Numbers 16:1–49

After such comforting thoughts as these, something still more terrible than ever comes out in Numbers 16. It is not complaint now, or murmuring. It is not just unbelief because the wilderness was hard. It is not even a bad report about God's gift and choice in the land. There is a conspiracy under the fairest pretensions possible. This does not make matters better. The basest things sometimes put on the most religious guise. The sound of it should fool no one. Some of these men belonged to the class that served the sanctuary; others were chief men in the congregation — what people today would call leading men in church and state.

Korah was a Kohathite. That put him in the most distinguished group of the Levites, short of being a priest. Dathan and Abiram came from Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob. Reuben's sin cost him the leadership that belonged by nature to the firstborn. So these men no doubt felt they had a grievance.

Dathan and Abiram belonged to the tribe of Reuben. As the firstborn, Reuben would naturally have had the leadership. But here, as so often in Scripture, the natural — the firstborn — must give place to the spiritual, the new-born.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. If God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it as coming from Him, the honour only becomes a stepping stone. He uses it to despise the God who gave it, while grasping after what He has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to value what God has given it.

Numbers 16 contains the open rebellion of Dathan and Abiram against Moses. Above all it contains the claim of the ministry in Israel to take priesthood to itself... Korah drew others in by flattering them, but his aim was to take hold of official priesthood. What Dathan and Abiram raised was a side question: the authority of Moses, and the word of God through him. Their judgment was a thing apart.

Korah and his company, therefore, were quarrelling with God and not with Moses and Aaron. God had called these two to hold a certain position and to do a certain work, and it would be terrible for them if they refused... This is always the way with those who promote division or discontent. Their real object is to make themselves somebody. They talk loudly and very convincingly about the common rights and privileges of God's people. But in reality they are aiming at a position they are in no way qualified for.

It is a solemn thing for ministers who profess Christ and claim a priestly place to weigh the warning of Jude 11, in case they perish in the rebellion of Korah. His sin, so ruinous to himself and his followers, was proud discontent with Levite service and an irreverent claim to the priesthood... Christian ministry is the exercise of a gift from the Lord, given to some for the good of all. But all saints are priests, made free equally of the true sanctuary. Some seize this nearness to God beyond, and in denial of, what grace has given to all the saints. Without knowing it, they misunderstand and cancel a prime blessing of Christianity.

There is a conspiracy here under the fairest pretensions possible. The basest things sometimes put on the most pious disguise. No one should be deceived by the sound of things. The men who did this were by no means the sort we would have expected to rebel against Jehovah. Korah belonged to the most honourable group among those who had the direct service of the sanctuary. Dathan, Abiram and On came from Reuben. So some of them belonged to the ministering class, and others were chief men in the congregation — the sort people today would call leading men in church and state.

Dathan and Abiram came from Reuben, Jacob's eldest son. Reuben lost the leadership that belonged naturally to the firstborn, because of his sin. So they doubtless felt they had a grievance.

The rebellion is attributed to Korah, since he was the religious leader in it. He seems to have had enough influence to gather a large number of influential men around him — "princes, famous men, and men of renown." In short, this was a very formidable and serious rebellion. We shall do well to look at its source and moral features closely.

They were princes, great men, and so they had rights that Jehovah should not dispute — at least, that is what they dreamed. And great men in the world do claim, in astonishing ways, rights even to the censer — rights that in reality belong only to the Great High Priest in heaven.

Every assembly holds material that can be worked on. It only takes some restless master spirit to rise up, work on that material, and fan the fire smouldering in secret into a devouring flame. Once the flag of revolt is raised, hundreds and thousands are ready to flock around it — people who have neither the vigour nor the courage to raise it themselves.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. Suppose God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it as from Him. Then the honour becomes only a stepping stone for despising the God who gave it, while he grasps after what God has never given. Nothing causes such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to value what God has given us.

Korah and his company, therefore, were quarrelling with God and not with Moses and Aaron. God had called these two to take a certain place and do a certain work, and woe to them if they refused. They had not aimed at the position or taken up the work themselves. God ordained them. That should have settled the question. It would have settled it for everyone except restless, self-absorbed rebels, who wanted to undermine God's true servants and so exalt themselves.

There is a conspiracy under the fairest pretensions possible. The basest things sometimes put on the most pious appearance. No one should be deceived by the sound of words. The Christian is meant to judge things according to God. The men who did this were not at all the sort we would have thought most likely to join themselves rebelliously against the Lord. Korah came from Levi — the most honourable portion among those who had the direct service of the sanctuary. Dathan, Abiram, and On came from Reuben. So there were those who belonged to the ministering class, and those who were chief men in the congregation — what people today would call leading men in church and state.

It was quite true that all the people were "holy". That is, they were a people that God had set apart for Himself. Yet in practice they were constantly denying that fact. It was true that the Lord was among them, as the people were very quickly to see in the judgment that followed. They did not realise that in challenging the leaders whom God had chosen, they were challenging God, who had chosen them.

"You take too much upon you." Such was their charge against "the meekest man in all the earth." But what had Moses taken upon him? The briefest glance back over the history of that dear and honoured servant would convince any impartial person otherwise. Far from taking dignity and responsibility upon himself, he had shown himself only too ready to shrink from these things when they were offered. When they were laid on him, he sank under them.

Numbers 16 contains the open rebellion of Dathan and Abiram against Moses. Even more, it contains the claim of the ministry in Israel to take the priesthood for itself. The New Testament calls it the rebellion of Korah. He is the first man Moses addresses. The main point of the sin, as Moses presses it, was this taking too much upon them by the sons of Levi. Dathan and Abiram raised a side question about Moses' authority; Korah's claim of priesthood was bound up with open rebellion against God.

With this "fair show" of piety, were they not claiming equal priestly privileges for all, and was not this right? But it filled Moses with horror, and he fell on his face. He saw that it was not only a refusal of Aaron. It also denied that, as a sinful people, they could stand before God only through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

Unbelief constantly shows itself in this very form. If God puts an honour on a man, and he does not receive it as from Him, that honour becomes only a stepping stone. The man despises the God who gave it, while grasping after what He has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to value what God has allotted to us.

Since all are holy, all are His congregation, and therefore all may approach Him; why then one high priest? ... Many pulpits and platforms teach that all men are holy in themselves. So, they say, all have the right to draw near to God with no need of the One High Priest, Christ Jesus. Yet only through Him, and only through His propitiation, is that access obtained.

Let the reader note this carefully. To aim at any form of priesthood other than the Christian priesthood is, in principle, the sin of Korah. So is taking up any other priestly function. So is setting up a priestly class — men who act on behalf of their fellows, or carry out priestly service for them before God.

Moses was the man they had gathered against. When he heard their rebellious words, "he fell on his face." This was a very good way to meet rebels. We have seen this beloved servant of God on his face when he ought to have been on his feet (Ex. 14). But here it was about the best and safest thing he could do. There is never much use in arguing with restless and discontented people. It is far better to leave them in the Lord's hands, for their quarrel is really with Him. If God sets a man in a certain position and gives him a certain work to do, his fellows may think it right to quarrel with him simply because he is doing that work and filling that position. Then their quarrel is really with God. He knows how to settle it, and will do it in His own way.

Korah and his company had disowned Aaron as the priest of God by claiming equal holiness and nearness for all Israel: "You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" With this fine show of piety, were they not claiming equal priestly privileges for all? Was this not right? But it filled Moses with horror, and he fell on his face. He saw that this refused not only Aaron. It also refused the truth that a sinful people could have no standing before God at all, except through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

This was placing the matter in the proper hands. Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of Jehovah. "The LORD will show" and "the LORD will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The whole question hinges on the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment... Obviously it would have been no use for Moses and Aaron to try to give judgment. They were the defendants in the case.

But in the face of such opposition we see the beautiful faith and dependence of Moses. "He fell on his face" (v. 4). Should we not do the same when trouble arises? Instead of arguing he prays. So God at once gives him the insight to know what to do.

It is a good thing when the haughtiness that Satan knows so well how to stir up brings out nothing but lowliness and humbling of our souls before God. Haughtiness tends to provoke haughtiness, and flesh to irritate flesh; but it was not so with Moses.

As at so many other times, he falls on his face (while Korah exalts himself) and leaves the decision to God, saying, "Tomorrow morning the LORD will show... whom He chooses" (v. 5). On the one hand, Moses relies on God's decision to confirm the position He has given to each one. On the other hand, he waits until "tomorrow." Serious as the situation is, he does not want to rush. He would rather allow Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

In the face of such opposition we see the faith and dependence of Moses. "He fell on his face" (v.4). Should we not do the same when trouble arises? Instead of arguing he prays. So God at once gives him the insight to know what to do. He calmly tells the hostile company, "Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy" (v.5). It is precious to wait on the Lord!

Suppose God sets a man in a certain position and gives him a certain work to do. Suppose others quarrel with him simply because he does that work and fills that position. Their quarrel is really with God, who knows how to settle it, and will do it in His own way. Being sure of this gives the Lord's servant a holy calm, and lifts him above envious and restless spirits when they rise up against him.

This put the matter into the right hands. Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of the Lord. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a word about himself or Aaron. The whole question hangs on the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment. The 250 rebels are set face to face with the living God, so that the whole matter may be gone into and settled before a court from which there is no appeal. It would have been no use for Moses and Aaron to give the judgement, since they were the defendants in the case.

On the one hand, Moses leaves it to God to confirm the position He has given to each one. On the other hand, he waits until "tomorrow." He does not want to act in haste, even though the situation is serious. He would rather give Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

Unbelief shows itself again and again in this very form. God gives a man an honour. The man does not receive it as from God, so it becomes only a stepping stone for despising the God who gave it, while he grasps after what God has never given him. Nothing breeds dissatisfaction like a heart that fails to value what God has given it. His will alone secures real joy and strength, and good results for the glory of the Lord. These men were not satisfied with their position, either as leaders of the congregation or as Levites. They wanted to be like Aaron and Moses.

At first glance it might not look as though Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be standing up for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks him. Under the fine-sounding excuse of defending the common rights of the congregation, he was boldly seeking the priesthood for himself. Loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are usually seeking their own advancement and advantage. This is not always obvious, but God is sure to bring it to light sooner or later.

The two-part seal of 2 Timothy 2:19 is almost certainly a reference to Numbers 16:5, 26, and we would do well to read that incident here as an illustration. The two principles are clear and distinct. First, God is sovereign in His mercy and His actions, so He always knows and finally rescues those who are His. Second, man is still responsible, so everyone who acknowledges the Lord with his lips is under a solemn obligation to depart from iniquity. The Christian must never share in evil of any kind, from the least to the greatest.

This was placing the matter in the proper hands. Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of the Lord. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The two hundred and fifty rebels are brought face to face with the living God. They are summoned into His presence, with their censers in their hands. There the whole matter can be fully gone into and settled, before that great court from which there can be no appeal. It would have been no use for Moses and Aaron to try to give judgment, since they were defendants in the case.

But in the face of such opposition we see the faith and dependence of Moses. "He fell on his face" (v.4). Should we not do the same when trouble arises? Instead of arguing he prays. So God at once gives him the insight to know what to do.

A small vessel made of metal, to hold burning coals from the altar, on which incense was sprinkled by the priest, so that a cloud of incense might rise from it. The same word is used when Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their company were put to the test; those censers were probably made in a hurry, since 250 were needed.

It is always well, when people are seeking a place, to let them have it, to their heart's content; for most certainly the very place they have foolishly aspired to will be the scene of their clear defeat and terrible confusion. You may sometimes see men envying others in a certain sphere of service, and longing to occupy that sphere themselves. Let them try it; and they are sure, in the end, to break down and retire covered with shame.

As to the appointment of the earthly priest, "No one takes this honour for himself, but only when he is called by God, just as Aaron was." Here again there is a likeness to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, who is not called of God. Ignoring this great truth is deadly serious. The judgment that fell on Korah and those with him shows it. They sought to establish themselves in the priesthood without being called by God.

