18 "Follow Or Be Swallowed" Numbers 16:1-50 | Thursday, January 29, 2026

Let's take our Bibles and go to Numbers

Numbers 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16. [snorts]

Numbers 16. It's been a few weeks since

uh we've been in our study in Numbers.

They have spied out the land, rebelled

against the Lord, and were turned back

into the wilderness. God gave them some

instructions for how to deal with sin,

as well as the offerings that they will

offer when they come into the land.

>> [snorts]

>> And as we come to Numbers 16 now, it's

really the first account of them back in

the wilderness. And I don't think it's

any surprise to any of us that it's an

account of rebellion because that's how

the wilderness wanderings went. We are

going to cover the entire chapter. Um

we'll not read it all at this time.

We'll read a good portion of it. We'll

jump around a little bit. So if you

found your place, if you'll stand as we

give honor to God's word, we'll begin

reading in verse one.

[snorts]

Bible says, "Now Kora, the son of Isar,

the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and

Dayan and Abram, the sons of Eliab, and

Anne, the son of Paleth, sons of Reuben,

took men. And they rose up before Moses

with certain of the children of Israel,

250 princes of the assembly, famous in

the congregation, men of renown. 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. And when Moses heard it, he fell

upon his face. And he spake unto Kora

and unto all his company, saying, Even

tomorrow 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. This do take you sensors Kora

and all his company and put fire therein

and put incense in them before the Lord

tomorrow. 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. And so you can see we have

another honor contest going on here.

Kora and his company are saying that

Moses and honor Moses and Aaron have

taken this honor for themselves. Moses

is saying the only ones who get honor

are the ones that God chooses to give it

to. He says, "So, we're going to let God

sort this out." And so, he deals with

Nathan, Dayan, and Abram and and calls

them to come and they refuse to come.

And uh then the next day, Moses sets up

really a contest over who God is going

to choose to give honor to. So let's

look at verse 18. It says, "And they

took every man his sensor, put fire in

them, and laid incense thereon, and

stood in the door of the tabernacle of

the congregation with Moses and Aaron.

And Kora 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. And the Lord spake unto

Moses and unto Aaron, saying,"Separate

yourselves from among this congregation,

that I may consume them in a moment."

And they fell upon their faces, and

said, "Oh God, the God of the spirits,

of all flesh, shall one man sin, and

wilt thou be wroth with all the

congregation?" And the Lord spake unto

Moses, saying, "Speak unto the

congregation, saying, Get you up from

about the tabernacle of Kora, Dayan, and

Abram." And Moses rose up, and went unto

Dayan and Abram. And the elders of

Israel followed him. 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." So

they got up from the tabernacle of Kora,

Dayan and Abram on every side. And Dayan

and Nyram came out and stood in the door

of their tents and their wives and their

sons and their little children. 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 my

own mind. 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. 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. And it came to pass

as he made an end of speaking all these

words that the ground clave aunderder

that was underneath them. And the and

the earth opened her mouth and swallowed

them up and their houses and all the men

that appertained unto Kora and all their

goods. 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.

And all Israel that were round about

them fled at the cry of them. For they

said, "Lest the earth swallow us up

also." And there came out a fire from

the Lord, and consumed the 250 men that

offered incense. And the Lord spake unto

Moses, saying, Speak unto Eleazar the

son of Aaron the priest, that he take up

the sensors out of the burning, and

scatter thou the fire yonder, for they

are hallowed, the sensors 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. And Eleazar the

priest took the brazen sensors wherewith

they that were burnt had offered. And

they were made broad plates for a

covering of the altar 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 Kora and as

his company, as the Lord had said to him

by the hand of Moses.

And so now the next day, the whole

congregation is going to gather together

against them again and accuse them of

killing the people of the Lord. The

glory of the Lord comes down in the

tabernacle, tells Aaron and Moses to get

away from them because he's going to

consume the whole congregation.

It says in verse 47, Aaron took as Moses

commanded and ran into the midst of the

congregation.

