Bamidbar (Numbers)
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Meaning
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Day Seven
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Haftarah
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B'rit Hadashah
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Blessed art Thou, L-rd our G-d
King of the Universe, who has sanctified
Us with Thy commandments, and
Commanded us to study the Torah.
King of the Universe, who has sanctified
Us with Thy commandments, and
Commanded us to study the Torah.
Numbers 16:20-43 (NASB) (1)
20 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." 22 But they fell on their faces and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?" 23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.' " 25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin." 27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. 28 Moses said, "By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. 29 "If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 "But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD." 31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, "The earth may swallow us up!" 35 Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. 36 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 37 "Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad. 38 "As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the LORD and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel." 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company -just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses. 41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD'S people." 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting…
See the intercession of Moses and Aaron! Our Father God is a reasonable Parent! Will you find this attribute in any of the small ‘g’ gods in the entire earth? I don’t think so. Here is lesson for us: if we suddenly see the mists of deception part in our mind, and realize that we’re a part of a rebellion—or worse yet, one of the leaders of revolt—it’s a good idea to fall on our face and REPENT immediately! After saying the “I’m sorry” then renounce our involvement and put a huge space between ourselves and the rebellion ASAP! I’m here to tell you it can happen to any one of us. I can remember one of those moments while still in the “mainline” church, seeing the deception part like a huge split in a fog when the realization came to me that I was doing the same rebellious behavior that I’d accused others of doing. I still feel a little “sheepish” about it now. And yet how appropriate it is that the sensation for “the sheep” in the pasture of Yah to feel ‘sheepish’! Sheep are known to follow in ‘weak submissiveness’ or ‘silly imitation’ according to my Pocket Oxford Dictionary. But we have no reason to dwell on feeling badly because Messiah looks upon us knowing how fragile and awkwardly and easily fooled we can be! 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Matthew 9:35, 36. It is His compassion that saves and comforts us. I’m glad that I had that horrible revelation now, because it meant that my Shepherd was able to cut through that foggy stronghold that was developing in my mind and deal with it. I can share it for the edification of the body because I’d prefer to be a pillar in the body that is most useful and not one merely decorative.
Korah and his crew had no shepherd and they were filled with evil because they held on to their offenses! I suppose that if we could ask Father God why He doesn’t carry out such judgments today, He might tell us simply, “It’s in the Book. Learn from the Book!” He is interested in giving every human creature the most opportunity to be able to turn their lives around and submit. I’m dating myself with a Hollywood invention, but I have to say, “Father knows best.” Anyone born after 1970 might only have seen the two reunion movies aired in 1977 because that series ran from 1954 to 1960. It was in the middle of a third season rerun when news of the assassination of John Kennedy took over all television programming for the next 48 hours. The world has never been the same since. And I can imagine that many of the survivors who witnessed the ground opening up, swallowing the rebels and then closing up over them that day told the story of it to the next generation in the desert many years later: “You weren’t born then, Yossi. I was just a child myself when the earth swallowed Korah and his followers whole—our world has never been the same since!”
All I know is that if we’re in proper ‘position’ in Yeshua/Jesus, we’ll cut down our chances of ending as Korah did by a very good percentage! These men gave in to the flesh in a big way. And in one way, the enemy did take a small victory there despite the vindication of Moses, in that all of these men and their families died. And so he was about his “business” that day for the enemy, the thief is all about killing and destroying and feeding on the misery of mankind. Stay close to the Good Shepherd and He’ll help you to discern those voices in your head! Had Korah stopped for some time and asked himself, “Wait a minute…just exactly who is putting these thoughts in my head—is it me or what—or WHO?” If he had not been following in such a carnal and shallow manner, he might have been able to reason it out and eventually come to terms with his old grudge. Instead he relied on his own reasoning and he paid the price.
Korah and his crew had no shepherd and they were filled with evil because they held on to their offenses! I suppose that if we could ask Father God why He doesn’t carry out such judgments today, He might tell us simply, “It’s in the Book. Learn from the Book!” He is interested in giving every human creature the most opportunity to be able to turn their lives around and submit. I’m dating myself with a Hollywood invention, but I have to say, “Father knows best.” Anyone born after 1970 might only have seen the two reunion movies aired in 1977 because that series ran from 1954 to 1960. It was in the middle of a third season rerun when news of the assassination of John Kennedy took over all television programming for the next 48 hours. The world has never been the same since. And I can imagine that many of the survivors who witnessed the ground opening up, swallowing the rebels and then closing up over them that day told the story of it to the next generation in the desert many years later: “You weren’t born then, Yossi. I was just a child myself when the earth swallowed Korah and his followers whole—our world has never been the same since!”
All I know is that if we’re in proper ‘position’ in Yeshua/Jesus, we’ll cut down our chances of ending as Korah did by a very good percentage! These men gave in to the flesh in a big way. And in one way, the enemy did take a small victory there despite the vindication of Moses, in that all of these men and their families died. And so he was about his “business” that day for the enemy, the thief is all about killing and destroying and feeding on the misery of mankind. Stay close to the Good Shepherd and He’ll help you to discern those voices in your head! Had Korah stopped for some time and asked himself, “Wait a minute…just exactly who is putting these thoughts in my head—is it me or what—or WHO?” If he had not been following in such a carnal and shallow manner, he might have been able to reason it out and eventually come to terms with his old grudge. Instead he relied on his own reasoning and he paid the price.
Blessed art thou, L-rd our G-d,
King of the universe, who has chosen
us from all peoples and given us thy Torah.
Blessed art thou, O L-rd, Giver of the Torah.
King of the universe, who has chosen
us from all peoples and given us thy Torah.
Blessed art thou, O L-rd, Giver of the Torah.
(1) NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading (and KJV in commentary) unless otherwise specified