NUMBERS
Lesson 20 - Chapters 16, 17, and 18

Last week we concluded Numbers 15 by studying at some length God's remedy for the
tendency of the people of Israel to ignore His laws and commands. This casual approach that
many in Israel had taken towards the newly given Laws of Moses was epitomized in the story
of the man gathering sticks for a fire on the Sabbath. And, the tragic result was that the man
was executed for this offense against the Lord's command not to make a fire, or to work, on a
Sabbath. It is clear from this incident, that the man had not actually started a fire; he had
merely gathered the wood. Therefore, this story equally highlighted the principles that
disobedience to God brings death, and that INTENT, even if the intended action is never fully
realized, plays perhaps the primary role in God determining the severity of a sin and therefore
the attached consequence.
And, the remedy God commanded was, in essence, a memory device. A visible reminder to
every Israelite that God is serious about His laws, and that the consequences for disobedience
could be severe. Tzitzit, what the English translations usually call fringe, was to be that
memory device.
Every Israelite male was to wear Tzitzit; a tassel made of white linen threads, wrapped around
a single blue woolen strand, and then worn on the corners of one's garment. Though the
Scriptures do not specifically address the issue of women in this matter, it was apparently
considered optional and allowable for women to attach Tzitzit to their garments.
The desired effect of the Tzitzit upon the people was not at all supernatural. The Tzitzit carried
no power, and they had no place in ritual. Rather they played upon the most powerful of
human senses, sight, to achieve the goal of reminding the Israelites of the Torah commands so
that they would not risk offending God and then have to suffer divine, or civil, punishment.
But, the Tzitzit were also a sign; a sign of holiness. Even more specifically, they symbolized a
measure of nobility and a measure of priestly service that every Israelite was both honored to
have, and expected to maintain. The key to understanding Tzitzit is that they were an
exception to the prohibition against common Israelites wearing clothing made of two different
kinds of material. The law was that one could wear all wool OR they could wear all linen; but
the two could not be mixed. However, since the tribe of Levi had been separated away from
Israel, and assigned a special duty as God's designated servants and priests, the High Priest
and the ordinary priests had a couple of items of clothing that WERE made from mixing wool
and linen; this mixing of materials is, in Hebrew, sha'atnez.
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The Tzitzit was the ONLY item that common Israelites could wear that was sha'atnez. And, it
was the only item of its kind that could be worn OUTSIDE of the Tabernacle grounds. The
reason for this is the law that any holy item can only be used when in the precinct of the
Temple (or in Moses' day, the Wilderness Tabernacle). Sacred items of any kind had to remain
within the courtyard of the Tabernacle or Temple, because that was the only holy ground. If
any sacred item was taken, or worn, outside of the holy precinct, that item would become
defiled. But, the reverse was also true and had to be equally guarded against: any common
item that was offered to God, or used in service for God, became holy. And, this presented it's
own set of problems and consequences.
Now, as we move into the next chapters of Numbers, we will find several of these principles
found in Numbers 15 brought into play.
Numbers chapters 16,17, and 18 are one unit. They are really but one long story that Christian
Scholars long ago divided up into more bite-sized chunks that we call chapters. This story gets
much too broken up in my view, however, if we but read the first chapter of the unit, and later
the next, and later the 3rd. So we're going to take the unusual approach today of reading all 3
chapters in succession without stopping for comment or study along the way. Then after we've
read them all we'll go back and begin to dissect all that occurs in these verses.
Before we begin let me give you a little introduction as to what these chapters are about, so as
to help you know what to look for. Essentially this is all about the indispensable nature and
purpose of the priesthood and the uncompromising place that the priesthood in intended to
hold in Israel's national life. And that special place of superior holiness that the tribe of Levi
possesses, with the sub-group within Levi called the Priesthood at the pinnacle of the holiness
hierarchy; this is going to be demonstrated by means of law and the telling of a story of
rebellion against the God-ordained holiness hierarchy.