Korah did not aim at being a minister, for that he was. He aimed at being a priest, which he could not be. God gave the priesthood to Aaron and his family. Anyone else who tried to offer sacrifice, or do any other priestly work, was boldly seizing what was not his. Now Aaron was a type of our great High Priest who has passed into the heavens — Jesus the Son of God... There is no such thing as a priest on earth now, except in the sense in which all believers are priests.

In the letter of Jude the beginning, the way, and the end are perfectly set before us. "The way of Cain" is the great departure at the beginning of this world's moral history. There brother killed brother, jealous of his acceptance with God... "The error of Balaam" is turning the name of God into a means of earthly honour and gain. The last one we have here is "Korah's rebellion," and here those who depart from God perish. This is not merely the selfish twisting of the truth into a way of getting ahead, bad as that was. It is open, deliberate rebellion against the rights of Christ Himself.

This was placing the matter in the proper hands. Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of Jehovah. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The whole question hinges upon the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment. The two hundred and fifty rebels are brought face to face with the living God. Of course, it would have been useless for Moses and Aaron to judge the case, since they were the defendants. But Moses was glad to have all parties summoned into God's presence, so their case could be judged and settled there.

For the second time, as verse 4 tells us, Moses met the situation by falling on his face — standing aside for God to act. Yet he knew what God would do, as we see in verses 5-7. Korah and his company would get their answer from God Himself the next day. They were to take censers with fire and incense, and present themselves at the door of the tabernacle, as though they were priests.

Further, he says, "No one takes this honor for himself, but only when he is called by God, just as Aaron was." God called Aaron. Korah rebelled with his company. He lifted himself up against Moses, and against Aaron the priest. What was the result? They were summoned before the sanctuary, every man with his censer. These men wanted to push their way into the high priest's office. As they drew near, fire from God's holy presence comes out and destroys them. Korah and his companions are witnesses that no one could force a way into the priestly office — only those whom God called.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. God may put an honour on a man, and the man may not receive it as from Him. Then the honour becomes a stepping stone for despising the God who gave it, while he grasps after what God has never given. Nothing breeds dissatisfaction like a heart that fails to value what God has allotted to us. Whatever is His will alone secures real joy and strength, and happy results to the glory of the Lord.

How much better it would have been for Korah had he rested content with his Levite service, which was of the very highest order. His work as a Kohathite was to carry some of the most precious vessels of the sanctuary, but he aimed at the priesthood, and fell into the pit.

"The way of Cain" is the great departure at the start of this world's moral history. There brother killed brother, jealous of his acceptance with God. "The error of Balaam" is the evil of turning the name of God into a means of earthly honour and gain, not without hypocrisy. The last is "the rebellion of Korah," and here those who depart from God perish. This is not just the selfish twisting of truth into a way of getting ahead, bad as that was. It is open, deliberate rebellion against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish faith, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and high priest of the faith we confess.

It seems that the Apostle Paul refers to this incident in 2 Timothy 2:19. In our chapter Moses says, "The LORD will show who is His, and who is holy," and of Dathan and Abiram, "Depart from the tents of these wicked men." These two statements clearly point forward to the instruction the apostles give us, for the times when we meet error face to face. Such error attacks the foundations of our faith, and it overthrows the faith of those who fall under its influence. We are neither sovereign nor all-knowing. God is both, and in due season He will make clear who are His. We are, however, responsible to act in line with His word, and avoid all part in the error and evil.

His words in verses 8 to 11 are a further appeal to their consciences. If they would listen, this gave them a chance to think again about their rebellion and to take back their foolish demands. Moses reminds Korah that he had been given a position of honour above the congregation, along with the other sons of Levi. Then he asks whether he now wants the priesthood as well… Korah's complaint was against Aaron, because he wanted Aaron's position.

What then was Korah? He was a Levite. As a Levite he had the right to minister and to teach: "They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law." "The God of Israel has separated you… to bring you near to Himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them." That is what Korah was, and that was his work. What did he aim at? At the priesthood.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. Suppose God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it as from Him. Then the honour becomes only a stepping stone: he despises the God who gave it, and grasps after what God has never given. Nothing makes a heart so dissatisfied as failing to put the right value on what God has allotted to us. His will alone secures real joy and strength, and happy results to the glory of the Lord.

To a casual observer it might not have appeared that Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be contending for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks the man. His excuse looked good: he was standing up for the common rights of the congregation. Behind that excuse he was brazenly seeking the priesthood for himself… You will usually find that loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are really seeking their own exaltation and advantage. Not content with doing their proper work, they are seeking an improper place.

The sin was this: it was the ministers of God seeking also to usurp the priesthood. There was only one high priest in Israel, a picture of our one and only great High Priest, who has passed into the heavens. Rebellion against Aaron was sin against the Lord.

What makes this chapter so solemn is that the Spirit of God applies it to the future course of Christianity… Jude points to "Korah's rebellion," and here those who depart from God perish. This was not just twisting the truth into a means of personal gain, bad as that was. It was open, deliberate revolt against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish faith, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of the faith we confess. So when a man claims and exercises a priesthood today, he invades a work that Jesus Christ alone can carry out, at the right hand of God.

Oh, to walk humbly with our God! To be content with His will! To be glad to fill a very small place and to do the most unassuming work! This is true dignity and true happiness… If Korah and his company had learnt this, their piercing cry would never have terrified the hearts of their brothers. But no; they wanted to be something when they were nothing.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. Suppose God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it from Him. Then it is only a stepping stone. He despises the God who gave it, and grasps after what He has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that puts a wrong value on what God has given us. His will alone secures real joy and strength, and happy results to the glory of the Lord.

What then was Korah? He was a Levite. As such he had the right to minister and to teach: "They shall teach Jacob your rules, and Israel your law." That was Korah, and that was his sphere of work. At what did he aim? At the priesthood. "Do you seek the priesthood also?"

To a casual observer it might not have appeared that Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be contending for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks the man. Korah made a plausible show of standing up for the common rights of the congregation. Behind it, he was boldly seeking the priesthood for himself. Note this well. Loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are usually seeking their own exaltation and advantage. Not content with doing their proper work, they are seeking an improper place.

Korah called the "flesh" holy, and so wanted to bring it into the sanctuary. This is not idolatry, but "flesh" seeking to handle the things of Christ. What is the service of the tabernacle? What are the sacrifices, the incense, everything within the consecrated place? They are all pictures of the coming Christ. So Korah's sin brings down a heavier judgment than the worship of the golden calf. God was more jealous for the honour of Christ — even when the matter was only shadows and symbols — than for His own name when Aaron joined it with idolatry.

This chapter is so solemn because the Spirit of God applies it to the coming course of Christendom. We all need its warning. The letter of Jude sets the beginning, the way and the end before us. "The way of Cain" is the great departure at the start of this world's moral history, where brother killed brother… "The error of Balaam" is the evil of turning the name of God into a means of earthly honour and gain, not without hypocrisy. The last is the one before us here, "Korah's rebellion," and here those who depart from God perish. This is not merely the selfish twisting of the truth into a means of advancement, driven by a covetous heart, bad as that was. It is open, deliberate insurrection against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the sent one of the Jewish faith, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and high priest of the faith we confess.

Has God given a man his place to fill — his work to do? Who will question this? Well then, let each one know his place and fill it — know his work and do it. Nothing in the world is more senseless than trying to take another's post or do another's work… Korah had his work; Moses had his. Why should one envy another?

What then was Korah? He was a Levite. As such he had the right to minister and to teach: "They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law." "The God of Israel has brought you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them." Such was Korah, and such his sphere of work. At what did he aim? At the priesthood.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. If God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it as from Him, that honour becomes only a stepping stone. He despises the God who gave it, and grasps after what God has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to value what God has allotted to us. Whatever is His will alone secures real joy and strength, and happy results to the glory of the Lord.

To a casual observer, Korah might not have looked like a man seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be fighting for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks him. Behind the convincing excuse of defending the rights of the congregation, he was boldly seeking the priesthood for himself. In most cases, loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are really seeking their own exaltation and advantage. Not content with doing their proper work, they are seeking an improper place.

Did Korah really care for all the congregation? No! He wanted to be the high priest himself. He accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves when it was plainly God who had exalted them. But Korah wanted to exalt himself, using his followers to this end.

As a Levite he had special privileges connected with the tabernacle and the holy vessels. He envied Aaron and wanted to push his way into the priesthood. As a picture, it matches the refusal of Christ's sacrificial work and of His exclusive place of nearness to God. He is the only One through whom anyone can come to God. This was not rebellion against man. It was rebellion against the authority of God, and against the merciful provision by which He had spared the guilty nation.

They were Levites, but desired the priesthood for themselves. This was a terrible mistake, and the Christian world has repeated it. People who should have been doing Levite service have interfered with the rights of Christ. They have set themselves up as a special class of "priests," as mediators between believers and God.

Has God given a man his place to fill — his work to do? Then let each one know his place and fill it, know his work and do it. Nothing in the world is more senseless than trying to take another's post or do another's work. Korah had his work; Moses had his. Why should one envy another?

Korah and his companions, then, were quarrelling with God and not with Moses and Aaron. God had called these two to fill a certain position and to do a certain work. It would have gone badly for them if they had refused. They had not aimed at the position or taken up the work themselves. God appointed them. This should have settled the question. It would have settled it for everyone except restless, self-occupied rebels, who sought to undermine the true servants of God so they could lift themselves up.

To a casual observer it might not have looked as if Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be contending for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks the man. Under the plausible excuse of standing up for the common rights of the congregation, he was boldly seeking the priesthood for himself. Loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are usually seeking their own promotion and advantage. Not content with doing their proper work, they are seeking an improper place.

Unbelief shows itself constantly in this very form. Suppose God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not take it as from Him. Then it only becomes a stepping stone for despising the God who gave it, while he grasps after what God has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to value what God has given us.

As a Levite, Korah had special privileges at the tabernacle and with its holy vessels. He envied Aaron and wanted to force his way into the priesthood. As a picture, that is the refusal of Christ's sacrificial work and of His exclusive place of nearness to God — the only One through whom anyone can come to Him. It was not rebellion against man. "What is Aaron that you grumble against him?" (Numbers 16:11). It was the authority of God, and the merciful provision by which He had spared the guilty nation.

Great men in the world do claim, in extraordinary fashion, rights even to the censer. Those rights in reality belong only to the Great High Priest in heaven. "What is Aaron that you grumble against him?" He is God's high priest, and beside him there is no other.

What makes this so solemn a chapter is that the Spirit of God applies it directly to the coming course of Christendom. We all need its warning. In the letter of Jude, the beginning, the way, and the end are all set before us. The last of the three is here — Korah's rebellion — and those who depart from God perish. This is not merely the selfish twisting of truth into a means of personal gain, bad as that was. It is open, deliberate insurrection against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the faith Israel professed, and Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and high priest of the faith we profess. To claim a priesthood for man now, and to exercise it, directly invades what only Jesus Christ can carry out at the right hand of God.

It seems Moses had a message for Dathan and Abiram too, so he sent to call them. But their reply was proud: "We will not come up." They accuse Moses of taking them from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill them in the wilderness. At the same time they accuse him of acting as a prince over them (vv. 12-14).

Dathan and Abiram were princes of Reuben, and their tents stood near those of the Kohathites. They joined the religious party, but they cared little for Aaron's honours. They cared a great deal about Moses' rule. They had descended from Jacob's firstborn, and others had taken their place.

Their names are Dathan, "laws, decrees," and Abiram, "my father is exalted." These are the sons of Eliab, "My God is Father." These meanings are not evil in themselves. Yet they suit well the claims they support. Those claims would have levelled the priesthood and the Levites' ministry, under the plea that all the people are holy. So Dathan could appeal to "laws" of ancient right, like the right of the firstborn, which the new restrictions had set aside. Abiram could point to his own father as exalted by this natural right. Their shared father's name might suggest the higher claim they do make: an equal relationship to God on every side.

