May 20 – Korah: Gulp! – Numbers 16
Korah displays an ungrateful heart with the purpose in life that God had given him. Korah, along with Dathan and Abiram, gathered 250 prominent leaders in Israel to go complain against Moses and Aaron. Their complaint was similar to the complaint that Miriam had in yesterday’s reading. They felt that Moses and Aaron had taken on more responsibility than they should have, and they were concerned that Moses and Aaron were respected more than they should have been. Korah believed that he should have had more respect and a bigger job. Moses reminded Korah in verse 9 that if God gave you a job than that job should be the most important job in the world to you. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram all had the same problem: jealousy. Dathan and Abiram knew they were in the wrong when they refused to come before the Lord for fear they would be killed by God.
Among the many lessons to learn, there are two major lessons we can easily learn from in this story: 1) Do not go against the godly authority God has placed in your life. Be joyful, happy, satisfied, grateful, and have great value in the task and purpose that God has given you in your life. That really is the highest honor that you can do. 2) Stay away from the Korah’s in your life. Korah and all those around him were swallowed by the ground and went down quickly into the “pit.” Run from those who wish to criticized or complain about the godly authority God has chosen for you.
