Numbers
16 - Korah's Rebellion
Korah
son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi,
And
certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab,
And
On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses.
With
them were 250 Israelite men, well known community leaders
Who
had been appointed members of the council.
They
came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said the them,
'You
have gone too far! The whole community is holy,
Every
one of them, and the Lord is with them.
Why
then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?'
[Today,
we must remember
That
there is not necessarily spiritual validity in numbers.
Many
who claim the Name of Christ would have you believe
That
anyone who names that Name is in good standing with the Lord;
They
would claim that because they are called “Christian,”
All
is well with them and that no one need tell them any different;
That
anyone who teaches a different “path,” has gone too far!
Never
mind that it is the narrow WAY Christ taught.
The
reality is that any way outside of Christ's narrow WAY
Is
rebellion against Christ.
Christ
is the ONE Teacher and all rebellion is against Him!]
When
Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
Then
he said to Korah and all his followers:
'In
the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him
And
who is holy,
And
He will have that person come near Him.
The
man He chooses He will cause to come near Him.
You
Korah, and all your followers are to do this:
Take
censers and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the Lord.
The
man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy.
You
Levites have gone too far!'
[Today,
the Lord will show who belongs to Him! He alone chooses!
Today,
those “Christians” who love the world, will be left with the
world,
When
God's Great Tribulation comes upon the world.
In
so doing, God will show those who belong to Him and those who do
not.]
Moses
also said to Korah, 'Now listen, you Levites!
Isn't
it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you
From
the rest of the Israelite community
And
brought you near Himself to do the work a the Lord's Tabernacle
And
to stand before the community and minister to them?
He
has brought you and all your fellow Levites near Himself,
But
now you are trying to get the priesthood too.
It
is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded
together.
Who
is Aaron that you should grumble against him?'
[It
is ironic that often those who claim to belong to God are against
God.
They
want to be religious but not godly.
Those
who belong to God are priests of God
And
serve God through the veil which is Christ.
Only
those who have been crucified with Christ to this world
Have
access to the Holy of Holies; to the Kingdom Of God;
It
is Christ in you alone, that has access to the Holy of Holies;
Christ
alone can take you there; Only those are “priests” of God.
All
other claims are simply the words of man.]
Then
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab.
But
they said, 'We will not come!
Isn't
it enough that you have brought us up out of a land
Flowing
with milk and honey to kill us in the desert?
And
now you also want to lord it over us?
Moreover,
you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey
Or
given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.
Will
you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!'
Then
Moses became very angry and said to the Lord,
'Do
not accept their offering.
I
have not taken so much as a donkey from them,
Nor
have I wronged any of them.'
[Today,
those who are looking for milk and honey will be disillusioned
In
these END Times because the prosperity that they took for granted,
And
that promised by false teachers and preachers, will flee away.
They
will rail against God because of this,
And
in so doing, they will loose the GLORY of God and His Heaven.]
Moses
said to Korah,
'You
and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow--
You
and they and Aaron.
Each
man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in
all--
And
present it before the Lord.
You
and Aaron are to present your censers also.'
So
each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it,
And
stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent Of Meeting.
When
Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them
At
the entrance to the Tent Of Meeting,
The
GLORY of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly.
The
Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
'Separate
yourselves from this assembly
So
I can put an end to them at once.'
[Today, there will be
those who claim to belong to God;
They will have their
censer with “incense” in it,
But the only “incense”
God will accept with be the worship of those
Who worship God in
Spirit and in Truth; in and through Christ in them;
Those who love God with
all their heart, soul, mind and strenght.]
But
Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out,
'O
God, God of the spirits of all mankind,
Will
you be angry with the entire assembly when only one mans sins?'
Then
the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the assembly,
'Move
away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'
Moses
got up and went to Dathan and Abiram,
And
the elders of Israel followed him.
He
warned the assembly, 'Move back from the tents of these wicked men!
Do
not touch anything belonging to them,
Or
you will be swept away because of all their sins.'
So
they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.
Dathan
and Abiram had come out and were standing
With
their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their
tents.
Then
Moses said, 'This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me
To
do all these things and that it was not my idea:
If
these men die a natural death
And
experience only what usually happens to men,
Then
the Lord has not sent me.
But
if the Lord brings about something totally new,
And
the earth opens its mouth and swallows them,
With
everything that belongs to them,
And
they go down alive into the grave,
Then
you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.'
As
soon as he finished saying all this,
The
ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth
And
swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men
And
all their possessions.
They
went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned;
The
earth closed over them,
And
they perished and were gone from the community.
At
their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting,
'The
earth is going to swallow us too!'
And
fire came out from the Lord
And
consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
The
Lord said to Moses,
'Tell
Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest to take the censers
Out
of the smoldering remains and scatter to coals some distance away,
For
the censers are holy--
The
censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.
Hammer
the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,
For
they were presented before the Lord and have become holy.
Let
them be a sign to the Israelites.'
[One
will be taken and one will be left behind. (Luke 17:35)
Those
left behind will be swallowed up in God's Great Tribulation.
They
will have the opportunity to reject the “mark” of the Beast
And
die for Christ, but otherwise they are lost forever.
Rebellion
against God has Eternal Consequences.
God
will not accept incense other than that offer through Christ;
That
offered in Spirit and in Truth.]
So
Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers
Brought
by those who had been burned up,
And
he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
As
the Lord directed him through Moses.
This
was to remind the Israelites
That
no one except a descendant of Aaron
Should
come to burn incense before the Lord,
Or
he would become like Korah and his followers.
[No
one can offer “incense” to God unless they are authorized.
Only
those with Christ in them
And
who worship in Spirit and in Truth are authorized.
The
day is fast approaching when God will make clear
Those
whose worship He accepts.
In
the Beatitudes, the parable of the Sheep and the Goats,
The
parable of the Ten Virgins, The Seven Letters to the Seven Churches
And other sayings, Christ defines whose worship is acceptable to
Him.]
The
next day the whole Israelite community
Grumbled
against Moses and Aaron.
'You
have killed the Lord's people,' they said.
[The people accuse
Moses of killing Korah and those who died
But it was not Moses,
it was God Almighty.
Today, we do not live
before man but before God and His Christ Jesus.
God alone determines
who lives and who dies Eternally.]
But
when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron
And
turned toward the Tent Of Meeting,
Suddenly
the cloud covered it and the GLORY of the Lord appeared.
Then
Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent Of Meeting,
And
the Lord said to Moses,
'Get
away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.'
And
they fell facedown.
[Today,
we pray that all those who claim the Name of Christ Jesus
Receive
all that Christ has for them
And
that they are in right standing before God.]
Then
Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer and put incense in it,
Along
with fire from the altar,
And
hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them.
Wrath
has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.'
So
Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly.
The
plague had already started among the people,
But
Aaron offered the incense and made atonement form them.
He
stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
But
14,700 people died from the plague,
In
addition to those who had died because of Korah.
Then
Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent Of Meeting,
For
the plague had stopped.
[Today,
we call all men into right relationship with Christ Jesus;
The
only atonement that God has provided.
We
lift up Christ, so that all me will be drawn to Him.
Once
the Final Plague, The Great Tribulation starts;
For
those who find themselves in it
The
only Eternal escape will be to reject the “mark” of the Beast
And
to die for Christ Jesus.]
Today,
the world is raging against God, rushing toward oblivion. (Psalm 2)
Save
yourself from this corrupt generation! (Acts 2:40)
As
God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!
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