Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Korah and His Followers - The Book of Numbers

Transcript

Korah and His Followers - The Book of Numbers · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Dear Heavenly Father, as I step into this season of
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: my purpose, I thank you for protecting me against people
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: who would try to corner me and accuse me with
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: false stories. Thank you that your protection provides a way
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: out when others seek to destroy my destiny. When I
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: am faced with challenging people, I will be like Moses.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I will drop to my knees in prayer and seek
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: a solution in your presence, because wherever the Spirit of
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: the Lord is, there's freedom and liberty. Through your power,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I know that even though the attacks seem unrelenting, I
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: can rest my mind knowing that with each attack, I
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: will remain untouched, because you surround me with a cloud
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: of glory and protection. Confirm my calling. like you confirmed Moses.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: I give you permission to take over my trials and
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: to silence all opposition. I confess that without you, I'm limited.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: But with you on my side, I am a force
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: to be reckoned with. What God has for me is
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: for me, and I'm coming after it all. In Jesus' name. Amen.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Korah and his followers. In our last story, Moses sent
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: spies to the land of Canaan. Ten out of the
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: twelve spies brought back negative reports and scared the people
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: into wanting to go back to Egypt. God, fed up
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: with their constant doubts, denied them access to the promised land.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: They were banished to die in the wilderness, and their
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: children would be the ones to inherit the land. In
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: this story, we learn about Israel's first organized rebellion. Seeds
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: of doubt were sown by Korah from the tribe of Levi.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Those who rise up against Moses regret it deeply, as
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: inspired by the book of Numbers.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we discovered
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: that the Israelites' lack of faith cost them. It cost
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: them God's promised land, at least for that generation. Because
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: they failed to trust in God to give them the
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: land and to defeat every enemy and They listened to
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: ten spies who spoke words of fear. The entire generation
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: would now die off. They would never see the promised land.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Only Caleb and Joshua would experience the promise that God
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: has given. We've previously heard the story of Miriam and
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Aaron defying Moses, but in today's reading, we'll learn of
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: the first rebellion of the people. Led by Korah, a Levite,
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: the people will turn against Moses, but their actions will
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: have terrible consequences. And God will use their actions to
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: remind His people that when they oppose His plans and
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: resist His will, there is judgment to follow. Let's listen
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: now to today's reading.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: The stars lit the skies like sand on the seashore.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: The camp was silent, and all of Israel slept in
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: their tents, all but a few. Korah. A son from
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: the tribe of Levi had gathered a few of the
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: elders around some burning coals. Together they stood in frustration
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: and jealousy towards Moses. They whispered amongst themselves, conniving and
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: scheming against Moses and Aaron. A wicked grin could be
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: seen at the corner of Korah's face as they planned
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: their coup. The men arose in the morning with intensity. Korah,
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: with 250 chiefs behind him, marched to the tent of Moses.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: They assembled together against Moses and Aaron. They brought him
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: out in front of the congregation as if on trial.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: The Israelites took notice of what was happening and began
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: to gather around Korah and Moses. Korah smiled at the
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: attention and raised his voice for all the people to hear.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: He pointed to Moses. How dare you, Korah shouted. Everyone
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: here is holy, Moses. You are not the only one
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: among us anointed by God. So why do you choose
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: to exalt yourself? Are you better than all of us?
