Numbers 16

No. 16 1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan 2 and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of 3 the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown: and they assembled 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: where- 4 fore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the LORD? And when Moses heard it, 5 he fell upon his face: and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near 6 unto him: even him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him. This do; 7 take you censers, Korah, and all his company; and put fire therein, and put incense upon them before the LORD to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, 8 he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, 9 Hear now, ye sons of Levi: 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 that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek 11 ye the priesthood also? Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against 12 the LORD: and Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him? And Moses sent to call 13 Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wil- 14 derness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and 15 vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. And Moses was very wrath, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one 16 ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and 17 all thy congregation before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron to-morrow: and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man 18 his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the 19 door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. And Korah assembled all the congrega- tion against them unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 20, 21 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among 22 this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 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 wrath 23 with all the congregation? And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congre- 24 gation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And 25 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 27 wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and 28 their little ones. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all 29 these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 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 30 me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into the pit; then ye shall 31 understand that these men have despised the LORD. And it came to pass, as he made an end 32 of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that 33 appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. So 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 34 assembly. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, 35 Lest the earth swallow us up. And fire came forth from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense. (Verses 36-40. The two hundred and fifty censers made into “beaten plates for a covering of the altar.”)

41. But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses 42 and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the 43 tent of meeting : and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. And 44 Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. And the LORD spake unto Moses, 45 saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 46 And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take thy censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them : for there is wrath gone out from the LORD ; the plague is 47 begun. And Aaron took as Moses spake, and ran into the midst of the assembly ; and, be- hold, the plague was begun among the people : and he put on the incense, and made atone- 48 ment for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living ; and the plague was 49 stayed. Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides 50 them that died about the matter of Korah. And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of meeting : and the plague was stayed.

17 1, 2 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ 3 houses, twelve rods : write thou every man’s name upon his rod. And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi : for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with 5 you. And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud : and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur 6 against you. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods : and the rod of 7 Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tent of the 8 testimony. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testi- mony ; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, 9 and bloomed blossoms, and bare ripe almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel : and they looked, and took every man his rod. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion ; that thou mayest make an end of their murmur- 11 ings against me, that they die not. Thus did Moses : as the LORD commanded him, so did he. 12 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we perish, we are undone, 13 we are all undone. Every one that cometh near, that cometh near unto the tabernacle of the LORD, dieth : shall we perish all of us ?

After Moses’ nearest kinsmen had risen up against him, the same rebellious spirit seizes on the Levitical tribe, to which Moses and Aaron themselves belonged, and which was entrusted with the highest service in sacred things. The nearer they stood to the priesthood, so much the more did they feel their distance from it. With them distinguished men out of the tribe of Reuben ally themselves, probably in order to assert the natural right of primogeniture in op- position to God’s election, both in respect to Levi and to Judah. Moses’ behavior here is the same as ever. We see him, as in the former outbreaks, firm and dauntless, full of holy anger against the godless sinners, full of intercession and love for the thankless covenant people of God. And the punishment inflicted by God justifies and attests his authority afresh, while it shows most clearly the hopeless corruption of that generation of Israelites. Gerl.

We find him first on his face before the Lord (verse 4), and then, without the slightest assertion of authority, leaving the whole matter in dispute to the Lord’s decision (verse 5), while at the same time he gave the leaders to under- stand that he recognized the selfish motives which really inspired the rebellion (verses 8-11). And then, when the decision was given and the judgment of God was about to fall (verse 21), again we find him on his face before the Lord, pleading with all the earnestness of his mighty nature for the people whom he loved so much, in spite of all their ingratitude and sin, and anon making atonement for them, until the plague was stayed. As the matter in dispute had been the right of Aaron and his family to a priesthood distinct from that of the entire na- tion, care was taken, after the excitement of the conspiracy and the judgment which followed had calmed down, to give such a testimony to the Divine right of the Aaronic priesthood as should set the matter forever at rest. Hence the proceeding recorded in the seventeenth chapter. J. M. G.

