In the eleventh chapter of Numbers we see the children of Israel complaining and murmuring about having to eat manna day in and day out. Moses tells God that this burden of the people is too heavy for him to carry and asks God to kill him. God responds by telling Moses to gather seventy men who are elders of the people so that they may stand at the tabernacle with Moses. We had already seen this selecting of the seventy elders and will briefly look at it again. NUM 11:16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers ....” Not only is God asking Moses to bring seventy men who he knew are elders but also they must be officers. The word officer is “sho-tare” in the Hebrew and according to BDB pg 1009 they say it is “apparently subordinate officer, judicial, civil or military.” So it would seem that these seventy men could be of any of the groups that are established in the camp of Israel. The people really do not have any say in who is of the chosen seventy and like when the judiciary was up to Moses to make the choice. God required Moses not to ignore who the people had already chosen to represent them but he was to pick the best out of them.

After Moses picked the seventy they stood before God so that these seventy could share in anointing and help carry the burden of all the people. NUM 11:25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And it came about that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.... It is generally accepted that this prophetic ability did not remain with these seventy men who stood with Moses before God. Whether or not they ever prophesied again is not important. We must understand that these men were recognized by God and accepted. This limited ability to prophesy is God’s way of sealing and showing His approval of them. We are not informed about any office or position that these men filled, just that they had a responsibility to help Moses carry the spiritual burden. We are seeing many levels of authority within the emerging nation of Israel. We must notice the lack of information on each area of authority and responsibility. If we think that Pastors, Apostles or Prophets are the highest authority in the land, we are sadly mistaken. An apostle may sit in a high position but his authority is directly related to what he has responsibility over. We need to enlarge our understanding of the world and God’s desire for His kingdom to come in the here and now. When Jesus sets up his rule on earth He will not just concern Himself with the religious functions but the affairs of all living in the earth.

While most of the seventy were standing with Moses in the presence of God, two men were still in the camp. Many religious people would fault these two men for being rebellious and not being where Moses told them to be? These men though still in the camp, not standing with Moses, still partook in this spiritual anointing and prophesied in camp. Many want clear cut rules to live by but God is more concerned with our attitudes and what is inside of us. One young man seeing this situation runs out to the tabernacle to inform “the authorities” that two men were doing the wrong thing. Joshua, himself being a young man, says to Moses; NUM 11:28 ... "Moses, my lord, restrain them." Why would Joshua care that two men prophesied in camp? Did it offend Him? Was it that by them prophesying in camp it somehow diminished his call and gifting? Was he just a legalist, expecting people to do things correctly? We may never know why this bothered Joshua. Moses says to him, NUM 11:29 ... "Are you jealous for my sake?” Moses doesn’t question his motives as I have, but thinks that his concern is for how Moses appears to the people. Moses is not threatened by gifts God gives to others but actually desires that all the people would share in the same experience. NUM 11:29 ... Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!" Moses here is displaying one of the reasons God chose him to lead His people. If only the church of Jesus Christ were filled with people of like attitude. 

