King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, March 02, 2026
Chapters: Numbers 16-17, Psalm 90
Message: Numbers: Korah’s Rebellion
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday we learned that God was so angered by the Israelites’ willingness to believe the evil report of the ten spies that He forbade the entire nation from entering the promised land for forty years. No one over the age of twenty would be permitted to go in, except for Caleb and Joshua, the only two who trusted the Lord. As we continue in the reading of Numbers we learn that this announcement did not sit well with the people. A Levite named Korah gathered every disgruntled man he could influence and led an open rebellion.
[Numbers 16:1-3 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?]
Here is the grave mistake that both the Jews of old and many religious people today continue to make: they assume that they are counted among God’s people because of their heritage or their religious affiliation. God has never worked that way. It does not matter what family we are born into, nor does it matter what religion we join. The only way anyone becomes one of His people is through faith in Christ, and through Him alone, [John 10:8-9,16 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.]
Korah believed that his status as a Levite made him inherently holy and righteous before God. In his mind, being part of the priestly tribe meant automatic spiritual privilege. From that assumption, he accused Moses and Aaron of inventing rules and elevating themselves above the congregation, as though the authority they carried came from personal ambition rather than from God Himself. In reality, Since they insisted that Moses was lying about God’s commands and judgments, Moses issued a direct challenge, to Korah.
[Numbers 16:8-11 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? 10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? 11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?]
Moses actually tried to reason with them. God was not judging them because they were Levites; in fact, they had been chosen for a great and sacred work. Yet if they truly were holy, meaning genuinely belonging to God, then Moses’ challenge would demonstrate it before the entire congregation. Next he called for the two hundred and fifty leaders who had aligned themselves with Korah, but they refused to come.
[Numbers 16:12-15 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: 13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? 14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. 15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.]
Dathan and Abiram were convinced that Moses was the one calling all the shots and that God had nothing to do with the leadership or the judgments being announced. Their accusation reflects a misunderstanding that is still common today. Contrary to what many churches assume, the man of God is not chosen by the congregation; he is chosen by God. We may not always agree with or even like our church leaders, but we are commanded to respect them because it is God who appoints them. And if a man is not truly chosen by God, then God Himself will expose him in due time. That is exactly what He did in this account.
[Numbers 16:19-24 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.]
Here comes God in all His glory, likely appearing as a great cloud illuminated with flashes like lightning breaking through. There was absolutely no reason for God to accept their offering, and for two clear reasons. First, it would have been strange fire, something God had explicitly forbidden. Second, God has never blessed nor can He ever bless any human scheme of salvation. Unless we come to Him through His Son, no other offering will ever be accepted, [John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.]
The one sin that God despises more than anything is arrogance. Scripture repeatedly shows how swiftly He exposes those who believe they stand before Him without sin. That is exactly what happened here. God was prepared to bring fire down upon the entire assembly, but once again Moses interceded and pleaded with Him not to consume them all. However, he did warn the rest of the congregation to remove themselves from them.
[Numbers 16:26-27,29-30 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their’s, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.]
This was something the Israelites had never witnessed before. Up to this point, God’s judgments had come through pestilence or plague, but this time He acted in a way that left no room for doubt. God caused the very ground beneath them to split open, and it swallowed Korah, his entire household, those who stood with him, and everything they possessed. Yet even then, God was not finished. He sent fire down upon the remaining two hundred and fifty men who had offered incense in defiance of His command.
[Numbers 16:32-35 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. 35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.]
This was not an ordinary earthquake. The ground split open, swallowed every person and possession standing upon it, and then closed again as though it had never been disturbed. It was a judgment so precise and so final that no one could mistake its source. And you would think the rest of the Israelites would finally humble themselves. Yet they did not. The very next day the congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tabernacle, accusing them of killing the Lord’s people. Their hearts were so blinded by fear and rebellion that they could not see that it was God Himself who had acted, not Moses and Aaron.
[Numbers 16:41-45 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. 42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.]