The date of the transaction contained in it cannot be determined, but verses 13, 14 probably point to a period not much later than that of the rebellion at Kadesh. Espin.—Korah was one of the chiefs of the family of Kohath, which was specially employed to carry the ark and furniture of the holy of holies, though not permitted to look into them. They were therefore, among the Levites, the next in sacredness of function to Aaron and his sons, and may therefore the more readily have formed a scheme to contest with Aaron his exclusive right to the high-priesthood. Dathan, Abiram, and On, were chiefs of the tribe of Reuben, the first-born of the sons of Jacob; and may therefore have conceived themselves better entitled than Moses to pre-eminence in temporal power. Graves.—On is not again mentioned. He probably withdrew from the conspiracy. These three were Reubenites; and were probably discontented because the birthright had been taken away from their ancestor, and with it the primacy of their own tribe among the tribes of Israel. Espin.

We discover two interests at work—one against the sacerdotal and the other against the political power and pre-eminence—and we find the two coalescing to produce the objects sought by both. We do not discover that they desired to disturb the institutions as established; but that they aspired to take to themselves the power which these institutions gave to others. Kit.

It is mentioned incidentally (Nu. 3 : 20) that “the families of the sons of Kohath were to pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.” And we read no less incidentally (2 : 10), “on the south side (of the tabernacle) shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies.” The family of Kohath, therefore, and the family of Reuben, both pitched on the same side of the tabernacle—they were neighbors, and were therefore conveniently situated for taking secret counsel together. Blunt.

3. Every word of this speech was a falsehood. Instead of “lifting himself up,” Moses humbled himself, “Who am I?” It was God who lifted him up over Israel. And Israel was as “holy” as Moses was ambitious. What holiness was there in so much infidelity, fear, idolatry, mutiny, disobedience? What could make them unclean, if this were holiness? They were still fresh from their last obstinacy; and yet these flatterers say, “All Israel is holy.”

6,7. There cannot be conceived an honor less worth emulation than this principality of Israel; a people that could give nothing; a people that had nothing, but in hope; a people whom their leader was fain to feed with bread and water; which paid him no tribute but of ill words; whose command was nothing but a burden; and yet this dignity was an eye-sore to these Levites and these Reubenites, “Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.” And this challenge, though thus unseasonable, hath drawn in two hundred and fifty captains of Israel. What wonder is it, that the ten rulers prevailed so much with the multitude to dissuade them from Canaan, when three traitors prevailed thus with two hundred and fifty rulers, “famous in the congregation, and men of renown”? Bp. H.

9-11. Neither of these brothers had been desirous of office, and the places which they filled had not been taken by them of their own motive. Moses had not seized upon authority as a usurper. He had been called to his post by Jehovah, who had given him credentials, in miracles and signs, such as no impostor could fabricate and no enemy could gainsay. In like manner, Aaron had not taken his office upon himself; he, too, had been “called of God,” who had commanded him to be consecrated by peculiar services to his work.

It was the prerogative of Jehovah to appoint his priest and to designate his magisterial representative. The people, according to their own covenant obligations, had no option but to accept them both. They had been taken out from the nations and elected to certain great privileges; and in connection with their acceptance of that position they had taken Jehovah to be their King. But his royalty was a reality. It placed them under his authority; it bound them to respect his laws, to obey his legate, and to approach him in worship through his appointed priest. Therefore, this conspiracy to overthrow Moses and depose Aaron was worse than any political plot, because it was rebellion against God, who was not only the fountain of law among the people, but also the object of their worship. W. M. T.

13,14. Moses is accused of injustice, cruelty, falsehood, treachery, usurpation; and Egypt itself must be commended, rather than Moses shall want reproach. Innocency is no shelter from ill tongues; malice never regards how true any accusation is, but how spiteful. Bp. H.

