed them where they were. To accomplish that purpose he drew Dathan and Abiram, descendants of Reuben who reasoned that as descendants of Jacob's eldest son the chief authority held by Moses belonged to them, and together they resolved to obtain the office of the priesthood. These three then influenced two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of renown, to join them, who were also determined to have a share in the priesthood and the government.

Their demand rejected the distinction God had made between Aaron and the other Israelites and challenged the work and responsibility already assigned. Aaron's rod blossoming the next day confirmed that God had chosen him, silenced the people's complaints, and remained a lasting warning against rebellion and questioning to whom the priesthood had been given.

Pride and Self-Deception

Seeking the priesthood after already being brought near with all the brethren the sons of Levi was pride and ambition for position and honor, envy and discontent and desire for self-exaltation, self-confidence, selfish ambition, firm self-complacency, prejudice, and firm unwillingness to accept and acknowledge light sent from heaven. In self-confidence they took censers and stood in the door of the tabernacle with Moses, feeling that being honored with a part in the work made them equal to Moses and a very essential part of the great whole, that credit should be given to them and Moses should not have all the honor, and that they could improve on God's arrangements by grasping for greater authority. Refusing to hearken when the Lord desires to come near to bless and heal backsliding is an unsanctified spirit of independence that insults the Spirit of God, shows contempt, mockery and disgust for the word of the Lord, practices lightness, trifling, jesting and joking, and does not set the heart to seek God. Despising the messengers and the message God sends is despising God Himself, and Satan blinds the eyes and perverts the judgment of those who do so until they lose clear light to discern the preciousness of truth, obscure their spiritual eyesight, refuse manifestation of God's Spirit and power, and walk in the sparks of their own kindling.

Unless they humble pride, confess they were not actuated by the Spirit of God, repent and be converted, they will walk in darkness, lie down in sorrow, and have the candlestick removed out of its place, but if they repent God will heal them, be with His faithful messenger at the post of duty, and sustain by grace and power, and sacred service must instead be carried out without self-seeking. Their case is written for admonition and to be studied as a warning against self-exaltation and grasping for position and credit, especially for those living in the last days. It was the working out on a narrower stage of the same spirit that prompted Lucifer to complain of the government of God and to seek the overthrow of the order established in heaven, infused by Satan into the minds of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram to excite distrust and rebellion. Their grasping for place and control beyond what was given reveals the attributes of Satan, beginning to oppress fellow men with an influence contrary to truth and justice and righteousness.

That grasping appears when workers oppress one another and when one institution desires to control all others, in men entrusted with weighty responsibilities yet with hearts not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit, having no living connection with God and doing despite to the Holy Spirit even while warnings from God come again and again only to be cast aside. Korah had cherished envy and rebellion until he was self-deceived, really thinking himself righteous, thinking the congregation were very righteous and holy people with no need for Moses continually to dwell upon the necessity of being holy, and thinking Moses was a tyrannical ruler. So deluded as to think themselves righteous, the rebels regarded those who faithfully reproved their sins as actuated by Satan.

They acted through a moral infatuation that steeled their hearts against the influence of the Holy Spirit because they did not implicitly trust and obey God. Satan exerted a wizard-like power upon their minds, deluding them with the idea that they opposed only a human leader, a man like themselves, and in rejecting God's chosen instrument they rejected Christ their invisible leader and insulted the Spirit of God, with judgments following close upon their sin. They were deceived by Satan but by their own consent, because they placed themselves in his power.

Rebellion Against God

The seeking of the priesthood after being brought near with all the brethren the sons of Levi was rebellion against the Lord and against Jehovah, not merely a dispute with Aaron or opposition to a human leader. God had already separated the sons of Levi from the congregation of Israel and brought them near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that nearness was already a gift, honor, and calling from God. Their demand went beyond the service God had assigned and rejected the distinction God had made between Aaron and the other Israelites, challenging the work and responsibility already assigned, for Aaron did not take the sacred office for himself but God placed him in it and consecrated him. To treat that privilege as too small and to seek the priesthood also was to gather against the Lord and against God's established order, and to stubbornly trust one's own judgment rather than God's counsel.

Rejecting Moses and Aaron as men of God's appointment was rejecting God as leader, rejecting Christ their invisible leader, insulting the Spirit of God, and blaspheming God. The rebels were deluded by a moral infatuation that steeled their hearts against the Holy Spirit because they did not implicitly trust and obey God, and Satan exerted a wizard-like power upon their minds. By that power they were made to think they opposed only a human leader, a man like themselves, and to think themselves righteous and serving God while regarding those who faithfully reproved their sins as actuated by Satan. They were deceived by Satan but by their own consent, because they placed themselves in his power.

