Korah: Rebel Without A Cause

Text: Numbers 16

Introduction:

 Imagine the following church service: In the middle of the service a group of people dons black robes, begin burning candles, and then begin reciting magic incantations. Blasphemous? Yes! But it happens every week in almost every church! Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

 Power struggles have been going on since God created man. They are often caused by rebellion. They originate from man's rebellion against God, which is ultimately a power struggle between who will control man's life3/4 man or God?

 Korah is an example of a person who had a "spiritual" position, but still wanted more. He complained about God's appointed leadership and tried to set up his own.

 As we learn some truths from Korah's rebellion, I want us to keep in mind two verses. One from the OT and one from the NT.

 1 Sam. "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft"

 1 Co. 3:16 "whoso destoyeth God's temple, him will God destroy." The context shows that "the temple" in this verse is referring to the church as a whole, not to the individual believer as in 1 Co. 6:19-20. Thus, the person who destroys the unity of the church is in danger of God's condemnation.

 Rebellion against God's anointed or chosen authority is rebellion against God.

 Why children need to obey their parents

 Why wives obey their husbands

 Why employees obey their bosses

 Why citizens obey their government

 Why the church should obey their pastor
  1. Reasons for His Rebellion
    1. Jealousy
      1. "Take too much upon you"
      2. Korah, as a son of Kohath, had a position serving in the tabernacle
        1. He had a spiritual position
        2. He wanted more than God had given to him
        3. He wanted the priestly function also which was forbidden to all except the line of Aaron
      3. He thought Moses had too much authority
        1. Those who rebel against authority usually use the excuse that those in authority either have too much or are abusing their authority
        2. Some accuse pastors of being dictators
          1. Pastors are to lead the flock, not drive the herd
          2. However, the flock are to follow the leader, not try to lead themselves
          3. Illus. Mr. ? in Dalton, Ga. He owned a store in Dalton and once told me while I was in there, "I'm not going to tell you how to run the church because I realize that you aren't going to tell me how to run the store."
    2. Pride
      1. "Seeing all the congregation is holy" and "the Lord is among them"
        1. Pride is the unwillingness to put yourself under another
        2. Biblical admonition is to "submit to one another"
      2. Korah's argument is that they were all spiritual enough to make their own decisions
        1. This is a classic example of a half-truth
        2. Yes, the Lord was among them, but the Lord chose to work through Moses, not around Moses' leadership.
      3. Modern-day equivalent
        1. Taking the priesthood of the believer too far
        2. Differences in opinion
        3. You don't have a right to tell me what to do
      4. How to handle legitimate disagreements
        1. Follow the authority except when it is definitely against the Scripture
          1. Obey the government unless they are forcing you to violate Scripture (ex. Paying taxes)
          2. Obey your employer even if you know of a better way
          3. Follow your church leadership
    3. Difference of Philosophy
      1. Korah had decided that Moses had gone too far and had made regulations that were not necessary
      2. Both Moses and Korah claimed to be following God
        1. Only one or none were right
        2. Most church splits are the result of different groups, both which claim to be of God, thinking different directions to go
        3. Church splits can be avoided by following biblical principles of authority
    4. Lies
      1. 16:14 blame Moses for a problem they created
        1. Illus. A political party blaming the other party for a problem they created during a previous administration
        2. It was their fault they were wandering in the wilderness
      2. The disgruntled usually blame anyone but themselves for problems they are experiencing
        1. We need take personal responsibility
        2. We need to see what our individual responsibility is for a problem and what we can do to correct it.
      3. This is a situation where the problem was not a leadership problem, but a follower problem
  2. Reaction to His Rebellion
    1. Moses
      1. He challenged Korah knowing Korah was in the wrong
      2. He prayed for the people
      3. He offered sacrifice for the people
      4. He interceded for the people
    2. By the people
      1. Many followed the rebellion
      2. They continued to murmur against leadership
        1. When the heart is not right even God's judgment won't change it
        2. Illus. During the tribulation at the height of God's judgment men will change their hearts
    3. By God
      1. He demonstrated His support for Moses
      2. He dealt severely with the rebellious
        1. Prov. 29:1 "He that hardeneth his neck shall..."
        2. God always deals harshly with rebellion
  3. Results of His Rebellion
    1. Murmuring and complaining
    2. Jaded view of the situation
      1. Blamed Moses for something that was their fault
      2. When you blame others for your own problems, you can't fix them.
      3. You must first identify the true source of the problem (self) before you can fix it.
    3. Complainers flock together
    4. Judgment
      1. Death
        1. 250 leaders
        2. Korah, Nathan, Abihu
        3. 14,700 others

Conclusion: