The Korah Rebellion, detailed in Numbers 16, serves as a stark warning against challenging God-appointed leadership and presuming priestly authority. The sermon highlights how Korah, a Levite, along with Dathan and Abiram, led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, fueled by a desire for greater status and a rejection of their assigned roles. Despite the majority's dissent, God vindicated Moses and Aaron through miraculous judgment, swallowing the rebels and consuming the self-appointed priests with fire, demonstrating that true service is not self-appointed but divinely ordained. The narrative underscores God's holiness, His serious view of leadership and priesthood, and His capacity for grace, as seen in the transformation of Aaron, while also cautioning against grumbling against God's chosen leaders and the misuse of one's gifts.
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Well, it seems like this week of conference has passed very quickly. A few folks have put on a display of weather down here that's very uncommon. Above and beyond that, there's been a tremendous demonstration of hospitality and kindness. I tell you, coming here is a great experience for me. Some of you I've known for more years than I can count, and some of you I've only recently met. It's wonderful to come here and enjoy the fellowship together with all of you and the Lord's people. Hospitality in your homes, hospitality in your attitude, and maybe above all, hospitality in your interest in the things of God.
You know, it's easy for people who preach to get the idea that maybe we're just preaching. And in spite of the fact that people may be sitting there And frankly, sometimes you wonder if people are listening, if they're thinking and responding. And in this group, there's no doubt. I really enjoy the response that many, many of you make. And perhaps if we had the occasion, time all of you would give some response. Your comments, your questions, the interaction over the Scriptures, it's a tremendous thing. And I trust you'll continue on in your interest in the things of God. It's a great privilege to minister the Word of God to people who appreciate the Word.
And that's certainly my experience here. I think that, as you, as Brother Jim said, you had three of us now from Emmaus in this season. We've sort of stacked the deck here a little bit. I should say you have. We don't invite ourselves here. But it's great to be here to represent that ministry again. And I hope that as you think of the ministries of Emmaus, that there are a number of things about which you will pray. Obviously, you have one of your own number here up at our college. Margaret is there studying, and I trust that you're praying for her and for all of the other young people that are there, intensively studying the Word of God day by day and evening by evening in the classrooms and then in their own studies.
I hope you'll pray for both dimensions of the ministries of the college. both the correspondence work, which is worldwide, touching hundreds and thousands of lives constantly, as well as the intensive ministry of the resident school to the young people that are there. I'm very grateful to know that some of you are involved in this good work. I've said this before, but I remind you again that we are very conscious that the handful of us on the faculty and the staff at Emmaus in Dubuque are not doing all the work of Emmaus. Some of you are involved. Some of you are grading the tests from the lessons studied by people in prisons. Some of you are using correspondence courses in other ways. Some of you are praying for the college regularly.
We're very grateful for the tremendous sense of fellowship that we realize with many of the Lord's people in many places who are a part of this good work. While I think of that, let me extend an invitation to you to visit us. If you ever have a chance to travel that far north, that isn't all that far. Now I come by and visit us at the campus. The welcome mat's always up. We'd love to show you the campus, introduce you to some of the people there. And I'm very grateful for all the opportunity to be here with you. Now we started the week noting that Paul in First Corinthians ten says that there are some Old Testament accounts that not only were recorded for our instruction, but events which actually happened for our benefit a striking statement and of course he's referring there to the experiences of ancient Israel going out of Egypt through the wilderness and eventually into the land of Canaan it's interesting as you look at these and see the lessons that are conveyed to us in these biographic historic scriptures you really understand that there are some important principles there are some important issues that we need to understand, but particularly Paul
says, those of us upon whom the ends of the ages have come, which I understand means that as we come to the end of this church age, we probably need to go back and learn the lessons from these particular scriptures even more than perhaps the folks in the early church needed it. Some very important lessons here. Israel redeemed out of Egypt by blood and by power. God led them down to Mount Sinai, down in the southern tip of that Sinai Peninsula. And there they stayed for a little more than a year, and a lot of important things happened there. God not only gave the law to his people, he gave them instructions for the tabernacle, the Levitical priesthood was initiated, many, many important things happened there.
