Examples of Disobedience: Rebellion

Introduction: The Importance of Attentive Scripture Reading and Unity

0:05 A portion of the Word of God that will be the focus of our study this morning. I want to read several verses from another book to prepare us for the reading of our text. And the people gathered themselves together as one man in the broad place that was before the water gate, and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the scribe brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding.

0:37 See, they had the real little ones in a nursery somewhere. All that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month, and he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate, from the light, that is, from dawn until midday, in the presence of the men and women and those that could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. That was a long scripture reading that morning.

1:09 But they never lost attention. Now, I have a rather lengthy passage to read this morning. But I did not begin, I did not begin at dawn, nor shall I still be reading at midday. And now, if those people, not sitting uncomfortably, scooped, out contoured pews, but probably standing, could stand for those hours, then certainly any restlessness or inattentiveness to a scripture reading that will take about four or five minutes is an indication of a sad spiritual state.

1:48 All right? Numbers, chapter 16. Our scripture reading is the 16th chapter of Numbers, and I shall read.

2:02 First, 40 verses.

The Facts of the Narrative: The Rebellion Described

2:06 And I would ask you to pay close attention, since in the exposition I will not be going back over a detailed reading of these verses. And if we're to catch the thrust of the word of God to our hearts in this portion of Holy Scripture, we must have the basic facts of it in our minds. So please, follow closely, listen carefully as I read. Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pelep, sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the congregation, called to the assembly men of renown. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation, all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the Lord. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.

3:19 He spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning the Lord will show who are his and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him. Even him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him. This too. Take ye censers, Korah and all his company, and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before the Lord tomorrow.

3:43 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 Moses said unto Korah, Hear now, ye sons of Levi, 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?

4:13 And that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? And seek ye the priesthood also? Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord. And Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?

4:32 And Moses sent to call Dathan, and Abiram the sons of Elias. And they said, We will not come up. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? That thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?

4:53 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering.

5:14 I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou and they, and Aaron to-morrow. And take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them. And bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers, and thou also and Aaron each his censer.

5:39 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting. 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.

6:05 congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. 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 wrought with all the congregation? And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 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 gapped them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their house. And they said, O God, the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of mine own mind. If

7:16 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 ground open its mouth and swallow them up with the blood of the Lord, then the Lord shall have all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into the grave. Then shall ye understand that these men have despised the Lord. And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. So they and all that appertained to them went down alive into the grave. And the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them, for they said, Let the earth swallow us up. And fire

8:22 came forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Eliezer 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 holy. Even the censers of these sinners against their own lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before the Lord. Therefore they are holy, and they shall be a sign unto the children of his name. Eliezer the priest took the brazen censers, which they that were burnt had offered, and they beat them out for a covering of the altar. Be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger that is not at the seed of Aaron come near to burn incense before the Lord, that he be not his korah and his company, as the Lord spake unto him by Moses. According to the 133rd Psalm, the extent of God's blessing upon any given congregation is in great farmer.

The Facts of the Narrative: Challenge, Response, Judgment, and Example

9:37 directly related to the prevailing spirit of unity in that congregation.

9:44 Now, in turn, the maintenance of that unity is greatly dependent on how well the appointed leaders and those whom they lead understand and implement their respective spheres of responsibility. When leaders lead according to the pattern of the word, and those whom they lead follow according to the pattern of the word, there is blessed unity. Let leaders usurp spheres of authority not delineated by God, and there will be the disruption of unity. Let those whom they lead refuse to render proper submission to their leaders, and there is the disruption of unity. Now, since this matter of unity, we read of it in Philippians, too. It's reflected upon in that classic psalm, Psalm 133. If the presence of an ungrieved spirit is in such great measure bound in with the prevailing spirit of unity, then to consider this subject of the responsibility of elders to their flock and the flock to those who are over them is not a detached academic exercise.

