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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
N U M B E R S
CHAP. XVI.
The date of the history contained in this chapter is altogether
uncertain. Probably these mutinies happened after their removal back
again from Kadesh-barnea, when they were fixed (if I may so speak) for
their wandering in the wilderness, and began to look upon that as their
settlement. Presently after new laws given follows the story of a new
rebellion, as if sin took occasion from the commandment to become more
exceedingly sinful. Here is,
I. A daring and dangerous rebellion raised against Moses and Aaron, by
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram,
1. Korah and his accomplices contend for the priesthood against Aaron,
Moses reasons with them, and appeals to God for a decision of the
controversy,
2. Dathan and Abiram quarrel with Moses, and refuse to obey his
summons, which greatly grieves him,
II. A solemn appearance of the pretenders to the priesthood before God,
according to order, and a public appearance of the glory of the Lord,
which would have consumed the whole congregation if Moses and Aaron had
not interceded,
III. The deciding of the controversy, and the crushing of the
rebellion, by the cutting off of the rebels.
1. Those in their tents were buried alive,
2. Those at the door of the tabernacle were consumed by fire
(ver. 35),
and their censers preserved for a memorial,
IV. A new insurrection of the people,
1. God stayed in the insurrection by a plague,
2. Aaron stayed the plague by offering incense,
The manner and method of recording this story plainly show the ferment
to have been very great.
| Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. | B. C. 1490. |
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1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of
Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son
of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
2 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:
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and
against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you,
seeing 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?
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying,
Even to morrow 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 will he cause to come near unto him.
6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD
to morrow: 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.
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 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?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren
the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
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?
Here is,
I. An account of the rebels, who and what they were, not, as formerly,
the mixed multitude and the dregs of the people, who are therefore
never named, but men of distinction and quality, that made a figure.
Korah was the ring-leader: he formed and headed the faction; therefore
it is called the gainsaying of Korah,
Jude 11.
He was cousin-german to Moses, they were brothers’ children, yet the
nearness of the relation could not restrain him from being insolent and
rude to Moses. Think it not strange if a man’s foes be those of his
own house. With him joined Dathan and Abiram, chief men of the
tribe of Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob. Probably Korah was disgusted
both at the preferment of Aaron to the priesthood and the constituting
of Elizaphan to the head of the Kohathites
(ch. iii. 30);
and perhaps the Reubenites were angry that the tribe of Judah had the
first post of honour in the camp. On is mentioned
(v. 1)
as one of the heads of the faction, but never after in the whole story,
either because, as some think, he repented and left them, or because he
did not make himself so remarkable as Dathan and Abiram did. The
Kohathites encamped on the same side of the tabernacle that the
Reubenites did, which perhaps gave Korah an opportunity of drawing them
in, whence the Jews say, Woe to the wicked man, and woe to his
neighbour, who is in danger of being infected by him. And, these
being themselves men of renown, they seduced into the conspiracy
two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly
(v. 2);
probably they were first-born, or at least heads of families, who,
before the elevation of Aaron, had themselves ministered in holy
things. Note, The pride, ambition, and emulation, of great men, have
always been the occasion of a great deal of mischief both in churches
and states. God by his grace make great men humble, and so give peace
in our time, O Lord! Famous men, and men of renown, as these are
described to be, were the great sinners of the old world,
The fame and renown which they had did not content them; they were
high, but would be higher, and thus the famous men became infamous.
II. The rebels’ remonstrance,
v. 3.
That which they quarrel with is the settlement of the priesthood upon
Aaron and his family, which they think an honour too great for Moses to
give and Aaron to accept, and so they are both charged with usurpation:
You take too much upon you; or, “Let it suffice you to have
domineered thus long, and now think of resigning your places to those
who have as good a title to them and are as well able to manage them.”
1. They proudly boast of the holiness of the congregation, and the
presence of God in it. “They are holy, every one of them, and as
fit to be employed in offering sacrifice as Aaron is, and as masters of
families formerly were, and the Lord is among them, to direct
and own them.” Small reason they had to boast of the people’s purity,
or of God’s favour, as the people had been so frequently and so lately
polluted with sin, and were now under the marks of God’s displeasure,
which should have made them thankful for priests to mediate between
them and God; but, instead of that, they envy them.
2. They unjustly charge Moses and Aaron with taking the honour they had
to themselves, whereas it was evident, beyond contradiction, that they
were called of God to it,
So that they would either have no priests at all, nor any government,
none to preside either in civil or sacred things, none over the
congregation, none above it, or they would not acquiesce in that
constitution of the government which God had appointed. See here,
(1.) What spirit levellers are of, and those that despise dominions,
and resist the powers that God has set over them; they are proud,
envious, ambitious, turbulent, wicked, and unreasonable men.
(2.) What usage even the best and most useful men may expect, even from
those they have been serviceable to. If those be represented as
usurpers that have the best titles, and those as tyrants that govern
best, let them recollect that Moses and Aaron were thus abused.
III. Moses’s conduct when their remonstrance was published against him.
How did he take it?