And then as we were thinking this morning, after a little more than a year there, camped at Mount Sinai, the clouds started moving again. And they went north, north, swinging a little bit to the east. I should have my map here if I'm giving you some strange talk here. Why just bear with me while I throw my arms around a little bit. They traveled north. They swung a little bit to the east near the ancient city of Azan-Giber, which is the same location as the modern Israeli city of Iliad at the very north tip of the Gulf of Akhaba. and then a little bit inland up to a place called Cadish Barnea, which was the jumping-off place between the land of Palestine and the wilderness.
And as they approached it from the south, when they came to Cadish Barnea, they were approaching the land of promise. We learned there that they sent spies in. Twelve spies went into the land and they spent forty days looking over the land, came out with a mixed report. Ten said, yes, it's a good land, but we can't handle it. The walls are too high. The people, some of them are giants. It's a land that devours people. We can't do it. We can't do it. Two of the spies said, oh, yes, we can. Yes, it is a good land. Oh, it's true the walls are high. But God has given it to us, and he has led us here.
Let's go. And we noted this morning in our study the sad account of that day. when the majority report, the minority report were given, the people believed the majority report. Not only did they believe the report that said we can't do it, but they wept all night, built themselves up into such a tizzy and a fervor that the next day, you guessed it, they said we're going to stone Moses and Caleb and Joshua, appoint new leaders who will take us back to Egypt and we resubmit ourselves to slavery. One of the most astounding pages in the whole Bible. And you recall, of course, that in that unbelief they face the judgment of God and his displeasure against all of the adult generation.
And everyone who was twenty years old and upward at that point died in the wilderness, except, of course, Moses and Caleb and Joshua. As we indicated this morning, if you do a little bit of mathematics and assume maybe two and a half million people, and that in thirty-eight years they all had to die, the funeral business would have been a good business to be in. A lot of funerals every day. By the way, I have a sneaking suspicion that some of you are saying, boy, that preacher really seems awfully confident that he knows all about the timing of all of this. Well, it's not my confidence, really. It isn't that I'm such a good mathematician. For example, if you will turn to Deuteronomy, you will find that in chapter two, there is a specific statement made in chapter two and verse fourteen.
Moses says, The time that it took for us to come from Cades Barnea until we crossed over the book, Zaret, was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp as the Lord had sworn to them. And so it isn't just my calculation. The scriptures indicate... that from the time that they left Egypt in the Exodus, going down to Mount Sinai, staying there a little more than a year, and then up to Kadesh Barney, and that was two years of time. And God planned those two years. And even though they were spent in that wilderness, there was divine direction. God was accomplishing certain things in that period of time.
And that was his time for them to go into the land. In their unbelief, they were turned back into the wilderness to wander, You remember God said you will be in the wilderness a year for every day the spies were in the land, which is forty. But in his mercy he let them count the two they had already spent there. And so there were thirty-eight more years. Technically speaking, it was not forty years of wandering. It was two years of travel and thirty-eight years of wandering there in the wilderness. Now tonight we want to look at one event in that period of wandering. Just one event. And there were a number of important things that happened in that time.
In fact, if you go back to First Corinthians ten, you will find that Paul, in appealing to the Corinthians and telling them that they need to study these scriptures and these events, and that they are important things to learn from those experiences of the children of Israel, he actually makes a direct reference to five events. Three of the five occurred in this period of wandering, in this thirty-eight years of wandering, which means that even in this, which was an expression of God's displeasure, the extension of wandering under His judgment until all of the adult generation died off.