Once the Israelites arrive in Kadesh Barnea Moses is told to send out men to search out the land of Canaan. God doesn’t tell Moses to send just any person but a head from each tribe. So Moses chooses twelve men who are authorities over the people of the tribe they are from. Moses instructs them, NUM 13:17 "Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country. 13:18 "And see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. 13:19 "And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications? 13:20 "And how is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.”... . It is impossible to know if any of the seventy that shared in Moses’ anointing were among the twelve who ventured into the Promised Land but there is no doubt that they had authority and were men of standing. Yet we must ask the question, did God really initiate this situation or did the children of Israel? Numbers chapter thirteen seems to indicate that it was God who initiated sending the people but in Deuteronomy chapter one it is actually the people who convince Moses to send the men to spy out the land. DEU 1:20 "And I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the Lord our God is about to give us. v21 'See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.' v22 "Then all of you approached me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up, and the cities which we shall enter.' v23 "And the thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe. While there seems to be a discrepancy in the two statements about how this came about it is my practice to combine statements and realize that they both are true. In Deu 1:23 we see Moses saying that this thing pleased him and no doubt he believed it was God’s affirmation of the plan. It could have been sometime between the people wanting to send out men and Moses actually sending them, that we see God’s involvement. Numbers seems to indicate that it was God’s idea to send the men, NUM 13:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, v2 "Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them." You may be wondering why I am going through the effort to show that these two scriptures don’t exactly say the same thing. When we are a true authority we will face times that people will suggest doing things that are rooted in fear and doubt but seem like good ideas to us. We may even hear God saying do it. We must realize that the outcome is not up to us and not our failure if the goal is not reached. I am sure that the outcome of this situation could have seriously affected Moses’ confidence if he allowed it to. Yet in Numbers it would seem that God was on board with sending the twelve to spy out the land and if this is true it was not a mistake nor was it presumptuous.

So the twelve spies head out into the land of Canaan to find out what the land has to offer. On their return we see only one man standing in faith and confidence in God’s ability to give them the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We do not even see Joshua standing in faith declaring God’s ability. Joshua may not have been standing with those filled with doubt and unbelief but he wasn’t exactly making faith declarations either.

The spies found great abundance of fruit but the inhabitants are many, mighty and their cities are fortified. The seeds of doubt are already present and being sown into those who are listening. Not only are the people mighty but they said we even saw the children of Anak. (Numbers 13:28)  The children of Anak or Anakim are believed to be giants and thus the people feared them because of their great stature. These men who went throughout the land were all leaders and “authorities” before the people of Israel. Moses did not choose just anyone to go on this journey and spy out the land, yet we do not see any authority in these men’s response to the danger of the land. Caleb alone stood up and said, NUM 13:30 ... "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it." These are words of faith from a man of faith but where was everyone else? Except for Joshua the other ten men stated, NUM 13:31 ... "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us." Were these ten men not authorities over the nation of Israel? Were they not present when God delivered them from Pharaoh and his army? Did they not see the rumblings of God on the mountain and the supernatural provisions of God while in the wilderness? Were they asleep or missing when all these things took place?

We must not neglect the lessons taught by this situation. Just because a man or woman sits in a position of authority does not indicate that they really are an authority before God. They may have been present when supernatural occurrences took place but they may not have learned anything from them. Some of these men may have even prophesied and shared the anointing that is upon Moses. Just because people look to them as some kind of an authority this does not mean they know anything about God or faith. God told Moses to pick men who were authorities before the people and yet we see by this situation they were not authorities before God. Not only did they not believe it was possible for them to take the land they convinced the people of this fact as well. Those of us who have authority should resist doubt and unbelief and especially the propagation of it.  

The response to going into the Promised Land is recorded in Deuteronomy chapter one and numbers chapter fourteen. Between the two accounts we get a very clear view of what actually took place. Moses in Deuteronomy states, DEU 1:26 Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; v27 and you grumbled in your tents and said,' Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. If we rationally look at these verses, we can understand how utterly ridiculous it was for the people to believe God hated them. Did God go to such great effort in delivering them from Egypt only to have them destroyed by the Amorites? Israel did go through trials and tribulations in the wilderness. These trials may have paled in comparison to their slavery in Egypt yet trials disrupted their soul making them think God really did hate them. While the situation was designed to get them to look beyond the immediate and see God’s love and concern, it is not always an easy thing to do. Humans are so temporal and immediate thinking that to force us to look beyond the pain we are experiencing today, right now, and realize it is God’s design to perfect us and bring us to our ultimate destiny is not an easy thing. The people could only wallow in their lack and inability and not see the big picture. 

