Korach (Rebellion) Audio Podcast July 9, 2022
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Introduction
Introduction
This Torah Portion goes from Numbers 16:1-18:32
Bemidbar
The Israelites who escaped from Egypt, witnessed the Sinaitic revelation, erected the Tabernacle, and were instructed in the operation of it (as described in Exodus and Leviticus) now prepare themselves militarily and spiritually for their march (walk) through the wilderness. They are organized as a war camp centered about the Tabernacle (1:1–10:10), but they become progressively demoralized by complaints, rebellions, and finally by apostasy, leading to their death in the wilderness (10:11–25:19).
Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), 1–3.
Last Torah Portion we left it at:
Don’t want to leave what is comfortable
Don’t want to learn what seems so foreign
Fear of the unknown
No understanding of how God works
Family dynamics
Different structure
Different culture
Different worship style
Other nations around
Different language
Different authority
Different Norms
Unfamiliar
Israel had to be educated
Mindset
Fixed mindset- cannot do it, I cannot learn- so that change does not happen
Mental and emotional barriers - keep you from risk of challenge
As we enter our Torah portion we see that both Moses and Aaron face some resistance:
The Issue:
DRAMATIS PERSONAE: THE LEADERS OF THE REBELLION (vv. 1–2)
1. Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath According to the rabbis, Korah maintains that since the sons of Amram, the eldest of Kohath, assumed the leadership of the people (Moses) and the priesthood (Aaron), the position of the head of the family should have gone to himself, the eldest of the second son of Kohath. Instead, it was given to Elizaphan son of Uzziel, the youngest son of Kohath, as demonstrated by the following genealogical chart (cf. Exod. 6:16–22):
Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), 129.
Generations of Levi
These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families.
And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.
The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.
Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.
The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri.
Four Rebellions:
1- Levites against Aaron
2- Dathan and Abiram against Moses
3- Elders of the congregation against Aaron
4- The entire community against Moses and Aaron
Four separate rebellions are herewith recorded and fused: (1) the Levites against Aaron; (2) Dathan and Abiram against Moses; (3) the (elders) tribal chieftains against Aaron; and (4) the entire community against Moses and Aaron. The archconspirator, however, is the Levite Korah, who instigates or is associated with all four rebellious groups
Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), 129.
Numbers 16:1–3 (NKJV)
Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi (1), with Dathan and Abiram (2) the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;
and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation (3), representatives of the congregation, men of renown.
They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly (4) of the Lord?”
and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?
Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up!
Numbers 16:13 (NKJV)
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?
Exodus 2:13–14 (NKJV)
And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”
Rebellion
Numbers 16:2 (NKJV)
and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.
Ezra, rabbinical commentary, says they raised up “in his face.”
קוּם qum (877c); a prim. root; to arise, stand up, stand:—accomplished(1), accuses(1), arise(103), arise and let us go(1), arisen(1), arises(6), arose(136), assailants(1)
Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).
Presentation
Presentation
What is the big deal about Rebellion?
To explain this, let us take a moment to look at Saul, the king of Israel, who God gave them because they (Israel) wanted to have a king like the other nations:
God asked Saul to take over Amalek and completely destroy him and his people
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
Saul disobeyed:
Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
“I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
1 Samuel 15:22–23 (NKJV)
So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”
Rise up against or Rebellion: that same word is found in:
Genesis 4:8 (NKJV)
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Numbers 14:9 (NKJV)
Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
Isaiah 1:2 (NKJV)
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;
“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
How did Israel rebel?
The way Israel is not exclusive to them. This is common in human beings:
1-Sense of entitlement
Definition
The fact of having a right to something
The amount to which a person has a right
the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges of special treatment
Deserving
About me
They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
Rashi:
“You take too much upon yourself” - much more than is proper have you taken for yourselves in the way of the High Office.
“for all the congregation is holy”
they all heard the utterances on Sinai from the mouth of the Almighty
This is an issue against God because He is the one who chooses the Leader that He wants
So when Moses heard it, he fell on his face;
and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.
2- Ambition - trying to prove “good enough”
Ambition
Measure up
Numbers 16:8–10 (NKJV)
Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:
Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them;
and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?