Even in that period of time, God was teaching His people some important lessons. To me, this is most encouraging to know that God Even though we may blow it, we may disobey, we may bring upon ourselves needless problems, we may frustrate the purposes of God in our lives for a period of time, but God doesn't wash his hands of us. He doesn't give up on us. He didn't give up on Israel. And even though they were in a period of thirty-eight years of wandering, and even though his displeasure was seen in the thousands of funerals every day, the fact of the matter is he was still at work in their lives and three of the events that Paul specifically mentions took place in that period of time I wonder how many of us could say that hmm I guess if I were going to give my testimony which I'm not here to do tonight I could embarrass myself by telling you of a period of time in my life when I tried to run away from God run away from his claims in my life not proud of it I often joined the Marine Corps while the Korean War was going on.
I guess the only worst thing I could have done is joined the French Foreign Legion. But the fact of the matter is that even in that period of time, trying to run away from God, I can look back on it now and see that God was accomplishing some very distinct things in my rebel heart. And I'm glad he didn't let me go. I'm glad he kept his disciplines and work in my life. I'm grateful for this. And I can't blame him for what I did. It was a stupid thing to do. But the fact of the matter is he kept up his gracious work. And I'm sure that as you look at your life, there may be periods. Maybe you're not as foolish as I.
But some of you may know there are periods of your life when you weren't really walking as carefully and as obediently as we should. And yet you realize that God's hand is still there. He's a faithful God. He's a faithful God. And we bless him for that. As Paul said to Timothy, even though we are unfaithful, yet he abides faithful. He remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. And we certainly see that with Israel. Even in these thirty-eight years of judgmental wandering, God was at work. And some of the very important events that we need to study are events that took place in that period of time.
Let's look at one of them tonight. In Numbers chapter sixteen, Numbers chapter sixteen, we see the account of Korah's rebellion. And even though it's a fairly long reading, since it may have been a while, since you've read this and refresh your memory, let's pick and choose some section from this chapter. Numbers chapter sixteen. Now Korah, the son of Ezar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, The sons of Peloteth, the sons of Reuben, took action. And they rose up before Moses together with some of the sons of Israel. Two hundred and fifty leaders. There it is again. Leaders of the congregation.
Chosen in the assembly of men of renown. And they assembled together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, You have gone too far. For all the congregation are holy. Every one of them. And the Lord is in their midst. So why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the congregation? of the Lord a real challenge to the leadership of Moses and Joshua and Aaron and when Moses heard this he fell on his face and he spoke to Cora and all the company saying tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is his and who is holy and who will bring him near to himself even the one whom he will choose he will bring near to himself do this take censors for yourselves Cora and all your company put fire in them and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy.
You have gone too far, you sons of Levi. And then Moses said to Korah, here now, you sons of Levi, is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, to stand before the congregation to minister to them, that he has brought you near, Korah, all your brothers sons of Levi's with you are you seeking for the priesthood also therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord but as for Aaron who is he that you grumble against him and then down to verse twenty and the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them instantly that they fell on their faces and said oh God Thou God of the spirits of all flesh.
By the way, here's another intercession. Then when one man sins, wilt thou be angry with the entire congregation? Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the congregation, saying, Get back from around the dwellings of Korah and Dathan and Abira. Down to verse thirty-one. Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground was under them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up. and their households and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 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. And all Israel who were around them fled at their outcry. For they said, The earth may swallow us up.
Fire also came forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Say to Eliezer, son of Aaron, the priest, that he shall take up the censors out of the midst of the blaze for their holy, and you scatter the burning coals abroad, as for the censors of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives. Let them be made into hammered sheets for plating of the altar, since they did present them before the Lord, and they are holy. And they shall be a sign for the sons of Israel. So Elisha the priest took the bronze censors with some men who were there burned and offered, and they hammered them in as plating for the altar. as a reminder to the sons of Aaron, Israel, that no stranger who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses.
So we'll end our reading there, even though the very next verses indicate some very important things we want to quickly mention in just a few minutes. Well, this is a striking narrative, isn't it? rather solemn thing to think that having challenged the spiritual leadership of Moses and of Aaron, a Korah, as well as these other two from another tribe, Dath and a Byron, openly challenged them and said things that are very much like some things I hear among the assemblies of God's people. After all, we're all priests. We're all equal. We don't have any clergy or laity. and therefore we give the leadership a bad time.