11:06 It is a matter most critical, crucial, and intensely practical. Having considered then for some four weeks the explicit positive teaching of Hebrews 13, 7, and 17 with respect to the responsibility of church members to their overseers, we are now considering for several weeks some examples of insubordination to appointed leadership in the congregation of God, how that insubordination manifests itself, and how God himself takes in hand to deal with it. We established last Lord's Day from 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 10 and 11, that it is a proper use of the Old Testament to take such examples and make them the basis of exhortation to the people of God. For the apostle says, these things were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Last Lord's Day, we looked at Numbers chapter 12, the record of the disaffection of Miriam and Aaron towards Moses. It was not rebellion, it was simply disaffection.

12:21 And yet we noted how severely God dealt with that disaffection, the things that produced it, and the lessons that record contains for us. This morning we come to Numbers chapter 16, in which there is the record not of disaffection, not a mere turning away in affection to the leadership, but here is a case of open rebellion, a form of spiritual mutiny within the congregation of Israel. It is the record of the rebellion of Korah, that which is called in the book of Jude the gainsaying of Korah. Now to think our way through the salient, the most important parts of the chapter, I shall do as we did last week. We will look at the facts of the narrative. We'll try to get our facts straight. Having established the basic facts of the narrative, we shall then consider the message of those facts to our own hearts.

13:24 First of all, then, the facts of the narrative. And I'll spend the bulk of our time under this first heading, the facts of the narrative, dealing with the first three verses. They are most crucial in an understanding of the mind of God. Contained in this portion.

13:42 We have, first of all, in verses one to three, the rebellion described. And we are told, first of all, who was involved in the rebellion, and secondly, what the rebellion actually consisted of. First of all, then, who was involved? And you'll be able to remember the facts if you think of a pyramid.

14:04 And on that pyramid there is the top stone, like a triangle, all right? Beneath it are three other stones. Beneath that, 250 stones. And beneath that, thousands and thousands of stones.

14:20 So here's the base of it with thousands of smaller stones. Coming up to the top, 250 larger stones. Just beneath the top, three stones. And then the top stone.

14:32 That's the construct of the rebellion. At the top of the list, the scripture says, Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. The leader of this rebellion was a man named Korah. He is not only mentioned first in order, but it is evident from a careful reading of the passage that he was the ringleader of this whole insurrection.

14:59 I already intimated in Jude 11, it is called the gainsaying of Korah. Verse six, we read, This do take ye censors Korah and all his company. He is singled out. The other three and the 250 are simply grouped together in the word company.

15:20 You find essentially the same thing in verses 16, 22 and 40, a clear indication that this Levite, this man from the tribe appointed to care for the service of the tabernacle, as verse nine indicates, this man of the tribe, that was given special privileges, an elect tribe within the elect nation, God chose them to minister about the things of the tabernacle, his special place of dwelling. From the ranks of this privileged tribe comes this ringleader of insurrection, a man by the name Korah. Now then, underneath that capstone on the pyramid are these three men next in line. Dathan, Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and Ahn, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben. So you have these three other men mentioned. Dathan, Abiram, and Ahn. They were all of them of the tribe of Reuben.

16:24 If you look at chapter 26, verses eight and nine, you can see a confirmation of this. They were part of that tribe that was the firstborn of the sons of Jacob. Now generally, the firstborn received a special place of importance, a special place of inheritance. But the Reubenites were not given that normal place of importance because Reuben committed incest.

16:50 And because of his act of immorality, his illicit relationship with one of his father's wives, the scripture tells us in Genesis 49, 3 and 4, he would not have the place of supremacy and leadership that would normally be afforded the firstborn of a man's family. Now this man, Ahn, who is mentioned in the first verse, apparently opted out somewhere along the line because he's nowhere mentioned in the rebellion. That contains a wonderful principle that we'll touch on later. But in the beginning of the rebellion, he joined Dathan and Abiram as apparently the three first aides, the three-star generals under Korah, the five-star general. Then we read in the next place that there were these 250 princes, or leaders of the congregation, verse 2, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the congregation, called to the assembly men of renown. Now we read something of these men in Numbers 1 and verse 16, they were men of rank and places who were given places of authority and leadership. They helped in the administration of the national life, the corporate experience of the entire nation.

18:16 They were men who would be comparable to governors of our states or to the mayors of our city. Though there were others over them, there were many more beneath them. And then, sad to say, the base of that pyramid of rebellion is the entire congregation of Israel. Verse 19, And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting.