Korah had his own special aim in the rebellion, though he was the instigator of it in others. In Dathan and Abiram we see the secular side, as in the rebellious Levite we see the religious. So Korah's words aim mainly at Aaron, while Dathan and Abiram speak against Moses. Both together picture the uprising of the world against Christ as Priest and King... The hour is coming when the religious and the secular powers will unite in bolder opposition to the rights of Christ, and unsparing judgment will follow, as it did in the wilderness on Korah, Dathan and Abiram.

Notice how twisted men are. All God's care to keep them remembering Him seems to count for nothing. Their rebellion is a greater sin than any before it... They call Egypt a land flowing with milk and honey; in their words Egypt was as good as Canaan. They accuse Moses of deceit for not bringing them into the promised land. But God had brought them to it, and their own unbelief had shut them out. But Moses wanted to be a prince! — the man who said, "Blot me out!" rather than have Israel destroyed. They were willfully blind to the mercy that was leading them through the wilderness, and they hated the mediator.

The words of Dathan and Abiram match their position. They say nothing about the congregation being holy, only that Moses had not kept his promise. It was a charge against God.

What will Moses do? As at many other times, he falls on his face, while Korah exalts himself. He leaves the decision to God: in the morning the LORD will show whom He chooses (v. 5). On the one hand, Moses relies on God's decision to confirm the position He has given to each one. On the other hand, he waits until the next morning. The situation is serious, but he does not want to rush. He would rather allow Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

Korah had his own special aim in the rebellion, though he stirred it up in others. In Dathan and Abiram we see the secular side, as in the rebellious Levite we see the religious side. So Korah's words strike more at Aaron, while Dathan and Abiram speak against Moses. Both together picture the uprising of the world against Christ as Priest and King.

Notice how twisted men can be. All God's care to keep them mindful of Him seems lost. Their rebellion is a greater sin than any before; the ribbon was to remind them that Egypt was a land of bondage and that God had brought them out. They call it a land flowing with milk and honey; Egypt was as good as Canaan. They accuse Moses of deceit for not bringing them into the promised land. They ignore two facts: God had brought them to it, and their own unbelief had shut them out.

The people sigh after the land of Egypt, and cast longing looks back at its fruits and its cooking pots. They say nothing about the whip of the slave-driver and the hard labour at the brick kilns. They remember nothing now except the things by which Egypt fed the appetites of nature. How often this is the case with us! The heart can lose its freshness in the divine life. Heavenly things can start to lose their taste. First love can decline. Christ can stop being a satisfying and altogether precious portion for the soul. The word of God and prayer can lose their charm and turn dull and mechanical. When that happens, the eye wanders back toward the world, the heart follows the eye, and the feet follow the heart.

Moses clearly had a message for Dathan and Abiram too. He sent to call them, but they answered with pride: "We will not come up." Of course these accusations were totally unfair. They had conveniently forgotten their own rebellion against entering the land of milk and honey. So in effect they are blaming Moses for their own glaring evils.

How ignorant they had been of everything that passed between the Lord and Moses on the top of Mount Horeb! They had been on the very edge of a terrible cliff. The intercession of Moses had saved them — the very man they had accused of taking too much upon him. How they had mistaken and misjudged him! They had accused this very man of self-seeking, and of wanting to make himself altogether a prince over them. Yet he had refused a God-given opportunity to become the head of a greater and mightier nation than they were. And this same man had begged that, if God would not forgive them and bring them into the land, his own name might be blotted out of the book.

The rebellion of Korah and a large company with him points to a dreadful revolt against Christ as both Lord and High Priest of His people. It also points to the awesome judgment of God that follows. Jude 11 shows this: "Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion." What a comment this is on the wickedness of man's heart! God has given many great proofs of His kindness and many warnings of His judgment against evil. Still men will reject His authority with pride, because they themselves want to rule.

Moses clearly had a message for Dathan and Abiram too, so he sent to call them. They answered him proudly: "We will not come up." They accuse Moses of taking them out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill them in the wilderness, and of acting as a prince over them at the same time (vs.12-14). These accusations were completely unfair. They had forgotten their own refusal to enter the land of milk and honey, so they are really blaming Moses for their own obvious evils.

Their rebellion is a greater sin than any before... They call Egypt a land flowing with milk and honey; Egypt was as good as Canaan. They accuse Moses of deceiving them by not bringing them into the promised land. They ignore the facts: God had brought them to it, and their own unbelief had shut them out. But Moses wanted to be a prince! — the man who said, "Blot me out!" rather than have Israel destroyed.

Dathan and Abiram wanted nothing to do with the religious test. "We will not come up," they said. "You have brought us up out of the true land of milk and honey, Egypt, to kill us in the wilderness, and for what reason — unless you are making yourself a prince over us?" The milk and honey, the fields and vineyards Moses had promised were shadows — his promises, dust thrown in men's eyes.

They were deliberately blind to the mercy that was leading them through the wilderness, and they hated the mediator.

His first allies are the sons of Reuben, the rejected first-born. That gave them a natural reason to join the revolt against the leaders God had appointed. Their names are Dathan, "laws, decrees," and Abiram, "my father is exalted."... So Dathan could speak of the "laws" of ancient right, such as the right of the first-born, set aside in favour of the new rules. Abiram could point to his own father as exalted by that natural right.

Korah had his own special aim in the rebellion, though he stirred it up in others. In Dathan and Abiram we see the secular side; in the rebellious Levite, the religious side. So Korah's words are aimed against Aaron, while Dathan and Abiram speak against Moses. Both together picture the uprising of the world against Christ as Priest and King.

Finally, through all the testing, the trials, the conflicts, and even the mercies and privileges of the wilderness, we must keep our eyes fixed on what lies ahead... The green fields and vine-covered hills of the heavenly Canaan, the pearl gates and golden streets of the New Jerusalem are to fill the vision of our souls... When the sand of the desert wears us down, let the thought of Canaan cheer us.

They accuse Moses of deceit in not bringing them into the promised land, ignoring the facts that God had brought them to it, and that their own unbelief had shut them out. But Moses wanted to be a prince! — the man who said, "Blot me out!" rather than that Israel should be consumed. What a terrible advance in evil!... They were deliberately blind to the mercy that was leading them through the wilderness, and they hated the mediator.

No one could charge Moses, Nehemiah or Paul with greed (Num. 16:15; Neh. 5:14-19; Acts 20:33-35). They served God for the honour of such a privilege. No one could fault their ministry for greed, gluttony or selfishness. They kept themselves pure... Honesty in handling what you are trusted with matters greatly — in your own affairs, in business, and with the church's funds.

It was true that the Lord was among them, as the people were very quickly to see in the judgment that followed. They challenged the leaders God had chosen. They did not realize they were challenging God, who had chosen them.

To a casual observer it might not have appeared that Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be contending for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks him. Under the believable cover of defending the common rights of the congregation, he was boldly seeking the priesthood for himself... You will usually find that loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are really seeking their own promotion and advantage... Nothing is more worthless than seeking a place for yourself. It is sure to end in disappointment and confusion. The great thing for each one is to fill his appointed place and do his appointed work — the more humbly and quietly, the better.

This bitter insult made Moses very angry, for the word he had given them was only the Lord's word.

Moses was right to be angry at this bitter hostility. Yet he did not need to ask God to refuse their offering. God knew that Moses had never oppressed the people, and God would act in perfect righteousness.

The ingratitude and rebellion Moses met might have made him walk away and leave the people to their fate. But he stays, aware of the responsibility of the place God gave him. He keeps his position of authority without losing his spirit of grace and humility.

This was placing the matter in the proper hands. Moses puts the whole weight on the sovereign rights of the Lord. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The whole question hinges upon the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment. The two hundred and fifty rebels are brought face to face with the living God. They are summoned into His presence, with their censers in their hands. There the whole matter can be examined and settled for good, before a court from which there is no appeal. It would have been useless for Moses and Aaron to give the judgement, since they were defendants in the case.

As he has done so often, he falls on his face and leaves the decision to God, while Korah lifts himself up. He says that in the morning the LORD will show whom He chooses (v.5). Moses relies on God's decision to confirm the position God has given to each one. Yet he also waits until the next day. He does not want to act in haste, however grave the situation is. He would rather allow Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

They persuade two hundred and fifty princes, who do not appear to belong to the tribe of Levi, to join them in the priestly function. Why not, if all the congregation are "holy?" Moses rebukes their presumption and warns them: tomorrow the Lord will show who are His and who is holy. And each man takes his censer and dares to meet the judgment of God. Aaron must be there too, so that God may confirm in public the position He gave him.

But it is Moses who gives instructions to Korah as to what he is to do. Let him and his company, as well as Aaron, bring their censers before the Lord (vs.16-17). Korah was determined to push ahead boldly, despite clear warnings about such folly. He and his large company dared to act as priests at the door of the tabernacle (vs.18-19).

As to the appointment of the earthly priest, no one takes this honour for himself; God calls him, as God called Aaron. Here again we are reminded of a parallel to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, whom God has not called. See how serious it is to neglect this great truth: judgment fell on Korah and those with him, who tried to make themselves priests without God's call. Jude warns us that many in Christendom will appoint themselves priests in the same way, without God's call, and will perish in Korah's rebellion.

There is only one great High Priest, who has passed into the heavens. What, then, will be the judgment on those who usurp His place as priests on earth?

It is always well, when people are seeking a place, to let them have it, to their heart's content; for certainly, the very place they have foolishly aspired to will become the scene of their plain defeat and sad confusion. … Those who find themselves the target of envious attack should simply fall on their faces before God, and let Him settle the question with the complainers.

Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of Jehovah. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The whole question hinges upon the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment. This brings the two hundred and fifty rebels face to face with the living God. God calls them into His presence, with their censers in their hands. There the whole matter can be gone into fully and settled before that great court, and from that court there is no appeal.

A small metal vessel, made to hold burning coals from the altar. The priest sprinkled incense on the coals, so that a cloud of incense rose from it. The same word appears when Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their company were put to the test. Their censers were probably made in a hurry, since 250 were needed.

They want to be priests, so Moses tells them to take priestly censers with fire and incense. They must bring them before the Lord the next day. The test would show whether or not they were priests.

God may put an honour on a man. If that man does not take it as from God, the honour becomes only a stepping stone. He despises the God who gave it, and grasps after what God has never given. Nothing makes a heart so discontented as failing to value what God has given us.

To a casual observer it might not have appeared that Korah was seeking anything for himself. He seemed to be contending for the rights of the whole assembly. But Moses, by the Spirit of God, unmasks him. Under the plausible excuse of standing up for the common rights of the people, he was making a bold grab at the priesthood for himself.

Korah and his company had disowned Aaron as the priest of God. They claimed equal holiness and nearness for all Israel… It was a fine show of godliness. Were they not claiming equal priestly privileges for all? And was this not right? But it filled Moses with horror, and he fell on his face. He saw that they were refusing more than Aaron. They were refusing this truth: as a sinful people, they could have no standing before God at all, except through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

No one can truly take the place of a priest, in any sense of the word, unless God calls him. See how serious it is to neglect this great truth. Judgment overtook Korah and those with him. They tried to set themselves up as priests without God's call.

There is no such thing as a priest on earth now, except in the sense that all believers are priests… Every Christian is a priest in that sense. The very weakest saint in the church of God is as much a priest as Paul was. It is not a question of capacity or spiritual power, but simply of position.

A small metal vessel. It held burning coals from the altar, and the priest sprinkled incense on them, so that a cloud of incense rose from it. The same word appears when the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were put to the test. Their censers were probably made in haste, since 250 were needed.

Moses gives great prominence to the sovereign rights of the Lord. "The Lord will show" and "The Lord will choose." There is not a syllable about himself or Aaron. The whole question hinges on the Lord's choice and the Lord's appointment. The two hundred and fifty rebels are brought face to face with the living God. They come into His presence with their censers in their hands. There the whole matter will be gone into in full and settled, before a tribunal from which there can be no appeal. It would clearly have been useless for Moses and Aaron to judge the case. They were the defendants in it.

