Numbers 16:32, commentary and pictures

The earth literally split open and swallowed Korah, Dathan and Abiram alive with their households, tents and all their possessions, after Moses had staked his divine commission on that new sign. It was God's direct, irresistible judgment on honored leaders who accused Moses and Aaron of usurping authority that belonged to all, and drew two hundred and fifty princes into rebellion against them. The miracle vindicated Moses and Aaron as sent by the Lord and established the priesthood, leaving no uncertainty that to reject them was to reject Christ and insult the Spirit. Even while the doom fell mercy still lingered, for the congregation was warned to flee and the destruction could have been stopped by repentance, and God distinguished the hardened leaders from the sympathizing people to give them time to turn. The history stands as a warning for the last days not to repeat that pride, envy and distrust of God's appointed workers, lest the same spirit that worked in Satan's rebellion and will be repeated bring the same ruin.

Setting and Swallowing Judgment

The verse belongs to the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron, in which they publicly accused them of taking too much authority that the rebels claimed to share, on the ground that all the congregation are holy. The rebels were rulers in Israel honored and placed in positions of trust, but they were not content and wanted to be commanders, forgetting that God and not Moses had placed them where they were. They used their influence to draw to their side two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous men of renown, and gathered them against Moses and Aaron. The rebellion was extended, not confined to two men, but led by those princes, men of renown.

Moses declared a test that if the Lord made a new thing and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed the rebels with all that belonged to them so that they went down alive into the pit, it would prove that the Lord had sent him to do all his works and that these men had provoked the Lord. This extraordinary event confirmed that sending and that provocation. After they gathered the congregation against Moses and Aaron at the door of the tabernacle, and after intercession when God said to separate so He could consume the congregation in a moment, Moses warned the congregation to separate, to get up from about their tabernacles, to depart from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs lest they be consumed in their sins. Dathan and Abiram stood in the door of their tents with their wives, sons, and little children.

As soon as Moses ceased speaking the ground broke apart under them, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up with their houses, tents, households, all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their goods and possessions. They went down alive into the pit, the earth closed upon them and over them, and they perished from among the congregation. This judgment followed their challenge to the leaders God had appointed, and its penalty made their destruction a warning against rebellion and accusing those chosen by the Lord. The chapter shows in this that work done in self will not stand, while work done in God will endure.

The earth swallowed the first leaders in the rebellion apart from the two hundred and fifty men who offered incense. Those men saw them perish, giving them opportunity to repent of their crime. Its cry was heard by the children of Israel, who fled a great distance because they knew they were in a measure guilty for receiving the accusations against Moses and Aaron and were afraid they would also perish with them.

Vindication of Appointed Leaders

The opening of the earth to swallow the rebels with their households and all their goods was an extraordinary, signal miracle that proved the Lord had sent Moses to do his works and that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had provoked the Lord. It was a visible, overwhelming evidence that the rebellion against Moses was wrong and that Moses and Aaron were right, a signal display of divine power that removed all uncertainty. Even while Moses was urging Israel to flee, the destruction could still have been stopped if the company had repented and sought forgiveness, but stubborn persistence sealed their doom.

That terrible judgment helped establish and sustain Aaron in the sacred office of high priest. Yet even this miraculous vindication did not undeceive rebellious Israel, who still insisted Moses and Aaron were wrong, and they were not cured of rebellion until fourteen thousand and seven hundred more who had joined it were slain. After that further rebellion God in mercy gave the miracle upon Aaron's rod to settle minds forever in regard to the priesthood.

To oppose God's chosen leader while believing they were serving God was to reject God's chosen instrument, and that rejection was also rejection of Christ their invisible leader and an insult to the Spirit of God. The rebels were deluded by Satan through a moral infatuation that steeled their hearts against the influence of the Holy Spirit, and they were deceived by their own consent because they placed themselves in his power. By that course Korah, Dathan, and Abiram forfeited all right to claim sacred power and to be respected as the voice of God. They lost that right because they did not obey all the light given, mingled their work for years with men's devisings and selfishness, claimed to be especially exalted of God, hurt God's servants, and sustained men whom God could not favor, so that entrenching behind sacredness of office while continuing in that course gives no right to demand respect as God's voice.