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: He spoke with a frightening charisma. Moses refused to play
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Korah's game. The people watched Moses anticipating a clash of
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: alphas fighting for the right to lead. Moses looked at Korah.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: no doubt remembering the time he once strangled an Egyptian
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: soldier in the sand. Yet instead of fighting or speaking,
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: he fell on his face. The crowd watched as Moses
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: took the position of bowing. While Korah exalted himself in
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: front of the people and puffed his chest, Moses laid
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: there silently in the dirt, mumbling prayers to God. Moments passed,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: and the people held their breath waiting for Moses to
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: answer Korah. He looked up and rose to his feet.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: When Moses lifted his head, an intensity could be seen
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: shooting from his eyes. His gaze locked on to Korah,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: the look of a warrior king, a posture strengthened by
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: the Spirit of God. Moses spoke plainly and directly. He said,
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: In the morning, the Lord will show who is his.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: We will both bring offerings to him, and he will
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: choose among us. And Moses turned to leave. Before departing,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: he looked to all 250 men and said, You have
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: gone too far, sons of Levi. I know why you
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: rise up against me. The leadership God has given you
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: was not enough. And he turned back towards his tent.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Later that day, Moses sent for two elders of the congregation,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Dathan and Abiram. He needed support from people with influence,
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: yet they denied him, saying, We will not join you.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: You have denied us the land flowing with milk and honey.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: You have banished us to die in the wilderness, and
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: now you act as king over us. At that instant, Moses'
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: anger ignited within him. If they had only known the
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: hours he had spent begging God to spare them. Countless
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: times Moses had beat his chest before God, asking him
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: to take his own life instead of theirs. If they
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: had only known the sacrifice it took for him to
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: watch the Egyptians, the people he was raised with, to
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: drown in the Red Sea. And now they question his integrity,
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: his humility, and his devotion to them. Moses' eyes burned
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: with rage, and his fists clenched. With furrowed brow, he
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: beat his chest once again and looked to God. Not
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: even a donkey I have taken from them. I have
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: given them everything. Do not respect their offering tomorrow. The
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: next morning, Moses rose up to meet with Korah and
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: his men. The entire congregation surrounded them as they would
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: a coliseum. Moses and Korah stood opposite of one another.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: With their offerings prepared before God, the Lord whispered in
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the ear of Moses, Tell the people to separate themselves
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: from Korah and his men. Moses raised his voice for
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: all to hear. Depart from these men immediately, lest you
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: be swept away. Stay back. So the crowd stepped back
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: from Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and their families. The three
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: men stood by watching Moses with their offerings in front
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: of them. Moses rose his staff to Korah. Moses, once
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: slow to speak and stuttering, spoke clearly and powerfully. His
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: voice boomed and the people trembled. This day you shall
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: know it is the Lord who has sent me. Nothing
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: I have done has been from my own power. Moses
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: pointed to the men and shouted, If these men die
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: a natural death, then I am made a liar and
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: God has not sent me. But if the Lord comes
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: now and swallows them up into the fiery shadows of Sheol,
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: then you shall know whom God has chosen. In an instant,
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: as Moses spoke, the land trembled and shook. A roar
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: could be heard from the mountains, and the ground began
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: to split. The earth opened up before Korah and his
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: men like the mouth of a beast, and they were
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: swallowed up into the jaws of Sheol. The screams of
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: the three men stabbed the ears of all who were present,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: and fire ascended from the depths and consumed all 250 men.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: The congregation fled. fearing they would also be consumed by
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: the earth. The next day, the camp still smelled of
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: burnt flesh and brimstone. The place where the earth had
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: torn in two was within sight and acted as a
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: haunting reminder of God's power. The panic of that day
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: had subsided and was replaced by grumbling.' You have killed
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: God's people!' they said to Aaron and Moses. Then they
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: sought to harm Moses and Aaron, and in that instant
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: the presence of God surrounded them. the tent of meeting.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Israel had learned nothing from the day before. Moses and
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: Aaron ran to the tent, knowing full well the fury
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: of God was going to unleash once again. Get away
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: from the people, God said to them, for my wrath
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: is coming. Moses turned to Aaron and gave him incense
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: to spread among camp, to intercede and plead for God
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: to have mercy. Aaron ran like the wind, wanting to
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: save the people from the wrath of God. But he
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: was too late. A plague had descended upon them like
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: a tempest. Moses and Aaron made atonements as fast as
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: they could, but not before the Lord had taken 14,700 lives.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: The next day, God had Moses gather the elders from
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: the tribe of Levi to take shepherd's staffs and lay
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: them at the altar. The one whose staff would bud
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: with flowers would be the one appointed by God as
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: priest over Israel. God would make it undeniably clear through
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: a miraculous sign who would be in charge of the
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: Levites now that Korah was gone. The next day, Aaron's
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: staff had budded flowers and almonds, and no one questioned
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: who God had chosen. Fear and trembling marked that season
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: for Israel. They lived in constant dread of what God
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: might do to them if they complained again. From this posture,
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: they would begin to discern wisdom, truth, and justice. Israel's
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: wrestling match with God was not over, nor was God's
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: desire to bless them completely.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: Today's story begins with an early morning meeting led by
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: Korah from the tribe of Levi. He, along with 250 leaders,
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: were gunning for Moses and Aaron. They were envious of Moses'
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: very special place in the community and wanted equality with him.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: Worse than that, they sought to discredit his leadership. So
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: they went to Moses and Aaron and laid it all
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: out in front of the entire community for everyone to hear.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: They essentially said, what makes you think you are so special?