Frustration and depression were not the only things that gripped the people as they received the bad report about how impossible it is to take the land. Numbers chapter fourteen tells the rest of the story. NUM 14:2 And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! v3 "And why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" v4 So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt." We see them not only wishing that they had died in Egypt or in the desert they actually think they should return to Egyptian bondage and so they seek to elect someone to lead them back. Let us not miss the point and purpose of this story. We may be thinking that the people are at fault and should be punished, but who instigated this whole mess? It was the “authorities” that were sent into the land that caused this whole problem. We will never know what would have happened if those chosen to enter the land had spoken faith instead of doubt and unbelief. This situation is a result of those having a position before the nation who probably should not have had a position of authority. Faithfulness is not the major issue here but faith. These men may have faithfully carried out their duties and have been perfectly responsible but as any person of faith knows, being faithful to man and the duties of life are not faith toward God. We only have to look to the first apostles to see that they left jobs and security to follow some perceived heretical preacher named Jesus. Once the apostles left their jobs, they forfeited any consistent pay for an insecure post with no guarantee of provision.

Once Joshua gets involved with Caleb and takes a stand for entering the land this situation comes to a head. NUM 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ... 14:8 "If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us‑‑ a land which flows with milk and honey. v9 "Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." v10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones.... Joshua and Caleb display the qualities of a real authority before God. They speak to the spiritual reality of how God can and will remove whatever protection the inhabitants of the land think they have. God even testifies to their faith by allowing them to live past the forty years of wandering in order to be back at this place and actually possess the land. What kind of authority do we want to be? Do we want a position just to receive honor from men or do we want to receive honor from God?

When Joshua and Caleb took their stand, little did they know it may cost them their life. It is not uncommon for those full of doubt and unbelief to want to stone those who are standing by faith. That is exactly what the people want to do to Caleb and Joshua. The bible is full of people who are used by satan to try and stop God’s purposes by persecuting those willing to stand for God. Saul stood against David as the Pharisees stood against Jesus and Herod against John the Baptist. When we are standing against someone we would do well to ask ourselves if we are standing against God’s people.

We see Moses taking an admirable stand when God says, NUM 14:12 "I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they."  God again is trying to get Moses to agree with the idea of destroying the nation and raising his offspring up as a great nation. Moses not only loves God but the people as well and shows it by his intercession. We should recognize that God doesn’t just want to destroy the people but he also wants to dispossess them. What exactly does that mean in light of eternity? Moses begins to tell God all of the ramifications of doing what He proposed.  NUM 14:13 But Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Thy strength Thou didst bring up this people from their midst, v14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of this people, for Thou, O Lord, art seen eye to eye, while Thy cloud stands over them; and Thou dost go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. v15 "Now if Thou dost slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Thy fame will say, v16 'Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.' v17 "But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as Thou hast declared, v18 'The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.' v19 "Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." Moses demonstrates what a real authority should do. He is not just concerned for the people but also for how God would appear to those who have heard of everything that Israel went through. Moses in some sense plays God’s public relations representative. Not only does Moses explain how the Egyptians will view this slaughter but also rehearses what he knows about how forgiving and loving God is said to be. So God agrees to allow the people to live but states that they will not enter this land. Only Caleb and Joshua are allowed to enter the land but the rest will all die in the wilderness. The authorities that started this whole rebellion against God were killed by a plague. NUM 14:36 As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, v37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord.

God told Moses to send leaders of the people to spy out the land and so he did. Moses is the type of Christ in the bible and as such we should understand these twelve that were sent out are leaders of leaders. They had authority over many others, who themselves, were leaders of many. They would not be classified as a church’s senior pastor but maybe a director of a denomination, Supreme Court judge, and commander of the army or even a senator. These people should have been full of faith but instead they suffered destruction because of their inability to believe God. God wanted Moses to send the best of the nation into the land to see what it contained. These highly respected men turned the whole nation to stand against God’s purposes. Once God smites these leaders the people realize that they made a mistake and were disobedient to God. They attempt to go and take the land. God speaks to Moses and tells him that He is not with the people who are trying to advance into the land. The people do not listen to Moses and launch out into their defeat and humiliation before the Amalekites and Canaanites. Once they are defeated they willfully follow Moses into the wilderness where they will die.