1. He fell on his face
(v. 4),
as before,
Thus he showed how willing he would have been to yield to them, and how
gladly he would have resigned his government, if it would have
consisted with his duty to God and his fidelity to the trust reposed in
him. Thus also he applied to God, by prayer, for direction what to say
and to do upon this sad occasion. He would not speak to them till he
had thus humbled and composed his own spirit (which could not but begin
to be heated), and had received instruction from God. The heart of
the wise in such a case studies to answer, and asks counsel
at God’s mouth.
2. He agrees to refer the case to God, and leave it to him to decide
it, as one well assured of the goodness of his title, and yet well
content to resign, if God thought fit, to gratify this discontented
people with another nomination. An honest cause fears not a speedy
trial; even to-morrow let it be brought on,
Let Korah and his partisans bring their censers, and offer incense
before the Lord, and, if he testify his acceptance of them, well and
good; Moses is now as willing that all the Lord’s people should be
priests, if God so pleased, as before that they should all be prophets,
But if God, upon an appeal to him, determine (as no doubt he would) for
Aaron, they would find it highly dangerous to make the experiment: and
therefore he puts it off till to-morrow, to try whether, when they had
slept upon it, they would desist, and let fall their pretensions.
3. He argues the case fairly with them, to still the mutiny with fair
reasoning, if possible, before the appeal came to God’s tribunal, for
then he knew it would end in the confusion of the complainants.
(1.) He calls them the sons of Levi,
v. 7,
and again
v. 8.
They were of his own tribe, nay, they were of God’s tribe; it was
therefore the worse in them thus to mutiny both against God and against
him. It was not long since the sons of Levi had bravely appeared on
God’s side, in the matter of the golden calf, and got immortal honour
by it; and shall those that were then the only innocents now be the
leading criminals, and lose all the honour they had won? Could there be
such chaff on God’s floor? Levites, and yet rebels?
(2.) He retorts their charge upon themselves. They had unjustly charged
Moses and Aaron with taking too much upon them, though they had done no
more than what God put upon them; nay, says Moses, You take too much
upon you, you sons of Levi. Note, Those that take upon them to
control and contradict God’s appointment take too much upon them. It is
enough for us to submit; it is too much to prescribe.
(3.) He shows them the privilege they had as Levites, which was
sufficient for them, they needed not to aspire to the honour of the
priesthood,
He reminds them how great the honour was to which they were preferred,
as Levites.
[1.] They were separated from the congregation of Israel,
distinguished from them, dignified above them; instead of complaining
that Aaron’s family was advanced above theirs, they ought to have been
thankful that their tribe was advanced above the rest of the tribes,
though they had been in all respects upon the level with them. Note, It
will help to keep us from envying those that are above us duly to
consider how many there are below us. Instead of fretting that any are
preferred before us in honour, power, estate, or interest, in gifts,
graces, or usefulness, we have reason to bless God if we, who are less
than the least, are not put among the very last. Many perhaps who
deserve better are not preferred so well.
[2.] They were separated to very great and valuable honours,
First, To draw near to God, nearer than the common
Israelites, though they also were a people near unto him; the nearer
any are to God the greater is their honour. Secondly, To do the
service of the tabernacle. It is honour enough to bear the vessels
of the sanctuary, and to be employed in any part of the service of the
tabernacle. God’s service is not only perfect freedom, but high
preferment. Thirdly, To stand before the congregation to
minister unto them. Note, Those are truly great that serve the
public, and it is the honour of God’s ministers to be the church’s
ministers; nay, which adds to the dignity put upon them,
[3.] It was the God of Israel himself that separated them. It was his
act and deed to put them into their place, and therefore they ought not
to have been discontented: and he it was likewise that put Aaron into
his place, and therefore they ought not to have envied him.
(4.) He convicts them of the sin of undervaluing those privileges:
Seemeth it a small thing unto you? As if he had said, “It ill
becomes you of all men to grudge Aaron the priesthood, when at the same
time that he was advanced to that honour you were designed for another
honour dependent upon it, and shine with rays borrowed from him.” Note,
[1.] The privilege of drawing near to the God of Israel is not a small
thing in itself, and therefore must not appear small to us. To those
who neglect opportunities of drawing near to God, who are careless and
formal in it, to whom it is a task and not a pleasure, we may properly
put this question: “Seemeth it a small thing to you that God has made
you a people near unto him?”
[2.] Those who aspire after and usurp the honours forbidden them put a
great contempt upon the honours allowed them. We have each of us as
good a share of reputation as God sees fit for us, and sees us fit for,
and much better than we deserve; and we ought to rest satisfied with
it, and not, as these, exercise ourselves in things too high for us:
Seek you the priesthood also? They would not own that they
sought it, but Moses saw that they had this in their eye; the law had
provided very well for those that served at the altar, and therefore
they would put in for the office.