18:48 And the Lord spake unto Moses, verse 20, saying, Separate yourselves from this congregation, that I may consume them in an omen. God's anger smokes against the entire nation. And he says, Moses and Aaron, you step aside, I'll spare you and consume them all. So then, summarizing, we see that the facts of this rebellion are set forth with great clarity.

19:14 It was no mere disaffection of a few, nor was it the mere rebellion of a handful. It was an infectious spirit of rebellion which moved from Korah to Dathan of Biraam and on for a time to the 200 years to the 250 and then to the entire congregation of Israel. Now that's who was involved in the rebellion. The rebellion is described as to who.

19:43 Now then, secondly, what was involved in the rebellion? And under the what, we have their action recorded and then their accusations recorded. What was their action? Verse 2, They rose up before Moses.

20:00 Verse 3, They assembled themselves together against Moses. They rose up, they assembled against. You see, this, unlike the disaffection of Miriam and Aaron, which was apparently a little private thing discussing together in the blindness of their jealousy some of their disaffection to Moses, here they came and planted themselves in the very presence of Moses and Aaron and made it evident that they no longer wanted to submit to the constituted order of Israel. As one commentator has said, apparently, their present intention was to seize upon the government of the nation under a self-elected high priest and to force Moses and Aaron out of the post assigned to them by God, that is to say, to overthrow the constitution which God himself had given to his people. Their action then was one of rebellion. It was mutiny. It was insurrection.

21:08 It was an attempt to overthrow the entire order of government, both religious and civil, within the congregation of God. That's their action. Now then, notice their accusations in verse 3. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, or, as you have in the marginal reading of the ASV, it is enough for you.

21:36 Twentieth century Americanese, you've had it, fellas. You've had it. This is what they're saying. You've had it.

21:44 And the reason you've had it is we are tired of your usurping so much authority. They had a gripe with reference particularly to Moses in the general government of the national life. Look at verses 12 and 13. Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram and the sons of Elias.

22:03 And they said, We will not come up. And why won't they? They say, Look, you've brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey. Well, that wasn't true.

22:13 They were groaning under bondage. It's amazing how little time and distance can change the facts. But they say, You've brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness. And now do you make yourself a prince over us?

22:27 You see what their gripe is? Moses, we don't want your government over us. Who are you to tell us, Do this and this and come up then at this time and this way? Who appointed you a prince over us?

22:40 There was specific accusation directed against Moses as the general governor of the life of Israel and then against Aaron because of his exclusive position in the priesthood. Look at verses 8 to 10. Moses says to Korah and to his company, Seemeth it a small thing that God has separated you from the congregation to this privilege and that privilege. The latter part of verse 10.

23:05 And seek ye the priesthood also. The latter part of verse 11. Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him? You see the accusation?

23:15 They said, Moses, you take too much upon yourself in the general government of the national life. And Aaron, you take too much upon you in terms of the religious aspect of the life of Israel. It was an expression of desire to have more of a share in the government and worship of this nation that God had called to himself. Discontent with their privileges and their present sphere of responsibility, they would overthrow the exclusive sphere of Moses' responsibility and Aaron's responsibility.

23:57 Now both the responsibilities of Moses in government and Aaron in worship were delineated by God for the good of that people. Yet they said, we believe it is a barrier to our good. We would overthrow it to find a higher good. Right?

24:21 I'm not preaching now. I'm just giving the facts. All right? The rebellion is described in verses 1 to 3.

24:26 Who was involved? Remember your pyramids. What was involved? Their action.

24:31 They rose up. They assembled against. Their accusation. You fellows take too much upon you.

24:36 We're going to stop it. Now then, in verses 4 to 11, you have the rebels challenged. And now, just in a sentence or two, I'm going to give you the summary of the next paragraph. The rebels challenged.

24:45 Having described the rebellion in verses 1 to 3, Moses challenges the rebels in verses 4 to 11, particularly Korah. Apparently David and Abiram in the beginning of this thing walked away in an act of defiance and they had to be addressed separately in verses 12 and following. But the rebels are challenged. And basically, the challenge is this.

