Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

First the doubt, then the fear, and now the grumbling again. They wished they were dead. They wished they’d never come out of Egypt. Had God brought them here just to be killed? Then they decided to elect a new leader and head back to Egypt. They were emphasizing the negative at the expense of the positive (the OPPOSITE of trust).

Moses and Aaron immediately prostrated themselves as an expression of consolation and supplications. Don’t go back was the message (Deuteronomy 1:29-33). Joshua and Caleb stood up, tore their clothes (a sign of anguish), and begged the people not to be afraid. Not to go back, but to go forward. That the land was VERY good and with God, they could do this. The people did not listen. Instead they debated stoning them. They did not believe God could give them the land. Unbelief is rebellion against God (Hebrews 3:17-19). Fearing people so you don’t do what is right is rebellion against God (John 5:44; James 4:17).

Before the people could act, the Glory of God broke out at the Tent of Meeting and everyone saw it. Probably this means the cloud descended on it while shining. God then spoke to Moses (which is reminiscent of when He spoke to Abram at Sodom – Genesis 18:16-33 – and when He spoke to Moses about the golden calf – Exodus 32:10; Deuteronomy 9:13-14). God told Moses he was going to kill the people and make a nation from Moses. If Moses hadn’t been humble (Numbers 12:3), this would have been a real temptation – Moses also had tired of the people (Numbers 11:11-15). God was looking for an intercessor to cooperate with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9; Isaiah 6:8). Moses called for God to remember His Covenant. He called on God to be merciful and consider the witness to Egypt that would be. That people would say God killed the people because He wasn’t able to get them into the land. The basis of Moses’ prayer is the character and reputation of GOD, not himself or the rebellious people (he learned that character in Exodus 34). Moses asks for them to be saved according to God’s GRACE.

God forgives them, but they will have to endure the effect of their disobedience – unwillingness to trust Him. Although this was less than two years out of Egypt, the Israelites had disbelieved God ten times already – which God calls disparaging Him. First was at the Red Sea (we’re gonna die); then the waters of Meribah (bitter water, we’re gonna die); hunger in the wilderness (we’re gonna starve and then die); thirst in the wilderness – twice (we’re gonna die and then later we’re also gonna die); the golden calf (God’s gonna kill us); complaining about manna (I can’t eat this anymore, I wanna die); Miriam slandering Moses (she’s gonna die, but maybe Moses should?); Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire (they died); and they complained about the hardness of their lives after moving camp for the first time and walking three days (our feet are killing us).

They saw His wonders and His Glory and did NOT believe in their hearts that He could do what He said He could do. God declared that they (the ENTIRE generation – every non-Levite twenty years and up who was counted in the census) would not enter the land. For every day they had spent spying the land, they would spend a year in the desert (a day for a year principle. We’ll see it again). This clearly shows that a sign or a wonder doesn’t create or deepen trust in God (Romans 10:17). Only listening to His Word deepens it. Caleb had that. Joshua had that. They were in total trust. They lived and entered the land forty years later. The ten spies who led disbelief and slandered God? They were struck down right there and then.

All the people were full of remorse – sad for not getting the blessing and being punished. So they got up early and declared that they were going to belatedly obey and go take the land. Moses BEGGED them not to. Why disobey twice in a row? God wasn’t going to be with them, Moses wasn’t going to be with them, and the ark wasn’t going to be with them. Some went and got soundly defeated from the hill country of Canaan to Hormath. Disobedient staying out, disobedient going in. These were not people who listened.

Next God took them back to school (39 years in advance, God was telling Moses WHEN you enter the land – teaching with a promise). He teaches them the Laws of grain and drink offerings; about unintentional sins (most sacrifices in the Law are about mistakes that have been made); and about intentional sins (Blasphemy – Leviticus 24:16. Rebellious hearts, contempt for the Word – Luke 12:16). If they were going to persist in not humbling their hearts to obey, they needed to know He wasn’t putting up with it. The requirements were the same for the natural born citizen and the foreigner living with them. This was how you approached the Lord. No double standard. This was how they were to deal with their sin.

These were not arbitrary laws and rules – God needs nothing from us. The blood of bulls and goats don’t really atone for our sin. They were to teach a deeper spiritual lesson. To foster a real relationship with God. But they missed it and it became empty ritual.

God was still giving them a double portion of manna on Friday. Sabbath is mentioned twelve times in Exodus and twelve times in Leviticus – including Exodus 35:3 that forbids kindling fire on Sabbath. They were totally taken care of on Sabbath and didn’t have to do anything to fully function and have a great day. Yet they discover a man gathering firewood on the Sabbath. This was a hard hearted man – and there were more. They were not listening to words. They were hardening their hearts. God showed them He was not kidding about the seriousness of what disobedience exposed you to. He’d done it before (Numbers 11:1). This man was stoned and the entire assembly took part in it so they would take it to heart and begin to obey.

As a reminder, they were to make tassels to attach to the corners of their garments with a ribbon of sapphire/sky blue (commemorating the platform God rests on, where the original tablets came from – Exodus 24:10; Ezekiel 1:26). They were meant to keep their minds on God, on the fact the Earth is His footstool, and that nothing is too much for Him. To remind them of the betrothal covenant of the commandments, so they wouldn’t go wherever their minds took them, but to walk in obedience with His commandments.

“Speak to the community, saying, ‘Move away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’” (Numbers 16:24).

