Numbers 16:12 says, And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: Moses called for Dathan and Abiram, who were rebelling against him, to come to him, and they refused. Moses was God's appointed leader and they would not obey him. Too often today Christians refuse to listen to preachers, God's called leaders of congregations, because they don't tell them what they want to hear, and they sometimes rebel against them. Verse thirteen adds, 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? Dathen and Abiram asked Moses why he had brought them out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill them in the wilderness, unless it was to simply put himself in a position of power over them. Moses didn't do this, but God did, and if Egypt was a land flowing with milk and honey, they were still slaves there. We cannot look back to life before we became a follower of Christ and feel that we have given up too much. Verse fourteen continues, 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. They then said Moses had not given them a land flowing with milk and honey and asked if he would blind them because they could see this. It was the lack if faith on the part of the majority of the people that was keeping them out of the Promised Land, and not Moses. If we are following God simply for material rewards and refuse to obey Him in doing what He calls us to do, we are being spiritually blind by our own actions. Verse fifteen states, 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. Moses was upset and asked God to not respect their offering, and said he had taken nothing from them to benefit himself. As followers of Christ today, we cannot follow Him simply for material benefit. Verse sixteen adds, And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: Moses summoned Korah and all his company along with Aaron to come before the LORD the next day. This is always the best way to settle disputes in the church. We need to bring everyone and everything involved in the dispute before the Lord, and let Him settle the dispute. There is no reason to be fighting amongst ourselves. Verse seventeen continues, 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. They were all to bring the same offering to God, including Aaron. Sometimes, we use church disputes to justify not bringing our tithes and offerings to God, but this is not Biblical. Verse eighteen says, 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. They at least did as Moses asked and brought their offering before the tabernacle. They then stood there with Moses and Aaron. Verse nineteen adds, 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. Korah was still gathering the people to follow him and not Moses, and as they gathered at the door of the tabernacle, the glory of God appeared to all the congregation. When we gather together as the church today, God's glory should shine on and through us. Verse twenty declares, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, God did not speak to Korah, who was allied with Dathan and Abiram, but to Moses. Verse twenty-one adds, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the others so that He could consume them in a minute. We cannot rebel against God and His chosen leaders and not expect consequences for our actions, because if we are truly following Christ by faith, we will not be rebelling against His chosen leaders because we don't like what is happening in our lives materially. Verse twenty-two continues, 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? The people, who had been ready to follow Korah suddenly fell on their faces before God and asked if all the people would have to suffer for sins of one man. People are often willing to follow someone who goes against God's leadership until this starts to bring consequences, and then they want to blame their sin on the action of others. We are all responsible for our own sins and cannot expect to he relieved of that responsibility by attempting to blame someone else for them.
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