When Yehoveh first gave the Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai they were but idealistic theory to the
people of Israel. Not only were those laws mostly a long list of do's and don'ts, rituals and
observances, crimes and punishments, set down for Israel to obey; but they neither
understood how these might apply to everyday life, nor (in many cases) why they had to do (or
not do) these things in the first place. Further a major portion of them could not even be
observed without Israel being in the Promised Land (in fact some of the laws were even
prefaced with the words "AFTER you enter the land"). What possible useful purpose could
some of these strange regulations (at least they were strange to typical Middle Eastern society)
serve? So many of these commands and ordinances seemed arbitrary and capricious and
much too hard.
It's kind of like when we were teenagers preparing for our first drivers license. We had to read
an annoying little book about the traffic laws and retain it long enough to pass the test so we
could get our license and be able to participate in that American rite of passage into adulthood:
driving a car. But the purpose of these traffic laws was often a mystery to us. In fact many of
them seemed to be rather ridiculous so we had no plan on obeying them when we finally got
our licenses and actually started driving without mom or dad sitting next to us. For most of us it
took a series of tickets, fender benders, and insurance rate hikes before we got the message
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that a) the laws are real and not just theory, and b) the consequences for violating these
laws.....whether we thought them wise or stupid.... could range from irritating to severe.
In other words principles have to be put into practice to move from theory to reality. If the law
had been given to Israel and then they just sat there ensconced at the foot of Mt. Sinai; if they
just gathered the manna God provided each day, looked up each morning at the majestic
mountain top upon which the Law was given, and raised their flocks and herds in peace and
quiet, most of the Law would just have remained theory to them. They needed to move on,
experience life, deal with everyday circumstances, face difficulties and challenges, endure
hardships, stumble and fall, and make difficult and less-than-clear-cut choices in order for the
wisdom and purpose of these divine principles to become real; and for the Israelites to learn
how to apply them so that God's commands became a settled matter to their minds and hearts.
So it is for our Christian walk with the Lord. It's a journey, not a sit. If we accept Yeshua and
then never move forward, accept risks, take paths that look a bit fearful; if we just stay in a
place of nothing but warmth, and provision, and comfort, then most of what Messiah wants us
know will be remain as but theory. A nice thought; a warm and fuzzy feeling.
It's only when we step out and move forward, putting into practice those Godly principles that
they become real to us and we begin to see their purpose and perfection. It's our experiences
that solidify our trust and affirm our faith.
The story we're about to read begins with another in a series of rebellions by the people of
Israel against God. Oh, they don't see it as rebellion against Yehoveh, they see it as rising up
against mere men: Moses and Aaron. And what a mistake that perception is, as they will soon
find out.
As we read this story always keep in mind that Moses is God's Mediator between mankind and
Himself, and Aaron is God's High Priest another (but slightly lower ranking) mediator. Think of
it this way: Moses is the OT equivalent of Yeshua the Messiah. Now, of course, that analogy
can only be carried so far but their primary common trait is that both Moses and Yeshua were
God's appointed Mediators. They held a special status that no other men have held, or ever
will hold. And just as so many tolerant people, in our day, speak of respect for Jesus but not
belief in his special role as Mediator and Savior, so the Israelites of Moses' day generally had
respect for Moses as a human leader, but many still did not grasp his supreme and
unapproachable status as a divinely ordained Mediator. Failure to understand the superior
position that Moses held would cost many an Israelite their life.
Let's read Numbers chapters 16,17, and 18.
READ NUMBERS Chapters 16,17,18 all (in succession)
As we being chapter 16 we have a people who have been demoralized by the reports of the 10
scouts, rebelling out of fear and the consequently Yehoveh punishes the people by turning
them back into the Wilderness; and many remain disillusioned and unhappy to say the least.