Korah was determined to push ahead in defiance, despite the warnings about such folly. He and his large company presumed to act as priests at the door of the tabernacle.

Each time the camp moved, there was the reminder. The priest had a place and a service at the tabernacle which no mere Levite could ever reach. There was a great gulf between the two, and nothing could bridge it. Some of the Kohathites, led by Korah, presumed to put themselves on a level with the priests, and God dealt with them in judgment. Their censers were turned into beaten plates to cover the altar. They served as a memorial for all time, that no one outside the family of Aaron was to draw near to burn incense before the Lord.

It was quite true that all the people were "holy." That is, they were a people God had set apart for Himself. Yet they denied that fact again and again by the way they lived. It was true that the Lord was among them, as the people were very quickly to see in the judgment that followed. They did not realise that in challenging the leaders whom God had chosen, they were challenging God, who had chosen them.

There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a moving picture of One greater than Aaron. That One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work. Priesthood alone could bring the people through the wilderness.

This is more than twisting the truth into a means of self-advancement, to feed the covetousness of the heart. Bad as that was, this is open, deliberate insurrection against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish faith, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of our faith. To claim and exercise a priesthood now for man invades what only Jesus Christ can carry out, at the right hand of God.

Korah and his company would get their answer from God Himself the next day. They were to take censers with fire and incense, and present themselves at the door of the tabernacle, as though they were priests. Dathan and Abiram refused to come up, and were content to hurl insults and false accusations at Moses. Verse 19 shows that nearly all the people supported Korah in particular. The situation was one of extreme danger.

Their argument rested on this: "all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them." But did Korah care about the whole congregation? No! He wanted to be the high priest himself (vs. 10-11). He accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves (v. 3) when it was plainly God who had exalted them. But Korah wanted to exalt himself, using his followers to this end.

Korah and his company, therefore, were quarrelling with God and not with Moses and Aaron. God had called these two to occupy a certain position and to do a certain work, and woe to them if they refused. They had not aimed at the position or taken up the work themselves; God ordained them. This ought to have settled the question. It would have settled it for everyone except restless, self-occupied rebels, who sought to undermine the true servants of God to exalt themselves.

This fresh rebellion, like that in chapter 14, was not against God's servants, but against the Lord Himself. They were calling His glory into question. They were challenging His right to choose whom He would. So the Lord came down Himself, displaying His glory, to meet the challenge of Korah and his company. How very solemn for Korah, and for Dathan and Abiram, was the presence of the divine glory they had despised.

Korah and his company had disowned Aaron as the priest of God, by claiming equal holiness and nearness for all Israel (Num. 16:3). With this fine show of piety, were they not claiming equal priestly privileges for all, and was not this right? But it filled Moses with horror, and he fell upon his face. He saw that it was not only a refusal of Aaron (ver. 11), but a refusal of this: as a sinful people, they could have no possible standing before God except through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

The double rebellion grows to the point of involving the whole assembly (v. 19). What will Moses do? As at so many other times, he falls on his face (whereas Korah exalts himself) and leaves the decision to God, saying, "In the morning the LORD will show … whom He chooses" (v. 5). On the one hand, Moses relies on God's decision to confirm the position He has given to each one. On the other hand, he waits until "tomorrow." He does not want to rush, despite how serious the situation is. He would rather allow Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

In the letter of Jude the beginning, the way, and the end are set before us perfectly. The last of them is "the rebellion of Korah," and here those who depart from God perish. This is not just the selfish twisting of truth into a means of self-advancement, driven by a covetous heart — bad as that was. It is open, deliberate insurrection against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish profession, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of our profession.

This new rebellion, like the one in chapter 14, was not against God's servants. It was against the Lord Himself. They were calling His glory in question. They were challenging His right to choose whom He would. So the Lord came down Himself, in the display of His glory, to meet the challenge of Korah and his company. For Korah, and for Dathan and Abiram, the presence of the divine glory they had despised was very solemn indeed.

You will usually find that loud talkers about the liberties, rights, and privileges of God's people are really seeking their own exaltation and advantage. They are not content to do their proper work, so they reach for a place that is not theirs.

Then the Lord stepped in. But He spoke first to Moses and Aaron, telling them to separate from the company of evil doers and leave God free to consume the congregation (vs.20-21). Yet Moses and Aaron were ready at once to plead for the congregation. They asked God not to consume them all, but to make a difference between the guilty leaders and those they had led (v.22).

Because the case is so serious, God cannot show mercy. A simple exclusion from the assembly is no longer possible for these men. One must depart from them and leave them to their fate.

Again, the man they falsely accused of self-seeking intercedes for the people. "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin [this clearly points to Korah, the ringleader] and will you be angry with all the congregation?" God hears his cry, and the congregation is warned to separate from the "dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram."

There is great force and beauty in this title, which faith gave to God at a time when nothing but faith could have counted on His interest in these men and His care for them — men who had made their stubbornness and self-will all too clear. And we do well to remember that He is "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (see Num. 16:22). He is never indifferent to what His power has formed.

It means that God is not only Creator but also He has authority over His creatures and over all humanity. All the spirits of men are subject to this sovereign God.

So the whole people had to learn that only the intercession of Moses — a picture of Christ — could keep them from destruction. They also had to learn that God's judgment does not spare guilty people who will not repent.

Again, in Numbers 16, "Korah gathered all the congregation against" Moses and Aaron "to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Then the glory of the Lord "appeared to all the congregation" (verse 19). This fresh rebellion, like that in chapter 14, was not against God's servants, but against the Lord Himself. They called His glory in question. They challenged His right to choose whom He would. And the Lord had come down Himself, displaying His glory, to meet the challenge of Korah and his company.

Verse 19 shows that nearly all the people supported Korah in particular. The danger was extreme.

Then the Lord stepped in. But He spoke first to Moses and Aaron, telling them to separate from the company of evildoers and leave God free to consume the congregation (vv. 20-21). Yet, beautifully, Moses and Aaron were ready to intercede for the congregation at once. They pleaded with God not to consume them all, but to make a difference between the guilty leaders and those they had led (v. 22).

There is never much use in arguing with restless, discontented people. Far better to leave them in the Lord's hands, for their real quarrel is with Him. Suppose God sets a man in a certain position and gives him a certain work to do. If his fellows choose to quarrel with him simply because he does that work and fills that position, then their quarrel is really with God. And God knows how to settle it, and will do it in His own way.

There is great force and beauty in the title faith gives to God here. It comes at a time when nothing but faith could have counted on His interest in, and His care for, men who had made their stubbornness and self-will all too plain. And we do well to remember that He is "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (see Num. 16:22), and is never indifferent to what His power has formed.

"Korah's rebellion" — and here those who depart from God perish. This is not merely the selfish twisting of the truth into a means of self-advancement, driven by a covetous heart, bad as that was. It is open, deliberate insurrection against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish profession, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of our profession. For a man to claim and exercise a priesthood now is a direct invasion of what only Jesus Christ can carry out, at the right hand of God.

Then the Lord stepped in. But He spoke first to Moses and Aaron, telling them to separate from the company of evil doers and leave God free to consume the congregation (vs.20-21). Yet Moses and Aaron were ready to intercede for the congregation at once. They pleaded with God not to consume them all, but to make a difference between the guilty leaders and those they had led (v.22).

Again, the man they had falsely accused of self-seeking intercedes for the people. "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will You be angry with all the congregation?" The one man clearly points to Korah, who started it all. God hears his cry, and He warns the congregation to separate themselves from the "dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram."

There is great force and beauty in the title faith gives God here. At that moment nothing but faith could have counted on His interest in, and care for, men who had shown their stubbornness and self-will all too plainly. And we do well to remember that He is "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (see Num. 16:22), and He is never indifferent to what His power has formed.

He is also the "God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num. 16:22), because the spirit is the only thing by which we know God, or in that sense have a God at all. It is what lets us know a person's own thoughts (1 Cor. 2:11), and several passages translate the same word as "mind" or "understanding," which is clearly its true sense. Scripture never uses it of an animal. In Scripture "all flesh" usually means people only: as where God promises to pour out the Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17), or where all flesh is to see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6).

The Old Testament already says that God is the God of the spirits of all men. In Numbers 16:22 we read that "God is the God of the spirits of all flesh". This means God is not only Creator; He also has authority over His creatures and over all humanity. All the spirits of men are subject to this sovereign God.

So the whole people had to learn that only the intercession of Moses — a picture of Christ — could keep them from destruction. They also had to learn that God's judgment does not spare guilty people who refuse to repent.

Fear overtook Israel and they fled from the site of the opened earth. They need not have done this, for God had limited His judgment to the guilty.

The Lord answered their faith by telling them to warn the people to separate from the guilty leaders, Korah, Dathan and Abiram (vv. 23–24). Moses at once gave the message to the congregation, and they were concerned enough to obey God's word. Korah, Dathan and Abiram came out to stand at the door of their tents, with the wives, their sons and children (v. 27).

Then the Lord stepped in. But He spoke first to Moses and Aaron. He told them to separate from the company of evildoers and leave God free to consume the congregation (vv. 20–21). Yet here is something beautiful: Moses and Aaron were ready to intercede at once for the congregation. They pleaded with God not to consume them all, but to make a difference between the guilty leaders and the people they had led (v. 22).

It was quite true that all the people were "holy." That is, they were a people God had set apart for Himself. Yet it was a fact they kept denying by the way they lived. It was true that the Lord was among them, as the people were very quickly to see in the judgment that followed. They did not see the real issue. In challenging the leaders God had chosen, they were challenging God, who had chosen them.

Korah's rebellion is a revolt against the authority of Christ and against the distinctive character of His priesthood. It is a revolt stirred up by a man who holds the position of a minister but pretends that he is a priest. In doing so he sets aside the only true heavenly priesthood of Christ.

The Lord's message on that occasion had two parts: "Tomorrow the Lord will show who are His" (v. 5), and "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men" (v. 26).

Because the case is so serious, God cannot show mercy. A simple exclusion from the assembly is no longer possible for these men. One must depart from them and leave them to their fate.

God hears his cry, and the warning goes out to the congregation: separate yourselves from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. What a scene now appears! There stand Korah and his company with their censers, proud and presumptuous, daring the judgment of God. At the door of their tents stand Dathan and Abiram with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What a moment of expectation for the assembled thousands of Israel!

How terrible is sin in the sight of the Lord! "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins. So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side." Now notice: in the next clause Korah is left out. In verse 25 nothing is said about the sons of Korah going down with their father. But in Numbers 26:11 we read, "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace they were saved from going down alive into the pit.

The Lord answered their faith by telling them to warn the people to separate from the guilty leaders, Korah, Dathan and Abiram (vs.23-24). Moses at once gave the message to the congregation, who were concerned enough to obey God's word.

The sin was this: it was the ministers of God seeking also to take over the priesthood. There was only one high priest in Israel, a picture of our only one great High Priest, who has passed into the heavens. Rebellion against Aaron was sin against the Lord.

What a scene now presents itself! There stand Korah and his company with their censers in proud presumption, daring God's judgment. In the door of their tents see Dathan and Abiram with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What a moment of expectation for the assembled thousands of Israel! One word more — not only a warning, a call to separate from the guilty leaders, but the sentence of death.

First, "the way of Cain," which was a way of self-will in approaching God: he ignored God's way and came in his own way. Second, "Balaam's error" for reward. This was self-seeking under cover of religion. Third, "Korah's rebellion," which was self-assertion in the things of God. Jude shows that those who reach this third stage will perish.

These two statements plainly foreshadow the instruction the apostles give us for the times when we meet error face to face. Such error challenges the foundations of our faith, and it overthrows the faith of those who fall under its influence. We are neither sovereign nor all-knowing. God is both, and in due season He will make clear who are His. We are, however, responsible to act in keeping with His word, and to avoid all sharing in the error and evil.