Not long after the nation begins their wilderness wandering, Korah, the son of Izhar who is a Levite along with Dathan, Abiram and On who were from the tribe of Reuben rise up in rebellion. NUM 16:2 and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. These two hundred and fifty men were not just lowly people who joined hands with these four men instigating this rebellion but men of renown. Korah convinces the leaders of the people to join him in this insurrection. So what was the problem that caused these leaders to rise up against God, Moses and Aaron? NUM 16:3 And they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"  Korah seems to feel slighted and lashes out at Moses. Why he felt Moses did not recognize that the whole assembly was holy is not explained but this was a ruse to take the spotlight off of Korah’s evil desires. Korah makes a statement accusing Moses of exalting himself over the assembly, which is ludicrous. Moses didn’t initiate this position he found himself in. He actually tried to get God to send someone else to be God’s hand for Israel’s deliverance. (Ex 4:13) It almost seems that Korah wasn’t at the mountain where Moses met with God or at the red sea when it split. Maybe he was sleeping when God provided water from the rock through Moses’ obedience. Surely Korah could not be serious about this accusation knowing that he was indeed present and experienced each supernatural feat done for the nation.

When Moses heard these accusations he fell on his face and then said, NUM 16:5... "Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. v6 "Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, v7 and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!" Moses knew what he was doing. He knew what the outcome of an unprescribed incense offering would result in. He remembers what happen to Aaron’s sons when they presumptuously approached God with incense in their censers. (Lev 10:1-3) Moses knew these men would be consumed and he did not shrink back from the fact but stood his ground. Korah and his followers themselves should have remembered what happen to Nadab and Abihu when God consumed them by fire for doing the very thing they are told to do the following day. It would seem that Korah and his followers either did not think God would oppose them or that it was a weird coincidence for Aaron’s sons to be killed in such a strange way. They must not have thought they would meet their end even as Nadab and Abihu did. It may be hard for some of us to understand that Moses knew that the outcome of this meant the death of Korah and his group. We may want to see all of Moses’ decisions as leading to life. Moses knew this would end in Korah’s destruction. 

Moses begins to confront the sons of Levi and asks them why they are not content with what God had commissioned them to do. Moses reminds them that God placed them over the service of the tabernacle and that they had responsibility to minister to the rest of the nation. He further asks them if they were also seeking the priesthood. This whole occurrence seems to point to a takeover. These men where fed up with Moses and Aaron and thought that they could do a better job at leading the nation. Moses informs Korah and his followers, NUM 16:11 "Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?" God put Moses in the position that he finds himself in. Moses did not seek the place of authority, he did not arrange his life in order to inherit the position nor did it come from the collective agreement of the eldership. Moses was a rugged individual, who murdered a man, ran for his life and spent forty years following his father-in-law’s sheep. God handpicked Moses for the job and now the people are trying to overthrow him and Aaron. This is why Moses tells the men that they are standing against God not him. As for Aaron, Aaron did not make any decisions concerning Israel’s future or current life but just was responsible for daily sacrifices. These men were envious of Moses’ and Aaron’s position.