Despising the messengers and the message God sends is despising God Himself. That contempt appears as firm self-complacency, pride, prejudice, and unwillingness to accept and acknowledge light sent from heaven, refusing to hearken when the Lord desires to come near to bless and heal backsliding. It shows itself in an unsanctified spirit of independence that insults the Spirit of God, in contempt, mockery and disgust for the word of the Lord, in lightness, trifling, jesting and joking, and in not setting the heart to seek God. Satan blinds the eyes and perverts the judgment of those who do so, so that they lose clear light to discern the preciousness of truth, obscure their spiritual eyesight, refuse manifestation of God's Spirit and power, and walk in the sparks of their own kindling.

Though brought near and given great light, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram forfeited all right to entrench themselves behind sacred power and claim their voice was to be respected as the voice of God. They claimed to believe and respect the light and to be especially exalted of God while not obeying it. They mingled the work with men's devisings and selfishness, hurting God's servants and sustaining men God could not favor.

Genuine rebellion against God is scarcely ever curable, and judgments followed close upon their sin. The leaders were destroyed in marked judgment, the wrongdoers swallowed up, many died before the Lord by plague, and Korah and those who rebelled with him sinned against the Lord and justly suffered His wrath. Even after God stretched forth His hand and swallowed up the wrongdoers and the people fled to their tents in horror, rebellion was not cured, for the survivors came to Moses the next morning saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord, falsely charging Moses and Aaron, and thousands more were killed for sin, exultation, and presumptuous wickedness. Aaron's rod blossoming the next day confirmed that God had chosen him, silenced the people's complaints, and remained a lasting warning against rebellion and questioning who had been given the priesthood.

Warning Preserved for End

The facts of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with all its objectionable features, were faithfully recorded for instruction, admonition, and warning to God's people. That history calls for careful, prayerful study, especially for those living near the close of time and upon whom the ends of the world are come. The claim to further authority stood against the fact that God had already brought them near through their place among the Levites, and seeking the priesthood as well revealed discontent with the responsibility God had given and stubborn rebellion against God, not contentment with that honor. Turning aside God's counsel to suit self, deciding one's own judgment better than that of His servants, and lessening confidence in the testimonies He has sent is rebelling against God as certainly as they did.

The rebellion was extended, involving far more than two men, led by two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of renown. Even after God in marked judgment destroyed the leaders and the princes, rebellion was not cured, for the survivors came to Moses the next morning saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord. The depth of disaffection was made manifest under judgment when the people falsely charged Moses and Aaron, and thousands more were killed for sin, exultation, and presumptuous wickedness. Those who rebelled died before the Lord by plague, and afterward at Kadesh the thirsting Israelites in impatience and murmuring against Moses and Aaron wished they had died with those brethren. It is hard to convince souls imbued with a spirit not of God, for genuine rebellion against God is scarcely ever curable.

Satan still leads persons to imitate Korah, Dathan, and Abiram by raising insurrection among God's people and rising in opposition to the plain testimony God would have His servants bear in rebuking wrongs. Ambitious opposition to God's appointed leadership can arise again, for the rebellion is a pattern of resistance against God's appointed order and messengers. That rebellion can be repeated, and people who side with deceivers rather than the Lord show the same blindness and disloyalty as those who followed them. Those who take that course charge that those on whom God laid the burden of His work have exalted themselves above the people and that their counsels and reproofs are uncalled for.

To have light and evidence yet refuse to see and acknowledge it, to make of none effect God's testimony and set others against it, is to repeat their sin of seeking a place God has not given. Both the leaders in that course and all who join themselves with them will fall into the ditch. Whoever walks not in the light of the Lord but in the sparks of his own kindling will lie down in darkness and sorrow. Unless they humble pride, confess they were not actuated by the Spirit of God, repent and be converted, they will walk in darkness and have the candlestick removed out of its place; if they repent, God will heal them.

Application to Church Life

Turning aside God's counsel to suit self and deciding one's own judgment better than that of God's servants is rebelling against God as certainly as Korah did. Lessening the confidence of God's people in the testimonies God has sent, warring against them and calling them untrue, is that same rebellion. Korah and his company were stubborn in their own opinions, charged Moses with doing great injury to Israel, and charged those on whom God laid the burden of His work with exalting themselves above the people and with counsels and reproofs that were uncalled for. Their deception was fearful and persistent, for even after God in marked judgment destroyed the leaders and princes, the survivors came to Moses the next morning saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord. It is hard to convince souls imbued with a spirit not of God, so positions taken toward God's work must be careful, for account must be rendered to God for how His message is treated.