Justice Tempered With Mercy

The swallowing of the rebels with their households and all their goods was God's just wrath and vengeance upon those who sinned against Him by rebelling against the authority of Moses and Aaron. It was a signal miracle and display of His power, a special, irresistible interference from heaven to arrest their presumptuous course. The judgment came very near because Jesus, the Angel who went before the Hebrews, sought by it to save them from destruction, with forgiveness still lingering for them. If they had responded to that interposition of providence they might have been saved, for the destruction could still have been stopped even while Moses was urging Israel to flee from it, if Korah and his company had repented and sought forgiveness. Their stubborn persistence sealed their doom, and their fleeing from fear of destruction did not cure their rebellion.

The whole congregation shared in the guilt because all had sympathized with the rebels to a greater or less degree, yet God in great mercy distinguished between the leaders in rebellion and those they had led. His sparing of the rest arrested the congregation's course and gave them time and space to repent, with overwhelming evidence removing all uncertainty that they were wrong and Moses was right. That sparing showed His long-suffering willingness to forgive even grievous offenders who turn back to Him. The chapter thus proves that work done in self will not stand, while work done in God will endure. The revolt stands as an example of disaffection against God's work, and a work that is of God will survive such opposition.

Roots of Rebellious Spirit

The swallowing of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram worked out on a narrower stage the same spirit that led to Satan's rebellion in heaven. Pride and ambition prompted Lucifer to complain of the government of God and to seek the overthrow of the order established in heaven, and since his fall he seeks to infuse the same envy, discontent, and ambition for position and honor into men. He worked upon their minds to arouse desire for self-exaltation and to excite envy, distrust, and rebellion, so that by rejecting Moses and Aaron as men of God's appointment they rejected God as their leader. While in murmuring against Moses and Aaron they blasphemed God, yet they were so deluded as to think themselves righteous and to regard those who faithfully reproved their sins as actuated by Satan.

Their rebellion was firm self-complacency and unwillingness to accept and acknowledge light sent from heaven, pride that must be humbled and confessed, and prejudice filling mind and heart instead of the Spirit of God. It was backsliding and refusal to hearken when God desires to bless and heal, contempt for the word of the Lord, and despising not a human messenger but God's messengers and message. Their eyes were blinded and judgment perverted, their unsanctified independence insulted the Spirit of God, their spiritual eyesight was obscured, and they were unwilling for God to manifest His Spirit and power. There was a spirit of mockery and disgust at His word, with daily lightness, trifling, jesting and joking, failure to set the heart to seek God, and walking in the sparks of their own kindling, which unless repented of and converted from leaves souls in darkness, lying down in sorrow, with the candlestick removed out of its place.

Seeking credit and equality with the leader God has chosen brings destruction. Aaron had been made mouthpiece for Moses, and because Aaron and Miriam were honored with a part in the work they thought they were equal to Moses and a very essential part of the great whole, feeling that credit should be given to them and that Moses should not have all the honor. The rebellion comes when a man separates from God so that his heart is not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit, and the attributes of Satan are then revealed in oppressing fellow men and in sending forth an influence contrary to truth and justice and righteousness. This same spirit is manifested when one institution desires to control all others and when men entrusted with weighty responsibilities but having no living connection with God do despite to the Holy Spirit. Those in this spirit cast aside warnings God sends again and again and venture on in the same course toward the destruction that swallowed the rebels.

The judgment gives the pattern for selfishness and fraud among God's people by those who seek personal advantage from His cause without bearing its burdens. Their sin is of the heart, like that of the rebels, ready to follow their open example when a favorable opportunity is presented. Their fraudulent transactions may be concealed from brethren generally, but God marks their course and will finally reward them according to their works with destruction as sure as the earth swallowing the rebels with their houses and all that belonged to them. God rejects common, self-serving conduct in His service, and His sacred work must be carried out by people whose selfishness and conceit have been consumed by His Spirit.