(5.) He interprets their mutiny to be a rebellion against God
(v. 11);
while they pretended to assert the holiness and liberty of the Israel
of God, they really took up arms against the God of Israel: You are
gathered together against the Lord. Note, Those that strive against
God’s ordinances and providences, whatever they pretend, and whether
they are aware of it or no, do indeed strive with their Maker. Those
resist the prince who resist those that are commissioned by him: for,
alas! says Moses, What is Aaron, that you murmur against him? If
murmurers and complainers would consider that the instruments they
quarrel with are but instruments whom God employs, and that they are
but what he makes them, and neither more nor less, better nor worse,
they would not be so bold and free in their censures and reproaches as
they are. Those that found the priesthood, as it was settled, a
blessing, must give all the praise to God; but if any found it a burden
they must not therefore quarrel with Aaron, who is but what he is made,
and does but as he is bidden. Thus he interested God in the cause, and
so might be sure of speeding well in his appeal.
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab:
which said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a
land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the
wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast 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.
15 And Moses was very wroth, 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.
16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company
before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and
bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and
fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his 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.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of
the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
21 Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may
consume them in a moment.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of
the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be
wroth with all the congregation?
Here is,
I. The insolence of Dathan and Abiram, and their treasonable
remonstrance. Moses had heard what Korah had to say, and had answered
it; now he summons Dathan and Abiram to bring in their complaints
(v. 12);
but they would not obey his summons, either because they could not for
shame say that to his face which they were resolved to say, and then it
is an instance of some remains of modesty in them; or, rather, because
they would not so far own his authority, and then it is an instance of
the highest degree of impudence. They spoke the language of Pharaoh
himself, who set Moses at defiance, but they forgot how dearly he paid
for it. Had not their heads been wretchedly heated, and their hearts
hardened, they might have considered that, if they regarded not these
messengers, Moses could soon in God’s name send messengers of death for
them. But thus the God of this world blinds the minds of those that
believe not. But by the same messengers they send their articles of
impeachment against Moses; and the charge runs very high.
1. They charge him with having done them a great deal of wrong in
bringing them out of Egypt, invidiously calling that a land flowing
with milk and honey,
v. 13.
Onions, and garlick, and fish, they had indeed plenty of in Egypt, but
it never pretended to milk and honey; only they would thus banter the
promise of Canaan. Ungrateful wretches, to represent that as an injury
to them which was really the greatest favour that ever was bestowed
upon any people!
2. They charge him with a design upon their lives, that he intended to
kill them in the wilderness, though they were so well provided
for. And, if they were sentenced to die in the wilderness, they must
thank themselves. Moses would have healed them, and they would not be
healed.
3. They charge him with a design upon their liberties, that he meant to
enslave them, by making himself a prince over them. A prince
over them! Was he not a tender father to them? nay, their devoted
servant for the Lord’s sake? Had they not their properties secured,
their order preserved, and justice impartially administered? Did they
not live in ease and honour? And yet they complain as if Moses’s yoke
were heavier than Pharaoh’s. And did Moses make himself a prince? Far
from it. How gladly would he have declined the office at first! How
gladly would he have resigned it many a time since! And yet he is thus
put under the blackest characters of a tyrant and a usurper.
4. They charge him with cheating them, raising their expectations of a
good land, and then defeating them
(v. 14):
Thou hast not brought us, as thou promisedst us, into a land
that floweth with milk and honey; and pray whose fault was that? He
had brought them to the borders of it, and was just ready, under God,
to put them in possession of it; but they thrust it away from them, and
shut the door against themselves; so that it was purely their own fault
that they were not now in Canaan, and yet Moses must bear the blame.
Thus when the foolishness of man perverteth his way his heart
fretteth against the Lord,
Prov. xix. 3.
5. They charge him in the general with unfair dealing, that he put
out the eyes of these men, and then meant to lead them blindfold
as he pleased. The design of all he did for them was to open their
eyes, and yet they insinuate that he intended to put out their eyes,
that they might not see themselves imposed upon. Note, The wisest and
best cannot please every body, nor gain the good word of all. Those
often fall under the heaviest censures who have merited the highest
applause. Many a good work Moses had shown them from the Father, and
for which of these do they reproach him?
II. Moses’s just resentment of their insolence,
Moses, though the meekest man, yet, finding God reproached in him,
was very wroth; he could not bear to see a people ruining
themselves for whose salvation he had done so much. In this
discomposure,
1. He appeals to God concerning his own integrity; whereas they basely
reflected upon him as ambitious, covetous, and oppressive, in making
himself a prince over them, God was his witness,
(1.) That he never got any thing by them: I have not taken one ass
from them, not only not by way of bribery and extortion, but not by
way of recompence or gratuity for all the good offices he had done
them; he never took the pay of a general, or the salary of a judge,
much less the tribute of a prince. He got more in his estate when he
kept Jethro’s flock than when he came to be king in Jeshurun.
(2.) That they never lost any thing by him: Neither have I hurt any
one of them, no, not the least, no, not the worst, no, not those
that had been most peevish and provoking to him: he never abused his
power to the support of wrong. Note, Those that have never blemished
themselves need not fear being slurred by others: when men condemn us
we may be easy, if our own hearts condemn us not.
2. He begs of God to plead his cause, and clear him, by showing his
displeasure at the incense which Korah and his company were to offer,
with whom Dathan and Abiram were in confederacy. Lord, says he,
Respect not thou their offering. Herein he seems to refer to the
history of Cain, lately written by his own hand, of whom it is said
that to him and his offering God had not respect,
These that followed the gainsaying of Korah walked in the way of
Cain (these are put together,
Jude 11),
and therefore he prays that they might be frowned upon as Cain was, and
put to the same confusion.