Behold, the plague was begun among the

people. And he began and he put on

incense and made atonement for the

people, and he stood between the dead

and the living, and the plague was

stayed. Now they that died in the plague

were 14,700

beside them that died about the matter

of Kora. And Aaron returned unto Moses

under the door of the tabernacle of the

congregation, and the plague was stayed.

Title of tonight's message is follow or

be swallowed.

Follow or be swallowed. May God bless

his word. You can be seated. We'll get

into our message.

[snorts]

I think there's something in every

person that in some way desires to be in

charge.

Don't we like to be in charge?

Now, sometimes you may not want to be in

charge because of the responsibility

that that entails, but we like the

prestige. We like the honor. We like the

pay. Of course, who doesn't like telling

people what to do? That's what we really

like. You'd probably rather be the

manager of a store than a cashier.

You'd probably rather be the parent than

the child. At least the kids wish that

they were the parents in many

situations. And of course, the oldest

child, you'd rather be the oldest than

the youngest, right? Because if you're

the youngest, everybody's just always

telling you what to do. You hear it from

mom, you hear it from dad, you hear it

from your siblings. And so there's

nobody that you get to tell what to do.

It's poor youngest children.

Even from the fall of man, as part of

the curse, the wife wants to be in

charge of the husband.

And the husband doesn't like that

because he wants to be in charge. And so

neither one of them want the other

telling them what to do. He doesn't want

to be mommed and she doesn't want to be

daded, if that's a word. Fathered. There

we go.

That's a new word. It's a good one, I

think. Dadded. [snorts]

And so we don't like it when our boss

gets on our case or when a coach gets in

our face. We don't want anyone else in

charge of our personal lives especially.

Don't tell me who I can hang out with,

what I can do, where I can go. Don't let

the government impinge upon my rights

and my freedoms. We would all say

we want to be autonomous people, a law

to ourselves, and therefore we're always

in a fight to be in charge. And that's

exactly what's going on in Numbers 16.

Kora and his company are sick of taking

orders from Moses and Aaron. They

like, "Why have you exalted yourself

above us? Who died and made you king?"

Did you see that? Who made you a prince

over us? They say, "You've taken too

much upon yourselves. You've gone too

far is what they said.

Who put you in charge is really the

question that they have. Well, according

to Exodus chapter 3 and Exodus chapter

Exodus 3 · chapter mention Exodus 28 · chapter mention

28 and in Numbers 4, God put them in

charge.

God chose to give his law through Moses.

He chose Moses to lead his people out of

Egypt and he chose Aaron to be his

anointed priest.

And what follows in this text proves

that God chose Moses and Aaron. And

therefore, all the children of Israel

must follow God's orders.

They must follow the laws given at

Moses's mouth. And they must respect the

priesthood of Aaron and his sons.

>> [snorts]

>> But the reality is that that rebellious

generation,

they will die before they ever read this

chapter.

This chapter is intended for the future

generations of Israel that will enter

the land and live in the land. And God's

message to them is really revealed in

the sign that is given in verses 36-4

that as the sensors of those rebellious

men are hammered into plates of brass

and are are attached to the brazen

altar. It serves as a reminder to Israel

to respect the law of Moses and the sons

of Aaron because Moses is not going into

the land with them. Neither is Aaron

going into the land with them. But Moses

is leaving behind them the books of

Genesis through Deuteronomy to give them

direction for how they can live as God's

people. how they can live to enjoy and

experience the blessing and the presence

of God.

Aaron is going to have sons that serve

in hisstead like Eleazar who beats those

sensors into brass plates.

And so really what this is calling them

to do is to respect the law of Moses and

the priesthood of Aaron to follow their

God-given orders.

But of course, as we've seen, the

Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 10

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

tells us that the events that are all

recorded in the book of Numbers were

written for our admonition

to warn us not to walk in the same ways

as that rebellious generation of

Israelites so that we too can enjoy

freely the presence and the blessing of

God in our lives. And so that means that

for us, this text is a call to follow

God's orders, to obey God's word, and to

respect God's priest. Well, why is that?

