(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, so number 16, my sermon this evening is going to be much more like a Bible study. We're going to go through number 16 pretty much verse by verse, we'll go through a lot of this story. There's a lot to learn here, there's a lot to see in this chapter, and I think this is one of those things that's just always relevant in general, because what we see here is an attack on God's leadership. There's an attack on Moses, there's an attack on Aaron, and we're going to read through this story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and how God deals with it, and one of the reasons I'm going over this too is sometimes it's easy to know Bible stories, and you remember Bible stories, but we don't always apply them to maybe other events that you might see going on around you. Now, Moses is a high-profile person within the children of Israel, right, I mean everybody knows who Moses is. There is no getting around that, especially at this point in the Bible, right? Yet Moses is still an extremely meek and humble person as well, right, he's got some really good attributes, but everyone knows who Moses is, and in his story, what we see is this, look at verse number one, it says, Now Korah, the son of Ishar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab and An, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you. Being all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them, wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. So these guys come around, and let me be very clear about this, these are wicked people, okay, very, very wicked people. They talk more subtly, they say things that, well what's so wrong about that? Well, as we see later, you know, God opens up the earth and sends them straight to hell. So obviously there's something wrong with that. We're going to dig into this a little bit more though, and what we see happening is, they just start talking against the God-chosen leadership, against Moses, against Aaron, and for no good reason either, they're just saying, oh you're just taking on too much. Basically, who do you think you are, being in this whole leadership role, and telling us what to do, and you know, who do you think you are? We all can, you know, we're all children of God here, we all can do whatever, and this is a real wicked thing that they're doing here, and I'm going to show you, keep your place here, turn if you would to Psalm 106, you've got to understand that there's nothing new under the sun, the tactics that infiltrators will use are the same, and keep in mind who Korah, Dathan, and Abiram are also. The Bible tells us here, these aren't just outsiders from somewhere else, these aren't Moabites coming in and trying to stir people up against Moses and Aaron, these are coming from within the children of Israel. Not just that, Korah is a Levite, right? Now Dathan and Abiram, they're sons of Reuben, they're not even having, supposed to have anything to do with the service of the Lord, with the tabernacle, with all of the other things that they're supposed to be doing, but Korah does, as a Levite, Korah has responsibilities within the service of the Lord, and here what they're doing is they're attacking the office of the priest. Now the office of the priest was a very important office, all of the offices are very important, and we're going to see that, they all have ministering, they all have a job to do, and the priest was more front and center, the priest had a little bit more leadership, the priest was the one offering sacrifices, the high priest is the one going into the Holies of Holies, so there's different positions that might garner more attention, but all of the jobs are important, and I'm going to get into that a little bit too, as we see, but what these people are doing are really wicked, and one of the motivations for what they're doing, as you see in Psalm 106, verse number 16 brings up a reference to this story, it says they envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram, and a fire was kindled in the company, and the flame burned up the wicked, so right there obviously saying that they were wicked as well, really wicked people, but one of the motivations is just literally envy, they see Moses, they see Aaron, oh who do they think they are, why are they so special, but they really want to be in that position, they want to be the ones, see notice what they say is, you take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy, what they're trying to do is bring them down by saying hey we're all on the same playing field here, we're all just equal with each other, so who do you think you are, and every one of them, the Lord is among them, isn't the Lord among all of us, then why are you lifting up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord, but what do they want, they want to be in their spot, they're envious of that position, so they're hiding the fact that they actually want to be the ones being the new leaders, but they try to get everyone, they appeal to more people by just putting the attack on them, saying oh yeah who do you think you are, and this is also a flattering type of an attack too, because on the one hand they're bringing down men that God has raised up, now Moses didn't self exalt, he wasn't just going around being like well I'm this guy, that's not Moses at all, that's clear, we're going to see that again later in the story, but all throughout scripture, that is not the attitude that Moses ever ever had, but that's what they're accusing him over and over, multiple times in this story alone we're going to see the false accusations going forth, oh you're taking too much on yourself, you're exalting yourself, why should we all be bowed down to you and listening to you, and who made you leader, well you know what, God made him leader, God exalted him, God lifted him up, and Moses was better than those people, I'm not saying he was just better than all of them, but he was better than these wicked people right here, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, he was a better person than they were, now the way that these false brethren will work is one, they'll use the flattery method, that's a huge red flag, when people come along and just start telling everybody different things that when they start giving you praise for things that you don't deserve praise for, and I don't mean because you're doing something bad, but I just mean like oh man, someone some brand new believer and hasn't even read through their bible cover to cover once, oh you've got such great insight on the scripture, it's like the guy was just saved like a month ago, you know, they're a babe, they're going to need to learn, and hopefully you can spot when someone's doing that to you, because that is a red flag that these people use, that wicked people will use, because they're trying to get you on their side for their own purposes, so they butter you up and try to tell you as many good things about you as they think that you want to hear, and they'll just make stuff up, and that's what flattery is, it's not a compliment, it's not just a compliment, it's normal to compliment people, if someone really does, I was just complimenting the hard work of the ladies that won second place in chili cook off, because I know that they put in a lot of time and effort, so that's a normal compliment to give to someone, hey, you've worked really hard, it was obviously good, other people thought so, it's not just one person going like, oh man, yours was the best and no one voted for it, not even me, right, going like, I thought yours was the best, okay, that would be like flattery, but going no, I mean you worked for it, here, this is a worthy recognition, a compliment, whatever, right, that's not flattery, flattery is just going all out, over the top, and giving people praise when it's really not warranted at all, where it just doesn't exist, so watch out for that, and the way that they're