Their course was to take advantage of souls perishing for truth, first gain their sympathy and confidence, then tell a deceptive story that they had been abused, insinuate against leadership, and sow seeds of doubt toward those in whom God would have the people have confidence. Their party serves as a warning against people who draw away from the church, accuse fellow believers, and use others' errors to build themselves up. It applies to rising up to reproach those upon whom God has laid the burden of His work, as when men take the Sabbath after others have toiled to bring out precious points of truth, receiving it all prepared to their hand at no cost to themselves while it cost others much, and show no gratitude except to turn against and reproach the workers who sacrificed to bring it to them.

Rebellion comes to the point when men placed in responsible positions pursue ambitious projects, have their pride hurt by straight testimonies sent to head off their plans, and have little faith in the messages the Lord has given. It means refusing conversion, holding to previous experience, and failing to change thoughts and attitude in every way in order to work in Christ's lines. Instead it develops traits of criticism, finding mistakes, and talking to make it appear that mistakes exist where God has been guiding. Speaking hasty, unadvised words, fostering self-esteem, bearing false witness against brethren from a feeling of being misused, leavening other minds with distrust, weakening faith in God's instrumentalities, and questioning and doubting men whom God is teaching, guiding, and leading is the same spirit as theirs and will bring about a similar experience of divine judgment.

Deception Continuing After Judgment

The earth opening to swallow the leaders was a miraculous, irresistible intervention meant to arrest rebellion and appeal for repentance while forgiveness still lingered, yet even this overwhelming evidence that the revolt was wrong did not undeceive Israel or remove prejudice, suspicion and distrust. Their fleeing from the judgment through fear of destruction did not cure their rebellion, and they returned to their tents that night terrified but not repentant. The visible proof that Moses and Aaron were right should have led to repentance and confession, but the people remained under suspicion and distrust after seeing the ground open and the rebels go down alive.

They had been so deceived by the rebels’ pious claims that they soon insisted Moses and Aaron were wrong and falsely accused them of killing the people of the Lord. Even after a marked judgment destroyed the leaders, their households, possessions and princes, the survivors blamed Moses for the deaths, showing how rebellion brings deep deception and how stubbornly men trust their own judgment above God’s counsel. Their judgment had been shaped by sympathy for wrongdoing and resistance to reproof, so they regarded the swallowed men as martyrs defending Israel. That hatred of correction distorted their view of God’s judgments and persisted among God’s people, with the false charge following only a brief period of fear and appearing the next morning to bring further deaths.

They were not cured of rebellion until fourteen thousand and seven hundred more who had joined it were slain. Only after that further slaughter did God in mercy give the miracle upon Aaron’s rod to settle minds forever in regard to the priesthood.

Israel afterward saw their own accusing of Moses and Aaron as wrong and confessed that Korah and his company were sinners against the Lord who justly suffered God’s wrath for rebelling against their leaders’ authority. The destruction proves that Moses and Aaron spoke by divine authority and compels belief of the unwelcome truth that the people were to die in the wilderness, leading them to confess their rebellion.

Warning for Final Generation

The record of the earth opening to swallow the rebels stands written for instruction and warning and admonition of those upon whom the ends of the world are come, teaching God's people not to follow their example of unbelief. Its history calls for careful reflection and study, and for genuine repentance from those who repeat their unwise defiant conduct. Their names stand as a warning against joining those who oppose truth and weaken faith.

It is recorded as a warning to God's people especially to those living near the close of time. Their history will be repeated in spirit, for people will distort and misapply God's Word and His warnings to defend theories that have no basis in truth. People may still be deceived into following rebellion against God, and this pattern can recur, so those who know the truth must choose whom they will serve rather than follow persuasive leaders into ruin.

Genuine rebellion is hardly ever curable. God calls for decisive action against evil workers in His work, for resisting God's warnings and refusing to change and heed the Lord leaves people dishonoring Him and in danger of judgment. Persisting in one's own judgment despite repeated warnings can lead to a course like theirs.

