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Midrash "Korach" (Numbers 16:1-18:32) "Don't rebel against God" (You won't win)
- By RabbiJames
- Messianic Judaism
- 0 Replies
PARASHA: “Korach” (Korah) NUMBERS 16:1-18:32
This study is about a Levite named “Korah” and a few of his friends, Dathan and Abiram, and they got together with 250 other guys and they “Rose up in the face of Moses”. Now, this is certainly not a friendly gathering; they did not come to Moshe to say, “Yo Moe, Wuz Up?” No, it was a rebellion! Pride and arrogance had filled the hearts of these men, and now they questioned Moshe’s authority.
We can’t seem to understand why, after Moshe led them through the wilderness, went up Mt. Sinai, received the commandments, interceded for the whole people on various occasions so that God would not destroy them, now want to question Moshe’s leadership calling. I guess we can call it just that, “blind arrogance and the will to do their own thing.” They came against Aaron and Moshe with the following words;
“Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of YHVH?” (16:3)
The words “congregation” and “assembly” are one in the same in the Hebrew language: “Kahal” (Qof, Hey, Lamed) “behold there is holiness in instruction” That is what every single congregation should be all about, be the congregation a Sunday honoring church or a Sabbath honoring Messianic Synagogue, we are all ONE body in MESSIAH YESHUA, dedicated to receive instruction from the Torah through Adonai’s chosen vessels.
“Holiness” or “Kodesh” means we are “separated” unto God by our lifestyles and through our acceptance of Yeshua as our LORD and Savior. Studying the Word of God and applying it to our lives increases our maturity in the faith.
Now, here’s a question: was Korah right by saying that “all the congregation are holy, and that YHVH was with them?” Yes, he was right!
“You shall be unto me a holy nation and a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5). There was nothing wrong with that statement, because it is a TRUE statement. Today, every born-again believer is a “priest”; we have access to the Throne of Grace, just like the priests of old went before the people in the Tabernacle and later on, in the Holy Temple to make intercession before YHVH.
Through Yeshua, we have intercession before a Holy God. What was WRONG was that they questioned Aaron and Moshe’s authority by saying, “Wherefore lift ye up yourselves above the Kahal of YHVH?”
The truth is that they did NOT lift themselves up over the “Kahal Yisrael,” it was ADONAI who lifted THEM UP! It was YHVH who ordained them as leaders to lead the flock of Israel. In every organization, there has to be a leader or leaders. In every business, there is an owner, president, a manager, assistant managers, shift leaders, and the workers. All of them have “value,” yet they need to be led by leaders, or the business will topple over, and the workers scatter like sheep without a shepherd. In the church/synagogue setting, there has to be a pastor or rabbi, assistant pastor, and associate rabbi or rabbis, then, we have the Sunday School teachers, Torah teachers, youth workers, children’s ministry, music and worship leaders and assistants, secretaries, finance officers, etc.
ALL have MUCH VALUE in ministry, for that reason, we are given the spiritual gifts to make the Body of Messiah work and run like a well-oiled machine. YET, when rebels come and want to disrupt the congregation, disaster can happen, and that is what the enemy “HaSatan” wants, yet before that happened, YHVH had to step in and deal with the situation at hand. In all, we have 250 plus Korah, Dathan, and Abiram who are causing the rebellion. A rebellion that could have spread to a few million Kahal members, “Kol HaKahal Yisrael” (to ALL the congregation of Israel).
YHVH has them bring their censers and put incense and fire in them and bring them before the Mishkan. YHVH will settle the matter once and for all. Remember that the censor, incense, and fire symbolize our prayers that ascend to Adonai. Moshe, in a way, is saying, “LORD, YOU decide who you want to lead, and be high priest!”
Adonai answered in a very frightening way. But before that, Moshe pointed out to Korah that he was already appointed to serve in the tabernacle, intercede before the people, yet, Korah was not satisfied; he wanted even MORE, to be a priest, and perhaps even “High Priest”.
Korah’s defiance led to a rebellion, and the rebellion led to destruction. Not only the destruction of Korah, but also of those who followed him. In Hebrew, the words “Korach,” which symbolizes “Rebellion,” and “Sh’dad,” which means “destruction,” are related because they both have the same numeric value in Hebrew gematria, 308. Korah’s rebellion led to destruction.