III. Issue joined between Moses and his accusers.
1. Moses challenges them to appear with Aaron next morning, at the time
of offering up the morning incense, and refer the matter to God’s
judgment,
Since he could not convince them by his calm and affectionate
reasoning, he is ready to enter into bonds to stand God’s award, not
doubting but that God would appear, to decide the controversy. This
reference he had agreed to before
(v. 6, 7),
and here adds only one clause, which bespeaks his great condescension
to the plaintiffs, that Aaron, against whose advancement they excepted,
though now advanced by the divine institution to the honour of burning
incense within the tabernacle, yet, upon this trial, should put himself
into the place of a probationer, and stand upon the level with Korah,
at the door of the tabernacle; nay, and Moses himself would stand with
them, so that the complainant shall have all the fair dealing he can
desire; and thus every mouth shall be stopped.
2. Korah accepts the challenge, and makes his appearance with Moses and
Aaron at the door of the tabernacle, to make good his
pretensions,
If he had not had a very great stock of impudence, he could not have
carried on the matter thus far. Had not he lately seen Nadab and Abihu,
the consecrated priests, struck dead for daring to offer incense with
unhallowed fire? and could he and his accomplices expect to fare any
better in offering incense with unhallowed hands? Yet, to confront
Moses and Aaron, in the height of his pride he thus bids defiance to
Heaven, and pretends to demand the divine acceptance without a divine
warrant; thus wretchedly is the heart hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin. They took every man his censer. Perhaps
these were some of the censers which these heads of families had made
use of at their family-altars, before this part of religious service
was confined to the priesthood and the altar in the tabernacle (and
they would bring them into use and reputation again); or they might be
common chafing-dishes, which were for their ordinary use. Now to attend
the solemn trial, and to be witness of the issue, one would have
thought Moses should have gathered the congregation against the
rebels, but it seems Korah gathered them against Moses
(v. 19),
which intimates that a great part of the congregation sided with Korah,
were at his beck, and wished him success, and that Korah’s hopes were
very high of carrying the point against Aaron; for, had he suspected
the event, he would not have coveted to make the trial thus public: but
little did he think that he was now calling the congregation together
to be the witnesses of his own confusion! Note, Proud and ambitious
men, while they are projecting their own advancement, often prove to
have been hurrying on their own shameful fall.
IV. The judgment set, and the Judge taking the tribunal, and
threatening to give sentence against the whole congregation.
1. The glory of the Lord appeared,
v. 19.
The same glory that appeared to instal Aaron in his office at first
now appeared to confirm him in it, and to confound those that oppose
him, and set up themselves in competition with him. The
Shechinah, or divine Majesty, the glory of the eternal Word,
which ordinarily dwelt between the cherubim within the veil, now was
publicly seen over the door of the tabernacle, to the terror of the
whole congregation; for, though they saw no manner of similitude, yet
probably the appearances of the light and fire were such as plainly
showed God to be angry with them; as when he appeared,
Nothing is more terrible to those who are conscious of guilt than the
appearances of divine glory; for such a glorious Being must needs be a
formidable enemy.
2. God threatened to consume them all in a moment, and, in
order to that, bade Moses and Aaron stand from among them,
God thus showed what their sin deserved, and how very provoking it was
to him. See what a dangerous thing it is to have fellowship with
sinners, and in the least to partake with them. Many of the
congregation, it is likely, came only for company, following the crowd,
or for curiosity, to see the issue, yet not coming, as they ought to
have done, to bear their testimony against the rebels, and openly to
declare for God and Moses, they had like to have been all consumed in a
moment. If we follow the herd into which the devil has entered, it is
at our peril.
V. The humble intercession of Moses and Aaron for the congregation,
1. Their posture was importuning: they fell on their faces,
prostrating themselves before God, as supplicants in good earnest, that
they might prevail for sparing mercy. Though the people had
treacherously deserted them, and struck in with those that were in arms
against them, yet they approved themselves faithful to the trusts
reposed in them, as shepherds of Israel, who were to stand in the
breach when they saw the flock in danger. Note, If others fail in their
duty to us, this does not discharge us from our duty to them, nor take
off the obligations we lie under to seek their welfare.
2. Their prayer was a pleading prayer, and it proved a prevailing one.
Now God would have destroyed them if Moses had not turned
away his wrath
(Ps. cvi. 23);
yet far be it from us to imagine that Moses was more considerate or
more compassionate than God in such a case as this: but God saw fit to
show his just displeasure against the sin of sinners by the sentence,
and at the same time to show his gracious condescension to the prayers
of the saints, by the revocation of the sentence at the intercession of
Moses. Observe in the prayer,
(1.) The title they give to God: The God of the spirits of all
flesh. See what man is; he is a spirit in flesh, a soul embodied, a
creature wonderfully compounded of heaven and earth. See what God is;
he is the God of the spirits of all mankind. He forms the
spirit,
Zech. xii. 1.
He fathers it,
Heb. xii. 9.
He has an ability to fashion it
and authority to dispose of it, for he has said, All souls are
mine,
Ezek. xviii. 4.