doing this is they're just trying to say, oh see look, all of us are, I mean we can all just be priests, and what that does is it minimizes the job of the priest, right, and then also it's just raising the level of everyone else, because look, not everyone's going to be able to meet the qualifications, now the priesthood, God decided it was hereditary anyways, he said this is all going to be through Aaron, right, and his sons and his children and that line, but apply this to our current situation just in church leadership, you know, the role of a bishop or pastor, right, just saying well everybody could pastor, and that's something that the house church movement does, and that's something that other people will do, and they'll come in and say, well look, who do you think you are, getting up here and preaching, well I've got something to say, and what about this, I want to hear what they have to say, and I want to hear what that person has to say, and it's just like, there's more to it, there's more to teaching, you know, if you're going to teach, you've got to know what you're talking about, and not everybody knows what they're talking about, okay, some people are babes and grind, everyone's at a different spiritual level, now it doesn't mean that I'm the only one who can teach, there are other people that can teach, right, but it's not just a free for all, and a lot of the things that they'll say here too, like there's some truth with this, right, well the whole congregation is holy, well yeah, that'd be like saying, well I mean we're all saved here, we all have the Holy Ghost here, amen, that's right, but God also put requirements and restrictions and, you know, rules on how he wants things to be done, so just because we're all, you know, children of God, we all have the Holy Ghost, doesn't mean everybody's a pastor, right, but this is the mindset they're trying to take everyone out, and especially those that are unstable, right, what they're really going to be able to do is go after people who are weak in the faith, or uneducated, unlearned, they don't really know much, hey yeah, that's right, it's this, you know, I'm for you, I'm for the common worker, it's a, you know, almost a communist mentality, and that's how communism succeeds when they get popular opinion, it's the, oh man, we're for the working guy, you know, these bosses, they have all this money, and you know, we're going to band together, and all this other stuff, but it's that same mindset where they're going to, and the people who are organizing that, they don't really care about the laborers, they just want to make their own way, and get their own power, and their own whatever, right, they're envious, so they want to achieve their ways by their means, and they're wicked people, and that's the same tactics that we see here, so they're saying, oh you take too much on you, all congregation are holy, every one of them, the Lord is among them, wherefore then lift you up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord, and the irony, I think, I think in all this is that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, they're the ones that are lifting themselves up to a position that they're not worthy of, because by them saying, well who do you think you are lifting yourself, they're the envious ones, they're the ones that want to be in the position that God did not put them into, that God put Moses into, and they're saying you're, you know, he's the one lifting themselves up, you know, but they're the ones that are actually lifting themselves up, and they're taking too much on themselves by just defying the spiritual leadership that God has chosen to put in place for the congregation of the children of Israel. Now we get to see a little bit about the humility of Moses, and what we're going to see here is how a righteous leader behaves, and over and over again, Moses proves through his actions that he really is in the right position, that God chose well, that God had chosen based on his character, based on who he is, based on what he knows, what he does, everything he exhibits here in this story is done well and done right, and everything we see from people attacking him is wicked and wrong, and you know, also I kind of skipped over this, how they go after him. So first you've got this, you know, these sons of Reuben and this son of Levi. I think right off the bat, if they didn't have the son of Levi, they wouldn't have enough clout to really get anywhere, right, because they have to pull in somebody that's like in the ministry somehow, in order to even get any type of momentum going to gather support against Moses and Aaron, and you got to watch out for this, because wicked people are going to come in, and we need to take this story, and my point for going over this is to take this story and be able to apply it to modern day, because wicked people are still around. Children of the devil are still going to try to be busting up work for the Lord, and they're going to be going after the people that are like Moses and like Aaron and people who might have a lot of attention and might be doing some of the most works for God, not might be, but are doing some of the most work for God, and attack in various ways and infiltrate and get people against them and even then try to recruit other, you know, in our day might be pastors, right, against someone else and recruit other people against them, and here what they're doing in verse two, it says they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, so they're getting people in powerful positions. The princes are the ones that are in authority, and they've got 250 of them gathered together against Moses, so they're coming with this more of an even political force says they're famous in the congregation, men of renown. These well-respected, well-known people in the congregation now are all, I mean, 250 people is a lot of people. Many have 250 well-known people, and they're all voicing their thoughts, opinions against Moses and Aaron. It does a lot of damage. We need to be aware of this so you don't get the wool pulled over your eyes by wicked people trying to destroy a good work and get you focused on the wrong thing, because they just come up with whatever. Here, I say, oh, you're just, you're taking too much. Who do you think you are? You take too much upon yourself, and you know, Moses, even though he was meek, was still a very strong leader. He was a very decisive and bold leader. He didn't think much of himself. He was meek and humble. That's what it means to be meek, but he led the children of Israel, and he led them through, and whatever God told him to do, whether it was difficult or not for him, and whether people were receiving or not, he did what God said to do, and that is not always easy. He had a hard job to do and hard people to lead, yet he did it right. He was a great leader, and we see the humility here in verse number four. It says, when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. So here they are just bringing these railing accusations against him, saying, oh, you're, who do you think you are, lifting yourself up, and you're taking too much on you. He just goes down to the ground, like, what are you coming against me for? Who am I? And he spake unto Korah and all his company, saying, even tomorrow the Lord will show who are his and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him, even him whom he hath chosen, and will cause, and will he cause to come near unto him. See, Moses knows that God chose him. Moses knows he's in a special position. He doesn't let that go to his head, right, but he still knows. He knows that God's telling, like, I'm going to speak with you, and you're going to speak to the people. That was way back at the burning bush. This is God choosing Moses, saying, you're going to be my mouthpiece. You're going to be my spokesperson, and Moses asked to get Aaron involved. He said, you know what? You're going to be like God to Aaron, and Aaron will be like you to the people. So Moses is comfortable and confident in his position because he knows, but he still shows humility. He doesn't go off saying, oh yeah, well, look at my credentials. He says, you know what? We'll let the Lord settle this. He'll tell us real quick, and then he says in verse six, this do take you censors, Korah and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy. Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. See, now he's pointing it out that I'm not the one taking too much on myself. I'm doing my job that God put me in. You're the one that's taking too much upon yourself by now trying to put yourself in my position. He's like, I didn't go after your job. I'm not trying to do the Korahites' job. I'm not going in and trying to get involved in your business. God's appointed you to that work, and God's appointed me this work, and you're taking too much upon yourselves. And I love, see, this also demonstrates how strong of a leader Moses is. They're coming to him and going, who do you think you are? But look what he does. He tells them, okay, here's what you're going to do then. You're going to take censors. He's leading them and telling them exactly what they did. They didn't have a plan on how to determine who God chose to be best. He's saying, okay, here's what you're going to do. You're going to get censors. You're going to fill them up. We're all going to show up back here, and God's going to choose. And guess what they do? They do it. They follow it, right? Because Moses is the leader. And even when they're complaining about him and going against him, he's still the leader. And good leaders can lead that way. Even when people don't really like you, they still listen to you and do what you say. And that is the sign. And look, honestly, right? That is a sign of a good leader. Who's had bosses before that you didn't really like that much, but you still did what they said, right? And not necessarily just because you're worried about losing your job, but just because they were still a leader, right? They were still a good, they may not have been the best person, but they were still a good leader. But here, Moses is doing a good job, and he's doing the right thing. And he just tells them, okay, here's what you're going to do. This will settle it. No one even says, well, you know, this is, I think I got a better idea on how to settle this. No, they just go ahead and do it. Verse number eight, let's keep reading here. And Moses said in the Korah, here I pray you, you sons of Levi. So of course, you know, the Korahites are the sons of Levi, the other Dathan and Byrom are sons of Reuben. Verse nine, 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. So he's saying, are you really taking your job so lightly? He's saying, God has separated you from the whole congregation of Israel to do this service, to do this job, to do this service in the tabernacle. And you stand here and you get to minister unto them. But that's not enough for you. You also want to take my job too. And he's singling them out because, you know, the sons of Reuben didn't have any part in the service of the tabernacle in the service of the Lord. But the Levites did. Korah did. Korah and his family, they did have that responsibility and that job. And he's rebuking them rightfully for saying, what do you think this is? And, you know, this could also be applied to anything that you do. You know, sometimes churches will get someone within the church that starts excelling and getting involved in more stuff. And they could get a big head on their shoulders thinking like, well, you know, I could, why don't I just be the pastor then or whatever, you know, and just kind of getting getting a little too big, like, wait a minute, hold on. You're serving in a capacity right now that you ought to be happy about and thankful for. Don't you go taking on too much of yourself and just saying, oh, I'm better than the leadership that I learned under and was brought up under to then now I'm just better than them and I should be the one. And, you know, honestly, I can't see something like that happening here. But who knows, that is how a lot of churches split though. There are people who come in, they may be dynamic, they're very personable, they come in through the ranks, and then they start getting more influence. And before you know it, they start talking bad in people's ears about the leadership because they envy that position, they envy the pastor, they want to be in their spot, they talk bad about them, they start, you know, flattering the people who are listening to them. So they try to steal their hearts from the pastor. And then what they end up doing is splitting up churches. We need to be aware of these tactics because these wolves will look good. In some cases, you know, they're gonna they're gonna come in craftily and sneakily. And the more work that we do for the Lord, the more we're gonna be susceptible to attacks like this. And when you, you know, see other drama going on in other churches with other people, just know things like this are happening. They do happen and they have been happening. And you may not like it. I don't like it. But don't fault the wrong people. In this situation, the entire congregation followed the wrong people. If it's possible for an entire congregation that was under Moses's leadership, the same Moses who led through the Red Sea on dry land. Imagine yourself following a spiritual leader and you're literally walking on dry ground with water up above you doing something supernatural that you've never seen in your life. And you're a part of that and you're following him going, wow, this is amazing, right? And you're witnessing the plagues in Egypt. You're going through, you're eating the manna that God is just providing for you, no work involved. You're going through this. To me, it's just like if people that have been through these things with Moses are still being flipped and able to turn on him, how much more people who don't go through such extreme events with somebody that should be more solidifying like this than maybe just a pastor of a church who you may or may not have very much personal connection to. But maybe you do. Maybe you've got a lot of things in your life. Don't just overlook those things. The children of Israel here, they're just overlooking everything that Moses had done because you've got these slick wolves coming in and stealing their focus and stealing their intention and going, hey, yeah, who do they think they are? We all could do this. Why does Moses have to be the one getting all the glory? Why does he have to be the one up front? Why can't I do it? And they just get this wicked thought in people's minds instead of thinking, you know what, actually, there's a lot of good reasons why. Not just anybody can fill Moses' shoes. God chose him for a reason. And God's got jobs for everyone to do, and they're not all the same. And they're not all going to be positions of glory. They're not all going to be positions that get the most attention. But they're all important. And that's why when the Bible talks about members within a church or members in the body of Christ, some parts are more comely than others. That's the way the Bible talks about it. Our body parts, some parts of our body are more beautiful than others. Someone's hair or their eyes or something, you may have more beauty or attractiveness to those parts, but they're not always the most functional either. And whatever. But every part has a different function, and they're all important. Whether it's a finger or toe, an eye or ear, they're all important. They all need to work together. So God is the one, though, who sets the people in the place where they are within a church. And we shouldn't be discontent and envious and say, well, I want that job. And especially for people who are preaching and maybe one day wanting to pastor, you're gonna have to be your own person and