The world, including the religious world, will never understand that no one can rise up against God and survive the attempt. Yet there are far too many who still try, just like the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath, believing they can defy God’s authority and establish their own way. They, too, will learn the seriousness of challenging the Lord, for God always exposes those who claim to be His while rejecting His Word, [Luke 9:26-27 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.]
God had reached the limit of His patience with their rebellion. Although He did not consume the entire congregation instantly, He did send a plague that struck many of them. As the judgment began to sweep through the camp, Moses immediately acted. He instructed Aaron to take his censer and make atonement for the people, standing between the living and the dead in order to stop the wrath of God.
[Numbers 16:46-49 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.]
This moment becomes one of the clearest pictures in Scripture of intercession, judgment falling on one side, mercy extended on the other, and a mediator standing in the gap, [Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.]
God had spoken truly when He declared that the elders would die by their own causes, and in these cases their downfall came through their own stubbornness and unbelief. I often wonder what the strangers among Israel thought as all of this unfolded. Surely some were struck with fear and reverence for God, while others perished in the plague because they chose to join the rebellion. But the question that lingered over the entire camp was this: Who was truly in charge? To settle the matter once and for all, and to show the congregation unmistakably that He, not Moses, not Aaron, and certainly not Korah, was the One who appointed the high priest, God commanded each tribe to bring a rod and lay it before the Tabernacle.
[Numbers 17:2-5 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. 5 And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.]
This instruction was given in accordance with the ancient rule that the oldest son of a father’s house, meaning the head of each patriarchal line within a tribe, was regarded as a prince. From these leaders, one rod was to be selected to represent each tribe. These rods were simple branches or twigs taken from the trees that grew in the region, most likely almond branches, just as Aaron’s rod had been. To ensure that the miracle could not be questioned or attributed to deception, Moses wrote the name of each tribal prince upon his respective rod so that every man would know exactly which rod belonged to which tribe.
[Numbers 17:6-8,10 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8 And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.]
Do you realize what a miracle this was? A dead branch cut off from its source of life suddenly bloomed with flowers, and not only that, it produced fully formed almonds. God brought life out of something lifeless, fruit out of something barren, and beauty out of something that had no natural ability to bear anything at all. The budding rod stood as both a sign of God’s choice and a warning of the seriousness of resisting Him, [II Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
At this point the people who remained were convinced that they were all going to die some tragic death. After everything they had witnessed and after seeing what happened each time they rebelled against God, they were suddenly terrified that judgment would fall on all of them. It is not the will of God that any soul should perish in hell. God sends no one there; those who end up there do so either through ignorance or deliberate rebellion. His will is that every soul be saved, yet that is a decision each individual must make for himself. This does not mean that we cannot pray for their salvation, which Moses goes on to do.
[Psalms 90:1-7 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. 6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. 7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.]
I can see how a thousand years can go by in the blink of an eye as we are already into March, the older I get the faster the years seem to come and go, often with nothing to show for it, and I know I do want to make the rest of my days count for something. So what do we do and how do we make each day that we are on the earth count? We ask God to teach us to number our days.
[Psalms 90:9-12,16-17 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. 17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.]
Sometimes God allows destruction for reasons that are both sobering and merciful. It serves two purposes: it keeps His people pursuing Him, and it keeps them fearing Him. Both of these are only effective, however, when we are living by faith and genuinely desiring God’s presence in our lives. Many people want the blessings that come from God, but they do not want the responsibility that accompanies those blessings. They want His provision without His precepts, His comfort without His commands, and His promises without His expectations. while our salvation is entirely by grace through faith in Christ alone, obedience still matters. Not for salvation, but for being a witness.
[Titus 3:7-9 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You know there are times that we can do some foolish and rebellious things when we are denied something we have been waiting so long for. Nevertheless, Thank You for Your mercy upon all who receive Your Son as their Saviour. You know our hearts and exactly what we plan to do with the gift of salvation that You have given us. Lord, give us Your power to use that gift in a way that pleases You. Teach us to number our days so that we can be a witness and testimony for You. Help us to keep looking to You and Your Word as our guide to keep from getting caught in a battle between You and the rebellious. Let us not be concerned about what we have lost and look forward to all that You will give us. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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