I hate to say that, but it happens all the time among the people of God. It certainly happened here. The interesting thing is, of course, Moses' response. He didn't argue with them. He didn't fight with them. He just simply said, all right, this has to be settled by the Lord. So tomorrow you come and You feel that you should be functioning as high priest and as the main appointed leader of the nation? Just come, bring your censors, all these people that are with you, and come and we'll present ourselves to the Lord and let him decide. Sounds very, very simple, doesn't it?
As you look at these intervening verses, you realize that you have another one of those instances where you have a heavy majority and a small minority. Here's Moses and Aaron standing there. And here, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred and fifty leaders from the people. What's your odds? Two hundred and fifty-three to two. We were talking about this this morning, weren't we? The scriptures indicate all the way through that when it comes to spiritual and moral things, the majority is characteristically wrong. It's hard for a red-blooded American to say that.
We almost worship the democratic principle. I'm not talking politics. I'm not talking economics. But when it comes to spiritual and moral things, even among the professing people of God, the Bible consistently teaches that the majority is characteristically wrong. And here we are again, another demonstration of that. It wasn't just twelve men went to spy out Canaan. How many were bad? You remember that song, don't you, when you were kids? Ten were bad. Two were good. That's a pretty heavy odds, isn't it? It's worse here. It's not ten to two here. Now it's two hundred and fifty-three to two. Who was right?
Well, they learned who was right. And God opened up the earth and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram and Korah and their families. Ooh, that makes me catch my breath. because I realize here, as I have often realized in my life, that we sort of drag our families with us through a lot of things, don't we? When I think of the things that my kids have endured because of me and my commitment to God and the way I have gone about serving God, I bless God that they've come out all right. It's very interesting, the kinds of things we take our families through with us.
Here even in judgment, the families of Korah, Jathan, and of Aram were swallowed up with them in the earth. And then fire came from heaven and consumed the two hundred and fifty self-appointed priests that had joined them in rebelling against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, consumed them. And all that was left were these smoldering incense pots that they had made. as they came to claim the priesthood for themselves. We were talking about that, weren't we? No one takes this business of priesthood upon himself. It is by divine appointment. Just an interesting thought here.
You remember Moses said now quickly, Aaron, dump all of these coals out and gather up all of these bronze things and we'll hammer them out and make covering plates for the altar at the tabernacle. And it was done. Notice verse forty. It was a reminder to Israel. Every time an Israelite came from here on, every time an Israelite came with a sacrifice, and they looked into that opening in the tent and saw that altar in there, glinting in the sun were these bronze plates on the side of the altar, reminding them, I'd better think twice before I challenge the living God and presume upon his choice of priesthood.
A perpetual solemn reminder that priesthood is not self-appointed, not self-appointed. Interestingly enough, if you want to follow on a little bit further in verses forty one and following, the next morning the nation really rebounded. and they blame Moses and Aaron for this judgment. You are the ones, verse forty-one, who have caused the death of these people. Think of that. Think of that. And God sent a plague in the nation and slew over fourteen thousand people. Well, you see, God's serious about this business of his divine appointments.
He's very serious. about this business of presuming into the priesthood. And we take our priesthood so lightly. So lightly. And of course it was following this, that Moses set up this another test. The rods, you see, each tribe now has an opportunity to bring a rod symbolizing authority and we'll lay all of them up along with Aaron's rod be in the presence of God and in the morning we'll check and see again if God authenticates his choice and that old dry stick that Aaron had been walking with for a long time the next morning it not only had leaves on it but it had mature ripe almonds another miracle of God to demonstrate that he had authenticated the high priesthood of Aaron and he was the man who made the golden calf.
