Numbers 16:22, commentary and pictures

When the whole congregation gathered with Korah against Moses and Aaron and God said He would consume them in a moment, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces to plead that all should not perish. They appealed to God as the God over all mankind and giver of life, asking that wrath for the sin of one leading man should not fall on the whole congregation. God pitied those who had been led astray and answered by distinguishing the guilty leaders from the misled people, commanding the congregation to separate from the rebels and giving them time to repent. That rebellion against the leaders God had appointed was rebellion against God Himself, springing from Satan's deception over minds that would not trust and obey. The account stands written to warn God's people, especially those living near the close of time, not to follow the same unbelief and opposition to God's work.

Setting and Outcome

The verse stands in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, which was not the work of two or three men alone but was extended and led by two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of renown. Korah gathered all the congregation against Moses and Aaron at the door of the tabernacle, and God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the congregation that He might consume it in a moment.

God answered the plea by commanding the congregation to get up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses warned the people to depart from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs lest they be consumed in their sins. Then the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the rebels alive into the pit.

Terrible judgment was confined to Korah and his company in their destruction, and by that judgment Aaron was sustained in the holy office of the priesthood. Through Aaron's intercession the plague upon Israel was stayed. Moses' prayers, with Aaron hastening with a censer to make atonement and standing between the dead and the living, stayed the plague, but not until fourteen thousand lay dead as evidence of the guilt of murmuring and rebellion.

Even after the leaders and princes were destroyed, the survivors accused Moses of killing the Lord's people, showing how strongly deception can persist and how stubbornly opposition to appointed leadership holds to its own judgment. Later the people acknowledged that Korah and those who perished with him had sinned against the Lord and justly suffered His wrath. Yet at Kadesh, when there was no water, they wished they had died with those brethren who had been destroyed by plague before the Lord.

Words of Intercession

Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before God to plead that the whole congregation should not suffer wrath for the sin of one man, after Korah had gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle and God had told them to separate themselves from the congregation that He might consume it in a moment for the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram with two hundred and fifty princes. They appealed to God as the God of the spirits of all flesh, meaning God over all mankind and the giver of life. Their question whether one man's sin should bring God's anger on the whole congregation distinguishes the guilt of the one leading the sin from the whole community and asks that the people not be destroyed with the rebel. God answered by commanding the congregation to get up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Moses warned the people to depart from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs lest they be consumed in their sins, before the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the rebels alive into the pit.

The guilt of sin did not rest on Moses, so he did not fear or hasten away to leave the congregation to perish but lingered in the fearful crisis with a true shepherd's interest for the flock of his care. Moses did not abandon the people though they deserved judgment, but interceded because they felt no need to humble themselves or plead for themselves. His plea held back destruction and stayed the arm of vengeance from making a full end of disobedient, rebellious Israel. His concern portrays Christ's care and intercession for those in danger of judgment, and with Aaron hastening with a censer to make atonement and standing between the dead and the living, Moses' prayers stayed the plague, but not until fourteen thousand lay dead as evidence of the guilt of murmuring and rebellion.

Mercy and Justice

God is both just and merciful, and He pitied those who had been led astray even though the congregation had been affected to varying degrees by jealousy, suspicion, and hatred toward Moses. The congregation shared in the rebellion through sympathy with its leaders, yet in mercy He distinguished the leaders from those they had misled and gave the people time to repent. That distinction was made by commanding the congregation to separate from the rebels, so that the whole congregation would not suffer wrath for the sin of the one man who led the sin.

That sparing of the deceived congregation displayed mercy toward the God of the spirits of all flesh, but it did not remove their responsibility to respond. Continued rebellion after the leaders' destruction was itself sinful and brought further judgment. The intercession stayed the arm of vengeance from making a full end of disobedient, rebellious Israel. Moses did not abandon the people though they deserved judgment, but interceded because they felt no need to humble themselves or plead for themselves, and his concern portrays Christ's care and intercession for those in danger of judgment.