I mean, what happens when we refuse to

follow God's orders? Well, let's see it

together as we make our way through

Kora's rebellion and then God's

response.

Beginning verse one, Kora organizes

a pretty big rebellion against Moses and

against Aaron. Now, Kora is Moses's

cousin, the son of his uncle, and he's

the one who is leading the rebellion

here, and he is a son of Levi and and

particularly a son of Kohath. And so, he

was gifted with the blessing of carrying

the holy furniture and setting up the

tabernacle as well as living right

around the tabernacle. And so uh so he

had a lot that had been given to him

already but he also carried a a big

weight of responsibility among the

people had a voice among them. It says

that he uh took also three sons of

Reuben, Dayan, Abram and on and these

men as being from the sons of Reuben

would have also carried away because

Reuben was the oldest although he was

not given the birthight because of his

sin. The children of Reuben still had a

big part in the nation of Israel. They

were the second camp to go after Judah.

But it also says that they rose up

before Moses. It literally means they

got in Moses' face.

And it says that they they came with

certain of the children of Israel, 250

princes of the assembly, men who are

called here famous men of the

congregation and men of renown. What all

of this is supposed to show us is that

there is great potential for their in

these influential men to sway the

congregation in their favor and away

from Moses and Aaron. It says in verse

three, they gathered themselves together

against Moses and against Aaron. We're

going to see that multiple times here.

And what this chapter is is setting up

is that God has chosen both Moses and

both Aaron. That's what he's settling

here. And so they rise up against them

both. And here's what they say. Ye take

too much upon you. You've gone too far.

You claim too much authority, too much

holiness. You claim that only you can

speak for God and only you can draw near

to God. But look, look at what they say.

All the congregation are holy. Every one

of them. He says that the Lord is among

them. That hey, we we're just as holy as

you. And the Lord did not say he would

just live with you. He said he would

live in the midst of all of us. And so

they asked him, "Wherefore then lift ye

up yourselves above the congregation of

the Lord? Who put you in charge?" That's

what they're asking.

>> [snorts]

>> They claim that Moses and Aaron have

taken this authority for themselves.

But in a turn of irony,

when they say, "You've lifted up

yourselves," it says in verse 4, "When

Moses heard it, he fell upon his face."

In fact, the posture that we most often

see from Moses and Aaron in the book of

Numbers is falling on their face. And

yet they're saying, "You've lifted

yourselves up."

[snorts]

Moses says, "Tomorrow,

tomorrow the Lord will show who are his

and who is holy, and he will bring him

near unto him. Even he uh whom he hath

chosen, he will cause him to come near."

What what Moses is getting at here is

this. This honor is not taken. This

honor is given.

This choice is not yours. This choice is

not ours. The Lord is going to make his

choice clear tomorrow. He tells them to

fill their sensors with incense. And the

Lord will show him who he has chosen.

And he says, "You've taken too much upon

yourself, oh sons of Levi. You've gone

too far here."

But then Moses

really as he challenges them, he reveals

the root of their rebellion.

It says in verse 8, "And Moses said unto

Kora, here I pray you, you sons of Levi,

seemth 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 him. And he hath brought

thee near to him, and all thy brethren,

the sons of Levi, with with thee." Do

you get what he's saying here? He's

drawing their attention to the way that

they have belittled what God has already

given them. He says, "Don't you see the

the the privileged position that you

have been given that they were chosen by

God to serve in the tabernacle? They to

carry the holy things to set up the

tabernacle of God and to pitch their

tents around the Lord's house." He's

saying God gave you a privileged role

and a close proximity,

but the problem for Kora was that it

wasn't enough.

He says, "Is it a small thing for you?"

Look at what God has given you. Is it

not big enough for you? Look at what he

says um at the end of of verse 10. and

seek ye the priesthood.

Also,

it tells us that that what Kora really

wants is that is that outside the

tabernacle is not enough. He wants to be

at the door of the tabernacle. He wants

to be where Moses is. He wants to be

where where Aaron and his sons are. He

He wants to be able to go into the

tabernacle to the Holy of Holies into

God's presence and to offer incense on

the altar of incense and to prepare the

showbread and to dress the lamps. He

wants to be able to have that kind of

access to the Lord.

