Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday, May 24, 2017
Prin-First it starts with the rejection of spiritual authority on the part of a few and then it spreads to a total rejection of the Lord and Bible doctrine on the part of the whole.
Second principle - First it starts with the rejection of spiritual authority and then it leads to rejection of the doctrine which was taught.
Those who comment on the Torah seem to say that "On" was known as a disciple of Moses and Aaron and after thinking it over, he changed his mind about joining the conspiracy.
"On" was of the tribe of Reuben whereas the others were from the Tribe of Levi and Judah, so apparently he realized he would never be promoted over the sons of Levi or Judah.
Moses is the son of Levi, and the son of Kohath according to Exo 16, "And Moses and Korah were first cousins," -- all of this illustrating that there was no superiority between the Tribes.
As JOH 1:13 states, it doesn't matter what type of blood we were born with, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but all things are of God.
Korah is a first cousin to Moses and we all know how it is when you grow up with people, you become very familiar with - this was part of the problem between Korah toward Moses.
As far as Korah was concerned is that he grew up with Moses and he's just as qualified to do the same job.
He grew up with Aaron and Miriam and he considered himself superior to them.
The phrase "took action" means that they gained many Jews over to their conspiracy that they were creating at first, secretly against Moses then later on openly.
"took action" in verse 1, it is the Qal imperfect from the Hebrew verb laqach which means to take over or to gain over, to snatch or to bully people into action.
His associates were Dathan and Abiram, --- "On" ended up backing out.....so there were mainly three of them.
They formed the association or the "inner circle" for the conspiracy.
In Num 14, Moses warned the congregation of Israel against going out to the promise land.
These are the type of people who can easily be swayed in a conspiracy; bitter people, failures and losers.
Prin-Whenever people fail in life or they are failures they are easy targets for conspiracies and revolt and deception.
Rose up - is the Qal future of the Hebrew verb qum which means to rise up against the authority, to stand up against those in authority.
"Men of renown" means that these were men with good personalities or men of distinction or as one translation says.....men of note.
These 250 princes had great personalities who mastered in flattery.
They did establish compatibility on the basis of personality.
They didn't want freedom because freedom demands responsibility.
Just like today, many believers do not want freedom and liberty and privacy and grace, it's too much pressure.
Most believers today want a set of rules and do's and don'ts to follow rather than the responsibility of being free and responsible for what they do with their freedom.
1. They said to Moses "you have gone far enough" = which means we've had with you.
2. Then they also said "for all the congregation are holy," = we are just as good as you and can do the job you can.
In a conspiracy there are always those who are jealous, covetous, envious and lustful of what the victim of their conspiracy has.
3. "and the Lord is in our midst;" = we don't need you, the Lord is with us also.
When God does something, it is always a right thing in a right way.
4. "why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" = you make yourself higher than others, you're unapproachable.
Here Korah is referring specifically to the 250 princes, but he is applying it in his subtle way to everyone.
He is deceiving people and using them for personal gain.
He's getting as many individuals involved in this as he can, so that the conspiracy will have some credibility and believability.
a. You give the conspiracy some credibility and believability.
b. You bully people into supporting something that is evil without them even knowing it.
c. You put them in a position of supporting the conspiracy, which is very difficult for them to get out of, unless, they make some drastic decisions --- like separation.
d. You cause them to get involved with the evil behind the conspiracy, which can be used AGAINST THEM in the future to keep them committed to the conspiracy, as well.
What Korah has also done is promise the 250 princes personal promotion when he gets promoted.
"Communication does not mean defense, rather it means to rest our case by stating the truth through facts and appealing to the Supreme Court of Heaven.
Be very careful that you do not become so naive that you will not listen to doctrinal teaching which is designed to protect you from deception."
Question: "Why did God strike Uzzah dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant?"
God’s anger burned against Uzzah and He struck him down and he died.
First, God had given Moses and Aaron specific instructions about the Tent of Meeting and the movement of the Ark of the Covenant, Num 4:15.
This was a means of preserving the sense of God’s holiness and the fear of drawing near to Him without appropriate preparation.
It was to be borne upon men's shoulders, and carried by Levites only, and those of the family of Kohath (Exo 25:12-14; Num 7:9), using the poles prescribed.
Failing to follow God’s precise instructions would be seen as not revering God’s words when He spoke them through those such as Moses, whom He had appointed.
Secondly, having an independent attitude that might border on rebellion, i.e., seeing and acting on things from a worldly, rather than a spiritual, perspective is disobedience.
The ark had stayed for a period of time at Abinadab’s house (2Sa 6:3), where his sons, Uzzah and Ahio, may well have become accustomed to its presence.
“familiarity breeds contempt,” that could apply in this case.
The cart didn’t fall and neither did the Ark, just as the boat carrying Jesus and the disciples rocked fiercely in the storm, though it wasn’t necessarily in danger of sinking (Mat 8:24-27).
“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” Heb 10:31).