25:08 Moses said, I'm willing to put this thing in God's hands so that God will make it evident that the unique place that I have and the unique place that Aaron has is not the result of our own personal ambition, but it is reflective of the divine appointment of the living God of Israel. That's basically the challenge that Moses cast, as it were, into the teeth of the rebels with some specific details as to how God will make evident this fact. Now, the rebels' response is recorded in verses 12 to 19. David and Abiram balk at first and Moses becomes angry. Verse 15, there is their negative attitude, but then everyone else gathers at the tabernacle and the congregation with them. So you have the response of the rebels all the way from Korah down to the entire congregation, which concludes in verse 19 with the statement that they are all gathered at the door of the tent of meeting. Then in verses 20 to 35, you have the rebels judged.

26:24 God clears away the unstable who've been led into this rebellion. In answer to the prayers of Moses, God spares that lower block of the Triangle of the Pyramid, and they are separated. And then Moses gives the challenge that will demonstrate again the crucial issue. Verse 28, you will know that the Lord has set me to do these works.

26:47 I have not done them at my own mind. The last part of verse 30, you will understand that these men have despised the Lord. Then we have in the judgment this frightening thing. And no wonder those who observed it were filled with terror and dread for a few minutes before the very place where they stood now opened up and swallowed these men and their servants.

27:16 And the only exception to this overthrow was the sons of Korah, for according to Numbers 26, verses 11 and 58, they were spared. And wonder of wonders, later on became the authors of some of those blessed psalms, the Korahitic psalms, the psalms of the sons of the sons of Korah. And then the last segment of the narrative is the rebels made an example in verses 36 to 40. Here we have this beating of their censers into a covering for the altar that it might be a constant monument of the folly of Korah and those who followed it.

27:52 All right? There are the facts of the narrative. Not all the details, but the overriding facts. You have the rebellion described in verses 1 to 3.

28:02 The rebels challenged in verses 4 to 11. The rebels' response, verses 12 to 19. The rebels judged, verses 20 to 35. And the rebels made an example, verses 36 to 40.

Exhortation 1: Beware of Using Common Spiritual Privilege to Disrupt Authority

28:15 Now then, what does all this say to us? I've spent some 25 minutes reading the passage, laying out the facts. Now what does it say to us? Well, in terms of its contribution to the overall message of Scripture, this passage would be a wonderful passage from which to preach on the exclusiveness of God's appointed priest.

28:38 We read in Hebrews chapter 5 that no man takes the honor of a priest upon himself, but he must be appointed to it by God even as was Aaron. And God was very jealous to preserve the exclusiveness of the priesthood of Aaron, the man whom he appointed, because he is telling us of that greater than Aaron, who shall come as the one mediator between God and man, even the Lord Jesus Christ. And anyone who would dare usurp the place of the Son of God as the one mediator for sinners is doomed to come under the judgment of God. And so the passage would be a very natural and wonderful passage from which to preach on the exclusiveness of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. But there is another legitimate use in the passage, and I say to some of you seminary students who have been exposed to some concepts, the rest of you may miss this, but that's all right, they need to hear this, concerning biblical theology and the centrality of Christ in preaching. That's true, and this passage could find a legitimate use in that way. But remember, Paul's use of it is different in 1 Corinthians 10, because it's the next verses in this chapter that Paul quotes from in 1 Corinthians 10 and says, Neither murmur ye unto them, murmured, and were destroyed.

30:03 These things are written for our admonition. And so another proper use is to see in this passage the admonition to us as the people of God with reference to our relationship to our constituted leaders. And it's in that second sense that I shall use the passage for exhortation this morning. And the first exhortation is this, Beware of ever using the reality of common spiritual privilege as the basis for disrupting the constituted authority in the church of Christ.

30:40 Look at the first couple of verses again. The basis upon which these people rose up before Moses and Aaron was this, verse 3, You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. What were they saying? They were saying, Now Moses and Aaron, you cannot deny that God said to the nation, and they're almost quoting verbatim from Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6, if you want to look at it, Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6, in which God said, Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now it's interesting that they left out the qualifying phrase in verse 5. Exodus 19, 5, If ye obey my voice, ye shall be mine own possession, ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Part of the voice of God was in the institution of the Aaronic priesthood and of the unique position of Moses with whom he spoke face to face as he did with no other prophet.

