Holy Trinity Lutheran Church centuries ago. And then we will learn lessons Des Moines, WA for our faith and our Christian life as we worship God this Lent. March 3, 2013 1. The account of Korah and his followers Numbers 16:1-40 We read the account in our first two Lenten Thoughts on… Rebellion Scripture readings this morning. Background 1. The account of Korah and his information will be very helpful to us in followers understanding what exactly was happening in that power struggle. Looking back, the 2. Lenten lessons for our faith and life Israelites had left Egypt in a dramatic exodus. Moses had led them through the parted Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army had been dashed to Hymns: 385 – 302 – Distribution: 116, 124 – pieces behind them. Then the community of Closing: 114 (6-7) Israel had journeyed through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, where they had paused for quite a All Scripture quotations from NIV 1984 while as Moses received the laws of God on the mountain. Then they had traveled northward all the way to the southern border of the Power struggles! They are common in our Promised Land. Spies had been sent to check world today: out Canaan and had returned with a negative • Nations struggle for power. We watch report: “We can’t take this land! The cities are on news channels as nations undergo too fortified and the people are too strong!” riots and depose their governmental Therefore, in Numbers 14 God declared that leaders. due to their lack of faith and their complaint • Our own Congress struggles for power. against him they would wander the wilderness Opposite sides posture for power in for 40 years. All people age 21 and older would their philosophies as to how to run our die during that time, and their children would country. be the ones to enter the Promised Land. • Labor and management struggle for After God revealed that judgment, they had power. Negotiations about benefits are rushed into the Promised Land in their held. Strikes are threatened. frustration – without God’s blessing – to begin • Power struggles can happen in a home. an attempt at conquest, and had been beaten Spouses and family members lock horns back and defeated. They were now fulfilling in a struggle for control. their sentence of wandering aimlessly. • Power struggles can even happen in a It is during this time that the incident of our visible church, as members try to get text occurs. We had read, “Korah son of Izhar, the upper hand over others instead of the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain serving them. Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram… and On— And power struggles can happen… in the became insolent and rose up against Moses. desert. What? In the desert? Yes, today we With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known learn from an account in the Old Testament community leaders who had been appointed where a serious power struggle was occurring. members of the council. They came as a group It is a sad story that we will recount today from to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, Numbers 16. We will learn about a man named ‘You have gone too far! The whole community is Korah and his followers. First, we will review holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with the details of what happened in the wilderness them. Why then do you set yourselves above something about how serious this power the LORD ’s assembly?’ ” struggle was!) Thus the power struggle begins. Who are Moses understood their envy of Aaron and the participants? One of the leaders is Korah. his priesthood, so he devised a plan. Moses’ You may have taken note of his family idea is that their group should get censers filled connections as we read those verses. His great- with incense, light them, and bring them to grandfather was Levi. The Levites had the present to the LORD at the tabernacle the next privilege of being the overseers and workers day. Do you see how this would show true with the tabernacle and worship for the nation. disdain for the LORD’s word? That was work Moses and his brother Aaron were Levites. that was only to be done by the priests. If they Within the tribe of Levi, Aaron had been wanted to serve that way, Moses said, bring designated by God as the first priest. His sons your prayer censers and offer incense! and their sons after him would be the only ones More on that later. We also have to take who would continue the priestly line of service. note of Dathan, Abiram, and On. These were For the rest of the tribe of Levi, they would be major leaders as well in this power struggle. the temple workers who maintained the These men were not Levites, but Reubenites. tabernacle, transported it, and took care of all Their forefather Reuben had been the oldest the worship details. son of Jacob. Being from the tribe of Levi, Korah was a We read that after talking to Korah, Moses tabernacle worker. He was also a cousin of summoned Dathan and Abiram. But they said, Aaron. Can you see how this power struggle “We will not come! Isn’t it enough that you had developed? Cousin Moses got to be God’s have brought us up out of a land flowing with prophet and tell the people what to do. Korah milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And was sick and tired of the glory Moses got and now you also want to lord it over us! Moreover, the “I-just-talked-to-God” look on his face. And you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with Aaron got to parade around as the high priest in milk and honey or given us an inheritance of his special robes and outfit. But Korah was in fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the the group that had to do the manual labor and eyes of these men? No, we will not come!” carry the tabernacle parts around. And he was Just think about what they were saying! fed up with it. With Moses and Aaron being in • They refused to appear the next day to their 80’s at this time, it certainly seemed like a settle this matter. Not only did they good time to raise a revolt! defy God’s appointed leaders and God This is why Moses said to Korah, “Now listen, himself, they would not appear to you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God resolve the conflict. of Israel has separated you from the rest of the • They mocked Moses by using his own Israelite community and brought you near words: “Isn’t it enough…” himself to do the work at the LORD ’s tabernacle • They directly slammed God’s promise of and to stand before the community and minister a land of milk and honey, the metaphor to them? He has brought you and all your that God had made for the Promised fellow Levites near himself, but now you are Land. They said Moses had led them trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the from the land of milk and honey to a LORD that you and all your followers have land that was not milk and honey. banded together. Who is Aaron that you should (Moses, you don’t know what you’re grumble against him?” doing!) We also heard there were 250 leading men • They implied Moses had taken his of the nation that Korah had gathered. These authority too far and “lorded it over” men were well known and also appointed men them and the rest of the people. of the council of the nation. (This tells us • They accused him of blinding people to “As soon as he finished saying all this, the his leadership and incompetence. ground under them split apart and the earth This was a direct and serious threat! opened its mouth and swallowed them with What was reality? Had Moses done such their households and all Korah’s men and all things? Remember his call at the burning bush? their possessions. They went down alive into Had he arrogantly claimed power at that time? the grave, with everything they owned; the Rather, didn’t he hesitantly accept God’s earth closed over them, and they perished and command? Remember how he even made were gone.” Verse 35 continues, “ And fire came excuses for why he should not go to confront out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men Pharaoh? who were offering the incense.” And what about Mt. Sinai? Had he They had chosen their home. arrogantly usurped power to go up the 2. Lenten lessons to learn for mountain to face God and receive his laws? Rather, hadn’t the people trembled in fear and our faith and life said, “You go up there yourself and then tell us What can we learn from this account, one of what God wants”? Tragically these leaders and the most dramatic in Scripture? What can we councilmen had been given honorable positions learn from this power struggle? by God and they were not satisfied with them, A number of things! First, this Lent we must due to their envy. acknowledge the fact that our sin has been Therefore, a showdown begins the next day nothing less than rebellion against our God. at the tabernacle. Korah and the 250 men Me? A rebel? Like this? appear.