As we read on, the “earth opened up” and swallowed up Korah and his household. HOWEVER, God did not punish the righteous members of Korah’s family. Remember that the “Sons of Korah” wrote some of the Psalms. He had some sons who were against their father’s rebellion, and they were saved. Just as we remember the plea of Abraham concerning Sodom and Gomorra, “Far be it that YHVH should destroy the righteous with the wicked” so Adonai sent an Angel to take Lot and his family out of Sodom, but just as Lot’s sons-in-law and his wife perished, saving only Lot and his two daughters, some of the sons of Korah were saved, and the rest of the family went down into Sheol.
Then we see that Adonai wipes out all the 250 rebels, cleans the slate! No more rebels, may that be a lesson for those who would want to challenge Adonai or his appointed ones. However, is there a time when God’s leaders can be challenged? I would say that if a leader or leaders are teaching lies, false doctrines, and leading the people AWAY from God, teaching that there are “many ways” to God, and that Yeshua is NOT enough, THEN…that leader needs to stop and think what he or she is doing, if others of the Kahal bring this to their attention, it should be done in a humble, respectful way, not in a rebellious way.
There are 7 steps in a rebellion: 1) Self-exaltation, 2) jealousy, 3) conspiring with others, 4) the use of cunning or deceitful words, 5) accusation, 6) division, 7) death and destruction. Satan followed these steps as the Prophet Isaiah writes in (Isaiah 14:12-15). As a result, he was kicked out of Heaven with one-third of the angelic hosts (now called demons).
Evil speech, slander, and deceit are known in Hebrew as "Leshon-Hara"; within these two words, there are two other words mixed in, which are "Evil" (ra) and "head" (rosh). In both cases, both Korah and Satan spoke evil against "The Head" or the "Supreme Leader" (Moses and God himself)
The Word of God teaches us to "be in subjection to those who God has put above us to lead us and guide us on this earth.
We must be reminded of what 1 Peter 2:13-15 says:” Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, or unto governors. So is the will of God:” God has appointed them to lead us.
We ALL have a place in ministry, we are all vessels of VALUE. Yet all vessels have a maker, and that maker is Our LORD and God. And he always chooses a certain vessel or vessels to lead the others; we must all come under that leadership, lift up that leadership, uphold those hands of leadership through support and prayer. Who knows, maybe Adonai will choose YOU as an appointed leader!
Shavua Tov (Have a good Week)
"Yo Moe, Just who do you think you are?"
This study is about a Levite named “Korah” and a few of his friends, Dathan and Abiram, and they got together with 250 other guys and they “Rose up in the face of Moses”. Now, this is certainly not a friendly gathering; they did not come to Moshe to say, “Yo Moe, Wuz Up?” No, it was a rebellion! Pride and arrogance had filled the hearts of these men, and now they questioned Moshe’s authority.
We can’t seem to understand why, after Moshe led them through the wilderness, went up Mt. Sinai, received the commandments, interceded for the whole people on various occasions so that God would not destroy them, now want to question Moshe’s leadership calling. I guess we can call it just that, “blind arrogance and the will to do their own thing.” They came against Aaron and Moshe with the following words;
“Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of YHVH?” (16:3)
The words “congregation” and “assembly” are one in the same in the Hebrew language: “Kahal” (Qof, Hey, Lamed) “behold there is holiness in instruction” That is what every single congregation should be all about, be the congregation a Sunday honoring church or a Sabbath honoring Messianic Synagogue, we are all ONE body in MESSIAH YESHUA, dedicated to receive instruction from the Torah through Adonai’s chosen vessels.
“Holiness” or “Kodesh” means we are “separated” unto God by our lifestyles and through our acceptance of Yeshua as our LORD and Savior. Studying the Word of God and applying it to our lives increases our maturity in the faith.
Now, here’s a question: was Korah right by saying that “all the congregation are holy, and that YHVH was with them?” Yes, he was right!
“You shall be unto me a holy nation and a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:5). There was nothing wrong with that statement, because it is a TRUE statement. Today, every born-again believer is a “priest”; we have access to the Throne of Grace, just like the priests of old went before the people in the Tabernacle and later on, in the Holy Temple to make intercession before YHVH.
