Numbers 16:22 says Moses and Aaron fell facedown in response to this judgment. They begged the “God who gives breath to all living things” to not punish the whole assembly for the sin of one. God listens to their plea and responds with a directive to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, the leaders of this repugnant rebellion. Moses delivers God’s instructions, telling everyone to move away from the tents of these three men. Further, the assembly is told not to even touch any of their belongings. Moses gives a foreshadow of what is about to happen by saying “or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” Dathan and Abiram were standing at the opening to their tents with their families. I picture their chins raised in defiance and their eyes slit in disdain. These men had no business rising up against Moses.
Moses gives another foreshadow, saying, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: if these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt. As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.” The next verse says, “At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, ‘The earth is going to swallow us too!’” (Numbers 16:28-33) Interesting phrase there “at their cries”. As the earth closed over these people, the rest of the community could hear their cries. How would that make you feel?
The judgment of the rebels sent the rest of the community running in fear. This was not a holy fear of the Lord, as we will soon learn. These people currently running scared will again rebel momentarily. Verse 35 tells us that fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who had been offering the incense with Korah, Dathan and Abiram. These men were also rebels but their families and possessions were spared. God is always so gracious. We want Him to judge sin, just not when it is ours.
Earlier I mentioned Leviticus 10 and Nadab and Abihu. Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s older two sons. They had offered unauthorized fire in the tabernacle and fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them. Why did God deal with them so harshly? This was in the first week of service to the Lord. The anointing oil was still on Aaron’s sons and their actions did not treat God as the Holy One of Israel. Many times in the Bible when God is doing a new thing, He will deal with trespassers harshly to set an example to His people.
God dealt with Korah and his followers as He did the sons of Aaron who also presented unauthorized fire before the Lord. A precedent had already been set and these men did not heed the warning implied in the example. This rebellion is usually called Korah’s rebellion.
MORE REBELLION!
So, one would think that would be the end of rebellion and complaining. The sobering judgments that came upon these people and God’s fast involvement should give them a healthy fear of the Lord, Moses and Aaron. But what does verse 41 of Numbers 16 say? They are grumbling against Moses and Aaron the very next morning! They are accusing them of being murderers! This is as bad as Dathan and Abiram blaming Moses for not yet inheriting their land. The whole Israelite community turned toward the tent of meeting as they were bringing their complaint to Moses and Aaron and the Lord showed up! The cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord appeared. God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the people because He was going to wipe them out. Moses and Aaron fell facedown. These men are remarkable in how they consistently honor God and intercede for the dumb sheep of Israel! I would have lost my patience by now, for sure. Yet, we are not really much different. Do we always feel someone has to be to blame? Are we always complaining or getting involved in conflict? God says we will shine like the stars if we do everything without arguing or complaining (Philippians 2:14-15).
Wrath came out from the Lord because of this rebellion. People were falling dead in front of the tent of meeting. Moses told Aaron to get a censer and put incense and a coal from the altar (probably from the morning sacrifice) in it and run among the people to appease the wrath of the Lord. Aaron did so and “stood between the living and the dead.” (Num 16:48) The plague stopped right there. Imagine the sight! It must have looked like a battlefield. World Wars I and II saw major battles with numbers of casualties in line with what Moses and Aaron saw that day: 14,700. Most of the World War battles with casualties that high were fought over many months. This plague seemed to take place in just minutes. The expediency Aaron showed in running among the Israelites gives a feel of a very short time period for this plague. This was he and Moses' greatest hour of intercession.
“Just as Aaron stood between the living and the dead, our intercession can have life-and-death consequences.” (NIV Appl Comm p. 646) Samuel said it was a sin against God if we do not pray for our people (1 Sam 12:23). Our intercession for others is our ministry. We are to pray continually, without ceasing, constantly. (1 Thess 5:17) It is ironic that the people need Aaron’s intercession to live when they were just rejecting him and trying to take his position. Jesus is our great high priest and He was opposed to the point of death on a cross. But now He is alive and He constantly makes intercession for us. (Hebrews 7:25)
Moses and Aaron showed limitless compassion in their intercession for the people after days of rebellion and certainly a very rough year. God was working in their hearts to love these people who were constantly turning against them. Who do you have trouble being compassionate toward? Is it a person? Is it a whole people group? Pray for God to give you a heart to love the people you struggle to love.
Ultimately, you cannot make people respond to the gospel or to you. “With all his omnipotence and omniscience, God failed to satisfy the adult Israelites whom he so gloriously redeemed from bondage. His example teaches: Love people consistently and persistently with everything you have, but if they ultimately choose to reject you, let them go because you can’t force them to be grateful or to love you in return. Like Moses, Aaron, and the later Hebrew prophets, we are accountable for the quality of the service we give, not the responses we get.” (NIV Appl Comm p. 649)
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