try to live up to the job, to God's expectations, and no one else's. And if you learn under the shadow of someone who's doing a lot of great things, don't worry about that. And people, you know, people have, I've heard lots of criticism, not that it doesn't really bother me. You see it online of, oh, he's just trying to copy Pastor Anderson. I'm not. I've learned things. And yeah, sure, some things are probably going to be similar because that's what I learned under. But I'm not trying to be someone else. I'm trying to serve the Lord. I don't serve man, you know, and we all need to have that same mindset in general as Christians. You know, you can follow great leaders like Moses, but we're going to be our own person at the same time and follow the Lord ultimately to be our guide and to do the job that he has for us. And I'm glad that I'm not in a position that gets all the attention like Pastor Anderson gets. Hey, we're all on the same team. We're working towards the same goal. I don't want that job. We've been doing great, in my opinion, almost flying under the radar, so to speak, a lot of heat, you know, the heat's going to come. It's it's it's bound to happen. But, you know, sometimes there's a blessing in not being front and center. Right. You don't need to just be envious of someone else's fame or attention, because it's not all it's cracked up to be anyways. And we're going to see that with Moses also. Now, Moses gets a lot of credit and a lot of respect and and did a great job, but the job that he has and I'm getting ahead of myself here, I've got a reference for it. Well, let's just keep reading here, because we're going to get to that in my next point in just a second here with with what Korah, Dathan and Bairam are doing. So he rebukes him in verse nine saying, well, you think it's just a little thing that God's put you in this position? Verse 10, he says, And he has brought thee near to him and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi with thee, and seek ye the priesthood also. Like you already have this job, and now you want to be a priest? Verse 11, for which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him? So notice he's saying, you're not really against me and Aaron. You're coming against the Lord. Like you're fighting against God. God's the one who put you in that position in that job. And now you're fighting against the Lord saying, then what's Aaron? Like what, like, Aaron's a priest, but what like, you're gonna come against a man? You're going against the commandments of the Lord. Verse 12, And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, which said, We will not come up. So he's talking to Korah and explaining this and rebuking him, but then, you know, Dathan and Abiram, they're just these rebellious complainers. They say, we're not, we're not going to come up at all. Very wicked men. Look at verse 13, Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth, this is still Dathan and Abiram. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, and to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Now in number 16, we're at a point where this isn't the first time we've heard about the complaining and the murmuring. Oh, you brought us out of Israel, you brought us out of Egypt, and now you're just going to kill us here, and you're going to kill us here. We're dying of thirst, and we don't have any food. I wonder where all of that was being sourced from. See, it doesn't take many bad people. One sinner destroyeth much good. There should be some really loud, wicked people that could have influence over a whole bunch of people to get them all into sin. And we're seeing right here, there's some key people that are just getting in the ears of an entire group of people, and they're the ones bringing up the same complaint, oh, you brought us here to kill us, that lie, and they're obviously fighting against the Lord. And notice here, again, they say, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us. Like, oh, you're making yourself this ruler over us just to rule us. You just brought us out in the wilderness here so you could kill us and just be some king over us and have your own group of people to rule. And they say he's making himself this leader. Flip back real quick, keep your place here in Numbers 11, right? You're in Numbers 16, just go back to Numbers 11. Just five chapters earlier, we're going to see the reality of Moses as this leader, and what a great position it is for him to be the leader of all these people, and why he just, he must have just wanted to just be over all this group of people, and he just made himself this ruler so that he can just rule people. Let's see how Moses felt five chapters earlier in chapter 11. Look at verse number 11. Moses said unto the Lord, wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? God, why are you afflicting me? And just so you know, affliction is not a good thing. This isn't, this isn't, why God have you blessed me so much? God, why are you afflicting me? Well, what is he talking about? Why is he afflicted? And wherefore have I not found favor in thy side, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Does this sound like a job that Moses was just like, oh yeah, I'm going to rule these people, and I can't wait, and I'm going to be this priest? You know, like, no. See, this is a burden. I'm afflicted. This is not easy. I got to deal with all these complainers and these people that don't want to serve the Lord. I got to try to somehow still keep them all together and keep them focused and keep them moving in the right direction. That's not an easy job. Verse 12, have I conceived all these people? It's basically saying, look, I didn't bring all these people into this world. Now why am I responsible for them? Have I begotten them that thou shouldest say unto me, carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father, bearing the sucking child unto the land which thou swearest unto their fathers? When should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me, saying, give us flesh that we may eat. Verse 14, I am not able to bear all this people alone because it is too heavy for me. Does it sound like Moses is just taking all this on himself? Why do you take all this on yourself, Moses? I'm not. Right? It's Moses. He's not. He's actually asking for help. He wants other people to be involved. He's not just trying to lift himself up and be this ruler. But this is what is being projected into the minds of the congregation by the wicked people. They're completely destroying the truth of who Moses is. They're destroying the spirit that Moses has. They're destroying the humility and meekness that he has by making people think that he's this proud person that just wants to rule over people. And they might point to areas where he's been very decisive and say, this is what we're doing. Just like he said, hey, you're going to get your censors and this is what we're going to do because he's a good leader. And he's going to twist people's minds into making them think, oh, yeah, well, who do you think you are? Why do you think you're so special? Instead of understanding who Moses really is. That they're lying through their teeth about his intention and motivation on being put in this position of being a leader. He didn't take this on himself. God put this burden on him. And he's pretty much complaining about it in Numbers chapter 11. Because then in the next verse, I don't have it in my notes, but basically the next verse, like 15, he's basically saying, you know, don't even let me see my own wickedness because he knows he shouldn't be complaining about this. And just like, just kill me now. Like, just go ahead and take my life, God. I'm wicked. I'm a wretch. Just just kill me. You know, this is too much for me. Verse 15, and if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray the out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness. You're saying, if you find favor with