Separating yourself from the Church is a dangerous thing!
Numbers 16:1-32 (NIV)
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent 2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”
4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses, he will cause to come near him...
8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. 11 It is against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”
--
19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
23 Then the LORD said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ”
25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 28: The Obligations of Church Members
We believe that
since this holy assembly and congregation
is the gathering of those who are saved
and there is no salvation apart from it,
no one ought to withdraw from it,
content to be by himself,
regardless of his status or condition.
But all people are obliged
to join and unite with it,
keeping the unity of the church
by submitting to its instruction and discipline,
by bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ,
and by serving to build up one another,
according to the gifts God has given them
as members of each other
in the same body.
And to preserve this unity more effectively,
it is the duty of all believers,
according to God’s Word,
to separate themselves
from those who do not belong to the church,
in order to join this assembly
wherever God has established it,
even if civil authorities and royal decrees forbid
and death and physical punishment result.
And so,
all who withdraw from the church
or do not join it
act contrary to God’s ordinance.
Summary
Although today's passage is longer than normal, the gist of it is short and simple: Korah is upset with how the 'church' is being run by Moses, whom God appointed to oversee it (remember, the word 'church' represents God's people in all times and places, so even the Israelites wandering in the desert on the way to the Promised Land are part of the Church). So Korah whips up his own family and a few other clans into a frenzy and rebelliously confronts Moses.
Look at Moses' reaction in v4: he falls facedown. Even a baseless accusation that a man of God has been derelict stings a true minister to the core, and Moses' gut reaction is to appeal to the LORD in prayer. But God makes it clear that Korah's rebellion has nothing to do with Moses; it was an outright revolt against the LORD Himself, and against His design for the church at that time.
Ultimately, Korah put his own supposed 'rights', desires and ambitions ahead of the LORD's. And while the circumstances vary greatly, Korah's pattern has been countlessly repeated over and over again throughout the Church's history.
Dig Deeper
By God's grace it's not very often that the earth opens up and swallows those who set themselves against His Church. Although it seems extreme, understand what Korah and his cohorts got is exactly what you and I deserve for our sinful rebellion.
God takes His Church and the instructions He's given to us very seriously. Certainly the instructions God gave to the Church on our side of the cross are very different than what He'd given to His covenant people as they moved from slavery to the Promised Land (the same journey you're on, by the way), but yet the core of God's expectations remain the same.
That core is summarized in Lord's Day 35 of the Heidelberg Catechism as it unpacks the second commandment: God's people must not "worship Him in any other way than He has commanded in His Word."
If you're normal, you probably have a whole list of complaints and things your church could do better. That's ok, and even good when you patiently and properly bring them forward. But when your church is faithfully living out God's instructions, be reminded what a dangerous thing it is to stand against her.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who governs His Church according to His Word;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church, that it would follow God's commands for it;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Corinthians 12
Comments