Read Numbers 16:1-17:11.

Note: In verse fourteen, the sentence translated, “Will you try to deceive these men?” literally reads, “Will you put out the eyes of these men?”

Introduction⤒🔗

Authority. What comes to mind when you hear that word? The president of the United States? (“I want to have his authority!”) A police officer? (“I don’t want him to exercise his authority over me!”)

In the sixteenth chapter of Numbers, we meet men who had various sinful attitudes toward God-given authority. As we consider these men and their attitude towards authority, we must also consider the question, What is my attitude towards authority?

As we shall see from this passage of Scripture, a wrong attitude towards authority can get you into serious trouble. Because authority is ordained by God, we must be careful to entertain a right attitude towards it, especially towards the authority that Christ exercises over our lives as our Shepherd.

Because Authority is Ordained by God, You Must Not Covet It←⤒🔗

Korah (a Levite), together with Dathan and Abiram (of the tribe of Reuben), recruit a following, (including two hundred and fifty of the leaders in Israel), and rise up in rebellion against Moses (Num. 16:1-3).

Moses charges them with having gone too far, they are seeking to usurp authority that has not been entrusted to them (Num. 16:7b). He reminds Korah of the divine calling he and his tribe of Levi have received:

Moses said to Korah, “Listen now, you sons of Levi, ⁹does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to himself in order to perform the service of the LORD’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and minister to them? ¹⁰He has brought you near to himself, and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you. vs. 8-10a

God had separated their tribe from the nation of Israel to serve the tabernacle and minister unto the people in the name of the LORD. But they are not content with the privilege and responsibility assigned to them by God, they want more: they want to assume Aaron’s role as high priest (Num. 16:10b).

Moses then proceeds to inform Korah and his cohorts that they are not withstanding Aaron, they are withstanding the LORD: “You and all your followers have banded together against the LORD. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?” (Num. 16:11) In their desire to wield greater authority, they are opposing the LORD. Not content to serve Him in the position to which He has appointed them, they are striving to gain for themselves a position He has not assigned to them.

Because authority is ordained by God, you must not covet it. We must not entertain the ambition of James and John who sought to gain the highest positions in Christ’s kingdom for their own benefit:

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him and said, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we shall ask you. ³⁶He said to them, What do you want me to do for you? ³⁷They said to him, Grant that we may sit with you in your glory—one at your right hand and one at your left hand.Mk. 10:35-37

Observe the effect their ambition had upon their fellow disciples: “Now when the other ten [disciples] heard about this, they began to be indignant against James and John” (Mk. 10:41).

We must pay careful attention to our Lord Jesus’ definition of true greatness:

⁴²Then Jesus called them to himself and said to them, You know that those who are recognized as rulers among the Gentiles lord it over their subjects; and their high officials rule over them with tyranny. ⁴³But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever desires to be great among you, shall be your minister; ⁴⁴and whoever desires to be first among you, shall be servant of all. Mk. 10:42-44

We must not entertain the attitude of Diotrephes, a man “who loves to have the preeminence” (3 Jn. 9). Note that the Apostle John identifies this attitude as being evil: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God” (3 Jn. 11).

Consider the spirit of the devil and the judgment rendered against him as described in Isaiah 14:12­-15,

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the ground, you who once laid low the nations! ¹³You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned upon the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain! ¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!' ¹⁵But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.

We must not imitate Korah and his followers who sought to usurp for themselves a position and exercise of authority that the LORD had not entrusted to them. In sum, we must not grasp for a position of authority God has not entrusted to us; and when God does entrust us with authority, we must not misuse it:

I exhort the elders among you, (I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also one who has a share in the glory that is going to be revealed), 'shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Do not exercise oversight [merely] because you must do so, but do so willingly for God; not for material gain, but with a willingness to serve. ³Do not lord yourselves over those who are under your care; on the contrary, be examples for the flock. 1 Pet. 5:1-3

Because Authority is Ordained by God, You Must Not Resist It←⤒🔗

Whereas Korah was a Levite who envied Aaron’s authority, Dathan and Abiram were Reubenites who resisted Moses’ authority. As descendants of the first-born son of Israel, they resented the fact that Moses, (a descendant of Levi), was the head of Israel.

