Here’s another source: delusions. Look at verse 4, “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.” Now if that’s not a confirmation of the good-heartedness of Moses, I don’t know what is. If he had lashed out and attacked the people who were rebelling against him, it would have been a confirmation that there was a big problem on his part. Instead, Moses humbled himself and got on his face before God. Clearly, Korah and his club had delusions of grandeur about Moses. How could they think Moses had any grand schemes? Notice Moses’ response. He called up Korah and the others to assemble the next day with the censers. “Then Moses said to Korah, ‘Hear now, you sons of Levi’” (verse 8). He was saying, “Do you all think you want to do what I do? Do you all think you want this responsibility? You don’t know what you’re talking about!” They had said to him, “You’ve gone too far,” in verse 3. Now he’s like, “No, you’ve gone too far!”
Moses was saying, in effect, “Do you think you want to be me? Well, let me just ask you: Where were you when I was forty years out in the wilderness? Where were you when I stood trembling before Pharaoh in Egypt? Where were you when all the ten plagues were going on? Where were you when the Egyptian armies were coming behind us, and I held out my arm to cross the Red Sea? Where were you when I was up trembling before God on a mountain for how many days and bringing down the Ten Commandments? And now you want my job?”
A rebellious attitude is sometimes rooted in not seeing ourselves clearly.
Often people desire a position, but they don’t respect the process. They want the opportunity, but they don’t realize the work and energy that’s gone into getting to thatplace. They covet the results without recognizing the requirements. You don’t roll out of bed some morning and become a leader in any sphere in society. Leadership requires a lot of work and a lot of apprenticeship. There’s a lot of brokenness and a lot of trying, failing, and trying again.
Before you set your sights on your boss’s job or your husband’s job or your teacher’s job, and before you have some coldhearted cynical attitude toward the police officers in your area, consider the real picture. Today’s police officer, for example, gets no respect, no appreciation, and certainly no pay compared to the risk that goes with the job. I thank God for the men in our church who do this work. And God forgive us for our rebellious attitudes toward people that He’s placed in authority. You don’t get to those places easily. Those who covet the positions of others are often, in my experience, a little bit delusional, not really recognizing all that they involve. So Moses said, “You’ve gone far enough.” Sometimes you have to stand up to a rebellious person and say, “Do you know what? Enough is enough! You’re jealous, you’ve got delusions, and you’re downright rebellious.”
A third source of rebellion is ungratefulness. In verse 9, Moses said, “Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of 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 . . . ?” What a privilege and opportunity! Korah was serving in the tabernacle. He had a job as one of the special separated ministers. Yet he wasn’t grateful for this special position as a Levite. Why? He just didn’t think he had a big enough job.
He wasn’t getting to do as much as he wanted to do.
Moses continued: “...and that He has brought you near,Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also?” (verse 10). Moses was saying, “Isn’t this enough for you? Do you want to be a priest too?”
If you have a position of authority, don’t ever forget that first of all it comes from God. The Scriptures tell us that promotion doesn’t come from the east or the west. God is the Judge, the One who sets up one person and puts down another (see Psalm 75:6–7). Second, if you have a position, it came from God but it came through people. People allow people to function in positions of authority. Don’t ever forget that a position of authority is a trust, given by people in the church, in the home, in the marketplace. If you start to think that you deserve it, or can demand it, then you have forgotten how you got there. And you’re ungrateful. That’s a source of rebellion.
Another root of rebellion can be found in verse 12: stubbornness. Stubbornness fuels rebellion. “Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, ‘We will not come up.’”
Notice this amazing audacity. The ruler of two million people sends for these two mo-jos, and they’re like, “We’re not coming!” Very few people would identify themselves as rebellious, but let me ask you:
Are you hard to agree with?
Are you hard to reconcile with? If someone injures you, is it hard for them to get that worked out? Is it easy to lead you or is it hard to lead you? Are you an easy person to influence? Do you have a flexible spirit? If you have prided yourself on, “I’m stubborn. I don’t—”, that’s not good. You have a rebellious heart.
“Well, my mom told me that’s a strength.” Sorry about your mom’s confusion, but stubbornness is a weakness. It will hurt yout came thr’t confuse strength of character with stubbornness—they’re not the same. Stubbornness will definitely take you a long way, but you’d better bring some food and water, because the road of stubbornness leads to the wilderness.