Ooh, that takes my breath too. I think if I had been an elder in Israel, I would probably not have chosen this man for a high priest, but God did. There's an important lesson here, I think, folks. You know, sometimes we we do not recognize the operation of the grace of God in another life. Some of us were talking about this the other evening. I don't remember which evening. We've had so many parties and so many get-togethers. But maybe it was at the dinner table. I don't know. But some of us were talking about this, how we really need to make sure that we do not fail...
to let the grace of God operate in somebody else's life. Now that's a strange way to put it. Maybe what we should say is we need to make sure that we do not fail to recognize that God's grace can operate in other lives. And he can change other lives. Change other lives. Sometimes we see this at the college. Some young fellow or girl comes rushing off to Emmaus right out of high school. And they stay there for three or four years and study the word. We see some dramatic changes in some. Not all. Some seem to go through unscathed, and we weep over those too. But we see some wonderful changes in the lives of some of these young people. And the folks back home haven't seen them, much of them at least.
And so three or four years later, they move back home, and everybody still sees them as that same mixed-up high school kid that they were four years ago. And sometimes it takes a lot of stress and struggle for the Lord's people to admit, oh yes, something has happened. They've grown up. They've grown up. I think I've mentioned this to you before, that if I go back to the St. Louis area where I grew up, there's still some people there that just sort of smile at me and call me Danny. And they'd pat me on the head if they could reach it. But you see, I'm still Danny to them. Why? Because they knew me as a kid. There's some place down in the south, I won't tell you where, where they still call me Double Bubble Dan.
Why? Because when I was working with Ernie Gross one summer, I did some stupid thing at camp and they had a kangaroo court and find me, I had to pay everybody in camp a piece of bubble gum. And some friends back from those years still sort of smile at me knowingly when they call me Double Bubble Dan. And I'd like to get on my knees and say, wait a minute, I'm not the same kid that I was then. Bless God. But you see, it's very easy for us to miss what God is doing in another life. We dare not withhold the grace of God from others, the grace that we so freely enjoy ourselves. And when I see what happened in Aaron's life, that God took a man, even a man who was willing to make a golden calf and made him the high priest of Israel.
I say, we have a pardoning God, folks. We have a pardoning God. And so you see again that marvelous mixture here, God's holiness, His demands, I will be honored among my people, I will decide who's priest. And yet at the same time, not only His demands and His judgment, but His grace and His mercy. What a God. One of the important things to see in this story of Korah, however, is that there is a deeper issue here than simply objecting to the leadership.
You will see it here in verse nine. You see it again in, well, let's see here. Over in chapter eighteen you see it. You see it in, well, look at eighteen, verse six. Behold, I myself have taken you, your fellow Levites, from among the sons of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to perform the service of the tent of meeting. But you, Aaron, and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar inside the Veil of Saul. You will find a number of statements in this passage that indicate that underlying the objection that Korah, Dathan, or the Barim had against Moses and Aaron was, that they were unwilling to accept the function and the position that God had given to them.
You see, they were already priests. Korah was a Levite. But he didn't like the place that God had assigned him. He aspired to what Aaron and Moses were doing. A very important lesson to learn here, and it's needed at all periods of history of the church, maybe as much in our period as any. You see, not all priests do the same thing. Some of the priests carried the articles of furniture. Some of the priests carried all those curtains and all of the skins that covered the tabernacle. Some of the priests carried the structural things, the poles and the sockets that they were in.
Not all the priests actually got involved in offering sacrifices. Some carried wood. Some carried water to keep the labor full. Some cleaned up the mess. You see, God had given them different responsibilities, as He always does. And most of the priests never said anything in public in their priestly function. It really bothers me that somehow or another we've let ourselves get the idea that the only priestly function is when you speak. Now, hopefully, in the ministry of the Word here to you, or when a brother stands up at the Lord's Supper and gives a devotional thought, or hopefully we are functioning as priests.
But, folks, that's not the beginning and the end of priesthood. That's only one small part of priestly function. A priestly function in the New Testament priesthood, as it was in the Old Testament priesthood, involves a number of different things. And it's our responsibility to discern from the scriptures how God has determined that I should function as a priest. And that was Cora's problem. He was a priest. He had an assigned duty, but he didn't like what he was doing. He wanted something more up front.