What he had was not enough.

Rebellion

is often sparked by devaluing what God

has given you and demanding instead what

God has not given you.

That's how Kora's rebellion was started.

And that's how ours can be started as

well. When you devalue what God has

given you and you demand what God has

not given you. Can I ask, is your spouse

too small of a thing that you seek out

women at the work or at the gym or

online?

Is she too small?

Is your singleness too small for you?

Have you become so desperate to be

married that you seek a spouse that God

has not given you? one who is lost and

unbelieving.

Is your home, your car, and all that God

has provided for you, is it too small

for you? Can I just speak some old

English here? Seek ye more by means of

gambling [snorts]

or by taking on another job that keeps

you from worship.

[snorts]

What about this? Is your ministry role

too small for you?

setting up those chairs, teaching those

kids, seek ye the pastorate. Also,

right now there's a movement through

Christianity

of of churches compromising on male

pastoral leadership and it's getting

into Baptist churches as well where

women are becoming pastors which goes

against God's created order as Paul told

us in the book of first Corinthians. And

he he relates it to creation that God

made Adam first and then the woman that

that the woman was deceived. And so God

has a created order that he's made clear

in scripture. And yet there are tons of

women who don't see their God-given

roles in church as big enough. And

therefore they seek the pastor,

something God has not given them.

But can I also ask this question for

those of us in ministry?

Is that church too small for you?

[snorts]

Seek ye a bigger one, a better one with

more content members,

with less problems, with more people,

with a bigger budget is what God has

given you too small.

See, [snorts] when we spend our time

belittling what God has given us, it

will lead us to a rebellious pursuit of

what God has not given us, just like it

has with Kora and his company in this

text.

If the Lord had given

this authority to Moses and Aaron and

Kora and his company is gathering

together against them, they are actually

not gathering against Moses and Aaron.

They are gathering together against the

Lord. Moses in fact says as such in

verse 11, for which cause both thou and

all thy company are gathered together

against the Lord? And what is Aaron that

you murmur against him? You're

complaining to me, you're complaining to

Aaron about this honor that we have

allegedly taken, which there's plenty of

times when Moses is like, "This is too

much for me. God, kill me." Do we

remember that? He said, 'I don't want

any more part of this rebellious people.

Don't let me see my wretchedness.

See, he says, who is Aaron? We haven't

made this choice. You've complained and

murmured against the Lord.

In verses 12 through 15, Moses calls

Dayam in a Byum.

They said, "We will not come up.

Forget you, Moses." They turned Moses's

words against him in verse 13. Is it a

small thing that thou hast brought us up

out of the land that flowth with milk

and honey to kill us in the wilderness?

Whoa, hold on a second. Who ever said

Egypt was a land flowing with milk and

honey? Egypt was a land of bondage.

Egypt was a land of barrenness. Egypt

was a land of of death and slavery and

brutality. And yet he has the gall to

look back on Egypt and say that was the

land of milk and honey and you brought

us out of that just to kill us in this

wilderness.

If that wasn't big enough now he says

thou make thyself altogether a prince

over us. You brought us out here to kill

us and now you want to be king over us.

Look what he says in verse 14. Moreover,

thou has not brought us unto a land that

flowth with milk and honey, or given us

inheritance of fields and vineyards.

Wilt [snorts] thou put out the eyes of

these men? We will not come up.

This is a a very harsh and sharp rebuke

and allegations that are lashed out

against Moses.

And justly so, it says in verse 15,

Moses was very wroth. It said unto the

Lord, "Respect not thou their offering."

This is the very same language that God

used in regard to Cain's offering in

Genesis chapter 4. It means he turned

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

his face away from it. He did not accept

it. Why? Because he did not offer what

God had commanded. And Moses is saying,

"Don't respect their offering." He says,

"I have not taken one ass from them,

neither have I hurt one of them."