Even more there has been a God ordered division of duties and also a status change and
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setting up of rank and order within Israel that elevated some folks and lowered others. The
situation is tense and beginning to spin out of control; and those men who are supposed to be
leaders and helpers to Moses now become anti-leaders and they foment rebellion. As we have
all been witness of, if not party to, people on the edge of panic or despair we know that they
are easily swayed by men anxious to use these fears to bring about personal agendas and
hidden desires for power. And into this growing chaos steps Korah, Datan, and Aviram; their
goal is to assume control of the power center of Israel, the Priesthood. This is a rather
interesting mixture of allies; Korah is a Levite from the line of Kohath. On the other hand Datan
and Aviram are from the tribe of Reuben. So how does this unlikely brain trust get together?
They are camped together on the south side of the Israelite encampment. They lived right next
to one another and their lives were thus mingled. Certainly the Levites lived on the more inner,
and therefore holier, ring of tribes and clans that surrounds and protects the Tabernacle. But
the close proximity obviously brought these two groups into constant contact.
Yet these weren't the only ones involved in the coup attempt; we are told in verse 2 that 250
other men of Israel.....leaders from various other tribes......sided with Korah, Datan, and
Aviram. It is clear from the account, though, that it is the Levite Korah who is the chief
instigator.
In a short while we'll see that Datan and Aviram, Reubenites, had a little different agenda than
Korah. But at the moment they are united in their accusations against Moses and Aaron, who
are generally seen as a team (they are brothers, after all). And their accusation is that Moses
and Aaron have taken too much power for themselves and set down too many rules that put
they and their families over the others. They also assert that they were self-appointed. But it
goes even further and what they next claim is a direct result of what we read about at the end
of chapter 15, about the Tzitzit.
By now all or most of Israel was wearing Tzitzit. And for some it went to their heads. They
apparently grasped (though in a rather twisted way) that the wearing of Tzitzit brought them a
measure of nobility and priestly status; and now they wanted to cash in on it. So they say, "hey
Moses, all the community is holy, not just you and Aaron." They deduced (for self serving
reasons of course) that with the wearing of the Tzitzit that they were now of equal status with
the Priesthood, and with Moses. Wrong.
Now we begin to see why the Levite, Korah, was the one leading the charge. As a Levite from
the clan of Kohath, Korah was not eligible to be a priest. Priests carried the most authority and
a higher status and so Korah was jealous. None of his clan was eligible to be priests. Let me
remind you that just as the entire tribe of Levi was divided and separated from Israel, so was
the tribe Levi divided and separated into two groups: the Priests (who came ONLY from the
line of Aaron), and the remaining Levites who worked for the priests. Those remaining Levites
of which Korah was one were guards, and musicians, and transporters of the Tabernacle when
it moved, and maintenance workers of the Tabernacle grounds. But NEVER could they
perform rituals or wear the priestly garb or enter the Sanctuary Tent, all of these activities
displaying a higher status than allowed for regular Levites. So from Numbers forward when we
get the repeated phrase "Levites and Priests" it's not two ways of saying the same thing, it is
speaking of two different groups each with different status levels, and therefore different
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gradients of holiness.
So Moses instantly devises a test as a means to demonstrate the superior holy status of the
Priesthood versus the inferior holy status of the remaining Levites, and still lower holy status of
common Israelites.....even WITH the newly authorized wearing of Tzitzit. And, the test is that
each are to bring fire pans, censors, filled with burning coals and incense, and they are to be
presented to the Lord at the door to the Sanctuary Tent. Moses includes a warning in this by
telling Korah and his henchmen that it is not Moses and Aaron who have overreached their
authority, it is those who have stepped forward to challenge the men Yehoveh has installed as
the leaders of Israel.
The way the test works is that God will permit access (presumably inside the Holy Place, that
front room of the Tent) to those whose incense He accepts. In other words, Korah wants he
and his men to be the Priests, and the chief indication of a priest is that he gains access to
God by means of being able to go inside the Holy Tent.
