INTERMEDIATE
AGE: 12 - 13
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
VII & VIII
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LESSON – 9
KORAH AND FOLLOWERS REBEL AGAINST MOSES
We saw in one of the previous lessons that God had told Moses to anoint Aaron as the High Priest. As the High Priest of Israel, Aaron had special privileges as well as important responsibilities. Many years passed since Aaron was anointed, but there were some other leaders in Israel who thought that they should have been given these special responsibilities. Foremost among such men was a man named Korah, from the tribe of Levi who was in fact a cousin of Moses and Aaron. Aaron and his descendants received the priesthood, whereas the other descendants of Levi called the Levites where chosen to assist the priests.
Korah Rebels against Moses:
Korah thought that he should have been chosen for the honourable priestly ministry. He was joined by three other men from the tribe of Reuben named Dathan, Abiram and On. They gathered 250 influential leaders from the Israelites and rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves too much. Moses heard it and he fell on his face. Then he spoke to Korah and all his supporters, saying that God would show to them whom He had chosen for the priestly ministry, the next day.
Moses Challenges the Rebels:
Moses told all of them to take their censers (incense burners), put fire in them and put incense before the Lord, so that the Lord could show them whom He had chosen. Moses understood that Korah and his followers were not satisfied with their Levite ministry and assisting the priests, they wanted the priesthood for themselves. Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram to come and meet him. They refused to come saying that Moses was trying to rule over them. They even accused Moses of trying to kill them in the desert by not taking them to their homeland. Moses got upset and told God not to accept their offerings and sacrifices. Again, Moses told Korah and his 250 followers to bring their incense burners before the Lord the next day
God Pronounces His Judgement:
Korah and his 250 followers prepared their incense burners, lit the fire, put incense on it and they stood before the entrance of the Tabernacle along with Moses and Aaron. Korah had made the entire Israelite congregation to gather against Moses and Aaron. God was angry with the Israelites and He told Moses and Aaron to move away from the congregation so that He could destroy them. But once again Moses interceded for them and pleaded with God asking whether He should be angry with the entire congregation just because one man had sinned. God replied to Moses to tell the Israelites to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram Swallowed Up:
Moses
told the Israelites to quickly get away from the tents of Dathan and Abiram and
not to touch any of their belongings. All the people moved away from the tents
of those three men. Dathan and Abiram came and stood at the entrance of their
tents with their family. Moses said that the Lord is going to do an entirely
new thing to prove that Moses had not acted on his own. As soon as Moses
finished speaking, the ground suddenly split and opened beneath them. Korah,
Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the ground along with their belongings.
Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men offering
incense, who had followed Korah to rebel against Moses and Aaron. God told
Moses to tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron to remove all the 250 incense burners
from the fire. The incense burners although were used by the rebels had become
holy, since they were brought to the presence of the Lord. Moses wanted to display
the incense burners to serve as a warning to the people of Israel. Eleazar collected all the 250 incense burners and the
bronze from these burners was hammered into a thin sheet and made into a
covering for the altar. This would warn the Israelites that anyone who is not
authorized i.e. anyone who is not a descendant of Aaron should not enter the
presence of God to burn incense.
God’s Anger
and Aaron’s Intercession:
The very
next morning the Israelites murmured against Moses saying that they had killed
the Lord’s people. The Israelites gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron,
but suddenly they saw that the cloud had covered the Tabernacle (the tent where
they worshipped God) and the glorious presence of the Lord had appeared. Once
again God wanted to destroy the rebellious Israelite people. God’s very purpose
for selecting the Israelites was to be holy, but they were repeatedly murmuring
and rebelling against God. Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground to ask
for God’s mercy on the Israelites. But God had already sent a plague (an
infectious disease) and people started to die. Moses told Aaron to quickly take
his incense burner place
burning coals on it from the altar, lay incense on it, and carry it out among
the people to make intercession for them. Aaron ran out among the people, stood
between the living and the dead and the plague stopped. 14,700 people died on
that day because they had rebelled against God.
The Budding
of Aaron’s Rod:
God told Moses to tell the Israelites to bring twelve rods, one for each of the twelve tribes and to inscribe the names of the leaders in those rods. Aaron’s name was inscribed on the rod for the tribe of Levi. God told them to place the rods in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the stone tablets. Moses gave the instructions to the people and each of the twelve tribal leaders brought a rod to Moses including Aaron.
Moses placed those rods in the Tabernacle. When he went the next day, Aaron’s rod representing the tribe of Levi had produced buds, blossomed and yielded almonds.
Moses brought all the rods out from the Lord and showed it to the Israelites. Aaron’s rod was permanently placed before the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle to end people’s complaints against Aaron.
Bible Reference: Numbers 16, 17
Memory
Verse: Let every soul be subject to
the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the
authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore,
whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who
resist will bring judgment on themselves. (Romans 13:1,2 NKJV)
Fill in the
blanks:
1. Korah was from the
tribe of ……………………
2. Korah gathered ……………
influential leaders from the Israelites and rebelled against Moses and Aaron.
3.
………………………. collected the 250 incense burners and hammered
the bronze into a thin sheet.
4. Aaron’s rod representing the tribe of Levi had produced buds, blossomed and yielded ……………………...
Give
short answers:
1. What did Moses ask Korah and his followers to bring before
the Lord?
2. What was made into a bronze covering for the altar?
3. How did Aaron intercede for the people?
4. What happened to
Aaron’s rod when it was placed in front of the Ark of Covenant?
Answer in
brief:
1. Who
rebelled against Moses and Aaron? What was God’s judgement on them?