They insinuate hereby that though, as the God of the spirits of all
flesh, he might in sovereignty consume this congregation in a
moment, yet it was to be hoped that he would in mercy spare them, not
only because they were the work of his own hands, and he had a
propriety in them, but because, being the God of spirits, he
knew their frame, and could distinguish between the leaders and the
led, between those who sinned maliciously and those who were drawn in
by their wiles, and would make a difference accordingly in his
judgments.
(2.) The argument they insist on; it is much the same with that which
Abraham urged in his intercession for Sodom
Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? Such is the
plea here: Shall one man sin and wilt thou be wroth with all the
congregation? Not but that it was the sin of them all to join in
this matter, but the great transgression was his that first hatched the
treason. Note, Whatever God may do in sovereignty and strict justice,
we have reason to hope that he will not destroy a congregation for the
sin of one, but that, righteousness and peace having kissed
each other in the undertaking of the Redeemer, mercy shall
rejoice against judgment. Moses knew that all the congregation must
perish in the wilderness by degrees, yet he is thus earnest in prayer
that they might not be consumed at once, and would reckon it a favour
to obtain a reprieve. Lord, let it alone this year.
23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about
the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the
elders of Israel followed him.
26 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.
27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood
in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and
their little children.
28 And 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.
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.
30 But 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.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all
these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32 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.
33 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.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry
of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
We have here the determining of the controversy with Dathan and Abiram,
who rebelled against Moses, as in the next paragraph the determining of
the controversy with Korah and his company, who would be rivals with
Aaron. It should seem that Dathan and Abiram had set up a spacious
tabernacle in the midst of the tents of their families, where they kept
court, met in council, and hung out their flag of defiance against
Moses; it is here called the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram,
v. 24, 27.
There, as in the place of rendezvous, Dathan and Abiram staid, when
Korah and his friends went up to the tabernacle of the Lord, waiting
the issue of their trial; but here we are told how they had their
business done, before that trial was over. For God will take what
method he pleases in his judgments.
I. Public warning is given to the congregation to withdraw immediately
from the tents of the rebels.
1. God bids Moses speak to this purport,
This was in answer to Moses’s prayer. He had begged that God would not
destroy the whole congregation. “Well,” says God, “I will not,
provided they be so wise as to shift for their own safety, and get out
of the way of danger. If they will quit the rebels, well and good, they
shall not perish with them; otherwise, let them take what follows.”
Note, We cannot expect to reap benefit by the prayers of our friends
for our salvation, unless we ourselves be diligent and faithful in
making use of the means of salvation; for God never promised to save by
miracles those that would not save themselves by means. Moses that had
prayed for them must preach this to them, and warn them to flee from
this wrath to come.
2. Moses accordingly repairs to the head-quarters of the rebels,
leaving Aaron at the door of the tabernacle,
Dathan and Abiram had contumaciously refused to come up to him
(v. 12),
yet he humbly condescends to go down to them, to try if he could yet
convince and reclaim them. Ministers must thus with meekness instruct
those that oppose themselves, and not think it below them to stoop to
those that are most stubborn, for their good. Christ himself stretches
out his hand to a rebellious and gainsaying people. The seventy elders
of Israel attend Moses and his guard, to secure him from the insolence
of the rabble, and by their presence to put an honour upon him, and if
possible to strike an awe upon the rebels. It is our duty to contribute
all we can to the countenance and support of injured innocency and
honour.
3. Proclamation is made that all manner of persons, as they tendered
their own safety, should forthwith depart from the tents of these
wicked men
(v. 26),
and thus should signify that they deserted their cause and interest,
detested their crimes and counsels, and dreaded the punishment coming
upon them. Note, Those that would not perish with sinners must come
out from among them, and be separate. In vain do we pray, Gather
not our souls with sinners, if we save not ourselves from the
untoward generation. God’s people are called out of Babylon,
lest they share both in her sins and in her plagues,
II. The congregation takes the warning, but the rebels themselves
continue obstinate,
1. God, in mercy, inclined the people to forsake the rebels: They
got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, both those
whose lot it was to pitch near them (who doubtless with themselves
removed their families, and all their effects) and those also who had
come from all parts of their camp to see the issue. It was in answer to
the prayer of Moses that God thus stirred up the hearts of the
congregation to shift for their own preservation. Note, To those whom
God will save he gives repentance, that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil. Grace to separate from evil doers is
one of the things that accompany salvation.
2. God, in justice, left the rebels to the obstinacy and hardness of
their own hearts. Though they saw themselves abandoned by all their
neighbours, and set up as a mark to the arrows of God’s justice, yet
instead of falling down and humbling themselves before God and Moses,
owning their crime and begging pardon, instead of fleeing and
dispersing themselves to seek for shelter in the crowd, they impudently
stood in the doors of their tents, as if they would out-face God
himself, and dare him to his worst. Thus were their hearts hardened to
their own destruction, and they were fearless when their case was most
fearful. But what a pity was it that their little children, who were
not capable of guilt or fear, should by the presumption of their
parents be put in this audacious posture! Happy they who are taught
betimes to bow before God, and not as those unhappy little ones to
stand it out against him!
III. Sentence is solemnly pronounced upon them by Moses in the name of
the Lord, and the decision of the controversy is put upon the execution
of that sentence by the almighty power of God. Moses, by divine
instinct and direction, when the eyes of all Israel were fastened upon
him, waiting the event, moved with a just and holy indignation at the
impudence of the rebels, boldly puts the whole matter to a surprising
issue,
1. If the rebels die a common death, he will be content to be called
and counted an impostor; not only if they die a natural death, but if
they die by any sort of judgment that has formerly been executed on
other malefactors. “If they die by the plague, or by fire from heaven,
or by the sword, then say, God has disowned Moses;” but,
2. “If the earth open and swallow them up” (a punishment without
precedent), “then let all the house of Israel know assuredly that I am
God’s servant, sent by him, and employed for him, and that those that
fight against me fight against him.” The judgment itself would have
been proof enough of God’s displeasure against the rebels, and would
have given all men to understand that they had provoked the
Lord; but when it was thus solemnly foretold and appealed to by
Moses beforehand, when there was not the least previous indication of
it from without, the convincing evidence of it was much the stronger,
and it was put beyond dispute that he was not only a servant but a
favourite of Heaven, who was so intimately acquainted with the divine
counsels, and could obtain such extraordinary appearances of the divine
power in his vindication.
IV. Execution is immediately done. It appeared that God and his servant
Moses understood one another very well; for, as soon as ever Moses had
spoken the word, God did the work, the earth clave asunder
(v. 31),
opened her mouth, and swallowed them all up, them and theirs
(v. 32),
and then closed upon them,
v. 33.
This judgment was,
1. Unparalleled. God, in it, created a new thing, did what he
never did before; for he has many arrows in his quiver; and there are
diversities of operations in wrath as well as mercy. Dathan and Abiram
thought themselves safe because they were at a distance from the
shechinah, whence the fire of the Lord had sometimes issued,
qui procul à Jove (they say) procul à
fulmine–he who is far from Jove is far from the thunderbolt. But
God made them to know that he was not tied up to one way of punishing;
the earth, when he pleases, shall serve his justice as effectually as
the fire.
2. It was very terrible to the sinners themselves to go down alive into
their own graves, to be dead and buried in an instant, to go down thus
to the bars of the pit when they were in their full strength wholly
at ease and quiet.
3. It was severe upon their poor children, who, for the greater terror
of the judgment, and fuller indication of the divine wrath, perished as
parts of their parents, in which, though we cannot particularly tell
how bad they might be to deserve it or how good God might be otherwise
to them to compensate it, yet of this we are sure in the general, that
Infinite Justice did them no wrong. Far be it from God that he
should do iniquity.
4. It was altogether miraculous. The cleaving of the earth was as
wonderful, and as much above the power of nature, as the cleaving of
the sea, and the closing of the earth again more so than the closing of
the waters. God has all the creatures at his command, and can make any
of them, when he pleases, instruments of his justice; nor will any of
them be our friends if he be our enemy. God now confirmed to Israel
what Moses had lately taught them in that prayer of his,
Who knows the power of thy anger? He has, when he pleases,
strange punishments for the workers of iniquity,
Job xxxi. 3.
Let us therefore conclude, Who is able to stand before this holy
Lord God?
5. It was very significant. They set their mouths against the
heavens, and their throat was an open sepulchre; justly
therefore does the earth open her mouth upon them and swallow them up.
They made a rent in the congregation; justly therefore is the earth
rent under them. Presumptuous sinners, that hate to be reformed, are a
burden to the earth, the whole creation groans under them, which here
was signified by this, that the earth sunk under these rebels, as weary
of bearing them and being under them. And, considering how the earth is
still in like manner loaded with the weight of iniquity, we have reason
to wonder that this was the only time it ever sunk under its load.
6. It was typical of the eternal ruin of sinners who die impenitent,
who, perhaps in allusion to this, are said to sink down into the
pit
and to go down quickly into hell,
Ps. lv. 15.
But David, even when he sinks in deep mire, yet prays in faith,
Let not the pit shut her mouth upon me, as it does on the
damned, between whom and life there is a gulf fixed,
His case was bad, but not, like this, desperate.
V. All Israel is alarmed at the judgment: They fled at the cry of
them,
v. 34.
They cried for help when it was too late. Their doleful shrieks,
instead of fetching their neighbours in to their relief, drove them so
much the further off; for knowing their own guilt, and one another’s,
they hastened one another, saying, Lest the earth swallow us up
also. Note, Others’ ruins should be our warnings. Could we by faith
hear the outcries of those that have gone down to the bottomless pit,
we should give more diligence than we do to escape for our lives, lest
we also come into that condemnation.
35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the
two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take
up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire
yonder; for they are hallowed.
38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let
them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for
they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed:
and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
39 And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherewith
they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad
plates for a covering of the altar:
40 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 as his
company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.
