The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is a major event. It will be referred to in future texts.
It’s nearly impossible for me to read this chapter and not picture Edward G. Robinson as the smarmy Dathan from the movie – The Ten Commandments. He did such a good job in his bad-guy role that you kinda wished the ground had swallowed him sooner.
Dathan and Abiram are Reubenites. Korah is a Levite. Specifically, a Kohathite. Remember what the job of the Kohathites was? They carried the holy furnishings of the Tabernacle.
It’s interesting that the Kohathites and the Reubenites camped next to each other.
There was recently a highly talked-about flight of several famous women who took a 10 minute, fully automated ride in a rocket to the edge of earth’s atmosphere where they experienced about 4 minutes of zero gravity. That trip did not make them “astronauts” anymore than my first plane ride made me a pilot.
More like Astro-nots. Astro-naughts?
But to listen to them gush about their “journey” you’d think they had been to Mars and back AND the first females in space.
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Korah: I carry the most sacred objects on earth. I’m practically High Priest.
Moses: Dude. No. No you’re not.
You give some people an inch of experience and they’ll take a mile of credit. Actually reminds me a lot of Barney Fife.
Korah probably helped carry a piece of holy furniture and got to feelin’ pretty important. Practically as important as Moses and Aaron. To quote Barney from an episode where he makes Gomer a deputy and sends him to direct traffic, then Gomer proceeds to create a traffic jam… Barney tells Andy, “Give a man a pair of white gloves and it goes straight to his head.”
So Korah Fife recruits 250 “deputies” to take charge of Mayberry Israel. I don’t know if they got a “Nip it in the bud” speech but I wouldn’t be surprised.
COMPLAIN-O-METER : 10
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10 Green-eyed monsters of jealousy.
“They were assembled in front of Moses and Aaron, and they said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves! All of the community is holy, every one of them, and Yahweh is in their midst, so why do you raise yourselves over the assembly of Yahweh?” Numbers 16:3 LEB
Moses devises a test. Everyone get a brass censor and burn incense before Yahweh and Yahweh will show everyone who He has chosen as priests.
It hasn’t been that long since Nadab and Abihu died doing this exact thing. 👀
I picture all of them lined up in front of the Tabernacle entrance with their smoking censors. Steely-eyed. Feet planted. And that music that you hear when two cowboys are gonna have a shootout at high noon. 🏜️🌵
And just like in those old westerns, everyone gets off the street. Yahweh is ready to burn ‘em all down but Moses intercedes and tells everyone to get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Then the ground swallows them up while fire from God incinerates the 250 guys with the unauthorized censors.
For anyone about to raise the questions of:
Why would God kill the children?
And aren’t the “Sons of Korah” mentioned as being writers of many of the psalms?
This verse should help clear things up:
“The children of Korah, however, did not die.” Numbers 26:11 LEB
I’m betting Mrs. Korah heard Moses and suddenly felt the need to get the kids out of house for a walk.
COMPLAIN-O-METER: 11
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11 pointing fingers.
You killed them! You killed them!!
I’m thinking I should’ve started another counter besides the Complain-O-Meter. We need a God-wants-to-kill-them-but-Moses-intercedes tracker. If we had one, I think we’d be at 3 now. (golden calf, Korah’s rebellion, now this)
Yahweh decides to “Nip it in the bud.”
To make it definitively clear WHO is authorized to approach Him, Yahweh gives them the staff challenge. 12 staves (which is the correct plural of the singular “staff”) are placed in the tabernacle. After staying there all night, Aaron’s rod alone of the 12 has not only put out blossoms, it has buds and almonds. Simultaneously.
In case you hadn’t thought about it, not even living almond trees do that. First there’s a bud. Then the flower. Then finally the fruit. Yahweh not only has the power to make a dead stick produce almonds, He suspends said stick in a state of growth that defies time itself. 🌸
I’d sure love to know what became of the rod of Aaron. I think I’d get more stoked if archeologists found that and the pot of manna and the original written testimony than I would about the ark itself.
That rod was meant to be the final word to shut down the grumbling of the congregation.
COMPLAIN-O-METER: 12
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
12 panicked people.
We’re all gonna die!!
“And the Israelites said to Moses, saying, “Look! We will die! We will be destroyed! All of us will perish! Anyone who approaches the tabernacle of Yahweh will die. Will we all die?” Numbers 17:12-13 LEB
I suppose I shouldn’t find that funny, but I do. At least they seem to have finally developed a healthy fear of the Lord.
K. I’ve got a song I’ve been waiting to share since we started Exodus! But I had to wait til after we got to this point. You’ll see why.
Enjoy!
To The Reader 