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Difficult Decisions - Numbers 16:1-33
Difficult Decisions - Numbers 16:1-33 [1] Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
[2] And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
[3] And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
[4] And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
[5] And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
[6] This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
[7] And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
[8] And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
[9] Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
[10] And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
[11] For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
[12] And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
[13] Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
[14] Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
[15] And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
[16] And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
[17] And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
[18] And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
[19] And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
[20] And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
[21] Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
[22] And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
[23] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[24] Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
[25] And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
[26] And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
[27] So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
[28] And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
[29] If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
[30] But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
[31] And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
[32] And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
[33] They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
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INTRODUCTION
As Moses led Israel out of Egypt and on their journey toward the land of promise, he faced almost constant opposition. Numbers chapter 16 chronicles one such instance in great detail. Korah openly questioned and opposed Moses’ leadership forcing him to bring the matter before God. The Lord said He would answer this challenge directly and reveal His choice between Moses and Korah. Not only did God choose Moses, but He also indicated that Korah would be judged by the earth opening up and swallowing him alive. Before the arrival of God’s judgment, the people were instructed to choose by separating from Korah. Judgment fell as the earth opened up, swallowing alive those who followed Korah along with all their possessions. The earth simply closed back up. Interestingly, a brief Bible study (for instance, Psalm 88) reveals that the sons of Korah chose to obey God by separating from their father. Several subtitles in the book of Psalms like that found in Psalm 88 indicate these sons followed God and His servant and survived God’s judgment.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
- (For children): Unfortunately, some children have parents that do not love God. These parents ask their children to lie or steal for them. They even may make fun of them for going to church. What should the children do if they love God and truly want to serve Him?
- (For everyone): Do you think it was easy for the sons of Korah to walk away from their father and stand against what was wrong? What thoughts might have crossed their minds as they made this choice between their father and God?
- What kind of choices might you one day be forced to make similar to the choice of the sons of Korah? Could you trust God enough to make such a difficult choice?
PRAYER NEEDS
- Ask God to help you choose right despite the cost or opposition.
- Pray that God will give you faith to trust Him and especially during difficult times and trials.
HYMN
WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE?
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