Moses calls Dathan and Abiram to a meeting but they chose rather to oppose Moses saying, NUM 16:12 ... "We will not come up. v13 "Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? It is here that we must again understand who Moses represents. Religious leaders of today do not stand in a similar position as Moses for Moses is a type of Christ. Moses is not just a religious leader nor is he just a political leader but a judicial leader as well. He is the highest political, judicial and religious leader in the nation of Israel. He rules absolutely over these dimensions of life during this time. There is no person today that sits in a position like Moses. Some may be thinking that Jesus told the Israelites that they should listen to the Pharisees and scribes because they sit in the seat of Moses. MAT 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, v2 saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; v3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them.  The first thing that we should recognize about these verses is that Jesus states that the scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. They are not God’s selected leaders but man’s appointed leadership. The fact that they are not divine authorities does not remove their worldly authority. That is why he tells the people to do even as they say, though he warns them not to imitate them. It would also seem that Jesus did not deny the fact that they had authority similar to Moses. Israel during the time of Jesus operated to some degree as an independent nation. We only have to read the gospel account of Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin to understand that the Jews operated according to their own laws and had their own judicial system. (Jn 18:13-19:16; Matt 26:57-27:30; Mk 14:53-15:19; Lk 22:54-23:25) The supreme judicial and religious ruler was the High Priest, which at that time was Caiaphas. It was the High Priest who had the right to dictate what should happen to Jesus. Even Pilate recognized the Jews right of judgment and punishment. JOH 18:28 They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; ... JOH 18:31 Pilate therefore said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law." The Jews said to him, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death," The only reason the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate was because they could not put him to death without becoming guilty under Roman law. It is clearly portrayed in the gospels that the religious and judicial responsibilities of the Jewish nation hinged upon the High priest. This is why Jesus said what he did. 

There may be some Muslim nations that operate similar to Israel at that time but most modern governments are secular. This causes the religious community to have limited authority. The more fractured the religious community is the less authority it possesses. This statement does not mean that the church is lacking in spiritual authority but because of the lack of unity among people of faith it loses it’s worldly authority. We should be very careful in understanding this because we do not want to create a central government such as the Catholic Church possessed. That would not be God’s highest. We do need to see other believers as brothers not as enemies. We should be able to work together without wanting to control their lives or their doctrine.  

Dathan and Abiram accuse Moses of lording over the people. 16:13 ... but you would also lord it over us? Moses as we have seen is ultimately responsible for every segment of Jewish life. He alone holds the right to lord over the people in establishing religious, judicial and political responsibilities. Today we must understand the only one who possesses the right to lord over us in every area is Jesus. Every believer has the ability and the responsibility to listen to Him. This does not mean we should not listen to others or be obedient to those who minister to us but it is time for our understanding of authority to enlarge and for us to align ourselves correctly to what scripture teaches. There are people who stand in the highest political and judicial place in every country in existence but only Jesus will ultimately possess authority over the religious, political and judicial aspects of life for all eternity. Jesus, when He walked the earth, expected humanity to follow the leading of the Spirit. How much more should he expect us today to follow Him? Jesus right now possesses the highest religious or spiritual position and he expects each of us to listen to Him.

Complaining about Moses lording over the nation was not the only complaint that Dathan and Abiram made to Moses. They start out complaining about Moses’ failure to accomplish what he promised. NUM 16:13 "Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, ... 16:14 "Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. ... Moses did not make these promises on his own authority but on God’s. It would seem these men fail to recognize that they could have entered the land and possessed it except they chose not to. Ultimately it is not God’s or Moses’ fault that the nation is in the circumstances they are in yet these men choose to blame Moses for their failure. We like them miss entering into our promised land not because God doesn’t provide us opportunity to enter but because of our fear of entering.

Why did Moses call Dathan and Abiram to this meeting? Could it be that Moses thought that they were just innocent pawns in Korah’s wickedness? We will never know but as soon as they tell Moses that they were not going to comply and come to this meeting Moses prays and asks God not to accept their offering. It is very possible that they could have escaped this situation but because they would not listen to Moses they suffer the same fate as Korah.