Disappointment is the fifth source of rebellion. Verse 13 reveals this aspect of the rebellion, “‘Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey ...?’” Their twisted view is laughable! Look at how they describe Egypt. How would you respond? Moses could have correctly responded, “But you were slaves! You made bricks in Egypt! You’ve hardly been gone a year but you forget what you were!”
Notice how rebellion distorts the picture and leads to accusations. “‘Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards’” (verses 13–14). Do you see what’s going on here? They are expressing disappointment. Now what the rebellious person feels is real. It’s not right, but it’s real. What happened?
They were disappointed, and disappointment often leads to rebellion.
Maybe there has been a church leader in your life who didn’t live up to some of what he professed, and the person disappointed you. Have you used that as an occasion to rebel? It’s wrong (both what he did and how you have responded)! Or maybe your boss has done some dishonest things. Now you’ve disqualified him and have said, “I don’t have to be under his authority. I don’t have to respect him because he did some things that aren’t right.” You’re wrong. God has placed you there, and you need to find God’s purpose in that place. As long as the person is not asking you to sin, you need to find a way to be under that authority.
I wonder how many wives I speak to each week whose husbands have disappointed them so that they think, “Well, I don’t have to live under his authority.” No, they’re wrong. I know there are children who say, “Well, my parents aren’t perfect. I know their inconsistencies, so I’m going to do what I want.” All those are very bad decisions. Disappointment with others is one of the things that fuels rebellion.
Here’s the final source of rebellion: distrust. Notice what verse 14 says: “‘Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!’” When Moses told Dathan and Abiram, “You all get up here,” they said as part of their answer, “Would you put out the eyes of these men also?” They’re saying, “Hey, do you know what, Moses? The only people who really support your leadership—they’re blind. They are a bunch of yes-men. The only people who can really support you are the people who you’ve duped into blindness. They don’t see your faults. But we see them, Moses! We know what you want to do. You want us to come up there and meet with you, so you can brainwash us like you have the others.” So the way they say it is, “You’re going to poke out our e
yes,too.”
Wow, how distorted can you get? They distrust Moses—his judgment and his supporters.
The headlines of the daily news might have read:
Moses Not Perfect, But God On His Side.
Of course, Moses may not have been perfect. But wait ’til you see how God feels about the critics’ attitude. Korah’s group felt like Moses had disappointed them and let them down. So they built up a lot of things in their minds, and they decided, “We’re not trusting you anymore, Moses.” Once they stopped trusting him, once they stopped believing in Moses’ heart despite his weaknesses, whatever they were, once trust was gone, rebellion was on the way. There is a fourth biblical truth about rebellion in this passage:
Rebellion has many consequences.
At least four consequences await those who rebel, according to this portion of God’s Word. After Moses told Korah and his company to meet with Aaron and him the next day with censers, the rebels returned to learn of God’s displeasure and the consequences of their murmuring.
And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves [there’s the first consequence] from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?” (verses 19–22)
God’s impending judgment is just, yet the compassionate Moses pleads with God on behalf of the people. And God showed mercy. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the congregation, saying, “Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram”’” (verses 23–24). Get back from around their dwellings. It’s too late to change attitudes; God is about to judge.
WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADERS GONE?
Before we see how God judges them, let me make this point: One of the consequences of rebellion is leadership withdrawal. God commanded Moses and Aaron, the elders of the nation, to pull back: “Separate yourselves,” he said. Often people wonder why those in authority seem to have little interest in them. This could be one of the reasons. If you are continuously difficult to lead, leaders will often pull back and not lead you anymore. In every sphere—in the home, in the church, in the marketplace—if you become difficult to lead, leaders will pull back from you. That can make your life very lonely and unprotected, kind of like a wilderness.
I first heard Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute of Basic Life Principles, teach that authority is like an umbrella. It’s a protection. There are a lot of hurtful things in this world, and God allows some of them into our lives. But God also protects us from many of the things that would injure us by placing us under authority. Now no authority is perfect, but the powers that be are ordained of God. Unless they’re asking you to sin, you need to do the things that you’re asked to do. When you choose not to do that, you place yourself in a position of great risk. Those under proper authority can count on safety;
Those out from under authority can count on danger.
I’m amazed at how many people’s lives are nothing more than the sum total of the decisions that they’ve made to get out from under worthy authority—bad choices and the consequences that follow, often for the rest of their lives.
I often remind the young people at Harvest to stay under the authority of their parents. They need to embrace the protection that God has provided. The vast majority of the young people I know have parents who love them and are giving themselves for their kids. Unless what their parents are telling them to do is sin, unless they are deeply wounding and injuring them, those students would be wise to obey and honor their parents.