me, if you find the things I've done good, please just hear my prayer and kill me. It's a pretty tough place to be in. And, you know, let that serve as a reminder that being the one that has all the attention and all the focus and that people see all the time, it's not always what you think it is. And it's not always what's cracked up to be, you know, in that regard. That there's a lot of burden. There's a lot of work. There's a lot that goes into it. There's a lot of heartache. There's a lot of emotion and stress that goes into the job of being a good leader. It's not easy. It's tough. Doing the right thing. It's not just someone, oh yeah, he just wants to puff himself up and be over a group of people. It's not what it's all about. And be careful of those who will take a known good leader doing great works and great things. They're going to try to poison your mind against, you know, that type of a leader by saying these things that are kind of subtle and bring up the, oh yeah, well, why are you doing that, huh? Well, why, you know, throwing question and doubt there where, I mean, they have no way of proving it. They just keep repeating it over and over and over again. Just like this phrase, you know, oh, he bring us out to kill us in the wilderness. Oh, he's bringing us out to kill us in the wilderness. You say those things over and over enough, it's going to get in people's heads and they're going to start thinking when they start getting hungry, yeah, maybe why did he bring us out here, right? And that's how they influence people and they're saying, yeah, you just keep making yourself a ruler. You make yourself a ruler, you make yourself a ruler. Oh, Moses, why did he make himself a ruler over us? You know, we all have the Spirit of God here. We're all God's children. And they just go over and over and over again. And that's how they'll keep repeating that to influence an entire congregation or entire group of people by just repeating a lie often enough to get people to fall for it and think that it's actually the truth. Beware of the tactic. Back to number 16, verse number 14. Moreover, thou has not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. So again, they're just being super stubborn and rebellious and just saying, you haven't done anything for us. Yeah, go back to bondage then, you wicked people. Verse 15, and Moses was very rough. This makes him angry and rightfully so. That's right. And said unto the Lord, respect not thou their offering. I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. He said, I haven't done anything to these people. They have no reason to be stubborn and rebellious against me. They have no reason not to follow. I didn't do them wrong. God, don't give them any respect. And of course, God's going to listen to Moses. He does. And then he says, verse 16, and Moses said unto Korah, because they, the Nebirim, aren't listening at all. So he talks to Korah, be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou and they and Aaron tomorrow. And take every man a censer and put incense in them and bring ye before the Lord, every man a censer, 250 censers, because this is for him and all those wicked people, the rulers, right? The princes of the children of Israel that all wanted to bring up their voices against Moses and against Aaron. Thou also and Aaron, each of you a censer. Now, if you're not familiar with the offering of incense, this job was only given to the priesthood. No one else was allowed to do this job of offering incense before the Lord. And actually two of Aaron's sons lost their lives earlier because they brought strange incense that God didn't allow to offer before the Lord. So this is a great test, but it's one that's almost surprising that people would do after having known that Aaron's own sons just dropped dead for not doing this right. And this was something that was holy that no one else did. Like, oh, you want to be in the priesthood? Okay, here you go. Here's your test. We'll see if God lets you live when you bring incense before him. Verse 18, and they took every man a censer and put fire in them and laid incense thereon and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them. These are wicked people. Korah is just bringing everybody out against Moses and Aaron. And notice, did you see Moses and Aaron going to all the people and just trying to bring them out against Korah, Dathan, and Bairam? Nope. They're just dealing with it. They're not stooping to their level. They're not trying to get these tactics. They're not trying to get involved. They're going to let God settle it for them. They don't need to convince people. And the people already have their hearts set against them anyways from all the damage that Korah, Dathan, and Bairam have done. Korah gathered all the congregation against them under the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron saying, separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. So there's not a lot of dilly-dallying around. There's not a lot of waiting and beating around the bush. God's just like, you know what, just get away from these people. I'm just going to destroy them right now. Right? That's how God's ready to deal with this situation. But look at verse 22. And they fell upon their faces. It's talking about Moses and Aaron and said, oh God, the God of the spirits of all flesh shall one man sin and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation. They're entreating for the people. They brought all the congregation against. They're all out there opposing Moses and Aaron and ready to see them killed and gone. And yep, we want nothing to do with you guys. And here they are falling on their face before God, entreating for them. This shows exactly why they were the true leaders chosen by God, because they had the right heart. They had the right spirit. They were the ones acting like Christ who was willing to give of themselves and willing to entreat and say, no, no, no, Lord, look, these are the wicked people, just kill them. Leave these sheep alone. Let them be. They've just been deceived or whatever. But please don't do that. So they stand up against the wicked false brethren, Moses and Aaron do. They don't just go, oh, okay, well here, you could be priests. No. Right? They're firm. But then they also are standing up for the people, for the common people. They're the ones that are willing to go to bat for them. They're not buttering them up and telling them a bunch of lies and trying to get everybody in the priesthood. They're doing things the right way, but they do love them and care for them. And a good leader who loves the people that they're leading is going to tell them and do what's best for them with their interests in mind. But being done the right way, because if you don't do it the right way, then it's not going to turn out well for everyone. It's easy just to say, oh, yeah, you all should be priests. Well, why don't we get the whole congregation to bring incense? They know how God's going to deal with that. They didn't do that. They were just dealing with the wicked people. Oh, yeah, you guys bring the incense because they know God's going to kill them. Verse 23, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the congregation, saying, get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Daith and Abiram. And by the way, I just want to, this is a point I want to make sure I'm real clear on. They knew that God was going to kill these people. When Moses said to take the censors up, in case that was just a little unclear, he knew already that God is going to put these people to death. And that was a righteous act of Moses to do that. He wasn't in the flesh going, yeah, I just want to destroy these people. They were wicked people, and they were getting what they deserved. And God wouldn't have done it if Moses is just in the flesh. So let's keep going here. Verse 23, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the