They're they're saying, "I've done

nothing good for them. I've only done

wrong to them and yet I've not done

anything wrong to them. Don't show

respect to their offering.

Moses

and Kora and all his company then bring

a sensor full of incense before the

Lord. On the next day, they gather the

whole congregation together against

Moses and against Aaron at the door of

the tabernacle of the congregation. And

the glory of the Lord appears. Now in

Exodus 40 when the glory of the Lord

appears it was glorious. It was

wonderful. The people fell on their face

and worshiped. And in Leviticus when the

glory of the Lord descended on the

tabernacle it was glorious and the

people fell on their faces and

worshiped. But in the book of Numbers

when the glory of the Lord comes down on

the tabernacle judgment is coming.

That's what we've seen. And what the

Lord [snorts] does is he makes clear who

he has chosen. First of all, notice that

the Lord was ready to consume all the

people. Look at verse 20. It says, "And

the Lord spake unto Moses and unto

Aaron, saying,"Separate yourselves from

among this congregation that I may

consume them in a moment. And they fell

on their faces and said, "Oh God, the

God of the spirits of all flesh." The

the idea is here is he's the God who put

breath and life and spirit into the soul

of a man. You are the giver of life.

>> [snorts]

>> And now they ask, "Shall one man sin and

wilt thou be wroth with all the

congregation?"

God, this is Kora leading the way. Will

you judge the innocent with the guilty?

And God's answer is no.

He'll punish the guilty. Verse 23. And

the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak

unto the congregation, saying, Get you

up from about the tabernacle of Kora and

Dayan and Abyram. And Moses rose up and

went unto Dayan and Abram. And the

elders of Israel followed him. 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 of

their sins." So they g up from the

tabernacle of Kora, Dayan, and Abram on

every side. And Dayan and Abram came out

and stood in the door of their tents,

their wives, and their sons and their

little children. 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." And so this

first test here, so to speak, is about

has God chosen Moses? And so now you've

got Kora and Dayathan and Abram and Anne

and the 250 priests. They are all there

in their tents before the tabernacle of

the congregation. and they have their

sensors in their hands and they have

fire upon those sensors. And what Moses

uh is going to do here is he's going to

say, "Here's the test. Here's the proof

if God has chosen me because I haven't

come up with all this in my mind."

He says if these men

die as all men die, if they die an

ordinary death, it says if they die a

common death or it says if they be

visited after the visitation of all men.

Visitation here is the idea of how God

comes to look on people in judgment. So

if God does, if God judges them in some

way, he's judged before or if they die

of natural causes, God hasn't sent me.

But then he says, if the Lord makes a

new thing,

the idea is if if he creates a new

creature, that's that's the idea here.

uh the the literal rendering that that

if if God does something that's never

been done before, just as he created all

the creatures that had never been

created before, if he does something

new, and then Moses gets specific and he

says, "Now, let me spell it out for you.

If the Lord splits the ground open and

causes the earth to open up and to

swallow them and cover them, then you'll

know that they have provoked the Lord."

They've provoked the Lord. And so this

is the test.

And as soon as the words leave Moses's

mouth, it [snorts] says in verse 31,

"And it came to pass as he made an end

of speaking all these words that the

ground clave aunderder that that it

split that was under them. And the earth

opened her mouth and swallowed them up.

And their houses and all the men that

appertain unto Kora, and all their

goods, and they and all that appertain

to them went down alive into the pit,

and the earth closed upon them, and they

perished from among the congregation.

God does what Moses asks. I don't think

it gets any clearer than Moses saying,

"I'm going to pull something out of a

hat here. If God does this that's never

been done before, you'll know that he

put me in charge here and that they have

provoked the Lord." And that is exactly

what happens.

Then chaos ensues. As you can imagine,

everyone else is scattering, screaming.

We've got to get out of here, lest the

earth swallow us up with them. And it

says that a fire, the fire of the Lord

broke out against the 250 men and burned

them up and consumed them in the fire

and they dropped their sensors on the

ground.

>> [snorts]

>> God

shows us that every guilty man perished.

