Standing Between The Dead And The Living!

Standing between the dead and the living!

• Numbers 16: 46”And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun."

• 48”And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.”

TAKE YOUR CENSER!

We need leaders who will be humble, obedient and God fearing, God would never promote a puffed-up heart. Korah and his team stand up against Moses and Aaron and said,’ for all the congregation is holy – every one of them.’ These 250 men were no ordinary men but they were chiefs of the congregation and well-known men. We can smell ‘envy and bitterness’ emitting from the outrageous group! The response of Moses towards this is commendable, he fell flat on his face and said, ‘the Lord will judge the holy and the unholy!’ Amen. Perfect decision; brawling, arguing and clashing is not the godly way to react to misunderstandings but like Moses, we got to take it to God. Moses commanded Korah and his rebel group to bring 250 censers and Aaron to bring his censer as well, before God. When they did it, the glory of the Lord appeared and the Lord commanded the godly people to separate themselves from the rebellious group. Move away! Are you listening? Have nothing to do with the wicked and the unrighteous, lest you get destroyed with them. Caveat! A young boy went along with his friends, to meet a woman friend in her flat. The boy knew nothing of their intentions, yet, was hanging around with them, eventually their visit ended up in murdering the woman. Alas, the boy had to run for his life and stay hidden away from his family and the world for the rest of his life! Price for wrong association is pretty heavy!

We read of the earth splitting and earthquake for the first time in the Bible in this chapter:

Numbers 16:30”But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD."

EVERYTHING WAS DESTROYED: I would like to point out something here, not only were the people destroyed but everything that belonged to them got swallowed into the earth. Read:

Numbers 16:32”And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.” God despised their wickedness, cheekiness and snootiness and wanted no ‘trace’ of them, hence He wiped away all the people that belonged to Korah and his goods as well. Let this incident instill fear in our hearts to reverence God and obey His commandments. God expected much better behavior from the chiefs of the congregation, but they perished under the earth because of their impudence and insolence. We got to respect the leaders kept above us by God!

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Following the earthquake , fire from the Lord came and consumed the 250 men who offered the incense.(v 35) Your sins will be found and you would be punished! How we wish to skip these portions of the Bible and be spared of reading the painful and ugly events but God has not eliminated it and kept it there for us to read, understand, fear and know He is God! Many may not even know about these events in the Bible.

Friend, men/women visit pubs, drink, dance and stay together for overnight parties, commit the most atrocious sins and yet dare to say, “don’t interfere in our freedom”. No matter which part of the world , God’s laws are to be revered and obeyed. Let the world know ‘THERE IS A GOD WHO IS WATCHING THE SINS OF THIS WORLD AND VERY SOON AN END IS AT HAND. REPENT AND COME TO JESUS!’

REMEMBRANCE: Read: Numbers 16:38 “The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar……and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel."

The insolent team of Korah did not give a thought for their souls that would perish when they indulged in quarreling with the men of God. A married man when he dates another woman does not think of his soul but his lustful eyes roves sinfully. Young men/women trade their precious souls for the vanity of this world and perish. Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”