congregation, saying, get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Daith and Abiram. So God hearkens unto them when they're entreating for the people, because God is ready to kill all of them. And he says, all right, well, tell them to get away from there then. And Moses rose up and went unto Daith and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 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. So, you know, and that's a good teaching to remember as well. Look, have nothing to do with these wicked people. Don't be, you know, buddy-buddy with them. Don't go hanging out with wicked people that are trying to slander great men and good men of God, and, you know, bring them down. Don't have anything to do with those people. You don't want to be consumed in their sins. Verse 27, so they get up from the tabernacle of Korah, Daith and Abiram on every side, and Daith and Abiram came out and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And this is, again, Daith and Abiram didn't want to go up to the tabernacle, right? They're just like, nope, we're staying here. Okay, you can die in your tents. Verse 28, 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. So now he's finally just telling them, look, you keep saying I'm lifting myself up, but it wasn't me. I'm not just doing all of this stuff because I want to. He's not self-motivated. He's not just this selfish preacher or leader that's just trying to get people to do his own will. He's like, I'm trying to do God's will, and now you're going to know. He says in verse 29, 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. It's pretty easy, right? Hey, if nothing happens here, then God's not using me. So you got nothing to worry about. But verse 30, 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. So you're saying if they just go straight to hell, if the earth just opens up and they just go straight down to hell, then you know that the Lord sent me. And guess what? That's exactly what happens in verse 31, and it came to pass as he had made an end of speaking all these words at the ground, clave asunder that was under them. 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. 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. There should be no doubt what happened here, right? No doubt the Lord is with them. But the story's not over yet. You think it should be. You'd think the congregation would go, well that settles it. And that they would see and fear going, man, we were just going against Moses and Aaron, and these guys all got swallowed up and went straight to hell. Like literally the earth opened up and closed up again. I'm sorry, Moses. I'm sorry, Aaron. I'm sorry, God. Didn't mean it. I mean, what else is going to instill fear in a person than seeing people literally go straight to hell? That's not how it ends. In verse 34, and all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them. They said, lest the earth should swallow us up also. So yeah, they run away afraid because they didn't want to be caught up in that, but look what it says in verse 35. It says, and there came out a fire from the Lord to consume the 250 men that offered incense. So those wicked people died, right? They weren't necessarily standing next to to Dathan and Abiram and all that, you know, because they're the ones that got swallowed up, right? Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and everything that appertained to them. But the 250 princes that came with their censors, fire came out, took care of them, jumped down to verse 39. It says in Eleazar, the priest took the brazen censors wherewith they that were burnt had offered, and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he be not as Korah and his company as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses. So what they do is they take these censors that they've used and they make a memorial. So they create this, what is it, they made broad plates, like just these covering plates for the altar. And they're saying, when you see this, you're going to remember what happened to Korah. Remember what happened to these wicked men when they thought that they wanted to put themselves in this position, and they got wiped out. So it's a memorial, so they don't forget, so people don't come up again later going, oh, why do you take so much upon yourself, you know, priest? Remember what happened here with these plates? Maybe you don't want to go against the way God designed things, right? So they built that, that's the memorial, but look at verse 41. But on the morrow, so the next day, all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, ye have killed the people of the Lord. The brainwashing had gone so far into getting them exalted so much, saying, well, we're all the people of the Lord, you know, that now they're saying that these wicked people that God literally just destroyed, oh, how could you do that to the people of the Lord? You know, they didn't see that they were actually wolves. They didn't see that they were wicked people. They're still considering them great men of God and whatever, and their brethren and everything else. See, oftentimes, the good leadership is able to spot the bad people, the wicked people, before many others can. And part of that has to go with the job. And if you think about it, it actually makes sense. So part of my job as a pastor here is to pastor the flock and to be on the lookout for bad people. I'm responsible for that. And not only that, someone who's supposed to be in the position to begin with is someone that is not supposed to be a novice, not a beginner, not someone who hasn't had experience, who hasn't been around, who hasn't already seen a lot of things and learned a lot and studied the Bible, and been in a position to be able to spot these things. Not everybody can see that. And that's something that I learned over time. There's been plenty of times where I've witnessed things where bad people came in the church that I was completely deceived about. Never thought that they were bad people at all. They seemed really friendly. They seemed really nice. But it comes out and then, you know, because at the time, if I was going to Faithful Word, I'd see Pastor Anderson respond, and I'd be like, whoa, well, that seems kind of harsh. Like, why would you do that? I don't think that's necessary, right? But silently, I was never just like, you know, trying to get a group of people like, man, I can't believe he did this and get, you know, no. It was just internal going like, well, that doesn't seem right. But then after time, you see the true colors exposed. And then I'm going, oh, he was right. Oh, he was right. Oh, he was right over and over and over again until I finally learned enough and had read enough and studied enough and able to pick up on more of the warning signs and more of the things that are going on to now I'm going, and I'm still to this day, I just talked to him like a week ago, going like, you know, there's still some things that I would tell him now, like, yeah, remember when this happened or that happened? I didn't really get it. Now I'm like, I get it. Believe me, I get it. I understand fully what you're dealing with, with this stuff. And so I understand what it's like to not be able to see it. And I also understand what it's like to be able to spot this stuff. Right. And what we can get from this story, whether or not you believe me or my own personal testimony doesn't matter. Because what we see in this story here is that the entire congregation is still viewing the people that God called wicked, the people that Moses called wicked, the people that went straight to hell. They're still viewing these people as being good people. They still had their hearts with those people. That's how effective false brethren can be. Guard yourself to be able to, you know, see past the flattery and to be able to look on the truth. I mean, I don't know how else to say it. Look at all that Moses did for him. His actions should have demonstrated enough