Now it has already been made clear in the Law that ONLY Priests may present incense to the
Lord, and anyone else who attempts it is doing so at their own risk. In verse 9 Moses tries to
remind Korah and those Levites who are following him that God has already given them a
great honor in being chosen and separated from Israel as His own servants, and that their
service to the Priests is the same as service to Him. And those Levites, even those assigned to
the lowliest tasks, are a step above in holiness and privilege from any of the members of the
other Israelite tribes.
Then in verse 12 the story takes a turn. Moses sends for Korah's partners in crime: Datan and
Aviram, members of the tribe of Reuben and, naturally they are defiant. Here we see that they
have a bone to pick that is more with Moses than Aaron. Korah wanted the priesthood, and
was after Aaron's job as High Priest. Datan and Aviram were after Moses' job. Recall that
Datan's and Aviram's tribal founder, Reuben, was the rightful firstborn of Jacob and by custom
should have been handed the leadership of Israel upon Jacob's death.
And then in the most blasphemous response (that illustrates just how far out of touch they
were with God and His plans for Israel) they say to Moses that it is not Canaan that is the land
flowing with milk and honey, but Egypt. And that the only reason Moses brought them out of
Egypt was so he could lord over them (something he couldn't have done there). This is then
finished off with an idiom of the day where it says, "you would gouge the eyes out" of the
people. This idiom corresponds to our modern "pull the wool over the eyes". That is, they are
accusing Moses of deceiving the people about the prospect of a better life and homeland in
Canaan.
In Christianity it is often said that the one "unforgivable sin" is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and
there has been heated debate for centuries over just what "blaspheming the Holy Spirit"
amounts to. I'm not sure I can tell you; however, I do believe we've just been given a pattern, if
not an outright example, of what that unforgivable sin looks like in action.
The Lord has ALREADY redeemed Israel. The deed is done and Israel no longer is in the hand
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of the enemy, Egypt, but is now safely in God's hands and being led by His appointed Mediator
Moses. These rebellious leaders in Israel say that they wish to give back their redemption, and
turn back into the hands of the enemy. I think you see where I'm going with this. As Believers
when we accept our redemption, several NT passages make it quite clear that we can, with our
own will, give that redemption back. Not accidentally. Not by committing some unknown sin.
But by deciding in our minds that we desire what the enemy can, and has in the past, provided
us with (MORE than what our Savior and God has provided us with). While this may not be the
sum total of all that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is, it is at least a good example.
Look; Satan is always tempting us and then accusing us when we fall to his temptations. But
his goal isn't to just be a thorn is our sides; the tempting is not merely to have us failing and
then reconciling with God, over and over again, driving us crazy. His real goal is to get us back.
His end game is to get us to make the decision to give up our allegiance to Yehoveh and go
back to subservience to the enemy who had us until we made that decision to accept our
redemption. And that is because in the same way that by our own will we first came to Yeshua,
by that same will we must surrender our redemption.
That ought to make us shudder when we think about what it is we do when we, even in the
secret places of our hearts (which God knows), at times long to go back to the ways of the
World and its pleasures and comforts we were used to. Or almost as bad, to mix the ways of
the World that we have so enjoyed with the ways of the Kingdom of God.
Korah rejected his redemption. Korah rejected the Priesthood of God, which was the only
means to atonement. Therefore Korah also rejected God's method of atonement for his sins.
Datan and Aviram also rejected their redemption. Several dozen others rejected it right along
with them. We're about to find out just what rejection of our redemption buys us.
But, before we close for this week, allow me to point out one thing: notice that Datan and
Aviram were of the tribe of Reuben. Reuben was the natural firstborn of Israel, and by all rights
should have been the natural leader and authority over Israel. But, a couple of hundred years
earlier, Jacob rejected Reuben and bypassed him and gave the firstborn rights to Judah and
Joseph, for Reuben had slept with Jacob's concubine. These descendants of Reuben, after all
this time, still had not accepted God's will, given through Jacob, that THEY would not lead
Israel. Over 2 centuries of bitterness was boiling over. The problem for Korah, Datan, and
Aviram is that God took this personally and nothing good ever happens when that's the case.
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