1 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?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
8 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?
12 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.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 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.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, 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.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
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.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 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.
36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
41 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.
46 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.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
View All Numbers Chapter 16 Comments...
GiGi's Numbers Chapter 16 comment on 5/31/2023, 10:54pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 16
Pt. 4
Then the LORD told Moses to tell Eleazer, son of Aaron, to collect all of the censors that the 250 had used and forge them into plates to cover the altar, for since they were offered before the LORD, they were hallowed. These were to serve as a memorial to the people to remind them that no one but the seed of Aaron is to come near to offer incense to Him, exhorting them to not be like Korah and his company.
But the next day, the people began again to murmur against Moses and Aaron. (It seems they are stubborn and unteachable). They said that Moses and Aaron had killed the people of the LORD. They had not honor for the LORD, but were interested more in self-preservation. Once again the glory of the LORD appeared at the tabernacle and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron to get away from these people so He can consume them. They provoked the LORD again without fear. God sent a plague among the people and many were dying. Moses told Aaron to go and take a censor and stand in the middle of the people burning incense in the censor as an atonement for the people. He stood between those who had died and those who were alive and the plague was stayed at that point where Aaron stood. Over 14,000 people died of the plague that day because of the influence of Korah and the rebelliousness of those who questioned and murmured against Moses and Aaron.
How stiff-necked these people were. Before their very eyes they experienced God's judgment and they still were set against Him. God knows the hearts of all and He was right to decide that those people will die in the wilderness for their rebelliousness and unbelief in Him. The people were not concerned about provoking God with their sin, perhaps because they knew they were going to die in the wilderness, as God had said. They had a sense of hopelessness that caused them to not care about their future. They were bound up with sin and refused all the mercy and grace offered to them.
GiGi's Numbers Chapter 16 comment on 5/31/2023, 10:38pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 16
Pt. 3
So, Moses set the stage for the "proving". The following day all of those rebelling with Korah were to bring censors with fire to burn incense before the LORD along with Aaron. And so they did the next day. Korah also called all of the congregation to meet with them to oppose Aaron and Moses at the door of the tabernacle
When everyone was assembled, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. He spoke to Moses and Aaron telling them to separate themselves from the congregation because He wished to consume them (destroy). But, again, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the LORD and interceded for the people. So the LORD told them to tell the congregation to go to the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. So Moses, Aaron, and the 70 elders went to the tents of Dathan and Abiram. Then they spoke to the congregation, telling them to depart from the tents of these wicked men, touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed by their sins.
So the people backed off from the tents of Dathan and Abiram, but surrounded the tents. Dathan and Abiram came out of their tents with their wives, sons, and children. Moses confronts them saying, "Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me tp do all of these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind." He goes on to say that if these men die in a way common to men, then they will know that the LORD had not appointed Moses. But if the LORD does something new by opening up the earth and swallowing them (a prophecy) then the people will know that these men have provoked God and are against God's choice of Moses and Aaron.
Just as he ended speaking this, the ground opened up around Dathan and Abiram and their families and all were engulfed by the hole and fell in alive and perished. All of the congregation fled from this place fearing that if they stayed they may be swallowed up, too. Then God sent out a fire from Himself and consumed the 250 men who offered incense.
cont. to pt. 4
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