Chizkuni - Rabbinical commentary:
“He has brought you near as well as your fellow Levites after you” - Korach was a grandson of Kehal, who was one of the Levites charged with carrying the Holy Ark on their shoulders, a privilege reserved only for Kehal and his offspring but not to the other Levites. They were also the head of the Levites performing the songs in the Tabernacle, as explained in 1 Chron 16:5
Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals;
3- Have distorted understanding of authority
Distortion
Numbers 16:13 (NKJV)
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?
4- Wanting to take authority by Complaining, accusing, mutiny
complaining
accusing
mutiny
Numbers 16:41–42 (NKJV)
On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
Who is the greatest of all rebellion?
Why is rebellion called witchcraft?
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
Then they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?”
So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”
Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”
So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children.
But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”
Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.
So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”
And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Why do people Rebel?
Don’t want to leave what is comfortable
Don’t want to learn what seems so foreign
Fear of the unknown
No understanding of how God works
Family dynamics
Different structure
Different culture
Different worship style
Other nations around
Different language
Different authority
Different Norms
Unfamiliar
Israel had to be educated
Mindset
Fixed mindset- cannot do it, I cannot learn- so that change does not happen
Mental and emotional barriers - keep you from risk of challenge
Do not want to change
Rebellion is rooted in unforgiveness: we want to have control of the outcome and do not let go.
Call to forgiveness:
We ought to forgive to be forgiven:
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Year of Jubilee
‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.
And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
Israel went into Babylonian captivity for 70 years because they did not forgive debts
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
It is impossible for a man to love his neighbour as himself w/o the love of God
We need to be set free - redeemed
Prologue: The Need For Redemption
(Genesis 1–11)
It all begins by explaining why the story must be told. God is building a kingdom of redeemed people because human beings are rebels who cannot save themselves. Other religions begin by assuming that people can do enough good works or perform enough religious deeds to earn a place in heaven. The Bible starts by telling the opposite story. Genesis 1–11 belongs to real human history, but the events are almost impossible to date. The main thing about the prologue is that it describes events involving the entire human race and shows that mankind has rebelled against God since the beginning.
Kendell H. Easley, Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2002), 5.
Another reason why man is rebellious is:
Not honouring Authority
Numbers 17:1–5 (NKJV)
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
“Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod.
And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house.
Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you.
And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.”
Name
שֵׁם (šēm). n. masc. name, reputation, renown, presence. When used of God, this word not only refers to God’s self-designation or renowned character, but also in a sense represents him.
The term šēm usually ... refers metaphorically to the reputation or stature of a human or God himself. For instance, God promises to make great the šēm of both Abraham and David (Gen 12:2; 2 Sam 7:9).
The šēm of God can denote His self-disclosure or the revelation of his essential identity (Exod 3:15; 15:3; 33:19, 34:5). The second commandment forbids profaning God’s šēm since it is equal to profaning God himself (Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11). God’s šēm can also refer to God’s holiness or sacredness, which can be praised in worship (2 Sam 22:50; 1 Chr 29:13; Neh 9:5) or be profaned through sinful actions (Lev 19:12, 21:6). In other words, to praise or profane God’s šēm is to do so to God himself. God’s name itself is also said to be glorious (šēm kĕbôdekā; Neh 9:5). Like the term kābôd, God’s šēm serves as an abstract representation of God, so that he dwells wherever he “places” (שִׂים, šîm) his šēm, (Exod 20:7; Deut 12:5, 11, 21; 14:23–24; 16:6).
Gregory R. Lanier, “Glory,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Matthew 7:21–23 (NKJV)
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Hebrews 1:8–10 (NKJV)
But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Revelation 19:11–16 (NKJV)
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Numbers 16:7 (NKJV)
put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”
Numbers 17:5 (NKJV)
And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.”
chosen Because the Hebrew verb baḥar is found in the priestly texts only in connection with the priesthood itself, as, for instance, in 16:7 and 17:5, Aaron must be the referent of both “holy” and “chosen.” In Deuteronomy, however, all of Israel, not just the priesthood, is holy; and therefore Israel too is “chosen” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2).
Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), 131.
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
We want to be grafted in, in obedience:
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”
and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,
or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
Shabbat Shalom