Numbers 19
Chuck Smith · C2000 · 1979 to 1985
Numbers 11-20
Chuck Smith · C3000 · 1985 to 1999
Numbers 15-20
Chuck Smith on Numbers 19
Verse by verse, the C2000, 1979 to 1985 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Chapter introduction
And then in chapter nineteen this ordinance of the red heifer.
Verses 2–8
Where they were to
bring in a red heifer without spot, wherein there is no blemish, upon which there have never been placed a yoke: And they were to give it to Eleazar the priest, who is the son of Aaron, and he may bring her forth without the camp and slay her: And take the blood with his finger, and spread the blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: And then to burn the heifer completely. And they are to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. The priest was to wash his clothes, and then he was to bathe and come back into the camp. And the one that burned the heifer was also to wash their clothes and would be unclean until evening (19:2-8).
As was Eliezer who had burned it. But a man who was ceremonially clean was to gather the ashes together. And they were to somehow make, sprinkle these with water and make a water for anointing some a symbol of cleansing. And the things were to be purified by this water of this red heifer that was sacrificed. Now there are those who see in this red heifer analogies to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the washing that we have through His Word and through the Spirit.
Commentary on Numbers 19
Whosoever Will · The Whosoever Study Bible’s verse commentary
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:2
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:3
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:4
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:5
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:6
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:7
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:8
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:9
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:10
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:11
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:12
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:13
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:14
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:15
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:16
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:17
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:18
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:19
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:20
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:21
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
Numbers 19:22
The wilderness period produces multiple rebellions and Numbers 16 records the most significant: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram gather 250 leaders and challenge Moses and Aaron. Their argument sounds democratic: all the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them, why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation?
The argument is theologically half-true. The congregation is holy. The LORD is among them. But the specific calling of Aaron's priesthood is God's designation, not Moses's ambition. Korah is conflating the holiness of the community with the elimination of functional distinctions within it.
Moses proposes a test: each man take his censer, offer incense before the LORD, and the LORD will show who is holy. The next day: the earth opens its mouth and swallows Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their households, and all their possessions. Fire comes out and consumes the 250 men offering the incense.
And the next day the whole congregation murmurs against Moses and Aaron: you have killed the people of the LORD. A plague breaks out. Aaron takes his censer and runs into the midst of the congregation and makes atonement. He stands between the living and the dead until the plague stops. 14,700 die.
Thread 4 is in the rebellion: genuine challenge to divinely appointed authority, genuine consequences, and the remarkable detail that the congregation immediately blames Moses rather than recognizing the judgment. Thread 5 is the Mosaic administration's structural integrity: the specific designations God has made within the community are not subject to popular redefinition.
Korah's rebellion (ye take too much upon you) is the challenge to divinely appointed authority dressed in the language of democratic theology; and the earth opens and swallows them; the Mosaic administration's structures are not negotiable.
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים (rav lakhem ki khal ha-edah kullam qedoshim): ye take too much upon you seeing all the congregation are holy: rav lakhem (enough for you, you have too much, the phrase used to oppose what is regarded as overreach); the theology sounds right: the congregation is holy, the LORD is among all of them; the error is not the theology but its application, the holiness of the congregation does not eliminate the specific priestly calling; God has designated roles; Korah's argument removes the distinction God has established
threads t4 · t5 · see Numbers 17:5 · 1 Corinthians 10:10 · Jude 11