We see all two hundred and fifty men bring a censer with incense along with Moses and Aaron before the doorway of the tent of meeting. God at this point again tells Moses to separate himself from the people so that He could destroy them all. NUM 16:22 But they fell on their faces, and said, "O God, Thou God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, wilt Thou be angry with the entire congregation?"v23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, v24 "Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.'" Moses again shows himself worthy of leadership by his intercession on behalf of rebellious people. Those two hundred and fifty authorities represented the whole congregation of people and God would not have been wrong in destroying them all.  These men were not just common men but leaders, having authority over the others. God tells Moses; command them to get away from Korah, Dathan and Abiram’s tent. Now these three men along with their wives and children are standing alone.

Moses states, NUM 16:28 ... "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. v29 "If these men die the death of all men, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. v30 "But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord." It is true that Moses had nothing to do with these men’s rebellion and to some degree their judgment. While Moses does not have the power to cause the ground to open up and consume the three men and their families it is his decision to speak forth what judgment they would die by. It was also Moses decision to put them in this place by telling them to offer incense before the Lord. Not everyone who offered the incense will die by this sign but all who offered incense will die. True authorities have power to dictate judgment and even have it come to pass. If you question this just see how the apostle Peter dictated Sapphira’s penalty for siding with her husband Ananias. (Acts 5:1-11) There will be two prophets that will stand in Jerusalem during the end times who will call judgment down upon the nations whenever they wish. (Rev 11) Moses did not stretch out his hand to punish these men but he did exercise his faith against them.

After the earth opened up and swallowed Korah, Dathan and Abiram along with their families and all that belonged to them God sent out a flame to kill the two hundred and fifty men that stood with them. NUM 16:35 Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. Judgment is swift and final for those who were the authorities over the nation that decided to stand against Moses. Moses is a type of Christ with a similar authority that Jesus will display. The men who were destroyed by fire were men of renown, respected by the people and seen as having authority.

We should take notice that no one beside Korah, Dathan and Abiram, their families and the two hundred and fifty men died. God did not punish Israel for listening to these men. Yet God told Moses to take the censers that they used to offer the incense and have them hammered into plating for the alter. (Num 16:36-39) The purpose for God wanting this to be done is, NUM 16:40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the Lord; that he might not become like Korah and his company...  We can see by this statement that Moses did in fact seal these men’s fate when they listened to him and offered the incense before the Lord.

Some may teach that these men died because they opposed Moses’ authority but that is not what the scripture said. These men primarily died because they did that which they knew they should not have, which is offer incense. This does not mean that God would not have required their lives because of the rebellion against Moses. This was not just some trivial rebellion but an actual attempt at a coup d’état. It is evident that they were upset that they would die in the wilderness. They were going to wander instead of enjoy a land they could call their own. It was not Moses’ fault that this was their future. Moses did everything in his power to lead Israel to their destiny but in the end he could not bring them into the land.

It wasn’t until the next day that the children of Israel realized that these men were dead and Moses had something to do with it. NUM 16:41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's people." According to the scripture quoted above all the congregation assembled against Moses and Aaron not just a small contingent. While Moses had something to do with it he did not force these men to offer the incense nor did he make them oppose him. Moses could not make the ground open up nor cause the fire to consume the two hundred fifty men. Moses did not stand between these men and God but allowed judgment to be manifested against them. Moses could have done more but these men wanted to over throw him and Aaron and take over. If these men lived, it could have resulted in another overthrow attempt sometime in the future. All the people began to complain and blame Moses and Aaron for the men’s death. God did not judge the people for siding with Korah at Moses’ request. God wanted again to destroy all the people except Moses interceded for them. (NUM 16:21-24) So what is the issue here? These people side with the rebellious and oppose the righteous. They may not be trying to overthrow Moses and Aaron but they are taking the rebellious’ side thus showing themselves rebellious. God overlooked the sin that the leadership of Korah lead them into because of Moses’ intercession. This new sin of rebellion is their doing and as such results in God’s judgment.  

