We are all have a default rebellious disposition. We see even more rebellion, and more judgement as we go through numbers. As we said yesterday – this is the law.
Numbers 16: Korah's Rebellion
1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.
2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.
3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?"
4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face,
5 and he said to Korah and all his company, "In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.
6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company;
7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!"
8 And Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi:
9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,
10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?
11 Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?"
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, "We will not come up.
13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us?
14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up."
15 And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them."
16 And Moses said to Korah, "Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.
17 And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer."
18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.
20 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
21 "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."
22 And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"
23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins."
27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
28 And Moses said, "Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.
29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me.
30 But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD."
31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart.
32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.
33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!"
35 And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
36 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
37 "Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy.
38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel."
39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar,
40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company---as the LORD said to him through Moses.
41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD."
42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting,
44 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45 "Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell on their faces.
46 And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun."
47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.
49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.
Numbers 17: Aaron's Staff Buds
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff,
3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house.
4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.
5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you."
6 Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.
7 And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.
8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff.
10 And the LORD said to Moses, "Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die."
11 Thus did Moses; as the LORD commanded him, so he did.
12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, "Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?"
Things to think about…
1. The scene is set for the tragic unfolding of events of Korah, Dathan and Abiram Num16:1-3. They were saying to the congregation that they were holy and that Moses – the most humble man on the face of the earth, Num 12:3, has exalted himself? A man who was appointed by the Lord Himself. Look what Moses does when he hears these words of Korah…he puts his face in the dust, Num 16:3. From this point on it was never going to be good for Korah and his mates. Are you undergoing attack, because you are leading morally/spiritually in an issue? Keep going – God is for you and with you!
2. Moses says to these sons of Levi – “isn’t it enough that the Lord has set you apart to minister in the tabernacle – now you speak out against Aaron and want the Priesthood”, Num 16:10. Note in vs 1 that the sons of Rueben also take part in the rebellion. Remember Rueben rebelled against his father by sleeping with his wife. The Lord hates rebellion, especially when the rebellion goes against His order. These rebellious men are asked to take censors – a declaration of their heart in worship before the Lord. They initially refuse to come. Their fate before the Lord is already sealed. By rebelling against Moses, they rebelled against the Lord – the One who chose Moses to lead. In the NT we are called in Matt 18 to take an issue before the church if there are any divisions among us that can’t be settled by two or three. But when it comes to church leaders, it is also very clear; “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear”, 1Tim 5:19, 20. The Lord made the whole congregation fear as e dispensed judgement upon these rebellious houses.
3. God wants to kill all Israel, Num16:21 not just these rebellious men and their families because all Israel were rebels and had rejected the Lord’s leadership over them. But Moses and Aaron plead on their behalf. God says separate from Korah, Dathan and Abiram – they do. Some who call themselves Christians and yet clearly do not show faith by their words and actions are to be challenged. If they don’t repent – move away. Like Paul says, some are handed over to Satan to be refined, 1Cor 5:5. That is not the case here – these three men are handed over to the Lord – far worse in my opinion.
4. Not only did the ground open up and swallow these three families, but the 250 men who were the heads of the other rebellious families were destroyed by fire from the Lord, Num 16:35. Mercifully no-one else was judged even though they all deserved it. What about us? Think of how rebellious some of our thoughts and actions have been with our circumstances. Perhaps in this period of confinement there has been some grumbling. We are being protected by our God and as such should praise Him for His grace and mercy as He forgives, our discontent. We celebrate this amazing truth every Easter weekend.
5. Can you believe it – even after the ground opens up and swallows the rebels the others still complain, Num 16:41. Now a plague starts and 14, 700 more die. Some people will not get the correction of the Lord even after He blatantly shows His displeasure. Pray for a tender spirit that receives instruction and correction. In this season as we see the tragic consequences of bad policy and people ignoring isolation requirements where people get infected and the most vulnerable die, let’s consider what our response should be. God is in control, but it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Run to Jesus, the Protector and Defender and the One who gives peace.
6. Numbers 17 shows the end of the matter. Aaron’s staff buds – no-one else’s does. He is the chosen of the Lord. His staff is then placed in the Testimony (the ark) as a reminder of the Lord’s choosing of Aaron and his sons to lead in the priesthood. Let’s never rebel against the Lord’s will for our lives and continue to submit to His word and the fact that He knows exactly what we need.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon:-“Living by faith” – Galatians 3:1-14
a. Abraham was called the friend of God and was considered righteous before the Law of Moses was ever in existence. How was this possible?
b. The Galatians had started well and had accepted and believed the gospel that Paul had preached. Miracles had occurred in their midst. They had ‘fuel in the tank’. What had happened where Paul says “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you”, vs 1.
c. Jay used the example of his old ute not starting because of the fuel. He said imagine if he had been driving around a few months and then decided to try and start the car without fuel again. It would be foolish. How can we, like the Galatians, do the same with respect to faith and the influence and power of the Holy Spirit.
d. Pray for the gospel and your gospel witness to all those who live and work alongside of you.
Prayer Points
1. Continue to pray and Andy in Ipswich hospital and for Sally as she continues to battle Alzheimer’s. Give thanks for Andy’s brother Tad and a loving husband and example of Christ – Richard.
2. The processing of our insurance claim and the repurchasing of equipment.
3. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
4. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
5. Pray for Kids@church and our Youth group.
6. How you can serve in ministry this year.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The blessing of our Mother’s Day event on Saturday. Big thanks to Suzanne Willey and many other women who made the day a success. A special mention to Katelyn Gillert who was a great blessing in sharing on her role as a mother as well as a daughter.
2. Young adult’s ministry – keep praying as this ministry grows.
3. Kids@Church ministry is a great blessing. Pray for Rosie and balancing her teaching, family and church worlds.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Church information session 28th May after the morning service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters for term 2.
3. Community Day Saturday 24th June at Church. More details to follow.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 8. Who are they? A. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Bible References – Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 20-21.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