Kora, Dayan, and Abram and those who

sided with them and the 250 men, every

one of them perished in this judgment.

God does not leave us guessing where his

authority lies.

He makes it clear that it lies with his

anointed prophet and his anointed

priest.

[snorts]

Immediately then after punishing the

guilty, the Lord gives them a sign for

future generations of Israelites.

He tells Moses to instruct Aaron's son

Eleazar to the this is the priest who's

going to lead them into the promised

land, the son of Aaron. He tells him

that I want you to take all of the rebel

sensors, all 255 of them, I guess, and

and I want you to beat them with a

hammer into thin flat plates of brass.

And he says, "And what I want you to do

is I want you to attach those to the

outer walls of the altar of burnt

offering." [snorts] And he says that

that you're to do this. Listen, it says

at the end of uh verse number 38, that

they shall be a sign unto the children

of Israel, what is the sign? Look at

verse 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.

So, do you see what's going on here? God

has established by the death of those

men that he put Moses in charge. that

his honor, his authority, his his right

to speak from God's mouth, to write the

law, to call the pe his his right to

tear up the altar of Baal and grind it

to powder and put it in the water and

make them drink from it. That authority

came from the Lord. Now, by this sign,

he is sealing it by showing them that he

has chosen Aaron and Aaron's seed alone

to be the priest. He's establishing both

the prophet and the priest as having

authority directly from God. Why is he

doing this? Look, look at the next

phrase there in verse 40. That he be not

as Kora and his company as the Lord said

to him by the hand of Moses.

[snorts] See what what this is is that

God has given them this sign for every

generation from this day forward. So

that when they come into the tabernacle

of the congregation and they offer an

offering before the Lord, they will see

these brass plates around the altar of

burnt offering where their sacrifice is

being burned up and the smoke is

ascending to God so that they will

remember what happened to Kora and all

of his company when they rebelled

against God's prophet and God's priest.

It's so that they would remember what

happened to them. So that they would

follow God's orders.

So that they would do what Moses told

them to do in the law. And so that they

would respect the ministry of Aaron's

sons, the priesthood.

[snorts] And so he gives them this

particular sign.

[snorts]

It's to remind them what happened to

Core and his company when they tried to

cast off Aaron and Moses. What happened?

They were swallowed. [snorts]

They were swallowed.

And so God's truth for Israel in this

account is this. Follow God's order or

be swallowed in God's judgment.

Because here's the truth.

[snorts] What happened to Kora and his

company

was liable to happen to every Israelite

because they were rebellious sinners.

But because they but because they were,

God chose Moses to bring them out of

Egypt and to bring them to Mount Si and

to give them laws from God's mouth so

that this sinful, rebellious people

could live in the presence and under the

blessing of their God. so that they

could go to the land of Canaan and enjoy

the promises God made to their fathers.

That's why God chose chose Moses.

[snorts] But the reality is is God knew

they would fail. Why? They're

rebellious, stiff- necked,

stubbornhearted, sinful people. And so

God also chose Aaron. And he chose Aaron

to offer atonement for their sin so they

could be cleansed from their uncleanness

so that he could mediate their

relationship with God. So listen, if

they cast off Moses and they cast off

the sons of Aaron, how can they live in

God's presence? They would utterly be

consumed.

they would utterly be destroyed and

swallowed up in God's judgment. In fact,

that's what we see in the final verses

of this chapter because the whole

congregation the very next day gathers

to murmur against Moses and against

Aaron yet again accusing them of killing

the Lord's people. And once again, the

cloud of the tabernacle comes down and

the glory of God appears and he tells

Moses and Aaron to get up from among the

congregation that he may consume them.

And Moses and Aaron once again fall on

their faces. But the wrath of the Lord

breaks out upon the people of Israel in

the form of a plague. And Moses tells

Aaron to take a sensor and to put fire

upon it and to run into the midst of the

congregation and make an atonement for

the people before the Lord. And look

what it says in verse 48, "And he,

Aaron, stood between the dead and the

living, and the plague was stayed."