He says, "Depart; do not touch a thing; get out of their tents." But you say, "That is the command of the law. Whoever says that is harsh and unchristian." Is it? Listen to what John, the beloved disciple, says: "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching (the Cross and all that goes with it) has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting." That is the same thing Moses said. Whether it is in the Law or in the Gospel, God does not change His demands when it comes to believing on Himself and His Word.

Now notice that in the next clause Korah is left out. There is no statement that the sons of Korah went down with their father. In Numbers 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace they were saved from going down alive into the pit.

There is a conspiracy under the fairest pretensions possible. This does not mend matters. The basest things sometimes put on the most pious appearance. No one should be fooled by how something sounds… Some of them belonged to the ministering class. Others were chief men in the congregation. On the whole they represented what people today would call leading men in church and state.

It is a good thing when the pride that Satan knows so well how to stir up brings out nothing but lowliness and humbling of our souls before God. Pride tends to provoke pride, and flesh to irritate flesh. But it was not so with Moses.

Then the Lord stepped in. He spoke first to Moses and Aaron, telling them to separate from the company of evil doers and leave God free to consume the congregation (vs.20-21). Yet Moses and Aaron were ready to intercede at once for the congregation. They pleaded with God not to consume everyone, but to make a difference between the guilty leaders and those who followed them (v.22).

In our chapter Moses answers Korah and his company, "the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy." To Dathan and Abiram he had to say, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs." These two sayings clearly point forward to the instruction the apostles give us. We need it when we come face to face with error that attacks the foundations of our faith… We are neither sovereign nor all-knowing. God is both, and in due season He will make clear who are His. We are however responsible to act in line with His word, and avoid all sharing in the error and evil.

There stand Korah and his company with their censers, in proud presumption daring the judgment of God. At the door of their tents, see Dathan and Abiram with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What a moment of waiting for the assembled thousands of Israel! Then one word more. It is not only a warning, a call to separate from the guilty leaders. It is the sentence of death — and not a common death, but a death unheard of before. "But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD."

How terrible sin is in the sight of the Lord!… Yet in Num. 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace He saved them from going down alive into the pit. And that was not all. As part of the family of Kohath they received the cities of refuge, and Hebron is named first (1 Chr. 6:54-67). Oh, how our God delights in mercy!

The Lord answered their faith by telling them to warn the people to separate from the guilty leaders, Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Moses at once gave the message to the congregation, who were concerned enough to obey God's word.

He says, "Leave. Do not touch a thing. Get out of their tents and out of their villages, even if it is a brother or sister. Get away from them." But you say, "That is the command of the law. Whoever says that is harsh and that is unchristian." Is it? … Whether it is in the Law or in the Gospel, God does not change His demands when it comes to believing on Himself and His Word.

These men learn nothing from the situation. On the contrary, they stand in the entrance of their tents with their wives, their sons and their little ones. They defy the entire assembly.

There stand Korah and his company with their incense burners, in proud presumption daring the judgment of God. In the door of their tents, see Dathan and Abiram with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What a moment of expectation for the assembled thousands of Israel! … They had spoken wickedly against the man the Lord had chosen, and defiantly they stood. Their judgment came suddenly, and there was no remedy.

Dathan and Abiram seem to have pressed their claim again to the rights of the firstborn, and their rebellion was mainly against Moses as leader. But Moses and Aaron cannot be separated here, for Christ, whom they both pictured, is both King and Priest. So we find Korah, of the tribe of Levi, joined with the sons of Reuben, and Korah's rebellion was chiefly against the priesthood of Aaron. … As a picture, it answers to the refusal of Christ's sacrificial work and of His unique place of nearness to God — the only One through whom anyone can come to God. It was not rebellion against man. "What is Aaron that you grumble against him?" They rebelled against the authority of God, and against the mercy by which He had spared the guilty nation.

How the judgment on Dathan and Abiram and their households humbles the soul! How awful the thought of the earth opening its mouth and swallowing them up! And for what? For their rebellion against what God had appointed. In the history given in Numbers, Korah, the Levite, is the prominent character; but here Moses leaves him out and names the two Reubenites instead — two members of the congregation. He is seeking to act on the whole body of the people by setting before them the terrible result of self-will in two of their own number. They were two ordinary members, as we should say, and not just a privileged Levite.

The children of Dathan, Abiram, and the rest were all swallowed up. But, wonderful to say, there was one exception. Where was it? Some unusually faithful person, who had the misfortune of being closely tied to them? Not at all. The exception of grace was in the household of the very worst of them. The people who, as man would have thought, deserved least of all to be spared were exactly the ones God kept this special grace for — the sons of Korah! Korah led and organised the whole rebellion, and his position as well as his conduct made him the most guilty of all. … Is not this the true grace of God? … Grace is no new thing with Him.

How little they understood that Moses had not wanted to be Israel's leader (Ex. 3:10-11; 4:1-13), but God absolutely required him to be. Their argument rests on this: "all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them." Did Korah really care for all the congregation? No! He wanted to be the high priest himself (vs. 10-11). He accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves (v. 3) when it was plainly God who had exalted them. But Korah wanted to exalt himself, using his followers to this end.

Korah and his company, therefore, were quarrelling with God and not with Moses and Aaron. God had called these men to hold a certain position and to do a certain work, and woe to them if they refused. They had not aimed at the position or taken up the work themselves; God appointed them. This ought to have settled the question. It would have settled it for everyone except restless, self-occupied rebels, who tried to undermine the true servants of God and exalt themselves. This is always the way with those who promote division or discontent. Their real object is to make themselves somebody.

Moses, in these words, makes it a question simply between the Lord and the rebels. He can appeal to God, and leave everything in His hands. This is the true secret of moral power. A man who has nothing of his own to seek — no aim or object but the divine glory — can wait with confidence to see how things turn out. But for this, the eye must be undivided, the heart upright, the purpose pure. It will not do to assume or pretend anything.

Moses relies on God's decision to confirm the position He has given to each one. At the same time, he waits until "tomorrow." He does not want to rush, serious as the situation is. He prefers to give Korah and those with him enough time to repent.

"A new thing." This, then, was not a mere earthquake. Whatever causes earthquakes now, this one had no natural cause. It was the direct act of God in a marked and special judgment. Nothing is as terrifying as an earthquake. This one carries a mark: it came when men first attacked the rights of Christ as King, in the person of Moses.

With these men it was a rebellion about religious office: they "contended against the LORD" in His appointed priesthood. The whole rebellion was a picture of opposition to the kingship and priesthood of Christ.

And let the reader note this carefully. To aim at any other form of priesthood than this is, in principle, the sin of Korah. So is taking up any other priestly function. So is setting up a special priestly class — a group of men who act on behalf of their fellows, or who carry out priestly service for them before God. We only speak of the principle, not of persons. The seed of the sin is as clear as possible. In time there will be the full-grown fruit.

Then Moses spoke as a prophet, and with great seriousness. He showed Israel that he had not acted by his own will in what he did, but as God directed him. He tells them that if these men died merely natural deaths, God had not spoken through Moses. But if the Lord created a new thing, making the earth open and swallow them up, then it would be clear that these men had rejected the Lord Himself.

Moses, in these words, makes it simply a question between the Lord and the rebels. He can appeal to God and leave everything in His hands. This is the true secret of moral power. A man who has nothing of his own to seek — no aim or object but the divine glory — can confidently wait for how things turn out. But for this, the eye must be single, the heart upright, the purpose pure. It will not do to assume or pretend anything. If God is going to judge, He will most certainly expose all pretence and play-acting. Such pretending has no place when the earth is opening its mouth and the fire of the Lord is burning up everything around. It is easy to swagger and boast and speak big words while all is at rest. But when God steps into the scene in terrible judgment, the look of things changes fast.

The sin of Korah was twofold. On one side, he openly rebelled against Moses and Aaron. He said, "You have gone too far… why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" On the other side, he was not content with his own position. He seized the place of priestly intercession that belonged to Aaron alone. He sought to pull Moses and Aaron down to the level of the congregation, and to lift himself up to the level of Aaron.

That judgment was no new thing; the earth opening and swallowing them up was both new and unexpected. Moses had warned them, saying, "if the LORD creates something new." But those standing around Dathan and his company did not seem to believe it was possible. Neither did the men who died. So terror gripped the surrounding crowd. They fled at the cry of those who went down alive into the pit, saying, "Lest the earth swallow us up too." But it worked no change in them.

Truly, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." How much better it would have been for Korah to rest content with his Levite service! That service was of the very highest order. As a Kohathite, his work was to carry some of the most precious vessels of the sanctuary. But he aimed at the priesthood, and fell into the pit.

About the appointment of the priest on earth: "No one takes this honour for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was." Here again we see an analogy to the priesthood of Christ. No one can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word, who is not called by God. Neglecting this great truth is a deeply serious thing. We see it in the judgment that overtook Korah and those with him. They tried to establish themselves in the priesthood without a call from God.

Moses, in these words, makes it a question simply between the Lord and the rebels. He can appeal to God, and leave everything in His hands. This is the true secret of moral power. A man who has nothing of his own to seek can confidently wait for the outcome. He has no aim or object but the divine glory. But for this, the eye must be single, the heart upright, the purpose pure. It will not do to assume or pretend anything.

The sin of Korah was twofold. On one hand, he openly rebelled against Moses and Aaron: "You have gone too far… why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" On the other hand, he was not content with his own position. He seized the place of priestly intercession that belonged to Aaron alone (Num. 16:3, 9-10). He sought to drag Moses and Aaron down to the level of the congregation, and to lift himself up to the level of Aaron.

They had seen Nadab and Abihu perish by fire from the LORD; but here are two hundred and fifty princes, men of renown, who are consumed in a moment. That judgment was no new thing; the earth opening and swallowing them up was both new and unexpected. Moses had warned them, saying, "if the LORD creates something new." Yet those who stood around Dathan and his company did not seem to believe it possible, any more than those who did perish. So the surrounding crowd was terrified.

We may add that the word "quick" does not refer to the suddenness of the act, but means they went down living into sheol.

Now in the following passages… Num. 16:30, 33… Sheol cannot well mean anything but "the grave"… while elsewhere its general reference is mostly to the place of departed spirits.

It must be noted that the sons of Korah did not perish. A careful reading of verses 27-33 brings out this fact. Chapter 26:11 settles it beyond doubt: "But the sons of Korah did not die." Sovereign grace saved them from the terrible fate of their father. They were saved from the pit. Mercy was remembered in wrath… And more than that, the Holy Spirit inspired them to write some of the beautiful Psalms. Read Psalm 84.

To aim at any other form of priesthood than this is, in principle, the sin of Korah. So is taking up any other priestly function. So is setting up a priestly class — a group of men to act on behalf of their fellows, or to carry out priestly service for them before God. We only speak of the principle, not of persons. The seed of the sin is as clear as possible. In time there will be the full-grown fruit.

In Korah, of the tribe of Levi, we see men given a place of nearness in ministry pushing into privileges that belonged to the high priest alone… So too, in the coming day, God will have the Antichrist cast into the lake of fire. He is the false prophet who would take Christ's place.

Then Moses spoke solemnly as a prophet, to show Israel that he had not acted by his own will, but as God directed him. He tells them that if these men died natural deaths, God had not spoken by Moses. But if the Lord created a new thing, making the earth open and swallow them up, then one thing would be clear: these men had rejected the Lord Himself.

Moses, in these words, makes it a question simply between the Lord and the rebels. He can appeal to God, and leave everything in His hands. This is the true secret of moral power. A man who has nothing of his own to seek — no aim or object but the divine glory — can confidently wait for how things turn out. But for this, the eye must be single, the heart upright, the purpose pure. It will not do to assume or pretend anything.

That judgment by fire was no new thing. The earth opening and swallowing them up was both new and unexpected. Moses had warned them, saying, "If the Lord makes a new thing." But those who stood around Dathan and his company seemed to believe it no more than the men who perished did. That explains the terror of the surrounding crowd. They fled at the cry of those who went down alive into the pit, saying, "Lest the earth swallow us up too." But it produced no change in them.