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: God has made us all holy. You're no different than
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: anyone else. get off your high horse. But Moses would
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: not engage in an argument with them. He and Aaron
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: fall on their faces, humbling themselves before God. When he
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: answers Korah, he proposes a test. Both groups would bring
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: an incense offering to God and they would see who
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: God would choose. But then he spoke boldly with the
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: conviction of a real leader and called out Korah and
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: the others for their actions. Had not they already been
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: set apart as leaders? Was that not enough? Moses lets
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: them know in no uncertain terms that the one they
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: were really opposing is the Lord. Moses calls on other
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: leaders like Dathan and Abraham, and they are also bitter
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: about the loss of the promised land, and they're blaming Moses,
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: and so they side with Korah. Filled with anger, Moses
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: goes before God to urge him not to accept their offering.
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: The next morning, as Moses, Aaron, and Korah and the
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: 250 leaders gathered themselves with their offerings, the congregation stands
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: with Korah, which is an affront to God himself. God
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: tells Moses to stand back so he could consume the
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: entire congregation. But Moses and Aaron demonstrated true leadership and
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: prayed for the lives of the people and pointed the
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: rebellious towards repentance. When we come up against those who
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: oppose us, even those who oppose God, do we leave
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: them alone to their own destruction? Do we relish their punishment?
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: Or do we step in and try to rescue them
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: by pointing them to God? Christ himself faced rejection and
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: opposition that we cannot imagine. Yet he interceded on our behalf,
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: just as Moses does here for the people. God tells
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: Moses to have the people get away from Korah. They obey.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: As Moses is speaking to Korah and the others, the
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: ground opens up and swallows all 250 men, their homes,
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: and their families. The people blame Moses and Aaron, saying
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: they killed the men. So God says he will wipe
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: them away with the plague. Again, Moses and Aaron seek
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: to make atonement for the people's sin with burnt offerings.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: They succeed in stopping the plague, but not before 14,700
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: people perish. God sends a sign the very next day,
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: flowers budding from Aaron's staff to show everyone whom he
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: had chosen to lead the Levites. The people were now
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: living in fear of God's judgment, but this would not
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: be the end of God's struggles with his stubborn, wayward people.
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: And yet his blessing and promise remained upon them. Dear God,
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: thank you for Moses' example of humility and servant leadership.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: Thank you for how this story, points us to Jesus
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: himself who took our wrath and our sin and intervened
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: on our behalf before you. We are so thankful for
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: your salvation. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: prayer a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast,
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: share it with someone you love. By sharing this podcast,
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: you can make a difference in someone's life. And if
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: you want more resources as to how you can know
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: God and experience Him in your life, be sure to
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: visit jackgram.org. God bless you. This episode is sponsored by MediShare,
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: sacrificing quality.