31:56 But even though there was some mismanagement of the facts, it was a basic truth that the nation as a nation in covenant relationship to God had common privileges. They were God's possession. God said of that nation, You are my inheritance. You are a holy nation.

32:16 Now what these rebels do is they take the occasion of common spiritual privilege to be the platform of rejecting sexual spiritual privilege. You see what that is? This is the leaven of Congregationalism in its first and most blatant expression. It goes something like this.

32:45 Isn't every believer a priest unto God? Yes or no? If you're a true believer, do you have direct access to God through Jesus Christ, your High Priest? Yes or no?

32:56 Of course you do. By Him, therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace. As a believer, are you constituted? A king in Jesus Christ, your Messiah?

33:13 Yes, all of us. Prophets, priests, kings in Christ, common spiritual privilege. We do not talk of a distinction between clergy and laity as though there was some special distinction. But ah, listen.

33:27 The same God who has revealed this great truth of common spiritual privilege has also revealed that there is a designated structure of exclusive privileges and authority both in government and in worship. For instance, the God who said in Christ there is neither male nor female, bond nor free, is the God who says wives be subject to your husbands. The God who says there is neither bond nor free, no slave, no master, says slaves be obedient to your masters. Well, has God given us double talk?

34:05 Is He talking double dutch to us? Well, there is no male nor female. What does He mean when He says in Christ there is no male or female? He is talking about essential spiritual privilege.

34:21 Any woman who draws nigh by the blood of the everlasting covenant can draw as nigh as any male. Any slave who comes by way of the blood of Christ has as near access to the throne of God as the master who owns a billion slaves. There is neither bond nor free, but the God who has constituted equality of privilege has instituted a structure of authority. And He says to every wife who has as near access to God as her husband, be subject to Him in the administration of the home.

35:01 You are not on an equal footing in the administration of the home. One is head and one is body. One is leader, one is follower. He says to slaves, though when you pray in the morning and the master is in the other room praying, you are as near to God in Christ as he.

35:20 When he comes out of his room and you come out of your room, you are the slave and he is the master obeying. The God who has said every believer is a priest with direct access to God through Christ, every man in that sense in Christ, every woman a king, that every area of life and ministry is to be brought under the Lordship of Christ by his conscious careful obedience to the word of God within the community of such kingdom, kingdom of priest. God says obey them that have the rule indicating some are to rule and some are to follow. Know them that are over you in the Lord. Some are over you. Some are beneath those who are over them in the Lord. And remember one of the great curses and blights upon churches throughout the history of the church has been a failure to grasp this principle and the spirit of Korah has infected congregations so that they have said since there is equality of spiritual privilege there need be no submission to the structures of authority.

36:39 Oh my dear people please never use the reality of spiritual privilege as the basis to negate submission to constituted authority. And may I say as explicitly as I know how there is no such thing in the New Testament as congregational rule. There is congregational involvement but not congregational rule. You read Acts 6 the apostles didn't come to the congregation and say we've got a problem we're not quite sure how to solve it you fellas tell us what you think.

37:20 No, no they came and said we've got a problem we've figured out how best to solve the problem now look ye out among you. That was a command an apostolic order. Look out among you seven men full of faith in the Holy Ghost whom we may appoint over this business and it says the same please the multitude. But what happened if it didn't please them?

37:43 Well the scripture doesn't answer the question. It says the apostolic directive with authority met with congregational involvement in loving submission. 1 Corinthians 5 Paul says when you're gathered together as a congregation you're to be involved in the discipline of the offending brother but he doesn't leave it up for grabs. He says when ye gather together deliver such in one.