And God judged him. Solemn thought, isn't it? You see, priesthood is not a do-your-own-thing operation. It never has been. Priesthood is fulfilled under divine appointment and under divine instruction. And not only is it true that no one takes this honor to himself, Hebrews chapter five, but no one serves God in priesthood doing his own thing or her own thing. Priesthood is God's prerogative. And just as in this case, we will be wise if we understand how God has designed his pattern, his purposes, and we fulfill that which he is assigned to us with devotion and with reverence and with godly fear.
Now there are some summary thoughts. Let me just quickly run through them here as we think of this solemn lesson this evening. It's obviously the prerogative of the sovereign God to establish his priesthood. And in that, to establish distinctives and distinctions among his people. And it's our obligation to understand what God has ordained and to obey. Not only that, God appointed leadership is not to be seen as title and position. Leadership is responsibility.
Leadership is accountability. There is a burden in leadership. And one of the things you learn in reading through this passage of the Scripture, this whole section of the Scripture, Not only do you see the burdens that Moses carried in the leadership that God gave to him, but you see that often his greatest problem came from people who were in leadership positions. As again in this case. Leadership has very solemn responsibilities. I don't know who it was of you said some time ago earlier this week, oh, when God told Moses he could not go into the promised land simply because he smoke the rock the second time rather than speak to it that seems awfully severe awfully severe why would God deprive a man of his lifelong desire go to the promised land just for one single act which seems so simple well you know what the answer is don't you the answer is in terms of what James says again in James chapter three verse one You want to be a leader?
You want to be a teacher? Remember, don't clamor for that without reckoning on this. You will be judged with stricter judgment. And with responsibility comes accountability, always with God. And so we ought not to think of leadership as something to boast of, a title, a cloud, a privilege we saw this morning. in the aftermath of Moses' teaching in Deuteronomy chapter five, that one of the things that came in the giving of the law is that Moses learned that leadership is not above the law, that it was not only the people who had to listen, thou shalt, thou shalt, thou shalt not, but it was the leadership that had to listen.
And we certainly see that here. That divinely appointed leadership is not to be seen as title or as position and clout. It's to be seen as responsibility and fulfilled as responsibility. I think if Cora had understood that, that may have kept him from aspiring to something which led to his ruin. It is true, too, that true biblical service to Christ is not self-appointed. Not self-appointed. Let me think of one practical implication of this. Think of the simple New Testament pattern of commending Christian workers. I hear a lot of people that almost make fun of this idea of commendation.
Now, it's true that in our movement that there are a lot of different ways of thinking about this, and it's been abused and all that, I realize that. But when I go to the New Testament, and I see the New Testament church commending people to the service of Christ, I say, yes, one of the things that that does is to get away from this self-appointed business there are a lot of people who aspire to full-time work and I fear for many of them it's an easy life it looks so good it looks so easy boy I'd love to be able to do nothing all the week but preach once or twice wow that would be great or however you may look at it see It would be so easy to aspire to the recognition of being a Christian worker.
Wait a minute, says the New Testament. Is there an assembly of Christians that are willing to stand behind you and to publicly recognize that they see gift and calling of God in your life? And they'll stand behind you as you go to serve Christ. Or is this just your idea? See? No, the service of Christ is not self-appointed. And the encouragement, the recognition of fellow believers may be one of those very important ways in which God works to move an individual in a place of service. Maybe as a Sunday school teacher, of whatever the capacity may be, the service of Christ is not self-appointed.
Another thing we learn in this passage is that grumbling against God-appointed leadership really is grumbling against God. And the Scriptures admit, as I see it in First Timothy five, that those of us in leadership don't always do everything right. I see that in First Timothy five. In fact, in First Timothy five, we have the prerogative of entreating an elder, appealing to elder, if you would a father. And there must be respect there, true, but You see, God-appointed leadership still involves human beings, that's true. But even if we sense that everything is not going well with leadership, we do this with a sense of respect and care.