Whether you are a teen or an employee, it’s better to submit to authorities—even when you don’t understand all their reasons—than to go your own way and maybe make a decision that you will regret for the rest of your life. When young people, wives, or employees, or anyone under authority chooseo rebel and become difficult to lead, they will eventually reap the consequence of leadership withdrawal.
ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF REBELLION
Imagine the tension as the showdown began. Moses warned “the congregation, saying, ‘Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin’” (verse 26). The people did so, and then the Scripture indicates, “Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones” (verse 27). At least three generations were standing there, including grandchildren.
Moments later, the ground opened up, and they fell straight down into hell—not just Korah and all those men—but other innocents with them. Later in Numbers we learn that Korah’s children did not die (26:11), but there is not mention of any of the other children, let alone wives and other relatives—all innocent but swept away in God’s judgment upon the rebels. You say,
“That’s terrible!”
You’re right; it is.
Rebellion not only results in leadership withdrawal; it creates a situation where innocent people are injured. And that is terrible—the terrible second consequence of rebellion. Korah led an insurrection out from under Moses’ authority, but he couldn’t provide for or protect those who followed him. Korah said, “Hey, you all, come with me! We know what we’re doing! Come on, everybody!” But in the end he only led them into a deep hole in the ground that became their grave. Be careful about joining a rebellion. Korah led his rebels to a place where he couldn’t protect them. When rebellion is pursued, innocent people always suffer.
REBELLION WILL BE JUDGED
The third consequence of rebellion is that the guilty will be condemned. Moses explained as everyone watched,
“By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. If these men die the death of all men, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.” As he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. (verses 28–35)
When it was too late, the judgment was shocking and swift.
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze’” (verses 36–37). God then gave the direction to pound the metal from the censers into thin sheets and nail them in place on the tabernacle altar as a reminder of the lesson that they had learned.
The rebels were judged for their rebellion. They could have given a lot of excuses, but it was too late for excuses. God condemned their rebellion.
A SPREADING INFECTION
Here’s the last consequence: The infection spread. Hebrews 12:15 points out that a root of bitterness will defile many people. Rebellion is like spiritual ADS: It spreads rapidly and can infect many people.
Notice verse 41: “But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘You were the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people.’” The rebels died; the infection lived on. You say, “Do you mean they saw those people fall down in the depths of the earth—a divine act for sure—and the very next day they were complaining against the person who said, ‘this is not my doing’? No way!” Way! I know. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the exact thing happen in my lifetime.
Good people, wonderful people, become bent because they started listening to a rebel. Rebellion is a contagious disease.
There is a final biblical truth about rebellion.
Rebellion is ultimately against God.
Make no mistake about it: Rebellion is ultimately against God. You can’t miss that here. Verse 30 clearly indicates they rebelled against the Lord, but the key verse is verse 11, which says, “‘Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord.’”
God didn’t see this as a rebellion against Moses. If He’s the One who puts the person in authority, rejecting the authority is rejecting God. That’s why He takes it so seriously.
If the powers that be are ordained of God, then to resist and rebel against the established authorities is to resist and rebel against God. “God, You don’t know what You’re doing. He shouldn’t be in charge. Why do I have to do what she says?” That’s ultimately a rejection of God, and it brings huge consequences for our lives.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
I had a lengthy story written here, but I am going to save my personal disclosure for the next chapter. Suffice it to say that rebellion is something that God has done a lot of work on in me. I have been through many painful seasons of growth and change as I make progress in this wilderness attitude, which has at times been deeply rooted in my human heart. Much more on that in chapter 10.
LET’S TALK SOLUTION
Maybe you clearly recognize the sin and dangerous consequences of having a rebellious attitude. The tragic end of Korah and his company is a warning you want to heed, and you wonder, “How much am I a rebel, and how can I abandon this wilderness attitude?” Here are three sets of questions to ask that will help you do both.
1. Am I a rebel? Don’t answer this question without praying about it first. Ask the Lord to bring to your mind the faces of specific people whose rightful authority you have resisted. Invite the Holy Spirit to examine each of the relationships in your life: family, marriage, work, the body of Christ. Are you playing the rebel’s role in any of those places? This ought to be a prayer with fear and trembling. The example of Korah in your mind should be enough to help you see how close rebellion comes to inviting destruction. Remember that every instance of rebellion toward a human authority is also an attitude of rebellion against God.
Lord, Change My Attitude: Before It's Too Late Page 20