15. He begs of God to plead his cause. Lord, says he, Respect not thou their offering. Wherein he seems to refer to the history of Cain lately written by his own hand, of whom it is said that to him and his offering God had not respect (Gen. 4 : 5). These that followed the gainsaying of Korah, walked in the way of Cain (these are put together, Jude 11), and therefore he prays that they might be frowned upon as Cain was and put to the same confusion. H. —He went to God with everything, and he waited for God’s vindication. He was conscious of integrity. He could take God to witness that “he had not taken an ass from one of them, or injured any of them.” And strong in the knowledge of his own rectitude, he left the whole matter in God’s hands. So if we are in the right, and men assail us, let us calmly appeal to God, and bide his time. W. M. T.

18. And they took every man his censor.** The sacred incense-offering was calculated to inspire with alarm, especially after so memorable an example had been made in the case of Nadab and Abihu. How greatly they were blinded by pride, since, although admonished both by the confidence of Moses and also by the previous examples, they still obstinately go forward! Moses narrates how ostentatiously Korah hardened himself in his rebellion, before he should offer the incense; for he gathered the people together to his party, in order that the magnificence of his array might overwhelm the grace of God, which opposed him. Calv.

The glory of the Lord appeared (verse 19). The same glory that appeared to install Aaron in his office at first, now appeared to confirm him in it, and to confound those that oppose him, and set up themselves in competition with him. The Shekinah, or Divine Majesty, the glory of the Eternal Word, which ordinarily dwelt between the cherubim within the veil, now was publicly seen over the door of the tabernacle, to the terror of the whole congregation. H.

Korah kindled the fire; the two hundred and fifty captains brought sticks to it; all Israel warmed themselves by it; only the incendiaries perish. Now do the Israelites owe their life to them, whose death they intended. God and Moses knew to distinguish betwixt the heads of the faction and the train; though neither be faultless, yet the one is plagued, the other forgiven. God’s vengeance, when it is at the hottest, makes differences of men; “Get you away from about the tabernacles of Korah.” Ever before common judgment there is a separation. In the universal judgment of all the earth, the Judge himself will separate; in these particular executions, we must separate ourselves. The society of wicked men, especially in their sins, is mortally dangerous; while we will not be parted, how can we complain if we be enwrapped in their condemnation? Bp. II.

28-30. From the beginning of the world unto this day, no man ever made so bold and noble an assertion of Divine approval, or subjected his claims, in the presence of a nation, to a test so immediate and so infallible. But the response to this awful appeal was not for a moment delayed. The earth did open; and Dathan and Abiram—they, their tents, and all they had, went down, and the earth closed over them—they were seen no more. At the same moment a fire went forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote down with instant death the men with their censers at the door of the tabernacle—in number two hundred and fifty. Thus both branches of the great conspiracy were at once extinguished by a judgment most signal, immediate, and miraculous. Kit.

31-33,35. Korah and his company who dared to intrude themselves on the priestly office were destroyed by fire from the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the Lord; the Reubenites, who had reviled Moses for the failure of the promises about the pleasant land, were suddenly engulfed while standing at their own tent doors in the barren wilderness. We read (Nu. 26:11), “The children of Korah died not,” but all belonging to him who had associated themselves with him in this rebellion. Espin. —It is an emphatic testimony alike to the truth of God’s declaration, that he punisheth not men for the sins of their fathers, and to the piety of the Levites, that the sons of Korah did not share in the rebellion of their father, and consequently died not with him. More than this, not only were Samuel and afterward Heman descendants of Korah, but among them were some of those “sweet singers of Israel,” whose hymns, divinely inspired, were intended for the Church at all times. And all the Psalms “of the sons of Korah” have this common characteristic, which sounds like an echo of the lesson learned from the solemn judgment upon their house, that their burden is praise of the King who is enthroned at Jerusalem, and longing after the services of God’s sanctuary. A. E.

