Numbers 16:8-9 KJV
“And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from 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 to minister unto them?”
Jude 1:4, 11 NKJV
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.”
So while reading Jude, I came across verse 11 where the rebellion of Korah was mentioned; I was led to study about it and then as led, write on it as THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD taught me.
So by God’s grace, we’ll address the below points in this HOLY SPIRIT BLOG and I hope we are all blessed as we read in JESUS NAME; AMEN🙏
Who was Korah,
what happened and
what’s the lesson to learn from there?
We see the story of Korah in Numbers 16.
Who was Korah?
God had ordained and called out the tribe of Levi to be dedicated and delegated to a life of service towards HIM for the people of Isreal.
Numbers 3:12 NKJV
““Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine,”. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”
Korah was a Levite from the family of Kohath but not of the priestly family of Aaron. Aaron and his sons were the only ones out of the tribe of Levi ordained as priest,
Exodus 30:30 NKJV
“And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.”
But as a Levite, Korah had his own God-appointed sphere of ministry:
Numbers 3:6-8 NKJV
““Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle.”
What was the Duty of Korah?
Korah’s job was to help carry the holy furnishings of the sanctuary like the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary:
Numbers 4:15-16 NKJV
“And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. “These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry. “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.””
Numbers 3:27, 31 NKJV
“From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them.”
What was the rebellion of Korah?
Korah wasn’t satisfied with his assignment or duty; he was envious of Moses, Aaron and his son’s and challenged them. Yes as a Levite, he had had his own God-appointed sphere of ministry, but he was not contented with it. He resented the ministry and authority of Moses and Aaron and wanted it:
Numbers 16:1-3 NKJV
“Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?””
So he challenged Moses authority and calling; saying everyone is holy not just Moses and there was no need for Moses to exalt himself above all…
The end result of this rebellion/challenge was that Koran and all who rebelled against God were destroyed:
Numbers 16:31-33 NKJV
“Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.”
What was Moses’s reply to this rebellion?
Moses had to tell him, do you really consider the assignment/ministry God has given you small and insignificant that you want the priesthood also?
Numbers 16:9-10 NLT
Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them? Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?”
And that’s where the lesson lies, in Moses’s reply.
So what’s the lesson here?
Yes; GOD called all the house of Levi to serve HIM but in different capacity;
Numbers 3:11-13 NKJV
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.””
But Korah was not satisfied with his assigned service. He wanted to be a priest. He became ‘jealous’ and ‘resentful’ of his lower position, he questioned the claim of Aaron and his sons to be God’s only ordained mediators for the people. Korah argued that the entire community had an equal right to the priesthood
In the same manner, God choose and called out the house of Levi to a life of service; we also are generation that has been choosen and called to service, but in different capacity.
GOD needs you as HE places you, don’t undermine, undervalue your work while envying someone else’s service to God. Everyone’s assignment is different; serve diligently, faithfully in the work God has called you to.
Have you ever wondered why David couldn’t build Gods temple even tho he wanted to?
David had the right intentions to build a temple for the LORD, his heart was in the right place; see he said I am living in the beautiful place, but the Ark of God is in a tent, let me build a beautiful worthy temple for the LORD;
2 Samuel 7:1-2 NLT
“When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!””
II Samuel 7:4-5, 12-13 NKJV
“But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
God told him no; why? God explained to Nathan the prophet that David has been called to a different type of service and the assignment to build a temple was going to be assigned to someone else, his son; Solomon.
I Kings 8:17-20 NKJV
”Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel.“
David response could have been jealousy’s, envy; why can’t I be the one to build the temple of God; I want that recognition, acknowledgment, applaud; But that wasn’t what God wanted him to do.
In as much as you want to please God and do his will, seek his face first; you have been called for a specific purpose, don’t do anything outside of Gods will even if it’s for HIS name; seek God first.
Yes the church is one body of Christ, Romans 12 tells us that we do not have the same office/ministry, we have different roles, different functions/assignment and we are to do it cheerfully and diligently. We have been given grace, capacity, gifts and tenacity according to the ministry GOD has given us:
Romans 12:3 KJV
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Romans 12:4-8 KJV
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”
One thing that can destroy progress of a church/ revival can be pride; everyone is called to do something particular for the church and we have been empowered to do that; walk in your assignment be diligent in it as well. if your ministry is really and I say this seriously, to sweep the church, take care of the church; do it diligently; don’t envy the people whose job is to climb the pulpit and preach or people who are visible at the front end.
And so that the priests would not be overworked, they were assigned assistants from the tribe of Levi. Don’t envy your assistant/backend position. Don’t, really don’t undermine your service to God, your ministry or the assignment God has placed in your hand is very very important, don’t be envious of others ministry. If you desire to do more for God; pray, ask God to lead you and guide you. It can be like David that He’ll say no and focus on your own work but still give thanks to God.
It’s Gods way not yours; Gods plan not yours.
So what should be my right attitude?
Praise God for the gifts/ministry he has given you and others
Be edified/blessed by the gift/ministry of others rather than envy
Pray for the body of Christ continuously, that they grow in their gift/ministry for the edifying/equipping of the Church of God
So help us GOD; Amen🙏
LORD I thank you for the gift of life, I thank you always for the gift of salvation, dying on the cross of Calvary to save me; I love you always🙏
LORD thank you for I know I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood called forth to show the praises of YOU always. I pray LORD that you give me the grace to serve you diligently and truly; to always be in YOUR will even in service, so LORD I pray you direct my path always, that my service towards you be holy, pleasing and acceptable.
Thank you JESUS for everything, I love you forever and always, Amen🙏
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