Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 16:1 - 16:11

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 16:1 - 16:11


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The Challenge of Korah and His Companions

v. 1. Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, himself a member of the band of Levites whom the Lord had distinguished by entrusting to them the special service of the Sanctuary, Num_7:9, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, of the tribe of Reuben, Num_26:8, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, organized a rebellion under the very eyes of Moses;

v. 2. and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel,
for the conspiracy that had first brooded in secret now came out in open revolt, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown, all of them leaders and influential men in their own tribes;

v. 3. and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron,
in a formal organization, with the intention of ousting the leaders instituted by God, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, you have had the leadership long enough, 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? Their argument was that, since the entire nation had been called to be the holy people of Jehovah, Exo_19:5-6, therefore they all had an equal right to the priesthood and to the leadership, and any member might claim its rights and execute its duties. The rebels entirely overlooked the fact that God was responsible for the present arrangement, and that He had made the obedience of the children of Israel to the terms of the covenant His condition when He called them to be His people.

v. 4. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face,
in the attitude of a suppliant bringing his case to the attention of the Lord;

v. 5. and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the Lord will show who are His and who is holy,
the reference being to the priestly office, for which Aaron had been consecrated by the special command of the Lord; and will cause him to come near unto Him, even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come near unto Him. God Himself would indicate whom He had selected to offer the sacrifices before Him in the Sanctuary. Moses was willing to submit the entire matter to a test.

v. 6. This do: Take you censers, Korah and all his company,
such vessels as were used for offering incense in the Holy Place, at the altar of incense,

v. 7. and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow; and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy,
and therefore be accepted as the Lord's priest. Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. That ought to be sufficient for them; that surely would be a fair test.

v. 8. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi,
he addresses them all by that name, because their leaders were Kohathites:

v. 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?
Surely these privileges, as here enumerated, should have been sufficient to satisfy the ambition of even the most ardent defender of the practical priesthood of all Israelites.

v. 10. And He hath brought thee
(the tribe of Levi) near to Him, and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee; and seek ye the priesthood also? The Levites even now held a higher position in the congregation than the other tribes, and their desire to have all Israelites recognized as priests was nothing but sham and pretense, their real aim being the office of the priesthood for themselves.

v. 11. For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord,
for that is what their rebellion amounted to. And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him? It was not a case of Aaron's having placed himself into the office of high priest by deceitful or arbitrary measures; and so the murmuring of the rebels, ostensibly directed against Aaron, was in reality a rebellion against Jehovah. In the same manner today false teachers arise in the Church and try to push out those that have the rightful call of the Lord. There is always danger that such methods will be supported by dissatisfied spirits.