to be the proof in the pudding. Right. Not the temporary, oh man, things just are really bad for us right now. He's just bringing us out here to kill us. Why don't you look at the whole, like everything he's done so far. And why do you continue to attack and attack and attack? So watch out for the people like that. They had no, did they have any reason to think that, like any legitimate reason to think that Moses was going to do bad things to them or that he had gone off the deep or anything? None. They had nothing. Just a bunch of bad people trying to pit the whole congregation against them, and they did. So it says they've killed the people of the Lord, verse 42, and it came to pass when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation. Behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. So now God shows up. Right. They're murmuring and complaining against Moses and Aaron as if, and as if they're the ones really that killed them. Like they didn't pull out their swords and kill them. God caused the earth to open up. Right. I mean, it's no more, did Moses say it and God listened to him? Yes. But it's as much Moses' involvement as it was when the Red Sea parted. Moses wasn't just having this superpower on a whim to be able to just part water. Right. Like if he's just on a journey, like I'm just going to walk here and there's a puddle and he's like, I want to walk on dry ground. It wasn't Moses' own power where he's just like, you know, doing magic tricks or something. Right. The Lord's using him to do these great things. So the Lord obviously is the one. Moses didn't just have this forever power of like, I don't really like you. You're going straight to hell. God did it. Right. But they're looking at Moses like he's the bad guy. Like God sent them to hell. So God shows up here. He hears they're complaining. Verse 43, and Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. The Lord's speaking to Moses saying, get you up from among this congregation that I may consume them as in a moment. Look at this. And they fell upon their faces. So again, God's going, look, I'm just going to destroy them. But what do we see in the leadership again? A second time that these people are just against Moses and Aaron, they're still not convinced. And where is their heart? Verse 46, and Moses said unto Aaron, take a censer and put fire therein from off the altar and put on incense and go quickly unto the congregation and make an atonement for them. For there is wrath gone out from the Lord. The plague is begun. And here's the key, a key distinction here. The attitude of Moses and Aaron towards the wicked bad people is go ahead and die and go to hell. But towards the congregation, even the congregation that's against them, that may want them dead, they're going, nope, we still love you. We're going to do what we can for you. Because there's a difference between the congregation who had been deceived and the deceiver wicked people. The deceiver wicked people deserve to die and go to hell. The deceived are the ones that you're trying to reach and will have that heart. I will spend and be spent for you. I will do whatever it takes. And this is what they're doing. Because it's not about them. If they had pride and arrogance, they'd be like, yeah, go ahead, God, just wipe them out. I mean, if they're not going to, you know, be convinced after you already sent these people, hell, go ahead and wipe them out. That's not the heart they had. They had a heart for the people. So Moses tells Aaron, you know, quickly go make this atonement for them. There's wrath gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun, verse 47, and Aaron took as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the congregation. So he's just running full speed. I like that ran. And there's so many applications you get off of this, right? Ran into the midst of the congregation, people who are about to die, people who are about to face the judgment of God, a whole group of people out there. And what did Aaron do? He ran right into the middle of them. Something tells me there might be a little bit of soul-owning symbolism in here, right? You've got a whole bunch of people who are going to face the wrath of God. We need to be running into the midst of them to provide the atonement, to offer, you know, to bring them at one with God. You know, in this case, he's bringing the censor, but what do we do? We bring Jesus Christ. Here, I've got Jesus Christ for you. Just going to, you know, keep the wrath of God from abiding on you. Ran into the midst of the congregation. Behold, the plague was begun among the people, and he put on incense and made an atonement for the people, and he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed. He was basically able to stop the plague from spreading by bringing people, you know, figuratively speaking, back to the Lord. He's physically standing there with the censor, but obviously it's more representative than that. Verse 49, now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred beside them that died about the matter of Korah. It's a lot of people, and we can look at the amount of damage that can be done by not that many people. I mean, Korah, Dathan, and Bairam, the reason why they're listed here by name is because they were the ones behind this. They were the really wicked people. The other princes that they convinced to go along, they were wicked too, but they weren't on the same level as Korah, Dathan, and Bairam. They had also gotten to see, but you know what, they had a lot more power and influence behind it, and they were actively going against them and joining forces here, but the people were just completely just deceived. But just look at the amount of damage that those people were able to do. All the more reason to make sure that you won't be deceived so we could minimize the amount of damage that the children of the devil can do among God's people. And Aaron returned unto Moses, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the plague was stayed. Now, there's something interesting here. Turn, if you would, to Numbers 26. Oh, that's the first time I looked down at the time. Sorry about that. The title of my sermon is The Children of Korah Died Not. We haven't gotten into the children of Korah yet. There's so much going on in Numbers 16, but this is something that's interesting because this is literally, in Numbers 26, it's just this real brief statement. And when you read the story in Numbers 16, it's real captivating, and you'll probably walk away because it says that everyone that appertained unto Korah went down into the pit. And we already saw that Dathan and Abiram were standing in their tents with their wives and their children, so you envision everybody going to hell. Now, for Dathan and Abiram, that's true. And when you read it carefully, it mentions specifically Dathan and Abiram by name standing in the door of their tent with their children and their wives there. But it doesn't mention Korah standing in his tent with his children. Korah, I believe, is in the company of Dathan and Abiram. They're Reubenites. He's a Levite, so he probably doesn't live next to him anyways, especially then because they're moving, right? They're moving around. And the Levites had the job of taking care of the tabernacle, and they all went a certain way when they would travel and all. If you know the Bible about that, when they would move, they all had their own formation of how they would move and stuff. So, sorry, it's kind of a lot, but it wouldn't make sense that his whole tent and his family was there. But when you read it on just a kind of a high level here, you would just assume, I know I did, just assume that like, yeah, Korah and Dathan and Abiram all lost all their family and everything like that. But look at this statement here in Numbers 26. So we're going to start reading verse number nine. The Bible says, And the sons of Eliab, Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram, this