Korah was a Levite. All priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. Korah was focused on himself (and probably the firstborn rights that had switched over –  Numbers 3:11-13. He was jealous of Aaron and Moses. He conspired with 250 other men. They used cunning words – seeming so concerned with how overburdened the two men were. And then they accused their fellow – equal footed as they saw it – Levites (Aaron and Moses) of exalting themselves for personal reasons. Basically, following the devil’s well-worn playbook they asked: Has God REALLY said? (Genesis 3:1). Naturally, they were accusing Aaron and Moses. But in their hearts? They were accusing God.

Moses fell on his face and prayed. Then he told them that in the morning God would show who He had picked and who He had not. Everyone was to bring a censer and incense. Moses warned them that they were the ones taking on too much for themselves. And that the one God chose would be Holy and no one else. Moses gave them the chance to repent, showing them all that God had done for them. The positions they already held. He asked if all of that was nothing to them? He asked why they were attacking Aaron, who was only doing what he was appointed to?

Now, two of the conspirators – Dathan and Abiram – had refused to come to the tent of meeting at all (division among the conspirators, also a devil’s playbook move). Moses called for them to come. They refused. They didn’t even acknowledge the authority Moses had to call them. They accused Moses of taking them from a land with milk and honey (meaning Egypt, scorning God’s choices) and of not giving them anything of the things that he had promised them – completely ignoring the effect their unfaithfulness and disobedience had caused (1 Samuel 15:23 equates rebellion with witchcraft. Witchcraft is devil worship. The devil is all about self, which leads to rebellion, which leads to worshipping him. God is about selfless love. The devil is about love of self.).

Moses was affronted. He called for God not to accept their grain offering since they were slandering him, rebelling against God and authority, and being of a negative heart (just like Cain was – Genesis 4:3-7). He demanded that Korah bring the WHOLE group in the morning and assemble them at the tent of meeting. Korah brought the group (but Dathan and Abiram still didn’t come). Aaron had his censer and they had theirs. Then God showed up.

The Glory appeared to all of them – but still veiled in the cloud. God spoke to Moses and Aaron saying: get away from them, I’m gonna kill everybody. Moses rose to the challenge and interceded for the innocent. God told Moses to get everyone away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses did. The people moved, but not the three men. They gathered themselves, their wives, their sons, and their children and stood in a unified rebellion against Moses and Aaron. And God.

Moses called out and declared that if nothing happened to them and they lived and died naturally, they were right and Moses had done it all of his own strength and for his own advantage. BUT. If they died in an entirely new way, like if the earth opened up with a localised splitting of the ground causing them and all with them to fall inside – something only God could do – then everyone would know that it was God who set things up, God who accomplished them, and God who had granted authority and position to Aaron and Moses for His own reasons. Now, ONLY those who agreed with the three men stayed beside them. Korah’s sons (at least two and maybe three) heeded the warning and separated themselves (Numbers 26:11). Samuel was a descendant of theirs. And some other descendants wrote some of the psalms (Psalm 42 and 44-49, for example). Only the individuals who wanted to stand in agreement stood there.

As soon as he finished speaking, it happened. The Earth opened her mouth (Leviticus 18:28) and swallowed them. Everyone witnessing this screamed that they were gonna die too and ran. God pulled back the cloud at the tent of meeting, the Glory shone out, and the darkness in the 247 men standing there with censers exploded and they burnt up. Since they had offered the incense to the Lord, the fire was now holy – it was spread out far and wide by God’s command. The censers – also holy – were hammered flat into a kind of shield for the altar as a permanent reminder of what happened when anyone but Aaron and his descendants approached the altar to serve the Lord as priests.

The next day (Yes, you read that right. The VERY NEXT DAY) there was an assembly of people who started murmuring against Moses and Aaron. This time they were complaining and talking about how the two men had killed people of the Lord. They gathered against Moses and Aaron, facing the tent of meeting, and the cloud descended and covered it, the glory appearing to all. Moses and Aaron went in. God asked if they were going to get away this time so God could destroy them (it was the darkness in the people, the cancer of sin, that was reacting to the pure holiness of God and causing their deaths. Darkness is incompatible with light. Darkness ceases to exist in the Light of God’s presence).

They immediately fell on their faces. They immediately entered into intercession for the people (Matthew 5:44). God’s glory was showing, and the devil (John 10:10) had the effects of the people’s rebellion (cause) ready. A plague was moving among the people and causing death. Moses told Aaron to atone for the people by taking a censer, taking fire from the altar, putting incense on it, and then to run through the camp and stand between them and the Lord (the incense showing how our prayers for others can be a help to them – Revelation 8:4). Anything the incense smoke touched was holy, so Aaron was drawing a spiritual line to prevent more disease.

Aaron ran, stood between those who had fallen and those who lived, facing the tent of meeting. The plague stopped. Besides those who died the previous day, fourteen thousand seven hundred (14,700) died here. Once it was done and over, Aaron returned to the tent and Moses.

Did the people learn this time? Did the grumbling stop?

Summary

Key Players: God, Moses, Aaron, Korah, Nathan, Abiram

Key Themes: Anointing, Authority, Rebellion, Intercession, Atonement

Key Verse(s): Numbers 14:2-4, 7-9, 20-24; 15:29-31, 40-41; 16:1-2, 28-34, 39-40