Their disastrous work reappears in stirring people to reject those leading God's work and to accuse them of deceit and guilt. It reappears when fellow laborers unjustly charge God's appointed workers, hold them up in a ridiculous light, and cut off their influence by creating false impressions, false sympathy, and dissension in the church. It includes feeling misused, speaking hasty unadvised words, fostering self-esteem, bearing false witness against brethren, leavening minds with distrust, weakening faith in God's instrumentalities, questioning and doubting men whom God is teaching and leading, and planting a seed of doubt that is hard to uproot. This offense to God arising in the very midst of God's people must not be met with silence leaving the people uncertain or left to believe a lie. Accusers must be called on every point to bring proof, every charge must be carefully investigated, the people must be undeceived, and every unsubstantiated reproach must be lifted so the filthy garments put on God's servant are removed.

Those who oppose become self-deceived and grow uneasy under straight testimonies against hurtful indulgences such as tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco that would destroy their idols. Wavering between conviction of truth and clamor of appetite, weakened and perverted in sense of sacred things by slow poisons, they refuse to deny self and sacrifice their idols. They separate themselves from those cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, war against the straight testimonies, claim the people are all right and the reproving testimonies make the trouble, and raise a wall of separation. They unfurl a banner around which all the disaffected and the spiritually defective, the lame, the halt, and the blind rally to scatter and sow discord. The same drawing apart appears in those who separate from the church, use others' errors to build up their own influence, and claim their peculiar ideas and methods will produce a purer church, and such people are to be watched.

Being honored with a part in the work led them to self-importance, to think they were equal to Moses and a very essential part of the great whole, and to feel credit should be given to them and Moses should not have all the honor. Their case is written for the admonition of those living in these last days and is to be studied as a warning against self-exaltation and grasping for position and credit. The same pattern appears when workers oppress one another and one institution desires to control all others, and in managers who presume they can take control of other institutions. It appears in men entrusted with weighty responsibilities yet having no living connection with God, whose hearts are not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit, revealing the attributes of Satan in beginning to oppress fellow men with an influence contrary to truth and justice and righteousness and doing despite to the Holy Spirit. Warnings from God came again and again and were cast aside while venturing on in the same course.

Threatening to sever all connection with brethren unless they consent to one's terms, and going on year after year doing according to one's own mind and judgment in the face of all warnings and refusing to hear the voice of the Lord, is the course of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Those who take that course stand on forbidden ground that God warns them to keep off and calls them to come to their senses and leave. That same experience is developed when unconverted people whose whole previous life is contrary to God's way refuse to change and instead criticize and find fault with work the Lord is guiding, talking so as to make it appear there are mistakes in the management. They must be converted and change their thoughts and attitude in every way in order to work successfully in Christ's lines. Unfaithfulness by ministers and workers in dealing with wrongdoers, guarding the interests of the cause of God, and lifting truth from stigma and reproach allows such men to develop.

Even after God stretched forth His hand and swallowed up the wrongdoers and the people fled to their tents in horror, rebellion was not cured, and the depth of disaffection was made manifest under judgment when the people falsely charged Moses and Aaron and thousands more were killed for sin, exultation, and presumptuous wickedness. Those who claim to believe the truth must not judge from human feelings as Israel did, must not sympathize with the wrongdoer or charge the reprover, and when God's servants do the disagreeable duty of correcting the erring, those on whom the Lord has not laid that burden must not stand between the offender and God but hold peace and let the arrows of the Almighty fall where He directs to pierce souls with little sense of sin. Work done from self will not stand, while work done in God will endure, for seeking the priesthood as well after being brought near was a further claim, not a right, and part of rebellion against God's appointed order. Sacred service must instead be carried out without self-seeking, for their desire for greater authority illustrates selfish ambition and the attempt to improve on God's arrangements.

The chapter warns against self-deception and resistance to God's work, including treating light as darkness and rejecting truth. People will again bring confusion by twisting Scripture and misapplying God's warnings to support their own ideas. Their course labors to make God's messages of none effect, refuses heaven-sent testimony, deceives and is deceived, and strengthens the hands and minds of evildoers so that a vast number quote and follow them while the enemy of righteousness looks on pleased. This course with its influence upon other minds is charged in the books of heaven to be met in the day of final accounts unless thorough work and confession lets the sin go beforehand to judgment.

Resistance to positions God assigned and to His appointed work repeats their example of seeking authority beyond what had been given. To be found among them at such a time as this means strengthening the gainsayer, unsettling minds and shaking faith in the testimonies, and laboring hard to do the very work Satan is doing as was done at Minneapolis. In a time when faith on the earth is scarce, that course gains nothing, lets Satan triumph, and sows impressions of unbelief in other minds that cannot be removed even if faith is recovered.