Why? Because the very fact that God has shown us again and again in his word that you don't just charge in and unhorse the leadership without facing the implications of God's hand. And certainly Cora learned that fact very, very solemnly. One other thought in this, and that is that I think we see in Korah the solemn reminder that sometimes gift and ability make us vulnerable to misuse. What do I mean by that? You see, Korah was a priest. He was appointed to the service. He was not in an out front position.
He and his people were carrying and assembling, putting up and taking down. the items in the tabernacle, the hangings, the tapestry, the curtains around the tabernacle. A very important function, but it was not a public out-front function. And that's what he aspired to. But what he did, he did under divine appointment. And presumably he was an able man. He certainly must have had some qualities of leadership because he got several hundred people to join him. And they were leader-type people. And he still got them to join him. This man had some skills in leadership. But notice the way he used them. He used them to his own destruction. His own destruction.
And so the issue in life is not how gifted I think I am, or what kind of skills I think I have. The real question is, are my gifts, my abilities, be they great or be they small, are they fulfilled in under the divine authority and blessing of God. That's really what counts. Let me illustrate this. We have had students at Emmaus who made straight A's. Brilliant kids in the classroom. Boy, they could challenge a structure with a question that would really make you scratch. And you think, this one's really going to go on for God.
And some of them... have had a complete flame out spiritually, I hate to tell you. We've had other students that were very modest students. They worked hard even to get very average grades. They didn't end up on the dean's list, but I can introduce you to some for years now. I've done yeoman service for God. And so it's not always what I may think is my level of gift and ability that really counts in the service of Christ. In fact, sometimes what I may see to be gift and ability in myself can actually make me vulnerable to pride.
What really counts is whether my gifts and my abilities are discharged with reverence and godly fear. That's what counts. And Korah learned that lesson the hard way. I wish we had time to consider many more things from the narrative of the Scriptures here. It's a great, great study, folks, and let me invite you again to read in this section of the Scripture. We've just sort of dipped in here and there and lightly treated one and another, but I think it's important for us to study this period of time, the events, I think Paul tells us that you and I who live near the end of this age need to rethink and to study and to understand what God is teaching us in the Egypt to Canaan experiences.
We need to understand that God's purposes were being unfolded. We need to understand the holiness of God. One of the main themes that run all through this, we not only live in an unholy society, but we live in a society of disrespect and we need to learn to stand in awe before a holy God and yet at the same time we need to learn that God is a God of grace and that he listens to the intercession of his people and he spares his judgment and he works in lives and changes them and even takes unlikely characters like an Aaron who's there making a golden idol and changes him into a high priest.
What a God. What a God we have. We need to understand these things. We need to understand the dynamics of leadership. We need to understand that you can't follow the crowd and really serve God, that unfortunately, characteristically the majority is wrong. And so you don't set your sight and plan your course in life. according to what everybody else is doing it. You plan your course in life according to the revealed word of God. That's the only safe way. Oh, there are a lot of important lessons here for us. But above all, the lesson that our gods are redeeming God. He redeemed Israel out of Egypt by blood and by power. And he's still redeeming God.
And I trust that his blood, the blood of Christ, and the resurrection power of Christ have been and are at work in your life that you're redeemed not with corruptible things like silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ that the power of his resurrection has been set loose in your life and that you're committed to walk with him and serve him with abandoned and with conscious obedience to his word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the wonderful way in which you moved holy men of old to give us your word.
We thank you that there was the day when you moved your servant Moses to write these first five books of our Bible and that he gave them to us because he was under the inspiration of the Spirit. and they are ours supernatural inerrant speaking to us things that we urgently need to know we thank you our father that in this record of your dealings with your people in the past we see that you're a holy God we see that you're a pardoning God teach us to keep both of these great dimensions of your infinite character in view and that we may know what it is as your people to tremble before a holy God and to hear you say to us you be holy because I am holy teach us also to revel in your love and your forgiveness your cleansing your redeeming saving grace your transforming power to
take unlikely bent wrong creatures of the dust like me and transform us by your grace eventually to the likeness of your lovely son give us an understanding of your word we pray speak to us in the page of scripture and may our hearts answer and obey in faith we pray in Jesus name