36-40. God would have the Israelites keep up the memory of these things, and learn from this sad example, to have due regard to them whom he chose to minister in holy things. And to this purpose he commands that plates should be made of the censers of the rebels for the altar of burnt-offering, that so there might remain a memorial of this fatal rebellion in the view of the people. He caused also Aaron’s rod to flourish, and to be preserved as a token against the rebels. Kidder.

41-50. It seems almost incredible that after such a scene of holy judgment on guilty rebels and of such consternation upon the whole people, we read that on the morrow all the congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” This, although their prayer had saved the masses of the people (verse 22); this, although the hand of God only and of no mortal man had wrought their destruction; this, although they had seen the whole transaction and fled in horror lest God swallow them up also! It should not surprise us that the wrath of the Lord broke forth against them and the plague began. Moses cried to Aaron to take a censer with incense (the symbol of prayer) and run in among the people, waving his censer between the living and the dead. Only so was the plague stayed. Yet fourteen thousand seven hundred fell in that fearful judgment. We are simply amazed at the perverseness and folly of many of that Hebrew people. “How often” and with what strange infatuation “did they provoke their God in the wilderness and grieve him in the desert” (Ps. 78:40)! H. C.

46,47. This dark picture of men insulting God, even with his recognized presence among them and in spite of his amazing goodness toward them, because he has been, as it were, compelled to punish treason against his authority, is but the life-likeness of what is going on every day around us. Hence the apostle, reciting these events, admonishes: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.”

Ordinarily incense could be offered only at the tabernacle, in the sanctuary, on the golden altar, but in this extraordinary emergency Aaron is sent into the camp, where the death arrows are flying. The Lord could, in answer to their prayers, have stayed the plague without any ritual; but it is all important to demonstrate to these rebellious scoffers, who have assailed his ministers, that it is through the intercession of the very men whom they have injured that their lives are spared, and that their high-priest was acting in his sacred office under Jehovah’s appointment, and by his direction. Aaron is as full of anxiety as his brother. Instantly—for he knew that every moment was adding fearfully to the numbers of the dead—he runs with his censer into the crowded camp. He interposed himself between the infected and uninfected parts of the camp, exposing himself to the ravages of the plague in behalf of his people. Bishop Hall remarks on this phrase: “As one that would part a fray, he thrusts himself under the strokes of God, and puts it to the choice of the revenger whether he will smite him or forbear the rest; he stands boldly between the living and the dead, as one that will either die with them or have them to live with him; the sight of fourteen thousand carcasses dismayed him not; he that before feared the threats of the people now fears not the strokes of God.” Beautifully does Aaron here typify the love of Jesus, our great High-Priest and Intercessor, who, though it must cost him his life and infinite agony, interposed between the living and the dead to make atonement for us. S. R.

If Aaron’s sacrifice were thus accepted, how much more shall the High-Priest of the New Testament, by interposing himself to the wrath of his Father, deliver the offenders from death! The plague was entered upon all the sons of men: O Saviour, thou stoodst betwixt the living and the dead, that all which believe in thee should not perish. Aaron offered and was not stricken; but thou, O Redeemer, wouldst offer and be struck that by thy stripes we might be healed; so stoodst thou betwixt the dead and living that thou wert both alive and dead; and all this that we, when we were dead, might live forever. Bp. H.

It was the intercession of Moses and Aaron which saved the people; but it was necessary that the power of this mediation should be made manifest in the eyes of the people by a visible sign, and thereby the truth declared. The same burning of incense which in the hands of him who is not a priest brings death, gives life in the priest’s own hands. It was also intended that the people should receive an impression of the greatness of Aaron’s loving devotion by his placing himself between the living and the dead. Geri — Further, by the destructive results that followed the attempt of Korah and his company to intrude into the priest’s office and burn incense before the Lord—as contrasted with the beneficent effects of Aaron’s approach with his censer unto Jehovah when the plague was stayed—the divine and indefeasible right of Aaron to the priesthood is conclusively established. W. M. T.