Unbelief constantly shows itself in this very form. If God puts an honour on a man, and the man does not receive it as from Him, that honour becomes only a stepping stone. The man despises the God who gave it, while grasping after what God has never given him. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that fails to put the right value on what God has given us.

How much better it would have been for Korah if he had been content with his Levite service, which was of the very highest order. His work as a Kohathite was to carry some of the most precious vessels of the sanctuary, but he aimed at the priesthood, and fell into the pit.

The last case before us is the rebellion of Korah, and here those who depart from God perish. This was not just the selfish twisting of truth into a means of self-advancement, bad as that was. It was open, deliberate revolt against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the faith Israel confessed, and Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of the faith we confess. For a man to claim and exercise a priesthood now is a direct invasion of what only Jesus Christ can do at the right hand of God.

In Numbers 26:11 we meet the exception that sovereign mercy made: "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die." Notice this in connection with the Psalms — the eleven Psalms "for the sons of Korah."

If God gives us a crossing to sweep, let us sweep it, under His eye and to His praise. The great and all-essential point is this: be found doing the very work He gives us to do, and filling the very post He appoints us to. Had Korah and his company learnt this, their piercing cry would never have terrified the hearts of their brothers. But no; they would be something when they were nothing, and so they went down into the pit. If we are governed by the rule of God's kingdom, we shall find that the only way to get up is to go down.

Unbelief constantly shows itself in this very form. If God puts an honour on a man, and he does not receive it as from Him, that honour only becomes a stepping stone. He despises the God who gave it, while grasping after what He has never given. Nothing produces such dissatisfaction as a heart that puts the wrong value on what God has given us.

How much better it would have been for Korah if he had been content with his Levite service. It was of the very highest order. As a Kohathite, his work was to carry some of the most precious vessels of the sanctuary. But he aimed at the priesthood, and fell into the pit.

One word more. It was not only a warning, a call to separate from the guilty leaders. It was the sentence of death — and not a common death, but a death unheard of before... At once the earth opens. They go down alive into the pit. They perish from among the congregation... They had spoken wickedly against the Lord's anointed, and they stood there in defiance. Their judgment came suddenly, and there was no remedy.

Numbers 26:10 seems to say that the earth swallowed up Korah. But Numbers 16:32 speaks only of "the people who belonged to Korah". And in Deuteronomy 11:6 and Psalm 106:17-18 only Dathan and Abiram are named as swallowed up. There was an exception in the case of Korah: his children were not included in the punishment. Several psalms carry the names of his sons or descendants, who took part in the service of song.

In the case of Korah the judgment came straight from the hand of God in His dwelling-place. In the case of the others it came through God's ordering of the forces of nature.

The exception of grace was in the household of the very worst of them. As man would have thought, the people who deserved it least were the very ones for whom God reserved this special grace — the sons of Korah! ... Where can you find a finer sample of grace's power, and of how it rises above every circumstance? Look at the grace that singled out and saved the children of Korah — the most infamous of those who had conspired against Moses and Aaron, the two men who pictured Christ as king and priest.

Jude sets before us the beginning, the way, and the end... The last stage is Korah's rebellion, and here those who depart from God perish. This is not just the selfish twisting of truth into a means of self-advancement, driven by the greed of the heart — bad as that is. It is open, planned rebellion against the rights of Christ Himself. Moses was the apostle of the Jewish faith, as Aaron was its high priest. Christ is the apostle and the high priest of the faith we confess. To claim and exercise a priesthood for man today is a direct invasion of work that Jesus Christ alone can carry out at the right hand of God.

In Korah, of the tribe of Levi, we see men who had been given a place of nearness in ministry pushing into the rights that belong to the high priest alone. This is a complete denial of the necessity of the priesthood of Christ... So too, in the day that is coming, God will have the Antichrist cast into the lake of fire — the false prophet who would seize the place of Christ.

"A new thing." This then was not a mere earthquake. Whatever causes earthquakes now, there was no natural cause for this one. It was the direct act of God in marked and special judgment. Nothing is so terrifying as an earthquake. This one bears the mark of its timing: it came when men first openly attacked the rights of Christ as King, in the person of Moses.

Moses tells them that if these men died ordinary deaths, God had not spoken through him. But if the Lord created a new thing, making the earth open and swallow them up, then it would be clear that these men had rejected the Lord Himself.

As to the word "into," we can speak of an individual going into death, who may never be in the grave at all. The moment a man dies he is in death. The body usually waits hours or days before burial. "In" or "into" can apply to a condition just as much as to a place. We may add that the word "quick" does not refer to the suddenness of the act, but means they went down living into sheol.

The mistake starts with a wrong idea of what the term sheol covers. It really includes the grave, as well as the region where spirits, still without their bodies, wait for their resurrection... The congregation of Dathan and Abiram went down alive into the pit (sheol)... People understood sheol as what we might call the whole underworld. They thought of both body and soul as entering it.

How much better it would have been for Korah to stay content with his Levite service. It was of the very highest order. His work as a Kohathite was to carry some of the most precious vessels of the sanctuary. But he aimed at the priesthood, and fell into the pit.

Moses saw that this was not only a refusal of Aaron. It was a refusal of this truth: as a sinful people, they could have no standing before God except through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

Sovereign grace saved the sons of Korah from the awful fate of the father. They were saved from the pit. Mercy was remembered in wrath... And more than that, the Holy Spirit inspired them to write some of the beautiful Psalms. Read Psalm 84, "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts."

Korah's rebellion is the last stage in this wilderness history. Jude sees it as the last form of the evil in the Christian world, an evil already at work in his own day... He shows how that evil develops. First comes "the way of Cain" — that is, self-righteousness, which has no need of the atoning sacrifice. Then comes the spirit of Balaam, leading others astray for pay. Finally comes what we have here, the rebellion of Korah, the height of their wickedness, in which they perish. The final step is open opposition to God, and to Him whom "God has made both Lord and Christ": so their doom is assured.

It was a fearful thing to sin against Aaron. Is it then a light matter to sin now against Christ, by taking over the work of the priesthood? We earnestly urge you to repent before the terrible judgment, now so near at hand, overtakes you.

Korah and his company had disowned Aaron as the priest of God. They claimed equal holiness and nearness for all Israel: "all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?" (Num. 16:3). They made a fine show of piety. Were they not claiming equal priestly privileges for all? Was this not right? But it filled Moses with horror, and he fell on his face. He saw that it was not only a refusal of Aaron (v. 11). It was also a refusal of this: as a sinful people, they could have no possible standing before God except through the priest who offered the sacrifice.

These princes brought the fire of their own censers. In answer, the judgment fire of the LORD came out, and they perished at the entrance of the tabernacle. Their presumption became a warning to Israel for all time. Their sin is just as much a warning to all censer-bearers who would be priests without God's call. They are really enemies of the altar of Christ's cross.

Further, he says, "no one takes this honor for himself, but only when he is called by God, just as Aaron was." Aaron was called by God. Korah and his company rebelled, and he exalted himself against Moses and against Aaron the priest. What was the result? Each man had to come before the sanctuary with his censer. As these men who would force their way into the high priest's office drew near, fire from God's holy presence came out and destroyed them.

The ground had only just closed over the rebels when "fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense." It was a terrifying scene altogether — a clear and soul-subduing display of divine judgment on human pride and pretension. It is useless for man to exalt himself against God, for He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. What complete folly for worms of the dust to lift themselves up against the almighty God! Poor man! He is far more foolish than the moth that rushes into the blaze that burns it up.

God pressed this lesson home by making the bronze censers into plates to cover the bronze altar. That kept the certainty of judgment before their eyes — judgment on anyone who despises the sacrifice and priest of God. But He linked it with the altar. He would not merely give warning. He would also turn the eye to the effective shelter from that judgment, which He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

Korah's sin ruined himself and his followers. It was proud discontent with the service of the Levites, and an ungodly claim to the priesthood. It was rebellion against Moses and Aaron, types of Christ in this. Christian ministry is the exercise of a gift from the Lord. He gives some and sends them, for the good of all. But all saints are priests, with equal freedom to enter the true sanctuary. Some seize this nearness to God beyond what grace has given to all the saints, and in denial of it. Without realising it, they misunderstand and cancel a chief blessing of Christianity.

The Lord spoke again to Moses. He told him to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron to pick up the censers out of the ashes. The reason was that the censers were holy, even though the men who dared to use them were unholy (vs.36-37). Then the censers were to be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar (v.38). They were copper censers, so they covered the copper altar outside the tabernacle door. This covering was a constant reminder to Israel: no one outside Aaron's line could offer incense before the Lord. Anyone who dared to would suffer a fate like that of Korah and his followers (v.40).

First, this one priesthood must be fenced off from every intrusion. Judgment has already shown this in the destruction of the men who offered incense. But a memorial of it must be kept. Eleazar — notice how quickly we come to Eleazar — is told to take the censers out of the burning, and plates are to be made from them to cover the altar. They stand as a warning against anyone not of Aaron's family pushing into the priest's place.

This lesson is pressed home by making the copper censers into plates to cover the copper altar. The plates kept before their eyes the certain judgment on anyone who despises the sacrifice and the priest of God. But God linked them with the altar. He would not only give warning; He would also turn the eye to the real shelter from the judgment He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

But these terrible judgments that fell on the leaders and on the "sinners against their own souls" (Num. 16:38) were meant to turn the people away from such madness and folly. It is divine love that pulls back the curtain on the future and warns people to "flee from the wrath to come" (Matt. 3:7).

Korah in calling the "flesh" holy, wanted to bring it into the sanctuary. This is not idolatry, but "flesh" trying to manage the things of Christ. What is the service of the tabernacle? What are the sacrifices, the incense, everything inside the holy place? They are all pictures of the Christ who was coming. Korah's sin brings down a heavier judgment than the worship of the calf. God was more jealous for the honour of Christ — even though this was only a matter of shadows and symbols — than for His own Name of Jehovah when Aaron joined it with idolatry.

As to the appointment of the priest on earth, "no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was." Here again we are reminded of a parallel with the priesthood of Christ. No one whom God has not called can truly take the place of priest, in any sense of the word. We see how serious it is to ignore this great truth in the judgment that fell on Korah and those with him, who tried to set themselves up as priests without God's call. Jude warns that many will appoint themselves priests in the same way, without God's call, and will perish in Korah's rebellion (Jude 11).

The Lord spoke again to Moses, telling him to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron to pick up the censers out of the ashes. He was to do so because the censers were holy, though the men who dared to use them were unholy. Then the censers were to be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar. They were copper censers, so they covered the copper altar outside the tabernacle door.

First, this one priesthood is to be fenced off from all intrusion. Judgment has already shown this in the destruction of the men who offered incense. But the memorial of it is to be kept. Eleazar — notice how at once we come to Eleazar — is told to take up the censers out of the burning. Out of them, plates are to be made to cover the altar. They are a warning against anyone not of the seed of Aaron pushing into the priestly place.

All are quickly made to see the blasphemy of these "sinners against their own souls." They take copper censers — not gold, but the metal that speaks of judgment — and offer incense. How all this repeats the eternal truth — none but Christ, none but Christ.

The copper censers were made into plates to cover the copper altar. This pressed the lesson home. It kept before their eyes the certainty of judgment for anyone who despises the sacrifice and priest of God. But the plates were linked with the altar. It was as though God would not only give warning, but also turn the eye to the effective shelter from that judgment which He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

The instructions the Lord gave Moses in verses 36-40 show how serious the sin of Korah and his company was. Their sin was to have a lasting reminder. Their censers were made into broad plates that covered the altar. While the altar was covered in this way, no sacrifice for sin could be offered. Korah's rebellion was sin of a most deliberate kind, and it had clearly put him beyond the reach of a sin offering.

These awful judgments fell on the leaders and on "sinners against their own souls." They were meant to turn the people from such madness and folly. It is divine love which draws back the veil from the future, and warns men to "flee from the wrath to come."

The sin was this: it was the ministers of God seeking also to usurp the priesthood. There was only one high priest in Israel. He is a picture of our only one great High Priest, who has passed into the heavens. Rebellion against Aaron was sin against the Lord.

