Numbers 16:2-4

Their anti-God spirituality was so focused that while they had their anger centered on Moses, they appeared to be entirely ignorant of the fact that it was God they were rejecting, as well as Moses. They were not about to allow the sovereign God to govern His people because they did not really see God through eyes of faith. What is interesting to me is that those three men apparently did not consider God's involvement at all. How quickly Adam and Eve forgot God. Now with Dathan, Korah, and Abiram, the same thing. For some reason God was simply not a part of their thinking. This sounds exactly like David describes in Psalm 10.

The problem here in these people I have used as examples was a lack of faith combined with a lack of awareness of God. This awareness thing is important because a person can sincerely believe in a Creator God, but if he is not really a part of what God is creating, it is very likely that this person is not going to be aware of God as actually personally, intimately working in his life.

A person in whom God is really truly working in and through, and really does have a living saving faith in Him, is going to be aware of God. He is not going to be like the person David described in Psalm 10:4. God is very real to him. To him God is a living Being he talks with in intimate terms, and believes God is working in his life night and day. He is aware, but not afraid, that God is watching over his life very, very closely.

Numbers 16:2-5

Let us go back to Numbers 16. Here we have the rebellion against Moses and Aaron led by Korah, so we identified the participants in verse 1.

These men exalted themselves before God and Moses through their desire for the priesthood in addition to the responsibilities that they already had. He claimed that he was just as good as Moses and Aaron. That is what Helel said: “I am going to go up and take God’s place, I am going to be God.” He was saying I am equal with God. Korah is following the same path, only this time, the participant is Korah, his buddies, Moses, and Aaron.

He says, “I am just as good as you are.” That was not the issue and Moses saw it immediately. The issue was God’s choice in the appointment of Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s family to that responsibility, but Korah’s pride brought him into contention with Moses and thus he forced God’s hand and what happened? God opened up the earth, and Korah and 250 others fell into it to their destruction.

Do you see where those proverbs came from? Pride produces contention which in turn produces a fall to destruction. It is a progression that cannot be avoided if pride is exercised, except through repentance. That is the only thing that has an opportunity to change, to alter, the course of the progression that is heading in that direction.