The guilt of sin did not rest on Moses, so he lingered in the fearful crisis with a true shepherd's interest for the flock of his care rather than hastening away to leave the congregation to perish. With Aaron hastening with a censer to make atonement and standing between the dead and the living, Moses' prayers in the tabernacle with the ascending smoke of incense stayed the plague, but not until fourteen thousand lay dead as evidence of the guilt of murmuring and rebellion. Those who reject the light God has given and turn others against it are left by God to fall as Korah, Dathan and Abiram were left to fall. Both the leaders in rebellion and those who join themselves with them and follow them will fall into the ditch together, for whoever walks not in the light of the Lord but in the sparks of his own kindling will lie down in darkness.

Rebellion Against God

The rising of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron was rising against God Himself, because in refusing the men He had set in place they refused Him. They did not see it so, for they counted Moses only a human leader like themselves and persuaded themselves they were doing God service, yet to cast aside His chosen instrument was to cast aside Christ, their unseen Leader, and to offer insult to the Spirit of God. Though their words blasphemed God, their deception was so complete that they counted themselves righteous and counted those who reproved their sins as servants of Satan, calling darkness light and truth error.

That blindness came through Satan's wizard-like hold upon minds that do not trust and obey God without reserve, a moral infatuation that hardens the heart against the Holy Spirit; he deluded them, but by their own consent, because they put themselves into his power. At the root lay hunger for credit and honor against God's chosen leadership, for Aaron had been made mouthpiece for Moses, and because Aaron and Miriam were honored with a share in the work they judged themselves equal to Moses, indeed a very essential part of the great whole, and felt credit should come to them and Moses should not have all the honor.

Warning for Last Days

The account in Numbers 16 is written to instruct and warn God's people not to follow the rebels' example of unbelief. Its lesson is to be studied carefully and prayerfully, for unreasonable provocation and unwise action call for genuine repentance. Work mixed with self will not endure, while work done in God will stand, for only the holy fire God kindles is safe. An assault on God's work cannot prevail if the work is truly of God.

The facts of Korah and his company rebelling stand as a warning to God's people, especially those living near the close of time. They are faithfully chronicled to pass into history for the admonition of those upon whom the ends of the world are come, and are to be studied as admonition for the last days. The account is to be called rebellion by its right name and apostasy by its right name. It warns against mistaking the great leader of apostasy for Christ our Righteousness, against false prophets with heresies, and against failure to distinguish the precious ore from base material, the false from the genuine, and the voice of the true Shepherd from that of a stranger, and it calls a church thus misled to humble itself before God and sincerely repent for being so easily led astray.

It gives instruction appropriate for the present time, when the whole flock is in danger of being fed errors that will cause them to go astray. It serves as a warning that confusion and the twisting of Scripture can recur when people distort God's warnings to support their own ideas. Its course serves as a warning against persisting in defiance of the Lord. The same rebellion was acted over at Minneapolis in firm self-complacency, pride, prejudice, and unwillingness to accept and acknowledge light sent from heaven. There minds and hearts filled with prejudice were not actuated by the Spirit of God, refusing to hearken and be healed of backsliding and showing contempt for the word of the Lord.

Its marks were unsanctified independence, spiritual blindness, mockery, and daily lightness, trifling, jesting and joking. Unless every soul repents and is converted and humbles pride and confesses wrong, they will walk in darkness and the candlestick will be removed out of its place. Resistance to God's messengers and message repeats that rebellion, and contempt for God's word with refusal to repent leads to spiritual darkness and judgment. The rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is an example of people being deceived into following rebellion against God, and this pattern will recur.

