Living Daddy Down
I. Text - Numbers 16:1-7, 16-35
Getting on his high horse one day, Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with a few Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth—rebelled against Moses. He had with him 250 leaders of the congregation of Israel, prominent men with positions in the Council. They came as a group and confronted Moses and Aaron, saying, “You’ve overstepped yourself. This entire community is holy and God is in their midst. So why do you act like you’re running the whole show?” On hearing this, Moses threw himself facedown on the ground. Then he addressed Korah and his gang: “In the morning God will make clear who is on his side, who is holy. God will take his stand with the one he chooses. “Now, Korah, here’s what I want you, you and your gang, to do: Tomorrow, take censers. In the presence of God, put fire in them and then incense. Then we’ll see who is holy, see whom God chooses. Sons of Levi, you’ve overstepped yourselves!”
Moses said to Korah, “Bring your people before God tomorrow. Appear there with them and Aaron. Have each man bring his censer filled with incense and present it to God—all 250 censers. And you and Aaron do the same, bring your censers.” So they all did it. They brought their censers filled with fire and incense and stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron did the same. It was Korah and his gang against Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The entire community (In other words, the whole nation - 1 million people) could see the Glory of God. God said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I can finish them off and be done with them.” They threw themselves on their faces and said, “O God, God of everything living, when one man sins are you going to take it out on the whole community?” God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the community. Tell them, Back off from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram. The leaders of Israel followed him. He then spoke to the community: “Back off from the tents of these bad men; don’t touch a thing that belongs to them lest you be carried off on the flood of their sins.” So they all backed away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram by now had come out and were standing at the entrance to their tents with their wives, children, and babies. Moses continued to address the community: “This is how you’ll know that it was God who sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t anything I cooked up on my own. If these men die a natural death like all the rest of us, you’ll know that it wasn’t God who sent me. But if God does something unprecedented—if the ground opens up and swallows the lot of them and they are pitched alive into Sheol—then you’ll know that these men have been insolent with God.” The words were hardly out of his mouth when the Earth split open. Earth opened its mouth and in one gulp swallowed them down, the men and their families, all the human beings connected with Korah, along with everything they owned. And that was the end of them, pitched alive into Sheol. The Earth closed up over them and that was the last the community heard of them. At the sound of their cries everyone around ran for dear life, shouting, “We’re about to be swallowed up alive!” Then God sent lightning. The fire cremated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
II. Daddy Goes Down
It was not a good day. It is one thing to make a mistake. It is entirely different to make the worst mistake and choice of your life right out in front of God and everybody. In fact, to make that mistake in front of an entire nation is unthinkable and unbearable. That is this account. This could be the most significant rebellion captured in Scripture other than the rebellion that took place in heaven. How many of you know coming in second only behind Satan himself is not an accomplishment you should strive to obtain! And then to have that accomplishment recorded for generations to recall and remember.
It has become apparent that due to hardheadedness and hard hearts the Israelites, who escaped the hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt, are not going to be able to walk into the Promised Land, but rather circle in the dryness of the dessert. In fact, they are told that everyone who left Egypt will die before the nation inherits the Promise. After that proclamation we run into Numbers 16. Korah, perhaps in response to this proclamation and using a disagreement over priestly clothes, rallies a delegation, a group, a gang, a clique and tries to overthrow the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Korah and 250 of the most prominent men in the nation rise up and accuse Moses and Aaron of getting the big head. They call the nation together and confront Moses. They call him out. They try to publicly correct and chastise him. It is a coup. A takeover. A full-on rebellion and mutiny! A power struggle extraordinaire. A call for people to choose a side. A line drawn in the sand moment. Accusations flying. Anger abounds. Furry is flying. The tension could be cut with a knife.
In the middle of this street fight God shows up and picks a side. In power and leaving no doubt about who was approved . . . the ground opens up and Korah and all the folks attached to him and swallows them alive. Then fire falls and cremates the 250 accusers.
In front of friends, in front of associates, in front of business partners. . . nowhere to hide, nowhere to run and no way to escape their decision and attitude! Swallowed up. Can you imagine the disgrace? Can you comprehend the talk around the campfires? They become the butt of every joke. I am sure when a teenager rebelled parents would get together and say, "My son pulled a Korah this week!" The whispers are about those guys. It was a bad day.
However, I want to take you to another passage of Scripture to help you today. The passage I want to read is going to seem disconnected and have no relationship to the story I just read you. Hang on . . . Join me in Psalm 42. You will recognize this Psalm. We used to sing it. You can quote it.
Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Oh, wait just a moment . . . I forgot to read to you the part that makes the connection. It isn't really what was written in the verses it is the statement that leads into Psalm 42 . . . the signature . . . it says that this Psalm is a "Maskil - (a teaching) of the sons of Korah.
Wait . . . you missed it. The sons of Korah. The ones who belonged to the daddy that blew it. The disgraced ones. The subject of ridicule. The same descendants, now during the reign of David, are writing and leading worship in the temple. In fact, go forward two more Psalms into Psalm 46 and based out of what happened to daddy the same sons write this:
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Though the earth be shaken and removed. The story of a man's rebellion now brings the sons to write a passage that ultimately inspires Luther to write "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!" Which becomes the anthem of the Protestant Reformation.
Sons of a rebel. Sons of the laughing stock. Sons of one of if not the most notorious and disgraced people in the history of a nation. Sons of daddy now rise up and move beyond what he did and end up leading worship, serving God, and ministers!
They could have ended up bitter because of what the father had done, the stigma, the reputation that was placed on them because of him. But somehow they came to the place where they lived daddy down. They should have had their heads hung, red faced, embarrassed till the end. Instead the offspring of a God destroyed rebel now leading the choir, ushering people into the presence of God.
III. Application
So my question is "Who's your daddy?"
What choice, what decision, what broken relationship, what opening did you give the enemy, what sin, what mistake have you allowed to put you in bondage? What was it that you did 10 years ago that you thought everyone knows about that now holds you in the shackle of shame? It is time to live daddy down.
Yeah your world was swallowed up. The divorce caused you to duck your head and feel less than. The failure not only changed the hue of your cheeks but your outlook on life. The public humiliation not only took the wind out of your sails but the joy out of life. You have become the butt of the joke. Crippled and crushed. Broken and bitter. Maybe it wasn’t even your fault but you find yourself swallowed up by their actions and choices.
Some of you are still living at the point of rebellion! Some of you are still standing at the line of pain, the moment of embarrassment, the point of mistake. It is time to live down that moment and move on. The results of your choice may have been painful, the fall out may have been debilitating but you need to know that you can get past it. You can rise above it. You don't have to duck your head, sit on the sidelines, be disqualified . . . live your daddy down. You may never write a song that others sing but you can live a life that others follow! You may never stand in a temple and instruct others on how to worship. But you can stand on the stage of failure, mistakes, brokenness and teach others how to live again! Worship again. Serve again.
Live the divorce down. Live the dismissal down. Live the embarrassment down. Live the shame down.
I could take you through Scripture and show you example after example of men and women who learned from the sons of Korah. Or better yet I could take you to my mirror and show you someone who has learned the lesson. I could call out the names of individuals who have learned the lesson. It is time for you to learn the lesson. It is time for you to live daddy down!
IV. Close
Pray for those who feel like they have allowed something in their past to keep them from worship, living, joy, etc.