We must now look back to the door of the tabernacle, where we left the
pretenders to the priesthood with their censers in their hands ready to
offer incense; and here we find,
I. Vengeance taken on them,
It is probable that when the earth opened in the camp to swallow up
Dathan and Abiram a fire went out from the Lord and consumed the 250
men that offered incense, while Aaron that stood with them was
preserved alive. This punishment was not indeed so new a thing as the
former, for Nadab and Abihu thus died; but it was not less strange or
dreadful, and in it it appeared,
1. That our God is a consuming fire. Is thunder a sensible
indication of the terror of his voice? Lightning is also the power of
his hand. We must see in this his fiery indignation which devours the
adversaries, and infer from it what a fearful thing it is to fall
into the hands of the living God,
Heb. x. 27-31.
2. That it is at our peril if we meddle with that which does not belong
to us. God is jealous of the honour of his own institutions, and will
not have them invaded. It is most probable that Korah himself was
consumed with those 250 that presumed to offer incense; for the
priesthood was the thing he aimed at, and therefore we have reason to
think that he would not quit his post at the door of the tabernacle.
But, behold, those are made sacrifices to the justice of God who
flattered themselves with the hopes of being priests. Had they been
content with their office as Levites, which was sacred and honourable,
and better than they deserved, they might have lived and died with joy
and reputation; but, like the angels that sinned, leaving their
first estate, and aiming at the honours that were not appointed
them, they were thrust down to Hades, their censers struck out
of their hands, and their breath out of their bodies, by a burning
which typified the vengeance of eternal fire.
II. Care is taken to perpetuate the remembrance of this vengeance. No
mention is made of the taking up of their carcases: the scripture
leaves them as dung upon the face of the earth; but orders are given
about their censers,
1. That they be secured, because they are hallowed. Eleazar is charged
with this,
Those invaders of the priesthood had proceeded so far, by the divine
patience and submission, as to kindle their incense with fire from off
the altar, which they were suffered to use by way of experiment: but,
as soon as they had kindled their fire, God kindled another, which put
a fatal final period to their pretensions; now Eleazar is ordered to
scatter the fire, with the incense that was kindled with it, in some
unclean place without the camp, to signify God’s abhorrence of their
offering as a polluted thing: The sacrifice of the wicked is an
abomination to the Lord. But he is to gather up the censers out of
the mingled burning, God’s fire and theirs, because they are
hallowed. Having been once put to a holy use, and that by God’s own
order (though only for trial), they must not return to common service;
so some understand it: rather, they are devoted, they are an
anathema; and therefore, as all devoted things, they must be made some
way or other serviceable to the glory of God.
2. That they be used in the service of the sanctuary, not as censers,
which would rather have put honour upon the usurpers whose disgrace was
intended; nor was there occasion for brazen censers, the golden altar
was served with golden ones; but they must be beaten into broad
plates for a covering of the brazen altar,
v. 38-40.
These pretenders thought to have ruined the altar, by laying the
priesthood in common again; but to show that Aaron’s office was so far
from being shaken by their impotent malice that it was rather confirmed
by it, their censers, which offered to rival his, were used both for
the adorning and for the preserving of the altar at which he
ministered. Yet this was not all; this covering of the altar must be a
memorial to the children of Israel, throughout their
generations, of this great event. Though there was so much in it
astonishing, and though Moses was to record it in his history, yet
there was danger of its being forgotten in process of time; impressions
that seem deep are not always durable; therefore it was necessary to
appoint this record of the judgment, that the Levites who attended this
altar, and had their inferior services appointed them, might learn to
keep within their bounds, and be afraid of transgressing them, lest
they should be made like Korah and his company, who were Levites, and
would have been priests. These censers were preserved in
terrorem, that others might hear and fear, and do no more
presumptuously. Thus God has provided that his wonderful works, both in
mercy and judgment, should be had in everlasting remembrance, that the
end of them may be answered, and they may serve for instruction and
admonition to those on whom the ends of the world are come.
41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of
Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have
killed the people of the LORD.
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: and, behold, the cloud covered
it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the
congregation.
44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume
them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
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.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of
the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the
people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the
people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague
was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and
seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
Here is,
I. A new rebellion raised the very next day against Moses and Aaron. Be
astonished, O heavens, at this, and wonder, O earth! Was there ever
such an instance of the incurable corruption of sinners? On the
morrow
(v. 41)
the body of the people mutinied.
1. Though they were so lately terrified by the sight of the punishment
of the rebels. The shrieks of those sinking sinners, those sinners
against their own souls, were yet sounding in their ears, the smell of
the fire yet remained, and the gaping earth was scarcely thoroughly
closed, and yet the same sins were re-acted and all these warnings
slighted.
2. Though they were so lately saved from sharing in the same
punishment, and the survivors were as brands plucked out of the
burning, yet they fly in the face of Moses and Aaron, to whose
intercession they owed their preservation. Their charge runs very high:
You have killed the people of the Lord. Could any thing have
been said more unjustly and maliciously? They canonize the rebels,
calling those the people of the Lord who died in arms against him. They
stigmatize divine justice itself. It was plain enough that Moses and
Aaron had no hand in their death (they did what they could to save
them), so that in charging them with murder they did in effect charge
God himself with it. The continued obstinacy of this people,
notwithstanding the terrors of God’s law as it was given on Mount
Sinai, and the terrors of his judgments as they were here executed on
the disobedient, shows how necessary the grace of God is to the
effectual change of men’s hearts and lives, without which the most
likely means will never attain the end. Love will do what fear could
not.