Rebellion must be called by its right name and apostasy by its right name. The judgment warns those with knowledge of the truth not to separate from their great Leader to follow the great leader of apostasy, and not to be easily led astray by false prophets and strangers. The safeguard is to sink the shaft deep into the mines of truth, to distinguish precious ore from base material and the voice of the true Shepherd from a stranger and the false from the genuine by their fruits, and if misled to humble themselves before God and sincerely repent.

Satan leads persons to imitate Korah, Dathan, and Abiram by raising insurrection among God's people and rising in opposition to plain testimony that rebukes wrongs among them. Those who do so become self-deceived, thinking those upon whom God has laid the burden of His work are exalted above the people and their counsels and reproofs are uncalled for. The danger appears in rejecting straight testimonies against hurtful indulgences such as tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco because they would destroy cherished idols, remaining undecided between conviction of truth and self-indulgence until appetite prevails, the sense of sacred things is perverted, and self is not denied. That decision raises a wall of separation between the rebellious and those cleansing themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. It leads the disaffected with all the spiritually defective, the lame, the halt, and the blind to rally around the rebellious standard, to war against the testimonies and call them untrue, to say the people are all right and the reproving testimonies make the trouble, and to unite to scatter and sow discord.

The judgment warns against stirring people to distrust and reject those leading God's work. It warns against accusing and condemning those God has entrusted with the work and drawing away from them in a spirit of division. Rebellion expressed through criticism, false accusations, and distrust of God's appointed workers can bring the same kind of ruin into the community if it is not corrected. Such accusations against people appointed by God to do His work give an example that must be met, for such rebellion and destructive accusations offend God and must be confronted with truth. Resisting God's appointed messengers and rejecting His word and the light and truths of the third angel's message brings divine judgment, calling light darkness, and a person's influence on others in resisting God's message is part of the account faced at the final judgment.

The rebellion at Minneapolis is compared with theirs, for Korah, Dathan, and Abiram worked to make the testimonies against them ineffective. Their fate as being left by God to destruction awaits those who reject the light God has given and turn others against it. That means falling into the ditch together with all who join that course, walking not in the light of the Lord but in sparks of their own kindling, to lie down in darkness.

Their conduct stands as a warning parallel to the self-importance and self-sufficiency of the Battle Creek publishing-house managers. The account of Dathan and Abiram serves as a likeness for the rebellious course taken by some in New York. Their spirit of defiance warns against resisting repeated warnings from God and oppressing others, for separation from God leads people to act in a way like theirs. This account gives instruction appropriate at the present time to keep the whole flock from being fed errors that cause them to go astray.

Earth Powers and Future Judgments

The opening of the earth to swallow the rebels alive into the pit was an act of God directing the fire and water beneath the earth as instruments to do His will. He controls all these hidden elements and calls them into action to serve His purpose. When fire and water meet underneath where coal and oil lie with no sufficient vent, the earth is convulsed and trembles and heaves and rises into swells, there is a sound like thunder underground, the air grows heated and suffocating, and the earth quickly opens so that villages, cities, and burning mountains are carried down together into the earth. As Korah, Dathan, and Abiram with their households and possessions went down alive, so the wicked in such overthrows go down alive into the pit.

These swallowings by earthquake and fiery eruption have happened and will happen as His agents to blot out very wicked cities. They are evidences of His power and infinite power that strike beholders with terror and awe. They will become more numerous and terrible just before the second coming of Christ and the end of the world as signs of its speedy destruction.

Later Wilderness Remembrance

The swallowing of Korah's company with their households and all their possessions is recalled nearly forty years later when Israel, thirsty and finding no water, wishes to have died with those who perished in that rebellion. The people have forgotten the divine power that had before brought them water out of the rock, and in distrust they murmur against Moses and Aaron. They call those destroyed their brethren and declare they would rather have shared their destruction than die of thirst with their cattle in the wilderness. Their complaint prefers perishing with the rebels to enduring present want, showing forgetfulness of both past deliverance and past judgment.