God again wants to destroy all of Israel in one moment which causes Moses and Aaron to fall on their face before God. Moses tells Aaron to take incense and go offer it for Israel. The plague has taken its toll and by the time it ends, 14,700 more people have died. I have already mentioned that the priests and prophets stand between God and man as intercessors. Priests represent man more than God and prophets represent God more than man. Intercession from the prophet or the priest results in a similar outcome, which is God’s forgiveness. NUM 16:47 Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. v48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. v49 But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. The thing about this situation we must understand, whether we are a prophet or just a priest (all born again believers are called priests) when we stand for God’s mercy we must get between the living and the dead. This requires that we know our standing with God and have faith that we also will not be judged along with the unrighteous. Our intercession for those who deserve to be judged is really one of the highest callings God has called every Christian to. This was really the whole purpose for why Jesus came to earth. If he had not stood between the living and the dead and made the sacrifice, we would be eternally lost. We should see this as true authority and not the carnal worldly positional idea of what authority looks like.

This situation resulted in a major vacuum of positional leadership among the people. Two hundred and fifty three leaders along with 14,700 others have been removed. There is no way of knowing just what kind of impact this had on the nation but it was not long before God established who was the authority among the people.  Moses is to take twelve staffs, one from each tribe, and he is to place them before the Lord. Aaron’s name is to be written on the staff of Levi. NUM 17:4 "You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you. v5 "And it will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I shall lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you."  God is tired of the peoples grumbling and has to establish Aaron as His elected authority among the family of Levi. It would seem that God would have been happy to not have done this if the people would have allowed Aaron to do his job. Korah wanted Aaron’s job and he was willing to take it. After one night in the presence of God, Aaron’s rod had budded, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. The other eleven staffs remained as they were before, barren and without any life.  Numbers actually records as proof why God had the tribes place their staffs before Him. NUM 17:9 Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. v10 But the Lord said to Moses, "Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they should not die."  It is evident that people were displeased that Aaron had such a lofty position and they grumbled about it. It is amazing how often people strive for positions and recognition in the body of Christ and do not seem to understand that this really is what was at the core of Korah’s rebellion. Individuals striving for positional authority instead of allowing God to place you where He wants you to be is at the root of this situation.

After the judgment of Korah and his gang, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years even as the Lord declared. When those forty years began to draw to a close we see Miriam die and again the people began to grumble about having no water to drink. The people not only grumble but they collectively stand against Moses and Aaron. This familiar scene is the second time it occurs, but this time it happens just before the children of those who grumbled the first time are about to enter into the promise land. It would seem that the Israelites forty years of wandering had been uneventful because this is the first conflict we see after Korah’s rebellion. The relevance of this situation is not in the people’s actions but in Moses’. The first time this occurred (EXO 17:6) Moses is told to strike the rock and water would flow from it. This time he is told to speak to the rock. NUM 20:8 "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. ... Nowhere did God say strike the rock like at first but just to speak to it. Authority is to follow God and His dictates not our own desires or impulses. While theologically we can make excuses for Moses’ failings and understand that Moses represented the Law. The law cannot enter into the Promised Land but could only lead right up to the edge of it. After all, the law leads us to Christ, but it does not have the ability to make us a partaker of the grace; faith is the vehicle for this not the law. GAL 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. Having said this we must understand God could not allow Moses to enter into the Promised Land and yet He did not cause Moses to be disobedient, Moses did that on his own. NUM 20:11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." This may have saddened Moses but it was necessary so that the scriptures are a complete story of spiritual reality. Here Moses’ goofs up one time and he is not allowed to enter into this Promised Land which he did everything he could do for forty years to have the people go in to possess it. 

Aaron’s death

In Numbers 20:23-29 we see the death of Aaron and how God chose to transfer Aaron’s authority to his son Eleazar in the sight of Israel. It would seem that for the most part God bestows authority upon people because He chooses them. God chose Aaron and his descendants as priests which removed any favor or choosing from God in the future. In other words only Aaron’s descendants could be priests. God’s choosing ended once he made this declaration and no person outside Aarons descendants could stand in this place of authority.