38:07 And in the church of Christ it is the responsibility of those whom God has constituted your spiritual leaders to give to those who are rooted in flowing out of an accurate exegesis of the word not to lay it before the congregation as a matter of option. No, no my friends obey them that have the rule of congregational involvement yes but not congregational ism. Now granted it's a sobering word to us who are in that awesome place don't lord it over God's heritage. But in that very word in 1 Peter 5 Peter says the elders who are among you I exhort who am also an elder take the oversight don't be lords but don't be less than overseers be overseers with a servant's heart but don't assume that being a true servant means that you cease to oversee. Well the second great exhortation that comes out of the text is this not only are we to beware of making common spiritual privilege the basis of rejecting constituted order but beware of people who cloak their frustrated personal ambitions under the guise of pseudo pious talk. Now pseudo

Exhortation 2: Beware of Cloaked Personal Ambition

39:34 simply means fake you kids it's like some of those cakes that are in the Carvel window they're nothing but cardboard they're pseudo cakes and if they had the real ones there they'd melt. So no taste of too good no good. Pseudo simply means fake sham false. Now beware of people who cloak their frustrated personal ambitions under the guise of pseudo pious talk.

40:07 You say where do you get that? Well look at the ostensible or apparent reason for which Korah and his cohorts led this rebellion in Israel. On the surface of things what did it look like? Verse 3 He take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy every one of them and the Lord is among them.

40:37 What is the apparent reason for their concern? They said now look folks Moses and Aaron are out to keep you down he can go into the holiest of all he can he's just concerned about himself and Moses same thing he's concerned with showing that he's the big cheese in Israel they're not concerned with you but we are your true God we see you as a holy nation we want all of you to share in the privileges of the priesthood we want all of us to be holy we are subject to him we don't need any earthly king over us Jehovah is our king look how it drips with piety come in the guise of the true benefactors of the nation of Israel but what was the real reason that brought thee near and thy brethren and the sons of Levi

42:05 with thee and seek ye the priesthood also what were they doing they were looking out for number one they were not concerned for the nation being kept down these men were concerned that they were only Levi having been chosen by the Lord and the Lord sent them to a place where they were not to be taken down in the transporting of the tabernacle they had an ambition not simply to be somewhat above the congregation in privilege but to be the highest in the front ranks of Israel I'm not responsible for what my grandpappy Reuben did why should I in my progeny be kept in a lesser place Levi the first born personal ambition and it was cloaked with

43:34 drippy pseudo pious talk you know what's come to my mind all my people listen to me this morning don't be fooled by those whose talk seems to be in your own interest when it is taught against constituted authority when someone comes and says oh don't you feel the elders have been a bit too mean to say I mean we all have the Holy Spirit and we have the scriptures as well as they listen carefully those who seek a place of leadership denied them by God are those who will use the people of God and cripple them in the pursuit of their purpose they led a rebellion that brought the congregation to the brink of extinction Almighty God says shall I consume them in a moment they were

45:03 truly concerned for the congregation they would have shown it by squelching any spirit of rebellion and so the Apostle Paul had to write in the New Testament for this the fire of God consumed the 250 for it has its roots in the human heart and Paul had to say in Romans chapter 16 verses 17 and 18 I beseech you brethren mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling contrary to the doctrine which he learned and turn our hearts to the 謝謝 God for his grace and the glory of God in you and in you and in you and in you and in you and in you and in you and in you and in you we have all

Exhortation 3: Rebellion Against Leaders is Rebellion Against God

46:23 be leaders who will guise their ambition with pseudo-pious corruption and disruption in the body of Christ is to be avoided like this is the word of the apostle. And then thirdly, must we beware that we've enunciated, but remember that all rebellion to constituted authority is rebellion against the Lord himself. Now, in order to maintain any semblance of credibility, these rebels had to convince themselves and their followers that they had no strife with God, but only with Moses and Aaron. Look at verses 2 and 3, how cleverly they did this. They rose up before Moses. They didn't say they rose up before God. They

47:26 didn't go out in the middle of the plain somewhere and say to the congregation, come and stand around us while we show our defiance to Jehovah. Jehovah, why have you appointed Aaron in that place of exclusive right to approach? Jehovah, why have you given to Moses? This place of government. No, they didn't do that. They came before Moses. They came before Aaron. Now then, notice again in verse 3. They assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron and said, ye take too much upon you. The congregation is holy and the Lord is among them. We've got no controversy with the Lord. That's just our problem. We've got a controversy with you, Moses and Aaron. The Lord is on our side. Why, he's made us his people. Our life is with you. Now, how did God interpret their rebellion?