is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah when they strove against the Lord. And the earth opened up her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah. When that company died, what time the fire devoured 250 men and they became a sign, notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. And that's just the one statement we make. And it's not in there by accident, because then it just continues on. You keep reading Numbers 26. We don't hear anything about the children of Korah in Numbers 16 in the main story, but it throws in that just little bit of information. The children of Korah died not. One of the reasons why I find this interesting, and I haven't tied the connection to this, but if you read the titles of some of the Psalms, right, you see a lot of them are Psalm of David, right, or Psalm of Asaph, or whatever. And we're going through the Psalms right now. And actually, where we are in the 40s, we're in Psalm 43, you're gonna start noticing Psalm 42, I think Psalm 44, 45, 46, 47. All the titles are gonna say, I have something about the children of Korah in the title. Now, I'm not confident enough to say for sure that it's referring to this Korah, because there is another Korah that's mentioned in the Bible. But this is the one that gets the most focus and attention. And the fact that it even, the Bible even brings up that the children of Korah died not, and their Levites, makes me think that the songs, because you know the songs in the Psalms, were done and performed by Levites. Because when they switched from the tabernacle to the temple, the jobs weren't exactly the same anymore, because we're not rearing around the tabernacle. You've got an established temple, so a lot of those people became singers and music players and everything else, and they kind of had a different job function. So I think there's a connection there, but the point I want to make with this is maybe one that's more of hope for people who don't have the best upbringing. And maybe your dad was really, really wicked, right? I mean, this is a wicked guy. And here's the thing, the way that the Bible deals with, and this is not contradictory, but it's a perfect opportunity to bring this up, and I kind of spent a little bit too much time going through number 16. But I want to point this out to you, because I've seen people try to use this as a contradiction, but it's not. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 24 16, the fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin. That's in the law of the Lord, that you're not just going to, just because dad does something that's worthy of death doesn't mean that the children now are going to be put to death too. That you're going to be put to death for your own sin. However, there are generational curses that fathers can bring on their families, and the repercussions of their actions can impact their children. So when the Bible's talking about in Deuteronomy 24, it's talking about one event that someone commits a sin that's worthy of death, and the law dealing with that, and the law should never go, okay, because dad did this, we're just killing the whole family. But there are times, like the Bible says in Deuteronomy 5, in the 10 commandments, verse 8, thou shall not make the any graven image or any likeness of anything as in heaven above, or there's an earth beneath, or there's the waters beneath the earth, thou shall not bow down thyself unto them nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. So you say, well, wait a minute, Pastor, I thought that the children are to be put to death for the sins of the father, and they're not. But the iniquity will be visited under the third and fourth generation. He's not saying he's putting them to death, and the law is not establishing to put them to death. But the sins of fathers will have an impact on the children, no matter what. The sons of Korah guaranteed had a ramification impact on their lives forever, because their dad was wicked. Their life was spared. They didn't deserve the death penalty, right? But because of the actions of their father, they have to reap the wickedness and the iniquity that he had already brought forth. It's also the same thing. When children end up dying, even Dathan and Abiram, they didn't deserve the death penalty. But because of Dathan and Abiram, they brought that judgment on their own family. They're the ones responsible for it. If they didn't do their wickedness, the children wouldn't have died or whatever. But when it comes to the law, which is what Deuteronomy 24 is talking about, the law isn't going to sentence anyone to death unless it's their own sin. Does that make sense? The reaping what you've sown impacts other people, but the law only condemns the people who are guilty of the sin themselves. So it's not a contradiction in God's word, it's just what is this verse talking about, what's that verse talking about, right? And the children of Korah dying not, assuming that those psalms are referring to them, there's still a lot of hope. In those psalms, I was trying to find a common theme through all of them that referenced them, and the only one I could find was similar with a lot of other psalms, though it's not unique necessarily of putting your hope and confidence and trust in the Lord, which in a way could make sense because when you have a false prophet for a dad, and someone who's just a really wicked person that's doing the things that Korah did, it can turn you away from the Lord. Because hey, dad was spiritual, dad was a Levite, dad was in the ministry, right? Dad was a bad guy. He's a wicked guy, but no, children of Korah, God spared you, see God for who He really is. Unfortunately, you had the misfortune of being born unto a father that wasn't a good guy, but that doesn't make God bad, it doesn't make Moses bad, it doesn't make the truth not the truth anymore. And I wish we can reach the people who have been hurt by bad people more and help them to see the truth just for what it is. Truth is the truth, right? Bad things happen to people, but God is still good, right? Dathan was a bad guy, Abiram was a bad guy, Korah was a bad guy. They brought that on themselves, and unfortunately you were born to them, right? But it doesn't make God bad for dealing with your dad that way. And you know, ultimately we need to be aware of the tactics, we need to be aware that people can be really persuasive in their wickedness, and you know, if we want to maintain our church in unity and doing the right thing, just be aware, watch out for the flattery, watch out for the, oh hey, well who does Pastor Burzins think he is type of mentality. Judge me based on what I've done and what I'm doing, and don't let people talk in your ear about, oh he's doing it, he does that, or this, or you know, who does he think he is. I'll let my actions speak for themselves, and you all hopefully will know the truth of the matter, and I'll stand on that and I'll let God judge. And you know, you do the same, you read the Bible, you read the scripture, you see where the truth lies, and stay with that. That's as far as I've ordered prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for all the great wisdom that we can receive from your word and from these stories, and God I pray that you would please help us to have more understanding and to be able to watch out for the infiltrators and the Korahs that will come to try to stop the work that's being done. Lord, help me to be able to spot the wicked people as Moses and Aaron were able to, Lord, and I pray that you would please just use us as mightily as you use them. Help us to do as much as we can possibly do, and Lord, we know that our own power isn't enough, and we need you to work through us. We're yielding ourselves here to you. God, we want to reach more people, we want to bring glory and honor unto the name of Jesus Christ, and we love you, it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.