I’ve been considering a question recently asked;
Were Korah’s sons killed when the earth swallowed Korah, Dathan, Abirum, On, and their households, or when fire consumed 250 men of renown who supported them, or when the plague killed 14,700 grumblers the next day? If so, when were the Psalms written by the son’s of Korah?

In Numbers 16: Korah (a descendant of Levi) who’d been separated to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and Dathan, Abiram and On (descendant sons of Reuben) gathered with themselves other men also, and some of them went to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to complain that they weren’t given the priesthood roll, as well as of being taken from a land flowing with milk & honey into the wilderness, and other complaints also. Moses called for Dathan and Abiram to present themselves, but they refused. It’s interesting on this point, that although they complained about Moses, they wouldn’t meet with him, and still chose to stay within the confines of the congregation of Israel where they had the benefits of it; One could think that if the environment among the Israelites was so bad, then the best solution would be to leave and get on with life away from those they complained about, but instead of leaving, they stayed and influenced others to express similar perspective in moaning and complaining.

Numbers 16:20:1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” … 20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 22 Then they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?” 23 So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

A few points to consider:

  • Selfish discontentment, envy and covetousness among God’s people was expressed by 250 leaders of the congregation; men of renown. These men were respected by the people, yet they were key members of the rebellion against God’s authority.
    • It’s important to step away from the crowd of rebellious persons (regardless of what responsibilities or level of respect they hold among the people), otherwise you may be influenced by their corrupt perspective, or you may be thought to support their error by other “weaker” ones who could be negatively influenced by your apparent approval of their actions.
    • Staying with rebellious grumblers and moaners is contrary to God’s instruction to separate from evil (ref: 2 Timothy 2:21 “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.“); so to decide to reject God’s instruction, puts that person in a similar place to the dissenters, who also disregard Gods instruction, and so both may be subject to God’s judgement.
    • The decision to stay with dissenters may be one of prioritising natural relationships above obeying God’s instruction; that decision is likely to be to the detriment of that person and those who stay with them.

Numbers 16:32 And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that belonged to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
Numbers 26:10 “And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. 11 Nevertheless the children of Korah didn’t die.”

The sons of Korah went on to be productive in praising God and being an encouragement to the Saints, and their actions are still bearing fruit to His glory today… 

  • Psalm 47 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. 
    1  O clap your hands, all you people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph…  
  • Psalm 48 A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
    1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.…
  • Psalm 49 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
    1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,…
  • Psalm 84 … Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
    1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!…

Even in the division of the earth at the tents of the rebels, God didn’t harm any who were not a part of the rebellion, yet He fully consumed the evil from within the presence of the good, with a prior warning for those who weren’t part of it to stay away from the evil so that they wouldn’t suffer from the sins of the others.
Numbers 16:26  And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. 27  So they got away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.

The disdain for God wasn’t just in the company of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, On and 250 supporters of their rebellion who were consumed by fire; the following day heard the voice of the congregation of Israel being raised against God to the point of them grumbling 41 “against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You’ve killed the people of the Lord.”, so the Lord sent a plague through the congregation and killed a further 14,700 people before Aaron could run with a censer to intercede for them.

2 Timothy 2:21 “if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honour, sanctified, and fit for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

Each individual must decide to either fear God, or man; to separate from evil, or to be a part of it’s momentum; and each individual will benefit or bear the result of that decision either now or in the future: 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.”

God’s decision to give various gifts of ministry to His servants, isn’t subject to a democratic process of men’s determination. It’s simply a matter of His sovereignty. God not only gives the responsibility, but He enables and supports the fulfilment of that responsibility in His willing servants.

  • Numbers 17:5 “The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelite’s… 8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. ”
  • Numbers 18:1 The Lord said to Aaron,  “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offences connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offences connected with the priesthood.”
  • 5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelite’s again….” 
  • Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. “.

There’s peace in submitting to God’s call to serve with whatever gift and in whatever place He provides, the responsibility may be as simple as giving a cold glass of water. God would have all men to bear fruit through Christ for His glory, for the support and building up of His Church, maybe even as with the sons of Korah, encouraging the saints for many generations to come! God will bless your desire to serve Him, but be prepared to hear His voice over your own thoughts, because the service may be in a way other than what you’ve been thinking. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”




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