48:17 Well, look at verse 11. Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord. Moses said, you're not gathered against me and Aaron. Gathered together against the Lord. Look at verse 28. And Moses said, hereby shall you know that the Lord hath sent me. The latter part of verse 30. Then ye shall understand that these men have despised the Lord. You see, the great God has sent me. The great God has sent me. The great God has sent me. And now, look at verse 21. With great emphasis, Matthew Henry has so quaintly said, while they pretended to assert the holiness and liberty of the Israel of God, they really took up arms against the God of Israel. While they pretended to assert the liberty of the Israel of God, they were really taking up arms against the God of Israel. And God saw

49:19 through their sophistry. God saw through their sophistry. God saw through their sophistry. their pious talk, and the Lord takes hold of them in such a frightening way as to strike fear to our hearts, even reading it, let alone to have stood there in the open plains on that frightening day. So it is in our day. People say, look, our concern, we have no gripe with the Lord, we've just got a gripe with our leaders. We've got problems with those that are over us. Ah, listen, Christ, the head of the church, has appointed his office bearers, and the scripture says, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything. You see, it is impossible to be subject unto Christ and not to have a proper attitude to those whom he sets over us. It's impossible.

50:16 For any who are visiting here, I want to make it plain. I'm not speaking to an immediate problem. I made plain at the beginning of this series, I believe, or by God's grace, we're in good shape in terms of our relationship between those that are over us and the congregation. But we've seen such disruption in sister churches. This is some good doses of preventive medicine. Now, when the time comes that you begin to rationalize and say, well, I've got no gripe with God, it's with... There is no such thing. God regarded the rebellion against Moses and Aaron as rebellion against himself. For when a church scripturally seeks to acknowledge...

50:54 Those whom God has equipped to be its overseers, Acts 20, 28 says, it is the Holy Spirit who constitutes elders in the flock of God. Take heed to the flock in which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. The Holy Ghost is the administrator of the will of Christ the head. And when Christ the head prepares and equips a man with the gifts and graces to rule in his church, the congregation acknowledges that.

51:24 When Christ the head conscientiously receives that gift from him, and thereon in the relationship, as long as that person is walking within the framework of the word of God, our relationship to Christ cannot be maintained without a proper relationship to those whom he sets over us. Well, time is quickly going. Let me just very quickly underscore a couple of other exhortations that come out of the passage. The next one is a bit...

Exhortation 4: The Insidious Infectious Nature of Rebellion

51:58 Behold, behold the insidious infectiousness of the spirit of rebellion. From one strong man to several men of lesser strength, to 250 men of importance, and then the entire congregation is infected. Now, why is it so infectious? Because rebellion finds a natural affinity in the human heart. Even in those who are saved, the remains of sin, the flesh, the enmity against God, and though in the regenerate manner, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, or woman, that enmity has been conquered, it has not been completely purged away. And that's why the spirit of rebellion is so infectious, because it finds a positive response in the remaining corruption of every child of God. And the rebellion inherent in every man towards God finds its expression in relationship to God-appointed authority. There is no greater proof needed of the rebellion against God in our own generation than the rebellion against all structures of authority. Be it

53:05 the home, be it the church, be it society. The cry is, tell me what to do. I'll let the administrators of the college, we own the college. We want a voice in how we shut up the curriculum. We want a voice.

53:24 Everybody wants a voice.

53:28 God says, whosoever resists the authority structures ordained of God, resists the living God himself. My friends, don't you be caught up in the popular practice in our day of mouthing off about the president. I'm ashamed as an American that we have at the head of government men whose ethics and morals could even be questioned as far as they have been questioned. I'm not giving a polemic to defend Nixon, but I am saying the scripture says honor the king.

54:02 We have no right to disobey that command, no matter who the leader may be. That's by the spirit of our age. It's one. Dominion is the word, I believe, of Jews. Despising dominion!

54:29 Nobody's going to loathe me. Oh, may God preserve us from this. That the first beginnings of it in our assembly may be detected. We may run from the plague of this infectious disease.

Exhortation 5: Pattern for Godly Leaders and God's Judgment Tempered with Mercy

54:44 Then I say a word to us who are leaders. Behold the pattern for godly leaders in the midst of a spirit of rebellion. I can only give you the suggestion, you who are leaders, look at their intense prayerfulness. Verses 4 and 22, they fall upon their faces.