How Rebellion Repeats

Satan moves people to copy Korah, Dathan, and Abiram by stirring insurrection among God's people and setting them against plain testimony and against those upon whom God has laid the burden of His work. That resistance grows out of self-deception, imagining that God's servants exalt themselves above the people and that their counsels and reproofs are uncalled for, joined with unwillingness to give up harmful indulgences such as tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco. Many waver between conviction of truth and self-indulgence until indecision weakens them, appetite prevails and perverts their sense of sacred things, and they resolve at any cost not to deny self, raising a wall of separation between themselves and those cleansing themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. Because straight testimonies rebuking wrongs stand in their way and cause uneasiness, the rebellious find relief in warring against them, declaring the people all right and the reproving testimonies the trouble, unfurling a banner of rebellion around which all the disaffected rally, with all the spiritually defective, the lame, the halt, and the blind uniting influence to scatter and sow discord.

The rebels were deceived men deceiving others, working to make God's messages of none effect and to stop belief in them, strengthening evildoers and turning a tide of unbelief. They drew after them two hundred and fifty princes, men of renown, and through them a vast number who made a firm stand because things were set before them in a perverted light by false representations against God's appointed leaders, so that followers honestly thought the rebels were right while the outcome testified who was right. Such a rebel is accountable in the day of final accounts not only for his own course but for the result of his influence upon other minds, as charged against him in the books of heaven.

Their course is first to gain the sympathy and confidence of the people and then to use that influence against God's appointed leaders by deceptive stories of being abused and seeds of doubt about those in whom God would have the people have confidence. Bearing false witness, leavening minds with distrust, weakening faith in God's instrumentalities, and questioning and doubting the men God is teaching, guiding, and leading plants a seed of doubt not easily uprooted. Yielding to hasty words, self-esteem, distrust, envy, and evil-surmising brings the same experience of judgment that fell on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram with their many sympathizers.

Leading people to reject God's messages and to accuse those leading the work of dishonesty is a destructive work bringing disastrous results upon those influenced. Independent zeal that divides the community and opposes those God is leading repeats their action, as does separating from the church while accusing fellow believers and using the church's errors to advance self, and all such are to be watched. Attacks on those entrusted with God's work offend God, so accusations must be answered, carefully investigated, and supported by proof rather than leaving people to believe unsubstantiated claims that create false impressions and dissension.

The rebellion is repeated by those who come up afterward and receive points of truth all prepared to their hand, taking the Sabbath at no cost to themselves while it cost others much toil to bring out, and then show gratitude by reproaching the workers God burdened. It is repeated when people criticize and find mistakes in a management the Lord is guiding because His way runs contrary to their whole lifelong experience, which proves their own need to be converted in thoughts and attitude in every way in order to work successfully in Christ's lines. Claiming great light while giving the impression of believing and respecting it yet not obeying it all, mingling the work with men's devisings and selfishness, claiming to be especially exalted of God, hurting God's servants, and sustaining men whom God cannot favor forfeits all right to entrench behind sacred power and to claim one's voice is to be respected as the voice of God.

People who are selfish and exploit others may be like those rebels in heart and might follow their course if given opportunity, and God sees their conduct and will reward them according to their deeds. Ambitious projects and wounded pride can bring matters to the point of a similar revolt, and rebellion with a harmful spirit can bring grave consequences among God's people. The rebellious spirit is seen in oppressing others, resisting truth, casting aside God's warnings, opposing God's work, rejecting truth as error, mistaking darkness for light, and becoming selfish and conceited in leadership.

Separation from God so that hearts are not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit reveals the attributes of Satan in beginning to oppress fellow men, with an influence going forth contrary to truth and justice and righteousness. This disposition appears in workers in relation to one another and in the desire of one institution to control all others, pursued even when warnings come from God again and again and men entrusted with weighty responsibilities but having no living connection with God cast them aside and venture on in the same course. Managers acting in that spirit of rebellion and self-importance, believing they could take control of other institutions despite their own institution's poor condition, repeat the example of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

Opposition to accepted light is rebellious resistance to God. The same course as Dathan and Abiram is taken when people cling to a corrupt leader who wears a mild, devoted, religious garb while his heart is at war with the work of the third angel and with the visions, sympathize with him, let his dark and deadly influence draw them, and sow unbelief among the churches.