The Lord spoke again to Moses, telling him to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron to pick up the censers out of the ashes, because the censers were holy, though the men who dared to use them were unholy (vv. 36-37). Then the censers were to be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar (v. 38). They were copper censers. So they covered the copper altar outside the tabernacle door. This covering was to be a constant reminder to Israel: God would let no one outside Aaron's line offer incense before the Lord. Anyone who dared to try would meet a fate like that of Korah and his followers (v. 40).

First, this one priesthood is to be fenced off from all intrusion. Judgment has already shown this in the destruction of the men who offered incense. But the memorial of it is to be kept. Eleazar is told to take up the censers out of the burning. From them, plates are to be made to cover the altar. They warn against anyone not descended from Aaron pushing into the priestly place.

God quickly makes everyone see the blasphemy of these "sinners against their own souls" (vv. 38, 39). They take bronze censers. The metal matters: not gold, but the metal that speaks of judgment. Then they offer incense: "And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense" (v. 35). How all this repeats the eternal truth — none but Christ, none but Christ.

Making the bronze censers into plates to cover the bronze altar presses this lesson home. It keeps before their eyes the certainty of judgment for anyone who despises the sacrifice and priest of God. But the warning was linked with the altar. It is as though God would not only warn them, but would also turn their eye to the real shelter from that judgment — the judgment He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

The instructions the Lord gave Moses in verses 36-40 show how serious the sin of Korah and his company was. Their censers were beaten into broad plates to cover the altar, as a permanent reminder of their sin. While the altar stayed covered this way, no sacrifice for sin could be offered. Korah's defiance was sin of a most wilful kind, and it clearly put him beyond the reach of a sin offering.

Look at those censers, beaten into broad plates to cover the bronze altar. Think of the end of the men who dared to come into God's presence in any way other than His appointed way. Never weaken the truth that the one and only Sacrifice is absolutely necessary — the Sacrifice that has fully met God's claims.

The Lord spoke again to Moses. He told him to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron to pick up the censers out of the ashes. The censers were holy, though the men who dared to use them were unholy. The censers were then to be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar. They were copper censers, therefore to cover the copper altar outside the tabernacle door. This covering was to be a constant reminder to Israel. No one outside Aaron's line could be allowed to offer incense before the Lord. Anyone who dared to do so would suffer a fate like that of Korah and his followers.

Everyone is quickly made to see the blasphemy of these "sinners against their own souls" (verses 38, 39). They take bronze censers — not gold, but the metal that speaks of judgment — and offer incense. "And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense." How all this repeats the eternal truth — none but Christ, none but Christ.

First, this one priesthood is to be fenced off from all intrusion. Judgment has already shown this in the destruction of the men who offered incense. But the memorial of it is to be preserved. Eleazar is told to take up the censers out of the burning. From them, plates are to be made for the covering of the altar. They stand as a warning against any intrusion into the priest's place by one who is not of the seed of Aaron.

As the third son of Aaron, and in his ministry here, Eleazar typifies the priesthood of Christ. This ministry of Eleazar confirms the priesthood God appointed, and its power. So does Aaron stopping the plague with the censer of incense, when the whole congregation revolted. The preservation of the sinning, murmuring people depended on the exercise of the priesthood.

God showed there could be no standing or acceptance before Him at all, except on the ground of sacrifice, through the priest He appointed. The bronze censers were made into plates to cover the bronze altar. This pressed the lesson home and kept the certainty of judgment before their eyes — judgment for any who despise the sacrifice and priest of God. But the sign was linked with the altar. It is as though God would not only warn, but also point the eye to the effective shelter from that judgment, which He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

Their censers were to be made into broad plates covering the altar, as a lasting reminder of their sin. For as long as the altar was covered in this way, no sacrifice for sin could be offered. Korah's rebellion was sin of a most deliberate kind, and it had clearly placed him beyond the reach of a sin offering.

The princes brought the fire of their censers. In answer, the judgment fire of the Lord came out, and they died at the entrance of the tabernacle. Their presumption became a warning to Israel for all time. Their sin warns just as much all who take up the censer and would be priests, but are not called by God. Such men are in truth enemies of the altar of Christ's cross.

The Lord spoke again to Moses. He told Moses to tell Eleazar the son of Aaron to pick up the censers out of the ashes. The censers were holy, though the men who dared to use them were unholy. Then the censers were to be hammered into plates as a covering for the altar. They were copper censers, so they covered the copper altar outside the tabernacle door.

First, this one priesthood is to be fenced off from all intrusion. Judgment has already shown this in the destruction of the men who offered incense. But the memorial of it is to be kept. Eleazar is told to take up the censers out of the burning. From them, plates are to be made to cover the altar. They are a warning: no one who is not of the seed of Aaron may intrude into the priest's place.

The Kohathites carried the sacred vessels, among them the bronze altar. Yet they could never serve at it...

Korah and his company despised Aaron, the priest of God, on the plea that the whole congregation was holy. Their destruction showed the solemn and certain result of coming to God in any other way than through the priest and sacrifice He appointed. God made plain that there could be no standing or acceptance before Him except on the ground of sacrifice, through the priest He appointed. This lesson is pressed home by making the bronze censers into plates to cover the bronze altar. It keeps before their eyes the certainty of judgment for any who despise the sacrifice and priest of God. But the sign was linked with the altar. God would not only give warning. He would also turn the eye to the effective shelter from that judgment — the judgment He must carry out on those who refuse His grace.

Their censers were made into broad plates to cover the altar. This was to be a lasting reminder of their sin. As long as the altar was covered in this way, no sacrifice for sin could be offered. The rebellion of Korah was sin of a most wilful kind, and it had clearly put him beyond the reach of a sin offering.

The censers beaten into broad plates, placed as a covering on the altar, were always the solemn sign that God could only be approached in the way of His own ordering. There are multitudes today who perish "in the gainsaying of Core [Korah]" (Jude 11).

The sin was this: it was the ministers of God seeking also to take over the priesthood. There was only one high priest in Israel, a picture of our one and only great High Priest, who has passed into heaven. Rebellion against Aaron was sin against the Lord... If it was so terrible to sin against Aaron, is it a light thing now to sin against Christ by taking over the priest's work?

The closing paragraph of our chapter illustrates, in a most striking way, the incurable evil of the natural heart. One might hope that after the impressive scenes acted out in front of the congregation, deep and lasting lessons would be learned. They had seen the earth open her mouth. They had heard the heart-rending cry of the rebels as they went down into the pit. They had seen the fire of the Lord come out and consume, in a moment, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation. After such a display of divine power and majesty, one might suppose that the people would from now on walk softly and humbly, with no more sounds of discontent and rebellion in their tents.

Only the next day the congregation was foolish enough to accuse Moses and Aaron outright of killing the people of the LORD (v.41). Moses and Aaron had not done this. It was God, not Moses, who stepped in with dreadful judgment that Moses could never have carried out. But people are often blinded by self-centredness. In this catastrophic judgment they saw nothing but the work of the authorities. And people are always ready to challenge any authority.

The people would still insist, as if in defiance of God, that the princes had the right to offer incense. They insisted too that Moses had killed righteous men. They refused to see that the LORD Himself had destroyed them by direct and immediate judgment. So the congregation ignored the sin and in reality charged God with unrighteousness. It is a solemn thing to doubt God's mercy. But to say that God is unrighteous in His judgment is the height of wickedness, and it brings further judgment on them. The LORD suddenly appears. While the people gather against Moses and Aaron, the cloud covers the tabernacle... and the plague destroys fourteen thousand seven hundred more of the people.

But the spirit of rebellion had taken hold of the whole assembly. On the next day they murmur against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD." The name was a convenient way to make themselves great.

A person may think and reason about the ground of Christian confidence and Christian privilege, just as these Israelites reasoned that God owned them. Theirs was a carnal confidence. They took up general principles of truth about God's dealings with His people, and then went on in the presumption of the flesh. This brought them to murmur and rebel.

Nothing but priesthood could be of any use to a rebellious and stiff-necked people. That is very clear here, and it was the very priesthood they had so despised... There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work... Intercession saved the people from the just consequences of their rebellious murmurings.

After the murmurs of the people of Israel (Num. 16:41) God took the rod from the hands of Aaron, whose election showed grace (Num. 17:5), to lead the people Himself across the desert... The love of God is greater than the sin of the people: without that they would never have been able to cross the desert. The rod of Aaron is therefore the full display of the grace of God.

Man is not to be taught this way. The flesh is utterly incurable. God's book teaches this truth in every section and on every page. We see it in the closing lines of Numbers 16. "But on the next day." Think of that! It was not a year, or a month, or even a week after the dreadful scenes we have been considering.

The people still insisted, as if in defiance of God, that the princes had the right to offer incense. They insisted that Moses had killed righteous men. They chose to ignore that Jehovah had destroyed them by direct and immediate judgment. So the congregation ignored the sin and in effect charged God with unrighteousness. It is a solemn thing to doubt God's mercy. But to say that God is unrighteous in His judgment is the worst wickedness of all. And it brings further judgment on them. Jehovah suddenly appears.

Israel provokes the holiness of the Lord in the day of the manna, in the day of the spies, in the matter of Korah, and at the water of Meribah (Exodus 16; Numbers 14, 16, 20). Each time the Lord resents it. The glory appears in the cloud, expressing this resentment, a witness against the camp.

All Israel had witnessed the glory of the Lord that had come to deal with Korah's rebellion, and had seen the divine judgment poured out on those who had rebelled, yet the very next day "all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, 'You have killed the people of the LORD'" (Num. 16:41). We may well wonder at the boldness of Israel in challenging so soon — after seeing what happened to Korah — the God who had shown His displeasure and His power against the sinners.

Moses did not have to answer the people at all. For God intervened suddenly. The cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord appeared (v.42). Moses and Aaron came there and heard the Lord's command: "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." So their complaining helped nothing. It only led to further death among the people.

This passage makes it very clear: nothing but priesthood could help a rebellious and stubborn people — and it was the very priesthood they had despised. There is something in this closing paragraph that is blessed beyond words. There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That greater One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work.

But what a God is ours! Truly we say that His ways of mercy rise above His righteous judgment. His goodness and His wrath (as we see here) have brought out still greater sin. Yet God makes the greater sin an occasion for showing still greater mercy. He met Israel's need at that time, and He uses it to reveal to His church now a truth of the highest and most blessed importance. For now the high work of priesthood in intercession stands out most clearly, and grace shows still more of its resources.

They still insisted, as if defying God, that the princes had the right to offer incense. They claimed Moses had killed righteous men. They chose to ignore that the Lord had destroyed them by direct and immediate judgment. So the congregation ignored the sin and in reality charged God with unrighteousness. It is a solemn thing to doubt God's mercy. But to say that God is unrighteous in His judgment is the height of wickedness. It brings further judgment upon them.

Moses did not have to answer the people at all. For God intervened suddenly. The cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord appeared (v.42). Moses and Aaron came there. They heard the Lord's command: "Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." In other words, their complaining, rather than helping anything, only led to further death among the people.

All Israel had witnessed the glory of the Lord that had come to deal with Korah's rebellion, and had seen the divine judgment poured out on those who had rebelled, yet the very next day "all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord." We may well wonder at the boldness of Israel in challenging, so soon after seeing what happened to Korah, the God who had shown His displeasure and His power against the sinners.

One would have thought that this judgment would leave a deep impression on all the people. However, on the morning of the very next day the people complain, "You have killed the people of the Lord." As they identify themselves with Korah and the 250 men, they deserve the same judgment. God's instructions to Moses were, "Get up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment." They are very similar indeed to the instructions He gave before the earth opened and swallowed up Korah and his companions (v. 26: "Depart"). So the only understandable reaction of Moses would have been to "depart" and wait for God to judge the people.

This makes one thing very clear. Nothing but priesthood — the very priesthood that had been so despised — could be of any use to a rebellious and stubborn people. There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work. Priesthood alone could bring the people through the wilderness. It was the rich and fitting provision of divine grace.