When these men assemble before Moses, they charge him with taking upon himself too much authority:

They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, 'You take too much authority for yourselves, seeing that the whole congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you elevate yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?' Num. 16:3

They maintain that since the whole nation of Israel comprises the people of God, there should be a holy “democracy;” Moses and Aaron should not hold positions of authority above the congregation.

The next day, when Moses summons Dathan and Abiram to appear before him to settle this controversy, the two of them refuse to come (Num. 16:12). They charge Moses with poor leadership: “Is it an insignificant matter that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey in order to kill us in the wilderness?” (Num. 16:13) They refuse to admit that the reason for their present situation is due to their own unbelief and disobedience. Recall the majority report made by the ten spies: “We are not able to attack those people, for they are stronger than we are” (Num. 13:31), and the response of the people:

The whole congregation raised their voices and wailed... 'All the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, 'We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness! ³Why has the LORD brought us to this land, so that we might be killed with the sword? Is it not better for us to go back to Egypt?' ⁴They said among themselves, 'Let us choose a leader for ourselves and go back to Egypt!' Num. 14:1-4

But now Dathan and Abiram charge Moses with presumptuously seeking to make himself a ruler over them: “Must you also make yourself a ruler over us?” (Num. 16:13) They neglect to remember that Moses was appointed by the LORD and they, acknowledging that fact, willingly followed him out of Egypt:

When Israel saw the great power the LORD had employed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD; and they put their trust in the LORD and in his servant Moses.Ex. 14:31

Because authority is ordained by God, you must not resist it.

But this does not mean that the Christian must render unquestioning obedience to the civil authorities at all times and must submit to their every demand. See the accompanying Appendix to this present study, entitled, When Is It Required of the Christian to Resist the Civil Authority?

We must not think like Dathan and Abiram and view the church as a “spiritual democracy” in which we can make our own rules for living. The church is a theocracy under the authority of Christ: [God the Father] “put all things in subjection under [Christ’s] feet, and he gave him to be head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22). We must not act like the people of Israel did in the days of the judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).

Remember that it was the unbelieving Jews who refused to accept Christ as their rightful King: “they shouted, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar’” (Jn. 19:15).

But note Luke 19:27, a parable in which Jesus warns of the consequence of rejecting His lordship: “But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and execute them in front of me” (Lk. 19:27).

Because Authority is Ordained by God, You Must Respect It, Especially Christ’s Authority←⤒🔗

When Korah challenges Moses and Aaron, Moses asserts, “in the morning, the LORD will show whom He has chosen” (Num. 16:5). Moses instructs Korah and his followers to each present a censor filled with incense and present it to the LORD. The LORD will make known whom He has set apart to be His divinely appointed priest and mediator (Num. 16:6-7).

The next morning, when Korah and his followers and Aaron each present their censor before the LORD, the glory of the LORD appeared (Num. 16:15-35). The LORD instructs Moses to order the whole congregation to separate themselves from Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Num. 16:23-24). The LORD then caused the earth to swallow up the three leaders of the rebellion, and His fire devoured the two hundred and fifty followers of Korah who offered their censors of incense before the LORD’s altar (Num. 16:31-35).

Note:

In this region of the wilderness, (the Arabah rift valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba), there are mudflats. Over a deep mass of liquid mud and ooze there is formed a hard crust of clay. Under normal conditions, one may walk over the crust without any problem.¹ But as an act of judgment against Korah and his cohorts, the LORD caused the crust to break open, sending the rebels plunging into the slimy abyss.

