Numbers 26:9
And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD:
The verse names Dathan and Abiram as prominent men of the congregation who joined Korah in rebellion against Moses and Aaron. It stands in Israel's second numbering in the plains of Moab at the close of the forty years of wandering, shortly before entering Canaan. That second census is to be compared with the first numbering in Numbers 1 to note which tribes increased and which fell off. Their striving against Moses and Aaron was striving against the Lord, since opposition to the instrument He had chosen was opposition to God Himself. The numbering proves that God's threatened judgment was fulfilled, for the first generation had died in the wilderness except Caleb and Joshua, warning those upon whom the ends of the world are come that cherished sin will likewise bring ruin and shut them out of the kingdom.
Context in Second Census
Numbers 26:9 stands in Israel's second numbering or census in Numbers 26, taken at the end or close of the forty years of wandering, shortly before the people entered Canaan. That second census was taken in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years after the census at Sinai. It was taken forty years after the first census recorded in Numbers 1.
Those who reckon it as nearly forty years after the first numbering place it shortly before the entrance into Canaan. The chapter is to be compared with the first numbering in Numbers 1 or chapter 1 to note the differences and changes among the tribes, showing which tribes gained or lost population and fell off or increased. Comparing this census with the one at the beginning of the wandering shows that some tribes grew greatly while others declined.
The verse belongs to Moses's second census taken at the Lord's command, and unlike David's census taken without the Lord's consent, this authorized census brought no trouble.
Rebellion and Its Warning
Dathan and Abiram were famous and prominent men in the congregation who rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah. In striving against Moses and Aaron they strove against the Lord Himself. Opposition to Moses was opposition to God because Moses was the instrument God had chosen, and refusal to accept God's ordering of events led the rebels to spread distrust and to portray the loyal as oppressors.
The families of Dathan and Abiram stood with them to the end and were destroyed with them. Korah's family did not fully share his rebellious spirit, and when his family left him Korah alone perished. The striving against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah belongs to the murmurings and wanderings of the children of Israel told in Numbers 9 through 24. That history is to be read in Numbers 16 and 17.
The second numbering showed that God had carried out His judgment that the first generation numbered the first time had died in the wilderness. Not one man numbered the first time except Caleb and Joshua was alive to witness it. Every other person had fallen in the wilderness because the people were wicked and broke out in open, wanton rebellion against God. By solemn oath He therefore excluded them from the promised land and doomed them to die.
The record proves beyond dispute that God's threatened judgments are fulfilled. It warns those upon whom the ends of the world are come that they too will come short if they carry sin in their hearts. Their hopes of entering God's kingdom cannot be stronger than Israel's hopes at the first numbering. Their tokens of His favor and presence and of His willingness to save cannot be stronger than Israel's were then. Sin inevitably brings ruin.