Korah rebelled against Moses, due
to him being jealous over the role that God gave Moses and it cost
him dearly. He also incited Dathan and Abiram to follow him in this
rebellion as well as 250 of Israel's leaders. Today I would like to
look at their, as well as the Israelites' reaction during this
whole debacle.
First of all let's look at the
comment that Dathan and Abiram made to Moses. If it was not such a
serious issue, it would be a laughing matter!
"Isn't it enough that you brought
us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us
here in the wilderness, and that you now treat us like your
subjects? What's more, you haven't brought us into the land flowing
with milk and honey or given us the inheritance of fields and
vineyards. Are you trying to fool us?" Numbers 16:13, 14
Isn't it just shocking?! They
definitely had memory loss! They totally forgot about their slavery
in Egypt and they totally forgot that Moses led them right to the
border of the Promised Land and they didn't want
to enter. And Moses never treated them like subjects, he simply
gave them God's orders. It is so easy to rather blame others than
to take responsibility for our own actions.
Furthermore, the whole community of
Israel joined them in their rebellion. Can you believe it? After
all Moses had done for them, after all the mighty miracles done by
God to prove that Moses was His chosen one? It is truly shocking.
And God now proved to them how wrong they were. He struck all 250
leaders with fire and all of them died instantly. He went further
and opened the ground to swallow up Dathan, Abiram, their families
and all their possessions. The earth closed over them and all of
them vanished. All the Israelites were witnesses to this. But you
won't believe what happened right the next day:
'The very next morning the whole
community began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying,
"You two killed the Lord's people!" Numbers 16:41
What nerve they had! They didn't
want to accept responsibility. It was their own fault that
they were stuck in the wilderness instead of the wonderful Promised
Land and it was their own fault that their rebellious leaders died.
They didn't want to follow God's appointed one and they
shifted the blame due to them as it pleased them. God did not take
this lightly and a plague started to spread amongst the people.
Amazingly Moses told Aaron to act quickly and to atone for the
people, and instead of killing all of them God killed only 14 700.
What a story! And a true one at that!
I think we can learn two things
here. First of all, don't shift the blame when you are at fault. Be
bigger than the moment and accept responsibility for what you have
done. Blame shifting is not going to change your situation; in fact
it only makes matters worse! And second of all, if you are the one
being blamed like Moses here; don't take revenge, but leave it in
God's hands. And even pray for them and ask God to forgive them
like Moses did here. He was truly an amazing man! I don't know many
people who would have done what he did. I don't know if I would
either, I think I would be glad if they get what they deserved, but
that is not what we learn from Moses. He truly cared and he
interceded for these people even though they were his enemies at
this stage. He was a true leader and a man after God's heart.
Father please forgive us if we sin
and continue to sin by blaming others instead of accepting the
responsibility ourselves. Help us to seek forgiveness and to move
on. That is Your will for us we know. You want us to confess our
sins, ask forgiveness and continue in Your walk. Please help us to
do just that. Amen