← All Chapters The Book of Numbers · Chapter 16

Numbers 16: The Earth Opens

Korah and his company challenge the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and God vindicates his appointed servants as the ground swallows the rebels.

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Numbers 16 (WEB)

1 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 some men.

2 They rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown.

3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and Yahweh is among them! Why do you lift yourselves up above Yahweh’s assembly?”

4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face.

5 He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.

6 Do this: take censers, Korah, and all his company;

7 and put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow. It shall be that the man whom Yahweh chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!”

8 Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi!

9 Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of Yahweh’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

10 and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? Do you seek the priesthood also?

11 Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh! What is Aaron that you murmur against him?”

12 Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, “We won’t come up!

13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?

14 Moreover you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We won’t come up.”

15 Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”

16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company go before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.

17 Each man take his censer, and put incense on them, and each man bring before Yahweh his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.”

18 They each took his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.

19 Korah assembled all the congregation opposite them to the door of the Tent of Meeting. Yahweh’s glory appeared to all the congregation.

20 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!”

22 They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”

23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!’”

25 Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”

27 So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

28 Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind.

29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me.

30 But if Yahweh makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.”

31 As he made an end of speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split apart.

32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, all of Korah’s men, and all their goods.

33 So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.

34 All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”

35 Fire came out from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.

36 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

37 “Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy,

38 even the censers of these sinners against their own lives. Let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before Yahweh. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”

39 Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, who isn’t of the seed of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before Yahweh, that he not be as Korah, and as his company; as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed Yahweh’s people!”

42 When the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, They looked toward the Tent of Meeting. Behold, the cloud covered it, and Yahweh’s glory appeared.

43 Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

44 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

45 “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” They fell on their faces.

46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire from off the altar in it, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from Yahweh! The plague has begun.”

47 Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. Behold, the plague has begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

48 He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

49 Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah.

50 Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was stopped.

Summary

Korah the Levite, with Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred fifty prominent leaders, rises up against Moses and Aaron, charging that the whole congregation is holy and that the two have exalted themselves above the Lord's assembly. Moses falls on his face and proposes a test: let Korah's company take censers and offer incense before Yahweh, and God will show whom he has chosen. He reminds the Levites that God has already drawn them near for sacred service, and asks whether they now grasp at the priesthood too. Dathan and Abiram refuse even to come, accusing Moses of dragging them from a land flowing with milk and honey to die in the wilderness. The next day, as the congregation gathers, Yahweh's glory appears and he threatens to consume them all, but Moses and Aaron intercede. At Moses' word the people draw back from the rebels' tents, and the ground splits open and swallows Korah's households alive into Sheol, while fire from Yahweh devours the two hundred fifty who offered incense. The next day the whole congregation murmurs again, blaming Moses and Aaron for the deaths, and a plague breaks out. Aaron, at Moses' command, runs into the assembly with his censer and stands between the dead and the living, and the plague is stopped, a striking picture of priestly atonement.

Main Characters

  • Korah — The Levite who leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, claiming the whole congregation is holy and resenting the distinct priestly calling of Aaron's house.
  • Dathan and Abiram — Reubenites who join the revolt, refuse to come when summoned, and accuse Moses of leading Israel to die in the wilderness; the earth swallows them and their households.
  • Moses — The leader who falls on his face, proposes a test before the Lord, intercedes for the congregation, and is vindicated as God's chosen servant.
  • Aaron — The high priest whose calling is challenged, yet who runs into the plague with his censer and stands between the dead and the living to make atonement.

Key Verse

Numbers 16:48 (WEB)

He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

Lessons Learned

  • Rebellion against God's appointed leaders is, at its root, rebellion against God himself.
  • Discontent with our calling can become a grasping after what God has not given us.
  • God is able to vindicate his servants in his own way and time.
  • Even after dramatic judgment, hard hearts can keep on murmuring.
  • A faithful priest who stands between the dead and the living foreshadows the saving work of Christ.
  • Rebellion against God's order opposes God himself. Moses tells the rebels, “you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh” (Numbers 16:11, WEB); to despise his appointed servants is to despise the One who sent them.
  • Holy calling is a gift, not a ground for grasping. Moses asks the Levites, “Do you seek the priesthood also?” (Numbers 16:10, WEB), exposing how discontent with God's gift breeds ambition for what he withholds.
  • God vindicates whom he has chosen. Moses says God will “show who are his, and who is holy” (Numbers 16:5, WEB), and the ground and the fire make plain that the Lord, not man, appoints his ministers.
  • Atonement stands between the living and death. Aaron “stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed” (Numbers 16:48, WEB), a vivid foreshadowing of the great High Priest who halts judgment for his people.
  1. What is Korah's accusation against Moses and Aaron, and what is wrong with it?
  2. How does the rebellion of Korah, a Levite, reveal a heart not content with its God-given role?
  3. Why does Moses propose the test with the censers rather than defending himself directly?
  4. What does Aaron 'standing between the dead and the living' picture, and how does it point to Christ?
  5. Where are you tempted to resent your God-given place or grasp for a role he has not given you?
  1. Korah claims that since the whole congregation is holy, Moses and Aaron have wrongly exalted themselves (16:3). The charge sounds spiritual but rejects the leadership God himself appointed; their quarrel is ultimately with the Lord, not with the men.
  2. As a Levite, Korah already had a near and sacred calling, yet he reached for the priesthood as well (16:9-10). His rebellion shows how dissatisfaction with God's good gift can curdle into ambition and resentment of those he has chosen.
  3. Moses refuses to settle the matter by his own authority and instead lets God decide through the test of incense (16:5-7). He entrusts his vindication to the Lord, trusting that God will reveal whom he has truly chosen.
  4. Aaron rushes into the plague and stands between the dead and the living so that it is stopped (16:47-48). It pictures priestly intercession and points forward to Jesus, who by his sacrifice stands between sinners and judgment to give life.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite gentle reflection on contentment with one's calling and on the roots of comparison or ambition. As leader, point to the freedom of receiving our place from God's hand rather than grasping for another's.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.