Day #61

Sermon - Audio
Num 16-17 - Audio
Num 16-17 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Numbers 16-17

The ongoing problem of "who is in charge" and "why does Moses get to be" is again addressed in this chapter. God's proclamation that people need to take leadership seriously this time take the form of death for those who rebel. Paul tells us that what happens here is to serve as an example to us. 1 Corinthians 10.9 "We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come."

16.3: The people miss the point that it is not Moses and Aaron who take these positions to themselves, rather God appoints them. We understand this in our own system when we ask the question of ordained leaders, "do you believe in the call of this congregation, you have received the call of God himself?"

16.6-7: A big of humor: Korah and company are challenging Moses' leadership and then Moses tells them how to challenge him--even now Moses leads the people follow.

16.9: Moses points out that God has given Korah and company a great place to serve him, this should have been enough.

16.14: The modern scholar who merely sees these words as belonging to an earlier tradition about going up to the land of Canaan that flows with milk and honey misses the irony here. What is happening is that the text is showing how twisted the thinking of the rebels is. They have turned things completely around. Egypt was the land flowing with milk and honey, not Canaan where they will die. The words of rebellion are seldom original, and always twisted. NET Bible

16.16-24: Both God and Moses have had enough. But even here Moses diligently begs mercy on behalf of the people.

16.28: Moses offers proof of that God has called him to leadership and that those who are challenging him are rebels. The proof is not in what Moses does, but in what God does.

16.31-35: Both earthquake and fire cause the death of many people. However in this case the men opposing Moses and Aaron are consumed, along with their households, by the earth and by a divine fire (God’s kabod, “glory”). The entire community witnesses the event, which demonstrates God’s choice of Moses as leader.

16.38: The reminder is really a warning not to participate in rebellion against leaders.

16.41: These people are significantly slow learners.

16.42: Aaron and Moses are phenomenally forgiving people and willing to take up the case of those who cause them a lot of pain.

17

v1-13 = Aaron’s Blossoming Staff. This experiment is a symbolic reenactment of the Korah episode, which showed who had the right to approach God (16:5). The chief of each tribe puts his staff in front of the ark for a night to see what will happen to it. Nothing happened to the staffs, except for Aaron’s, which “produced blossoms” and “bore ripe almonds” (17:8) overnight (hence miraculously). It may well be that flowering almonds are significant. Their white blossoms symbolize purity, holiness, and God himself, which are all associated with the priesthood. –ESVSB-

Heb 9:4 references this staff.

V2 – “father’s house, is actually the “whole tribe” here.

V5 – This a definitive word from God going out to stop the grumbling immediately.

V10 – “rebels” is actually “house of rebellion” or “sons of rebellion.”

V10 – The staff is to remain in the tabernacle as a sign to these “sons of rebellion”

V10 - The author provides here a triple reinforcement of the essential message of Num 16—that the sons of Aaron alone are the true priests of God. There is no explicit reference to the Levites, but the point is made emphatically that with regard to the priesthood all except the sons of Aaron are aliens. – WBC-

V13 – Numbers 1:51 gives the instructions of how the tabernacle will be put up and down.

V8-13 – There are some ideas on the representation of Christ in Aaron’s staff. This is all Perspective: While all the other rods remained as they were. Aaron’s rod became a living branch. In some places there were buds, in others blossoms, in others fruit, at the same time; all this was miraculous. Thus Aaron was manifested to be under the special blessing of Heaven. Fruitfulness is the best evidence of a Divine call; and the plants of God’s setting, and the boughs cut off them, will flourish. This rod was preserved, to take away the murmurings of the people, that they might not die. The design of God, in all his providences, and in the memorials of them, is to take away sin. Christ was manifested to take away sin. Christ is expressly called a rod out of the stem of Jesse: little prospect was there, according to human views, that he should ever flourish. But the dry rod revived and blossomed to the confusion of his adversaries. The people cry, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish! This was the language of a repining people, quarrelling with the judgments of God, which by their own pride and obstinacy they brought upon themselves. It is very wicked to fret against God when we are in affliction, and in our distress thus to trespass yet more. If we die, if we perish, it is of ourselves, and the blame will be upon our own heads. When God judges, he will overcome, and will oblige the most obstinate gainsayers to confess their folly. And how great are our mercies, that we have a clearer and a better dispensation, established upon better promises! –Henry-

In Numbers 16 & 17 we see a complete neglect of the order and laws that God has setup for the people of Israel. This neglect brings consequences. It’s interesting to see that God still shows mercy on His people by showing them a sign of the priesthood He has chosen. God has made this clear in the past, but He allows it to be reinforced again.