55:03 They're willing to let God vindicate. Verses 5, 29, and 30. And yet in the midst of it, they have righteous anger. Verse 15, and God wasn't upset with Moses' anger. It says, Moses was very raw! God didn't frown upon his wrath. He answered his prayer a little bit later, and if he'd been regarding iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not have heard him. There's a time for leaders to become angry at that which would disrupt the harmony and peace of the people of God.

55:29 And then they took decisive action. They prayed first, but then they acted. Thank God they didn't just stay on their prayer bones praying. There comes a time when Moses has to get up and cast the challenge and say, God will show whom he has appointed. Great lessons for us who are leaders. But then I close with this note. Behold the judgment of God tempered with mercy. Behold the judgment and I say to every sinner in this building this morning, who defies the living God and his son. It's only a matter of time before you'll join Dathan in the Bible. You'll join him, for hell will open up its jaws to swallow you in its fury. But all this don't forget that man with the two-lettered name. Don't forget on.

56:20 The story starts with Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and on. The story ends with Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the two hundred and fifty judged. But no record that God judged on. Somewhere along the line he found mercy.

56:39 He found mercy. The whole congregation that joined in the rebellion through the intercession of Moses were delivered from being consumed. Oh, blessed be God for the fact that his judgment is tempered with mercy. And if you've been guilty of this spirit of rebellion to constituted rule, whether it's in the whole, in society, in the church, my friend, God is a merciful God.

57:06 Repent and seek his mercy in Jesus Christ. But don't tempt to go on in your rebellion as to welcome his judgment. And so there is a two-edged sword in this narrative. The one sword comes with a threat to cut through the presumption of anyone who would dare to go on in defiance against God.

57:30 The other comes with an edge of mercy saying, you're prepared to cease your rebellion. There is mercy with God. Even the God who in Jesus Christ has come and borne the wrath of infinite holiness against human sin. Call upon him.

57:49 Seek him while he may be found. And you will find his promise true. Him that comes unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Oh, the richness of the word of God. These things are written for our admonition, dear ones. May God help us to hide them in our hearts. For as the spirit of rebellion increases in our generation, we're going to bring more and more potential for rebellion into the ranks of the assembly of God. Oh, to be kept. Oh, to be preserved. For the day our unity beacons, the blessing leaves. And when that happens, let's turn it back to the else core. At least they can come and have fun while they drink their booze and dance.

Conclusion: A Call to Fear God and Seek Mercy

58:36 And if God leaves, then this place won't even provide fun.

58:47 Oh, may God put his fear within our hearts and cause us to walk softly before him. Let us pray.

58:58 Oh, Lord, our Lord, whose name is excellent throughout all the earth, we do tremble before you. You are not the God many of us for years have conceived you to be. You're the God who opens up the earth and swallows up men. And their families in a moment of time who sends fire from heaven to consume 250 men. And then lest any should forget commands that a memorial of your judgment be made for the whole nation to know that our God is a consuming fire. Oh, Lord, we would run. We would run were it not that we see also your mercy. Thank you that you're a merciful and forgiving God. Oh,

59:56 blot out our sins of rebellion against you. Those acts of rebellion shown by our rebellion to constituted authority in the home, in the church, and in society. And, oh, God, we plead this morning. Give us hearts that delight to obey you and to obey you when you exercise your will towards us through those who are over us. Oh, God, preserve this congregation, we pray. Oh, Lord, if you allow the wounds of disruption and disunity to come amongst us, where will we be? Oh, your felt presence will be gone, your smile gone. And, oh, Lord, we shall languish and mourn.

60:44 We shall dry up in our barrenness. Oh, God, do not forsake us, we pray, but dwell among us. Oh, dwell among us and help us as, oh, people, under the Lordship of Christ, that we may grieve not the Holy Spirit. Hear us, Father, and answer us for Jesus' sake. And now dismiss us with your blessing, we pray, as we go to our homes and to our tables and to the activities of the afternoon. Oh, God, give us a blessed Christian Sabbath, we pray, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.