It says in verse 49, "Now they that died

in the plague were 14,700

beside them that died about the matter

of Kora."

So here you have 15,000

out of maybe a couple million people

that have died.

And the only reason that the other two

million people did not die was because

of the ministry of Aaron.

The only thing that stood between them

and death was the atonement offered by

their high priest.

See, the very ones that they were

casting off in rebellion and thrusting

away from them were the only hope they

had to have a right relationship with

God. [snorts]

If Israel casts them out, there's

nothing left to stand between them and

death.

And so God's message for the future

generations

was follow or be swallowed.

And that's what they would see by those

brazen panelings around the altar every

time they offered to the Lord.

So what does a text like this mean for

us today?

Well, God's message for them is still

God's message for us today.

that we must follow God's orders lest we

be swallowed in God's judgment.

[snorts] See, as children of God, we are

called to follow his orders. We are

called to obey his word. And God

provides for us clear instructions for

how we should live. That we should be

holy, blameless, harmless, and pure.

That we should be faithful to our

spouses. And we should be obedient to

our parents. That we should be uh

faithful workers and generous bosses.

That we should be forgiving and sober

and hospitable. We should uh love our

neighbors as ourselves and give to help

our brothers and sisters in need. That

we should share the gospel. That we

should have a good testimony among the

lost around us. And so when we follow

God's word, we can experience God's

blessing and enjoy God's presence.

But because we are sinners, we will

fail. And when we fail, judgment will

come in the form of fatherly discipline.

God punishes his own when we don't

follow his way. Hebrews chapter 12 tells

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

us that one of the greatest signs that

you are God's child is the way he

disciplines you when you go out of his

way.

And so he that discipline that he brings

into your life is not meant to kill or

to destroy you. It's meant to bring you

to repentance.

He's he's given us his word. He's

preserved it for us to show us the way

that we ought to go. But when we fail,

thank God, he also appointed a greater

Aaron in our lives, a greater high

priest in the Lord Jesus Christ because

he shed his blood on the cross and he

rose again and ascended into heaven and

he offered his blood to atone for our

sin. And it is Jesus who stands between

the living and the dead. It is because

of Jesus death on the cross that he ever

lives to make intercession for us. not

only for our daily needs but also for

our spiritual cleansing in our lives

that he is the one who who stands in the

gap for us that he is the one who brings

the cleansing in our lives and so I want

to encourage you believer do not resist

or despise God's discipline in your life

we've got to follow God's orders or

we'll be f swallowed in God's judgment

Well, you might ask, what are God's

orders? They're very simple for us as

believers. Number one, obey his word.

Live according to the word of God. No

matter how you feel, no matter what the

culture tells you, no matter what your

boss tells you, no matter how much money

is offered to you, no matter what you

think you ought to do, you must follow

God's word. Number two,

when you don't,

I don't say if

when you don't, when you fail, when you

sin, seek atonement in Christ. Seek

atonement in Christ. First John chapter

2:2

says, "If any man sin, we have an

advocate with the father, Jesus Christ

the righteous." You know what an

advocate is? A person who goes between

others.

It is one who stands between the living

and the dead. And what does he do? It

says, "And he is the propitiation

for our sin and not for ours only, but

also for the sins of the whole world."

The word propitiation is the same word

they use for the mercy seat, which

describes the idea of atonement, a

covering for sin. Jesus is the atonement

for you. And so when you sin, God's plan

is for you not to sin. God's plan is for

you to live by his word. But because

you're a sinner, because we are all

rebellious and we are all stiff necked

and made up of the same stuff that

Israel was, we will fail. But when you

fail,

look to your gobetween.

It is the ministry of the priest Jesus

Christ that stands between you and the

judgment of God. Seek his atonement.

Hebrews 12 says, "Despise not thou the

chastening of the Lord." And then it

goes on to say this, "Shall we not much

rather be in subjection unto the Father

of spirits and live?

Sound familiar?"

