Numbers 16

Nu 16:1-30.

THE

REBELLION OF

KORAH.

1, 2. Now Korah, the son of Izhar--Izhar, brother of Amram

(Ex 6:18),

was the second son of Kohath, and for some reason unrecorded he had

been supplanted by a descendant of the fourth son of Kohath, who was

appointed prince or chief of the Kohathites

(Nu 3:30).

Discontent with the preferment over him of a younger relative was

probably the originating cause of this seditious movement on the part

of Korah.

Dathan and Abiram, . . . and On--These were confederate leaders in the

rebellion, but On seems to have afterwards withdrawn from the

conspiracy [compare

Nu 16:12, 24, 25, 27; 26:9;

De 11:6;

Ps 106:17].

took men--The latter mentioned individuals, being all sons of Reuben,

the eldest of Jacob's family, had been stimulated to this insurrection

on the pretext that Moses had, by an arbitrary arrangement, taken away

the right of primogeniture, which had vested the hereditary dignity of

the priesthood in the first-born of every family, with a view of

transferring the hereditary exercise of the sacred functions to a

particular branch of his own house; and that this gross instance of

partiality to his own relations, to the permanent detriment of others,

was a sufficient ground for refusing allegiance to his government. In

addition to this grievance, another cause of jealousy and

dissatisfaction that rankled in the breasts of the Reubenites was the

advancement of Judah to the leadership among the tribes. These

malcontents had been incited by the artful representations of Korah

(Jude 11),

with whom the position of their camp on the south side afforded them

facilities of frequent intercourse. In addition to his feeling of

personal wrongs, Korah participated in their desire (if he did not

originate the attempt) to recover their lost rights of primogeniture.

When the conspiracy was ripe, they openly and boldly declared its

object, and at the head of two hundred fifty princes, charged Moses

with an ambitious and unwarrantable usurpation of authority, especially

in the appropriation of the priesthood, for they disputed the claim of

Aaron also to pre-eminence

[Nu 16:3].

3. they gathered themselves together against Moses and against

Aaron--The assemblage seems to have been composed of the whole band

of conspirators; and they grounded their complaint on the fact that the

whole people, being separated to the divine service

(Ex 19:6),

were equally qualified to present offerings on the altar, and that God,

being graciously, present among them by the tabernacle and the cloud,

evinced His readiness to receive sacrifices from the hand of any others

as well as from theirs.

4. when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face--This attitude of

prostration indicated not only his humble and earnest desire that God

would interpose to free him from the false and odious imputation, but

also his strong sense of the daring sin involved in this proceeding.

Whatever feelings may be entertained respecting Aaron, who had formerly

headed a sedition himself

[Nu 12:1],

it is impossible not to sympathize with Moses in this difficult

emergency. But he was a devout man, and the prudential course he

adopted was probably the dictate of that heavenly wisdom with which, in

answer to his prayers, he was endowed.

5-11. he spake unto Korah and unto all his company--They were first

addressed, not only because they were a party headed by his own cousin

and Moses might hope to have more influence in that quarter, but

because they were stationed near the tabernacle; and especially because

an expostulation was the more weighty coming from him who was a Levite

himself, and who was excluded along with his family from the

priesthood. But to bring the matter to an issue, he proposed a test

which would afford a decisive evidence of the divine appointment.

Even to-morrow--literally, "in the morning," the usual time of meeting

in the East for the settlement of public affairs.

the Lord will show who are his, . . . even him whom he hath chosen will

he cause to come near unto him--that is, will bear attestation to his

ministry by some visible or miraculous token of His approval.

6, 7. Take your censers, Korah, and all his company, &c.--that is,

since you aspire to the priesthood, then go, perform the highest

function of the office--that of offering incense; and if you are

accepted well. How magnanimous the conduct of Moses, who was now as

willing that God's people should be priests, as formerly that they

should be prophets

(Nu 11:29).

But he warned them that they were making a perilous experiment.

12-14. Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram--in a separate interview,

the ground of their mutiny being different; for while Korah murmured

against the exclusive appropriation of the priesthood to Aaron and his

family, they were opposed to the supremacy of Moses in civil power.

They refused to obey the summons; and their refusal was grounded on the

plausible pretext that their stay in the desert was prolonged for some

secret and selfish purposes of the leader, who was conducting them like

blind men wherever it suited him.

15. Moses was very wroth--Though the meekest of all men

[Nu 12:3],

he could not restrain his indignation at these unjust and groundless

charges; and the highly excited state of his feeling was evinced by the

utterance of a brief exclamation in the mixed form of a prayer and an

impassioned assertion of his integrity. (Compare

1Sa 12:3).

and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering--He calls it

their offering, because, though it was to be offered by Korah and his

Levitical associates, it was the united appeal of all the mutineers for

deciding the contested claims of Moses and Aaron.

16-18. Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the

Lord--that is, at "the door of the tabernacle"

(Nu 16:18),

that the assembled people might witness the experiment and be properly

impressed by the issue.

17. two hundred fifty censers--probably the small platters, common in

Egyptian families, where incense was offered to household deities and

which had been among the precious things borrowed at their departure

[Ex 12:35, 36].

20, 21. the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, Separate

yourselves from among this congregation--Curiosity to witness the

exciting spectacle attracted a vast concourse of the people, and it

would seem that the popular mind had been incited to evil by the

clamors of the mutineers against Moses and Aaron. There was something

in their behavior very offensive to God; for after His glory had

appeared--as at the installation of Aaron

(Le 9:23),

so now for his confirmation in the sacred office--He bade Moses and

Aaron withdraw from the assembly "that He might consume them in a

moment."

22. they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits

of all flesh--The benevolent importunity of their prayer was the more

remarkable that the intercession was made for their enemies.

24-26. Speak unto the congregation, . . . Get you up from about the

tabernacle--Moses was attended in the execution of this mission by the

elders. The united and urgent entreaties of so many dignified

personages produced the desired effect of convincing the people of

their crime, and of withdrawing them from the company of men who were

doomed to destruction, lest, being partakers of their sins, they should

perish along with them.

27. the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram--Korah being a

Kohathite, his tent could not have been in the Reubenite camp, and it

does not appear that he himself was on the spot where Dathan and Abiram

stood with their families. Their attitude of defiance indicated their

daring and impenitent character, equally regardless of God and man.

28-34. Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to

do all these works--The awful catastrophe of the earthquake which, as

predicted by Moses, swallowed up those impious rebels in a living tomb,

gave the divine attestation to the mission of Moses and struck the

spectators with solemn awe.

35. there came out a fire from the Lord--that is, from the cloud. This

seems to describe the destruction of Korah and those Levites who with

him aspired to the functions of the priesthood. (See

Nu 26:11, 58;

1Ch 6:22, 37).

37-40. Speak unto Eleazar--He was selected lest the high priest might

contract defilement from going among the dead carcasses.

39, 40. the brazen censers . . . made broad plates to be a

memorial--The altar of burnt offerings, being made of wood and

covered with brass, this additional covering of broad plates not only

rendered it doubly secure against the fire, but served as a warning

beacon to deter all from future invasions of the priesthood.

41. the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron,

saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord--What a strange

exhibition of popular prejudice and passion--to blame the leaders for

saving the rebels! Yet Moses and Aaron interceded for the people--the

high priest perilling his own life in doing good to that perverse race.

48. he stood between the living and the dead--The plague seems to have

begun in the extremities of the camp. Aaron, in this remarkable act,

was a type of Christ.