Scripture
They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly? ”
~ Numbers 16:3 (CSB)
Quote
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft or Satan worship.
~Samuel
The ‘they’ in the verse above is in reference to Korah, a descendant of Levi. Although it was primarily a Levitical rebellion, there were some Reubenites in the mix. All total, there were 250 prominent men who were leaders along with their families. You had to be a Levite to be a priest but not all Levites were priest. The priest were Aaron and his sons and later his descendants. Aaron was a Levite and so was Moses. Ironically, the rebellion came basically from their own tribe. Their complaint was that Moses had exalted himself, Aaron and the sons of Aaron by making them priest. Under the sacrificial system, only the priest could offer the sacrifice; only the priest could approach the altar. The priest stood before God in behalf of the congregation and then they stood before the congregation in behalf of God. No one could volunteer to be a priest. You had to be a descendant of Aaron. Korah, Dathan and Abiram had other ideas. They insisted that they could do what Moses and Aaron were doing. Actually, they believed that anyone in the community could do what Moses and Aaron were doing. They saw nothing sacred about the priesthood. They had little to no respect for Moses their spiritual leader who was anointed and appointed by God. To put it simply, they were rebels at heart. They resented instruction. They abhorred the inference that they needed Moses to intercede in their behalf. They assumed that they were holy and capable of dealing with God themselves. It’s actually the same old, same old–they established their own religion. In their system, everyone was holy and there was no need for a priest or sacrifice. They were just like the folks that we encounter every day who see no need for Jesus. They see no need for Jesus because they do not see their sin: like Korah and company, they believe they are good and capable of standing before God on their own.
Since history began in Eden, there has been a right way and a wrong way to approach God. There is God’s way and man’s way. Cain saw no need for a priest or a sacrifice. He established his own religion…THE CHURCH OF SELF-WILL. The LORD said through Moses, “Do not put other gods before ME…Do not bow down to them or worship them. I want you to worship only ME. I will put a generational curse on those who hate ME and this curse will even affect their grandchildren.” There is awesome, frightening, unimaginable punishment awaiting those who hate and reject Christ. A rebel has no future. Korah pushed the envelope, he refused to listen to Moses’ warning and the ground opened up and swallowed his family and his followers. They went down to Sheol in an instant, kicking and screaming in terror as the earth engulfed them. The one thing that you do not want to do is rebel against God.
I really want to thank Jason and all who prayed for us yesterday. I am very thankful to report that all went well. As a matter of fact, I felt the presence of the LORD as much at Amanda’s service as any I have been a part of in these last 50 years. Ben Bates did a superb job with the message and I want to thank him and the New Center Baptist Church for hosting the meal. We want to thank DBC for furnishing the meat. I know I speak for Jeremy and family when I say thank YOU one and all.
Do you feel the Christmas rush. The very first Christmas rush is recorded in Luke 2:16–And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. I had a jam packed day yesterday and have another one today.