Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Numbers 16:23

Numbers 16:23 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-four adds, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.  God told Moses to tell the congregation to move away from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.  We also need to move away from false places of worship today.  Verse twenty-five states, And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.  Moses went to Dathan and Abiram and the elders of Israel followed him there.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.  Moses warned the congregation to move away from Dathan and Abiram and to touch nothing that was theirs, lest they be destroyed with them.  It was still up to each individual to decide what they would do.  We can warn people of the dangers of following false teachers today, but it is up to them whether or not they choose to do so.  Verse twenty-seven continues, 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.  The people listened to Moses and left, and then Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their families came out of their tents.  They had attempted a take over, and now they found themselves isolated from God's people.   Those who attempt to change God's word and lead God's people away from Him will ultimately stand alone before God to face His judgment.  Verse twenty-eight says, 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.  Moses told them that they were now going to know that God had sent him, and that what he had done had been done by God's hand, or power, and not his own.  As followers of Christ, we also need to make sure that whatever we do is done by the power of God.  We cannot just follow our own desires under our own strength and successfully follow God.  Verse twenty-nine adds, 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.  Moses said that if Korah, Dathan and Abiram died normal deaths, God had not sent Moses.  Of course, people today can die normal deaths, even if they are leading people away from God, and this does not mean that they are teaching the truth.  Verse thirty continues, 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.  Moses said that if God made a new thing and the earth swallowed Korah, Dathan and Abiram up, then they would know that they had provoked God.  This was something that had never happened before, so if it happened after Moses proposed it, it would be proof that God was speaking through him.  We really don't have any sign like this to prove that people are leading others away from God, so we need to make sure that we know God's word and are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-one states, 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:  As soon as Moses stopped talking, the earth began to open up.  It was too late for those who had not listened to Moses to do so now.  Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  The earth opened up and swallowed these three, their houses and goods, and all those who had continued to stand with them against Moses.  Verse thirty-three continues, 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.  Korah, Dathan, Abiram and all those who followed them fell into thee pit that had opened up and then the pit closed up again.  We cannot look for the same thing to happen today, but those who corrupt God's word and lead others away from Him will one day be swallowed up by the pits of hell.  Verse thirty-four declares, And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.  All those who had been close by fled the area, saying that they needed to lest they be swallowed up as well.  We need to move away from those who teach false things about God today, so that we do not begin to believe them instead of God and get caught up in their everlasting punishment.  Of course, I believe that if we have truly put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we never will be pulled away by false teachers. 

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