On the following day, the LORD commanded Moses to instruct the leaders of the tribes of Israel to each bring a staff to the Tent of Meeting (Num. 17:1-2). Each tribe was to carve their name upon their staff (vs. 2); Aaron’s name was carved on the staff representing the tribe of Levi (vs. 3). Then the twelve staffs were to be placed in the Tent of Meeting, with the LORD declaring that He would cause the staff of His chosen one to bud (vs. 5). When Moses retrieved the staffs the next day, the LORD had caused Aaron’s staff to produce buds and blossoms and ripe almonds, thereby indicating that he was chosen and appointed by the LORD (vs. 8).

Because authority is ordained by God, we must respect it, especially Christ’s authority.

We must acknowledge the fact that Christ has been entrusted by His Father with all authority:

Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins... ⁴No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. ⁵So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 5:1,4-6

Just prior to His ascension, the Lord Jesus came to His disciples and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matt. 28:18)

The Apostle Paul testifies:

...[God the Father] raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all principality and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. ²²And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church... Eph. 1:20-22

We must submit to the authority that Christ exercises:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; ³⁰for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.Matt. 11:28-30

Note: To submit to Christ’s yoke and learn from Him means to submit to His discipline and become His disciple.

We must respect the fact that Christ exercises His authority in His church by His Word and through the officers appointed by the congregation under the direction of His Word and by the leading of His Holy Spirit:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Heb. 13:17

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 1 Thess. 5:12-13

Conclusion←⤒🔗

What is your attitude towards authority?

Because authority is ordained by God, we must be careful to entertain a right attitude towards it. As we learn from this passage of Scripture: a wrong attitude towards authority can get us into serious trouble, and bring us under the judgment of God.

May the LORD grant to each of us the grace to heed the instruction of His Word:

^5bAll of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another; because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ⁶Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. 1 Pet. 5:5b-6

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. How are Korah, Dathan and Abiram described in Numbers 16:1-2a? What did their attitude lead them to do? See Num. 16:2a; note, also, vs. 3a Do you have a rebellious spirit, a spirit that resists and defies the LORD and His divine authority over your life? What does Scripture say about such a spirit? See 1 Sam. 15:23a; Psl. 32:8-9a,

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, together with several of the sons of Reuben, namely, Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, became insolent ²and rebelled against Moses. ³They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, 'You take too much authority for yourselves, seeing that the whole congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you elevate yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?Num. 16:1-3

...rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry... 1 Sam. 15:23

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. ⁹Do not be like the horse or like the mule...Psl. 32:8-9The horse is known for being headstrong, and the mule for being stubborn.

2. What charge do these men and their cohorts bring against Moses and Aaron? See Num. 16:3b, printed above As a Christian, do you respect the biblical authority Christ has established in His Church, which is to be exercised in accordance with the Scriptures as our sole authority; or do you wrongly view the church as a democracy in which everyone is free to contribute their own doctrine and standard of conduct? Note 1 Cor. 4:6b; 2 Jn. 9,

The Apostle Paul instructs the arrogant Corinthians:

Do not go beyond what has been written 1 Cor. 4:6b

Whoever goes beyond, and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God: he that abides in the teaching, that one has both the Father and the Son. 2 Jn. 9

3. To which tribe did Korah belong? To which tribe did Dathan and Abiram belong? See Num. 16:1, printed above Given their tribal affiliations, do you suppose that their rebellion against Moses and Aaron was motivated by jealousy? Do you find that jealousy plays a dominant role in your own life? What do the Scriptures say about jealousy? See Gal. 5:19-21 What is the godly alternative to jealousy? See Tim. 6:6-8,

Now the works of the sinful nature are well known, [such as]: sexual immorality, moral impurity, debauchery, ²⁰idolatry, witchcraft, hatreds, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and other such things. I warn you [again], just as I [previously] warned you, that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal. 5:19-21

...godliness with contentment is great gain; ⁷for we brought nothing into this world, [and it is] certain that we can carry nothing out [of this world]. ⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 1 Tim. 6:6-8

4. What happened to the men that defied the LORD’s authority and rebelled against His appointed servant Moses? See Num. 16:23-33 As a Christian, are you appreciative of the fact that the LORD at times employs natural means (i.e. natural calamities) as instruments of judgment, and that they are not merely random occurrences? Note Amos 3:6b,

So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ^24'Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.' ...³¹Then it came to pass...that the ground split apart under them, ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up... ³³So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the congregation. Num. 16:23-33

Note: In this region of the wilderness there are mudflats. Over a deep mass of liquid mud and ooze there is formed a hard crust of clay. Under normal conditions, one may walk over the crust without any problem. But as an act of judgment against Korah and his cohorts, the LORD caused the crust to break open, sending the rebels plunging into the slimy abyss.

Shall calamity befall a city, and will not the LORD have done it? Amos 3:6b

5. Do natural catastrophes only effect the godless and rebellious? What about when calamities, or trials, overtake the devout Christian? What purposes do they serve? Note 1 Pet. 1:6b-7; Jn. 15:1-2 What promise is given to you as a Christian when/if calamity befalls you? See Psl. 46:1-2; Psl. 33:18-19,

...now for a little while, since it is necessary, you have been brought to grief by all kinds of trials. ⁷[This has happened] so that the genuineness of your faith, being of greater value than gold that perishes, having been tested by fire, may be verified, resulting in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet. 1:6-7

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. ²He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. Jn. 15:1-2

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ²Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea... Psl. 46:1-2

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those that fear him, on those that hope in his mercy, ¹⁹to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psl. 33:18-19

The LORD may not always see fit to deliver the Christian from physical death; but the Christian can be assured that for him, death will usher him into the immediate presence of Christ his Savior.

Appendix: When Is It Required of the Christian to Resist the Civil Authority?←⤒🔗

Romans 13:1-2 informs us that we are to respect the legitimate authority of the civil government, because it possesses a God-given authority,

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves. Rom. 13:1-2

But when is political protest legitimate? When is such protest, and even resistance, required?

First, we must protest against the civil government when it oversteps its bounds and “deifies” itself; when it denies its accountability to God and assumes the position of God as lawmaker. By way of example, in 1987 Representative Lowell Wiecker of Connecticut, speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, declared, “We are the law!” The Christian has the right and the obligation to protest against such a view of the law. The civil government’s authority is derived from God,

Pilate asked him, Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not realize that I have the authority to release you, and the authority to crucify you? ¹¹Jesus replied, You would have no authority against me, unless it had been given to you from above. Jn. 19:10-11a

As the Apostle Paul declares in Romans 13:4a, the ruler “is God’s servant to do you good.” As such, the legislator’s role is to govern according to the moral law of God; he does not have the right to arbitrarily enact and command obedience to laws that violate God’s moral law. Consequently, the Christian has the right and the obligation to protest against and withhold obedience from any civil authority that requires his compliance with laws that legitimize such things as abortion, euthanasia, or homosexuality.

Second, we must protest against the civil government when it seeks to silence the preaching of the gospel and restrict the influence of the Church upon the society. Note the testimony of the apostles as recorded in Acts 5:27b-29,

Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ^28'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,' he said. 'Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.' ²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied, 'We must obey God rather than men.'

Third, we must protest against the civil government when it has become corrupt. Note Daniel’s appeal to King Nebuchadnezzar: “O king, be pleased to accept my counsel. Renounce your sins by doing what is right; and your iniquities, by showing mercy to the poor. By so doing, you may possibly continue in your honorable state” (Dan. 4:27). Even though Daniel found himself living under the government of a pagan nation that did not acknowledge the LORD, that did not stop him from calling the ruler to repentance for his unjust and unmerciful rule and informing him of his accountability before the God of heaven. The Christian should protest against the civil authorities when they deny any man equal justice before the courts, when they enact discriminatory laws, or when they impose harsh and unjustified penalties above and beyond what the crime deserves.

What forms does biblical protest take? It may consist in calling the civil authorities to accountability by reminding them of their office as servants of God and confronting them with their offenses—as did Daniel in the passage of Daniel 4:27 cited above. When necessary, it may take the form of refusing to obey the civil authorities when they require us to disobey God—as did the apostles in the instance cited in Acts 5:27b-29 referred to above.