Moses cried out, "Oh God, the God of the

spirits of all flesh." He recognizes God

is the giver of life [snorts] and that

that God is not one to punish the

innocent. That he is not one to uh judge

the entire congregation because of the

sins of of one man. That because God is

the one who gives life. He says, "Shall

we not much rather be in subjection unto

the father of spirits and live?"

See, because here's what happens is

often times when we face the judgment of

God, the discipline of God because of

our sin, we resist it.

We fight against it. We we cry out

blaming God. Why are you making this so

hard on me? Well, maybe if you didn't go

out of God's way and do your own thing,

you wouldn't be under his discipline.

Don't blame God for that. But that's

what we tend to do. And what the author

of Hebrews tells us is don't belittle

the judgment of God in your life. Don't

belittle his chastening. Rather, subject

yourself to it. He is the father of

spirits. He can restore and renew your

life.

God does not bring judgment on his

children to ruin us, but to restore us.

And so rather than rebel, you must

repent.

Then let me say this that if you're not

his child and you do not follow his

orders, you will be swallowed by

judgment.

Because of your sin, you face the

punishment of death and eternity in

hell. But thank God, he appointed a

truer and better priest in his son,

Jesus Christ, who offered his own blood

to atone for your sin. And the Bible

says that when you believe and confess

Jesus Christ as your Lord and your

Savior, that God forgives your sin, he

declares you righteous and he gives you

eternal life.

But if you cast Jesus off

and say, "No, there's got to be another

way. There's got to be something that I

can do." Listen, when you cast off the

one who stands between life and death,

all that's left is death.

You'll be swallowed up in God's

judgment.

But friend, Jesus stands between you and

death like a parent keeps his kid out of

the street.

You have that picture in your mind?

[snorts]

A little toddler is running out in the

street and a truck is coming and the

parent runs in front of them and stops

them. That parent stands between that

child and death. That's what Jesus has

done for each of us. He is like he he is

like the one who pushed you out of

oncoming traffic. He's like the soldier

who lays down on the grenade, the

security detail who leaps in front of

the bullet of those he is protecting.

That is what Jesus has done for us. That

is the picture we are given in this

text. That is the picture of Jesus on

the cross

standing in between us living and us

dying.

That is our savior. That is our priest.

He laid down his life to atone for your

sin. And when you cast him aside, you

take the hit. Don't rebel, friend. Trust

in Jesus.

Follow God's orders or be swallowed in

judgment. That's the message of Kor's

rebellion. So believer, can I ask you,

are you resisting God's order in your

life right now?

Are you resisting those who he's put in

charge of you? Whether it's your parents

or if it's a pastor or if it's some

other authority in your life. Are you

resisting the authority that he has

ordained over you? Are you belittling

what he's given you to pursue what he's

not given you? [snorts] Have you set his

word to the side and taken charge of

your own life?

Have you set Jesus aside?

Are you rebelling against him? Knowing

your sin, knowing the discipline that

you are under right now, but instead of

turning to Jesus, you push away Jesus.

Is that you?

[snorts] Well, listen. God will chasen

you when you rebel,

but God will forgive you when you repent

because of the blood Jesus shed for you.

So, I encourage you to obey his word,

but when you fail, seek atonement in

Christ. [snorts] Our father, we come to

you tonight and we're grateful for your

word. Grateful that it's real with us,

[laughter] that it still speaks

thousands of years after it was recorded

to show us that human beings have been

the same from the beginning of time.

We turn on you. We rebel against you.

But I'm thankful that you sent your son,

appointed him a great high priest,

that he had atoned for our sin with his

blood on the cross.

I pray, Lord, that you'd help us rather

than resisting

your orders that we would follow your

orders.

I pray that those here tonight who may

not know Jesus as their savior, I pray

they would believe the gospel of your

son. They would experience full and free

the forgiveness offered through his

blood. I pray for believers who may be

struggling hard with sin.

Maybe they are even experiencing the

discipline of your hand right now.

I pray they would not resist you.

that they would repent and turn to you

and find the forgiveness that is

available in Christ. Would you please

help us to respond as your spirit

speaks? In Jesus name I pray. Amen.