The lighted censer was a picture of the sweet savour of the merits of Christ, brought out in all their perfection by His death. Fire from the bronze altar had kindled it. The whole scene illustrated the Lord's intercession, which is always effective and always must be. For notice that Aaron offered no fresh sacrifice, but stood with his lighted censer. That was enough. God understood the deep meaning of that according to His thoughts, and He showed mercy at once.

We should not criticise God's people lightly, or wait for God to judge them. Instead we should bring in the "censer": bringing the merits of Christ and His work before God, and asking Him to have mercy upon His people on this basis.

Man is not to be taught this way. The flesh is utterly incurable. This truth is taught in every section and on every page of the volume of God. It is illustrated in the closing lines of Numbers 16. "But on the next day." Think of that! It was not in a year, or a month, or even a week after the appalling scenes we have been dwelling on.

One would have thought that this judgment would leave a deep impression upon all the people. However, on the morning of the very next day the people complain, "You have killed the people of the LORD." As they identify themselves with Korah and the 250 men, they merit the same judgment. God's instructions to Moses, "Get away from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment," are very similar indeed to the instructions He had given before the earth opened and swallowed up Korah and his companions (v. 26: "Depart"). Therefore, the only understandable reaction of Moses would have been for him to "depart" and wait for the people to be judged.

Here are three special judgments in two days. The last one came because the people had seen the first two and still did not repent. In heart they were committing the same sin that brought the judgment on Korah and his company. The LORD speaks to Moses, "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." Moses knew that wrath had gone out from the LORD, and his taught heart knew the right way to turn it back. He tells Aaron to take the censer, put fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Aaron is to go quickly to the congregation and make atonement. And Aaron stands between the dead and the living, and the plague stops.

This makes it very clear that nothing but priesthood — even that very priesthood which had been so despised — could help a rebellious and stubborn people. There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work. Priesthood alone could bring the people through the wilderness.

If it is asked, why, then, is it called "making atonement"? We have seen that, according to the Old Testament, atonement could be made over and over again, and with the same blood. On the day of atonement the blood is put on the mercy-seat and on the altar alike, and in each case atonement is said to be made with it. This becomes simpler when we consider that the word "to make atonement" is the intensified form of the verb "to cover", so it would naturally take in the thought of the effect of atonement, as well as the making of it. Thus the intercession of the risen Priest, as effectually covering the sin of His redeemed, might in this sense be said to make atonement for it. Its power to do this does not set aside, but affirms, the value of His precious death.

This is the language of pure and inflexible justice. Immediate destruction is the work of justice. Keeping them safe to the very end is the glorious and vital work of divine grace — grace reigning through righteousness. If God had dealt with the people in justice alone, He would never have made His name known, for there is far more in His name than justice. There is love, mercy, goodness, kindness, long-suffering, deep and unfailing compassion. But no one would have seen any of this if the people had been consumed in a moment. "For my name's sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off... For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." (Isaiah 48:9, 11)

The people still insisted, as if defying God, that the princes had the right to offer incense. They claimed Moses had killed righteous men. They chose to ignore the fact that the Lord had destroyed those men by direct and immediate judgment. So the congregation ignored the sin and in reality charged God with unrighteousness. It is a serious thing to doubt God's mercy. But to call God unrighteous in His judgment is the height of wickedness, and it brings further judgment on them.

"But on the next day." Think of that! It was not a year after the terrible scenes we have been considering. It was not a month, or even a week. "But on the next day all the congregation" — no longer just a few daring spirits — "grumbled against Moses and against Aaron."

As they identify themselves with Korah and the 250 men, they deserve the same judgment. God's instructions to Moses, "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment," are much like the instructions He had given before the earth opened and swallowed up Korah and his companions. Then too He had said, "Depart" (v. 26). So the only understandable reaction of Moses would have been to "depart" and wait for God to judge the people.

Moses, you know, did this first. When the congregation gathered to grumble, how good to see Moses and Aaron leave them and go to the door of the tabernacle. And they fell on their faces before God. This is what we deeply need — that spirit of intercession. How I wish we all had it.

Here is another opportunity for Moses. The whole congregation is again threatened with immediate destruction. All seems hopeless… But now it appears that the only hope for the people lies in the very priesthood the rebels had despised. The very men they had charged with killing the Lord's people were God's instruments in saving their lives.

At first sight the action is strange. Atonement, according to Leviticus, is by blood. Here there is none, no sacrifice of any kind, and yet atonement is made… For resurrection marks the priesthood we have come to. Death, then, has been gone through, and this means atonement in that sense has been made. Once made, it cannot be repeated, and it never needs to be… Christ is in heaven. He has completely finished the work for sin, although He has not finished the work of intercession for His people. That intercession is just what the offering of incense pictures.

The censers of Korah and his company had been rejected outright. Now the one censer God appointed, in the hands of Aaron, is enough to stay the plague between the dead and the living.

Those who had died were beyond recovery; for them no atonement was possible. Aaron could step in only for the living… In him the merits of Christ presented to God were displayed in type.

There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron, who made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and who is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work.

The whole congregation is again threatened with immediate destruction. All seems hopeless. God's patience seems at an end, and the sword of judgment is about to fall on the whole assembly. But now it turns out that the only hope for the people lies in the very priesthood the rebels had despised. The very men they had accused of killing the Lord's people were God's instruments in saving their lives.

Moses had said that the Lord would show who were holy and whom He had appointed to come near. Terrible judgment had already shown it. Now His mercy and compassion would declare the same thing... The difference is that the first lies outside priesthood. There God maintains His own order against rebellious man. The priest stands still, and God takes vengeance. But when the plague came, the priest had permission — indeed a command — to step in with mercy and stop the ravages of judicial death.

Fire is taken from the altar — this tells of divine judgment, for where there is sin, there must also be judgment... The incense is the sweet fragrance of Christ Himself, going up to God. It is the preciousness of the One who bore the judgment, so that God might righteously stop the power of death. When Aaron puts incense on the fire, the priest is interceding. He pleads the merits of the one sacrifice, as if to remind God of it.

Death, then, has already been passed through, and that means atonement in this sense has been made. Once made, it cannot be repeated, and never needs to be. Put in Christian terms, Christ is in heaven. He has completely finished the work for sin, but He has not finished the work of intercession for His people. The offering of incense pictures that very intercession, so everything here is in place.

The word "to make atonement" is the intensified form of the verb "to cover"... So in this sense we may say that the risen Priest's intercession makes atonement for the sin of His redeemed, since it effectively covers it. Its power to do this does not set aside the value of His precious death, but affirms it.

In a moment, without any warning, the plague began. Only one thing could stem the tide of judgment and shield the survivors from the death that threatened them: the high priest stepping in with a censer full of burning incense, lit from the fire of the altar. At Moses' suggestion Aaron ran, for the matter was urgent... Those who had died were beyond recovery; for them no atonement was possible. Only for the living could Aaron step in.

The offering of incense was only occasional, and it might be interrupted. Its fragrance was not always before God. The plague had begun among the people. Destructive judgment had come out. Then Moses told Aaron to take a censer, put fire in it from the altar, and lay incense on it. Aaron had to do all this before he could run into the congregation and stand between the dead and the living... But now the ministry of incense is unbroken: "He always lives to make intercession for us." So He is able to save right through, from beginning to end.

Aaron stood between the dead and the living and stopped the plague from passing over to the living. This is a beautiful prophetic picture of the last days, when Christ will step in for the ancient people of God. As High Priest He will hold back the arm of the Avenger. The living remnant will become a great nation, restored to favour and blessing through One greater than Aaron.

This makes one thing very clear. Nothing but priesthood — even that very priesthood they had so despised — could help a rebellious and stubborn people. There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living, and from his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That One has made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work. Priesthood alone could bring the people through the wilderness. It was the rich and suited provision of divine grace.

There is no ground here for the error that a failing believer must begin again as though his pardon could be cancelled. "Make atonement" gives no support to a teaching so contrary to the plain teaching of the word. It is true that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." But Aaron shed no blood here. There was no atonement in that sense. There was the pleading before God of the value of the offering once made. It is in this way that "atonement" is made for believers now when they fail. It is the Advocate above, Jesus Christ the righteous, who by His presence there avails for us.

The lighted censer was a picture of the sweet fragrance of the merits of Christ, brought out in all their perfection by His death. It pictured them because its fire came from the bronze altar. The whole scene illustrated the Lord's intercession, which is effective and must always be. For notice that Aaron offered no fresh sacrifice, but stood with his lighted censer. That was enough. God understood the deep meaning of that according to His own thoughts, and showed mercy at once.

Intercession is the teaching here, and both the incense and Aaron together are a picture of Christ; the incense of His worth, Aaron of His office. Aaron might run among the people: what would that have achieved? There was no worth in him; the power that stayed the plague was (in the picture) in the incense. It needs both the incense and the priest to be a fitting picture of Him who is both Offering and Priest.

Only one thing could stop the flood of judgment and shield the survivors from the death that threatened them. That was the high priest stepping in with a censer full of burning incense, lit from the fire of the altar. At Moses' suggestion Aaron ran, for the matter was urgent, and so atonement was made for the congregation. … Those who had died were beyond recovery; for them no atonement was possible.

Precious teaching for us, who know many failures of our own. Our failures deserve righteous judgment, and would surely meet it. But by faith we are sprinkled with blood, and the sweet incense of Christ is always before God. Our High Priest never stops burning the incense lit by His death, a sweet-smelling fragrance to God. … We are on the living side of the Priest, and the angel of death cannot pass. "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10)

Aaron stands between the dead and the living, stopping the plague so that it does not pass over to the living. This is a beautiful prophetic picture of the last days, when Christ will step in for the ancient people of God. As High Priest He will hold back the arm of the Avenger. Those left alive will become a great nation, restored to favour and blessing through One greater than Aaron.

God had rejected the censers of Korah and his company outright. Now He appoints one censer in Aaron's hands, and that one censer is enough to stop the plague between the dead and the living. We are not told whether the 14,700 who died were ringleaders in the evil. Sin is lawlessness — rebellion against God. And the wages of sin is death. The whole incident emphasizes this.

In the wilderness the plague stopped when Aaron stood between the dead and the living with his lighted censer. Those who had died were beyond recovery; for them no atonement was possible. Phinehas and Aaron could step in only for the living, since both were concerned only with God's government of His people. Phinehas showed zeal for God; Aaron pictured the merits of Christ set before God. So the people did not reap the fruits of their own ways.

Here it is made very clear: nothing but priesthood could be of any use to a rebellious and stubborn people. And it was that very priesthood they had despised. There is something wonderfully blessed in this closing paragraph. There stands Aaron, God's high priest, between the dead and the living. From his censer a cloud of incense goes up before God. He is a striking picture of One greater than Aaron. That One made a full and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, and He is always before God in all the fragrance of His Person and work. Priesthood alone could bring the people through the wilderness.

Fire is taken from the altar — this speaks of divine judgment, for where there is sin, there must also be judgment. No one ever sinned without judgment following, measured by the majesty and holiness of God. For the believer, Christ has borne that judgment. And the incense is the sweet fragrance of Himself, which went up to God. It is the preciousness of Him who bore the judgment, so that God could righteously stop the power of death. Aaron putting incense on the fire is the priest's act of intercession. He pleads the merits of the one sacrifice, as if to remind God of it.

Death, therefore, has been gone through. This implies that atonement in that sense has been made. Once made, it cannot be repeated, and it never needs to be. Read according to Christian truth, we should say that Christ is in heaven. He has finished the work for sin completely. But He has not finished the work of intercession for His people. The offering of incense pictures that very intercession, and so everything here is perfectly in place.

Aaron stands between the dead and the living and stops the plague, so that it does not pass over to the living. This is a beautiful prophetic picture of the last days, when Christ will step in for the ancient people of God. As High Priest He will hold back the arm of the Avenger. The living remnant will become a great nation, restored to favour and blessing through a greater than Aaron.