Aaron’s Red that Blossomed.

17:1-13. In order to cut off forever the disposition to revolt against the lawful priesthood, the Lord was pleased to follow up what he had done to Korah and his two hundred and fifty men and immediately after to fourteen thousand seven hundred of the rebels, with an additional sign, and to settle by a Divine election whom he had called to serve him in his sanctuary. From the head of every tribe Moses was to take an almond-rod inscribed with the name of the tribe, and add as the thirteenth one for the family of Aaron with his name also written upon it, and to bring them all before the Lord into the tabernacle, while He made this Divine intimation to the people: “The man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom; that I may make to cease the murmurings of the children of Israel.” Moses did as he was told; and on the morrow he brought all the rods unto the children of Israel from the tabernacle, and they saw and were convinced that one of the rods had put forth leaves and blossoms and almonds. This one was the rod of Aaron. Thus did the Lord declare by a new miracle to whom he was pleased to impart of his vital Spirit and whom the people were to recognize as their rightful mediator. As a token of this and a warning against the murmuring of the people, Aaron’s rod that blossomed was to be preserved in the sanctuary and in the Ark of the Covenant (Heb. 9:4, 5). C. G. B.

The priesthood was to be confirmed to Aaron not only by the destruction of those who had presumed to take it, but also by a miracle, which signified in a beautiful manner the holy fulness of life which God vouchsafed to this order of men, and so an abiding memorial of it (as well as of Korah’s punishment) might be preserved. Gerl.

8. And it came to pass, that on the morrow. Not without cause the time is notified, for by no skill could it be brought about that a rod should blossom in the lapse of a single night. Again, all suspicion of fraud was removed by the fact that Moses departed when he had placed the rods in the sanctuary, and returning on the next day brought out the bundle of rods before them all. Culv.

10. Commonly, those fruits which are soon ripe soon wither; but these almonds of Aaron’s rod are not more early than lasting; the same hand which brought them out before their time, preserved them beyond their time; and for perpetual memory both rod and fruit must be kept in the ark of God. The tables of Moses, the rod of Aaron, the manna of God, are monuments fit for so holy a shrine. All times shall see and wonder how his ancient Church was fed, taught, ruled. Moses’s rod did great miracles, yet I find it not in the ark. The rod of Aaron hath this privilege, because it carried the miracle still in itself; whereas the wonders of that other rod were passed. Those monuments would God have continued in his Church, which carry in them the most manifest evidences of that which they import. Bp. H.

Read the Pentateuch without asking minor questions; read it as a whole, and then ask what are the impressions it makes upon the mind; and the first impression will be that God is near, direct in his communication, interested in every action, holding every man of value; that God is Critic of all time, Judge of all action, never afraid after having blessed the world to drown it, to burn it, for human wickedness may be greater than Divine blessing. In the Pentateuch we are struck with the fact that though hand join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” There is more water in the clouds, there is more fire in the throne of God; and God will not hesitate to drown the world or to burn the universe, if so be that man’s sin exceed God’s grace. J. P.

In the world there is not a greater misery can happen to any man than to be an enemy to God’s Church. All histories of Christendom and the whole Book of God have sad records and sad stories and sad threatenings of Korah, Doeg, and Balaam, of Jeroboam, Uzzah, and Ananias and Sapphira, of Julian, and of heretics, schismatics, and sacrilegious; and after all these men could not prevail finally, but paid for the mischief they did; they ended their days in dishonor, and left nothing behind them but the memory of their sin and the record of their curse. Bp. Taylor.

THE HOST GATHERS AT KADESH-BARNEA FOR FINAL DEPARTURE. REBELLIOUS MURMURING OF THE NEW GENERATION. SIN OF MOSES AT THE ROCK IN KADESH; ITS PUNISHMENT ANNOUNCED.