II. God’s speedy appearance against the rebels. When they had
gathered against Moses and Aaron, perhaps with a design to
depose or murder them, they looked towards the tabernacle, as if
their misgiving consciences expected some frowns thence, and,
behold, the glory of the Lord appeared
(v. 42),
for the protection of his servants, and the confusion of his and their
accusers and adversaries. Moses and Aaron thereupon came before the
tabernacle, partly for their own safety (there they took sanctuary from
the strife of tongues,
and partly for advice, to know what was the mind of God upon this
occasion,
Justice hereupon declares that they deserve to be consumed in a
moment,
v. 45.
Why should those live an other day who hate to be reformed, and whose
rebellions are their daily practices? Let just vengeance take place and
do its work, and the trouble will soon be over; only Moses and Aaron
must first be secured.
III. The intercession which Moses and Aaron made for them. Though they
had as much reason, one would think, as Elias had to make intercession
against Israel
(Rom. xi. 2),
yet they forgive and forget the indignities offered them, and are the
best friends their enemies have.
1. They both fell on their faces, humbly to intercede with God
for mercy, knowing how great the provocation was. This they had done
several times before, upon similar occasions; and, though the people
had basely requited them for it, yet, God having graciously accepted
them, they still have recourse to the same method. This is praying
always.
2. Moses, perceiving that the plague had begun in the
congregation of the rebels (that is, that body of them which was
gathered against Moses), sent Aaron by an act of his priestly office to
make atonement for them,
And Aaron readily went and burned incense between the living and the
dead, not to purify the infected air, but to pacify an offended God,
and so stayed the progress of the judgment. By this it appeared,
(1.) That Aaron was a very good man, and a man that had a true love for
the children of his people, though they hated and envied him. Though
God was now avenging his quarrel and pleading the cause of his
priesthood, yet he interposes to turn away God’s wrath. Nay, forgetting
his age and gravity, he ran into the midst of the congregation to help
them. He did not say, “Let them smart awhile, and then, when I come, I
shall be the more welcome;” but, as one tender of the life of every
Israelite, he makes all possible speed into the gap at which death was
entering. Moses and Aaron, who had been charged with killing the people
of the Lord, might justly have upbraided them now; could they expect
those to be their saviours whom they had so invidiously called their
murderers? But those good men have taught us here by their example not
to be sullen towards those that are peevish with us, nor to take the
advantage which men give us by their provoking language to deny them
any real kindness which it is in the power of our hands to do them. We
must render good for evil.
(2.) That Aaron was a very bold man–bold to venture into the midst of
an enraged rabble that were gathered together against him, and who, for
aught he knew, might be the more exasperated by the plague that had
begun–bold to venture into the midst of the infection, where the
arrows of death flew thickest, and hundreds, nay thousands, were
falling on the right hand and on the left. To save their lives he put
his own into his hand, not counting it dear to him, so that he might
but fulfil his ministry.
(3.) That Aaron was a man of God, and ordained for men, in things
pertaining to God. His call to the priesthood was hereby abundantly
confirmed and set above all contradiction; God had not only saved his
life when the intruders were cut off, but now made him an instrument
for saving Israel. Compare the censer of Aaron here with the censers
of those sinners against their own souls. Those provoked God’s
anger, this pacified it; those destroyed men’s lives, this saved them;
no room therefore is left to doubt of Aaron’s call to the priesthood.
Note, Those make out the best title to public honours that lay out
themselves the most for public good and obtain mercy of the Lord to be
faithful and useful. If any man will be great, let him make himself the
servant of all.
(4.) That Aaron was a type of Christ, who came into the world to make
an atonement for sin and to turn away the wrath of God from us, and
who, by his mediation and intercession, stands between the living
and the dead, to secure his chosen Israel to himself, and save them
out of the midst of a world infected with sin and the curse.
IV. The result and issue of the whole matter.
1. God’s justice was glorified in the death of some. Great execution
the sword of the Lord did in a very little time. Though Aaron made all
the haste he could, yet, before he could reach his post of service,
there were 14,700 men laid dead upon the spot,
There were but few comparatively that died about the matter of Korah,
the ring-leaders only were made examples; but, the people not being led
to repentance by the patience and forbearance of God with them, justice
is not now so sparing of the blood of Israelites. They complained of
the death of a few hundreds as an unmerciful slaughter made among the
people of the Lord, but here God silences that complaint by the
slaughter of many thousands. Note, Those that quarrel with less
judgments prepare greater for themselves; for when God judges he will
overcome.
2. His mercy was glorified in the preservation of the rest. God showed
them what he could do by his power, and what he might do in justice,
but then showed them what he would do in his love and pity: he would,
notwithstanding all this, preserve them a people to himself in and by a
mediator. The cloud of Aaron’s incense coming from his hand stayed the
plague. Note, It is much for the glory of God’s goodness that many a
time even in wrath he remembers mercy. And, even when judgments have
been begun, prayer puts a stop to them; so ready is he to forgive, and
so little pleasure does he take in the death of sinners.
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