DID KORAH HAVE TO DIE?
As we go through the account of the exodus of the Israelite nation from Egypt, perhaps no other event caused Moses as much distress as the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Along with them were 250 well-known community leaders in Israel, showing that this was not the random thinking of a few, but a well orchestrated event by the enemy, designed to destroy the fledgling Israelite nation. What was so serious about the rebellion that these men ended up with death?
- Hunger for power
Craving power is a great weakness of man. It requires character to be able to be content with what God has granted and not thirst for more power. But the attractiveness and addiction of power cause many to fall. Despite having seen the Lord working through Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, these men thirsted to take their place.
‘They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to 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?”(Numbers 16:3).
- Desecrating the Lord
Korah and his followers knew that the only way to prove themselves as leaders to the community would be to offer incense on the censers, despite being told that it would be akin to desecrating the Lord. Yet they went ahead,
‘So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. (Numbers 16:18)
- Greatest enemy within
The nation of Israel faced many enemies since but none was as strong as this threat from within, because if Korah were to be successful, there would be no nation thereafter. And that is usually the case- the greatest enemy is often within. God appeared before them all and delivered his judgment.
‘the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.’ (Numbers 16:32-35)
- Widespread casualty
Despite the death of Korah and the leaders, the damage had already begun. And this shows how damaging Korah’s act was in challenging Moses, God’s anointed.
‘The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said. 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………Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” ——-But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.’(Numbers16: 33-47)
Even though Korah’s rebellion was short, when a bad seed is sowed, it becomes a weed that spreads like wildfire. The Lord quickly met the people’s rebellion with punishment but the rebellion cost the lives of many.
Korah’s death appears excessive on the outside, but in reality, this was the greatest threat the nation of Israel would ever face and so the punishment appears apt.
