done before, Moses fell on his face before the Lord respect their authority. It's a dangerous thing for people
Numbers 16
Undoubtedly these spiritually ignorant men had envy in their hearts and wanted to take over the leadership themselves.
more democracy in the camp. After all, the Lord dwelt in the entire camp and all the people were "a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:3–6), so who were Moses and Aaron to elevate themselves above everybody else? The hidden reason was that Korah wanted the Levites to have the same privileges as Aaron and his sons (Num. 16:10). Korah wasn't satisfied to be assisting the priests; he wanted to be a priest.
Again, Moses didn't argue with the rebels; he prayed to the Lord and asked Him to vindicate His servant. Moses' anger wasn't selfish irritation; it was the righteous indignation of a man of integrity who sought only the glory of the Lord. There is a righteous anger that God's people ought to feel when sinners defy the will of God and tempt others to sin (Ex. 32:19; 2 Cor. 11:29; Mark 3:5; Eph. 4:26). 4. Jehovah, the righteous Judge (16:18–35). The next morning, Korah and his followers showed up with their censers and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the tabernacle, while Dathan and Abiram stood with their families at the doors of their tents on the south side of the tabernacle. We can imagine the awesome silence that prevailed, and then the glory of the Lord appeared (14:10; 20:6; Ex. 16:10–12) and the voice of the Lord spoke. The hour of God's judgment had arrived!
Whether it's the ancient camp of Israel or a modern city, no society can function without subordination.7 Somebody has to be in charge. Parents have authority in the home, teachers in the classroom, managers in the factory or office, and civil servants in the city or nation (Rom. 13; 1 Peter 2:11ff.). When this kind of order breaks down, then society is in serious trouble. God had chosen Moses to be leader of the nation and Aaron to be the high priest, and to resist this arrangement was to rebel against the will of God and bring serious division to the camp.
The selfish desire for greatness and authority is a common theme in Scripture, whether it's Korah opposing Moses and Aaron, Absalom defying his father (2 Sam. 15), Adonijah claiming the crown (1 Kings 1), the disciples arguing over which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:44), or Diotrephes loving to have preeminence in a local church (2 John 9–10). And yet the most important place in the Christian life is the place of God's choice, the place He's prepared for us and prepared us to fill. The important thing isn't status but faithfulness, doing the work God wants us to do. Every member of the church, the body of Christ, has a spiritual gift to be used for serving others, and therefore every member is important to God and to the church (1 Cor. 12:14–18).
Moses and Aaron, being true leaders, immediately fell on their faces before the Lord and interceded for the nation. Why should all the people die because of the sin of these men? Moses frequently had to intercede for the people, and they probably didn't appreciate what he did for them. On two occasions, God was ready to destroy the entire nation, but Moses' intercession saved them (Num. 14:10–12; Ex. 32:7–14).
God warned the Jews to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; then the earth opened up and swallowed those evil men and their households, and fire from God destroyed the 250 would-be priests (Num. 11:1–3; Lev. 10:1–7).8 God made it very clear that the Jews were to accept their appointed leaders and respect their authority. It's a dangerous thing for people to challenge God's order and promote themselves to become leaders. They not only rebel against the Lord (Num. 16:11) but against their own lives (v. 38). Dr. A. W. Tozer used to say, "Never follow a leader until you see the anointing oil on his head."
2. Moses, a humble leader (16:4–11). As he had done before, Moses fell on his face before the Lord (14:5, 22; 16:22, 45; 20:6; 22:31). He didn't debate with Korah and his crowd and try to change their minds, because he knew their aim was to seize the priesthood, something the Lord would never permit. The Lord would show Korah and his followers how wrong they were, and their pride would ultimately lead to their destruction (Prov. 16:18).
5. Eleazar the faithful priest (16:36–40). Since the 250 censers had been offered to the Lord, they were sanctified, even though the men who held them were wicked, so the censers couldn't be treated like common metal. God ordered Aaron's son Eleazar to gather them up and have them beaten into plates to be put on the altar of burnt offering. These plates would be a lasting reminder to the people that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31). Whether these plates replaced the original bronze network on which the sacrifices were burned, or were added to it, we aren't told.
The test Moses proposed was a simple one. If Korah and his men were indeed priests acceptable to God, then let them bring their censers to the tabernacle and see if God would accept them. Surely the rebels remembered what happened to Nadab and Abihu when they rashly brought "strange fire" before the Lord (Lev. 10), but even this warning didn't deter them.
3. Moses, an angry leader (16:12–17). Moses called Dathan and Abiram to come to the meeting, but they refused. Nothing is said about On, so perhaps he wisely dropped out of the rebellion. The arrogance of these two men is painful to see, for they not only refused to obey Moses, but they blamed him for Israel's sin at Kadesh-Barnea! Even more, they called Egypt a "land of milk and honey" and accused Moses of making himself a prince and "lording it over" the people.
When Jude wrote to warn the early church about false teachers, he used Korah as an example, associating him with Cain and Balaam (Jude 11).9 The word "gainsaying" (kjv; "rebellion," niv) means "to say against, to oppose in word and deed, to rebel." In his farewell message to the Ephesian elders (Acts