Through Yeshua, we have intercession before a Holy God. What was WRONG was that they questioned Aaron and Moshe’s authority by saying, “Wherefore lift ye up yourselves above the Kahal of YHVH?”
The truth is that they did NOT lift themselves up over the “Kahal Yisrael,” it was ADONAI who lifted THEM UP! It was YHVH who ordained them as leaders to lead the flock of Israel. In every organization, there has to be a leader or leaders. In every business, there is an owner, president, a manager, assistant managers, shift leaders, and the workers. All of them have “value,” yet they need to be led by leaders, or the business will topple over, and the workers scatter like sheep without a shepherd. In the church/synagogue setting, there has to be a pastor or rabbi, assistant pastor, and associate rabbi or rabbis, then, we have the Sunday School teachers, Torah teachers, youth workers, children’s ministry, music and worship leaders and assistants, secretaries, finance officers, etc.
ALL have MUCH VALUE in ministry, for that reason, we are given the spiritual gifts to make the Body of Messiah work and run like a well-oiled machine. YET, when rebels come and want to disrupt the congregation, disaster can happen, and that is what the enemy “HaSatan” wants, yet before that happened, YHVH had to step in and deal with the situation at hand. In all, we have 250 plus Korah, Dathan, and Abiram who are causing the rebellion. A rebellion that could have spread to a few million Kahal members, “Kol HaKahal Yisrael” (to ALL the congregation of Israel).
YHVH has them bring their censers and put incense and fire in them and bring them before the Mishkan. YHVH will settle the matter once and for all. Remember that the censor, incense, and fire symbolize our prayers that ascend to Adonai. Moshe, in a way, is saying, “LORD, YOU decide who you want to lead, and be high priest!”
Adonai answered in a very frightening way. But before that, Moshe pointed out to Korah that he was already appointed to serve in the tabernacle, intercede before the people, yet, Korah was not satisfied; he wanted even MORE, to be a priest, and perhaps even “High Priest”.
Korah’s defiance led to a rebellion, and the rebellion led to destruction. Not only the destruction of Korah, but also of those who followed him. In Hebrew, the words “Korach,” which symbolizes “Rebellion,” and “Sh’dad,” which means “destruction,” are related because they both have the same numeric value in Hebrew gematria, 308. Korah’s rebellion led to destruction.
As we read on, the “earth opened up” and swallowed up Korah and his household. HOWEVER, God did not punish the righteous members of Korah’s family. Remember that the “Sons of Korah” wrote some of the Psalms. He had some sons who were against their father’s rebellion, and they were saved. Just as we remember the plea of Abraham concerning Sodom and Gomorra, “Far be it that YHVH should destroy the righteous with the wicked” so Adonai sent an Angel to take Lot and his family out of Sodom, but just as Lot’s sons-in-law and his wife perished, saving only Lot and his two daughters, some of the sons of Korah were saved, and the rest of the family went down into Sheol.
Then we see that Adonai wipes out all the 250 rebels, cleans the slate! No more rebels, may that be a lesson for those who would want to challenge Adonai or his appointed ones. However, is there a time when God’s leaders can be challenged? I would say that if a leader or leaders are teaching lies, false doctrines, and leading the people AWAY from God, teaching that there are “many ways” to God, and that Yeshua is NOT enough, THEN…that leader needs to stop and think what he or she is doing, if others of the Kahal bring this to their attention, it should be done in a humble, respectful way, not in a rebellious way.
There are 7 steps in a rebellion: 1) Self-exaltation, 2) jealousy, 3) conspiring with others, 4) the use of cunning or deceitful words, 5) accusation, 6) division, 7) death and destruction. Satan followed these steps as the Prophet Isaiah writes in (Isaiah 14:12-15). As a result, he was kicked out of Heaven with one-third of the angelic hosts (now called demons).
Evil speech, slander, and deceit are known in Hebrew as "Leshon-Hara"; within these two words, there are two other words mixed in, which are "Evil" (ra) and "head" (rosh). In both cases, both Korah and Satan spoke evil against "The Head" or the "Supreme Leader" (Moses and God himself)
The Word of God teaches us to "be in subjection to those who God has put above us to lead us and guide us on this earth.
We must be reminded of what 1 Peter 2:13-15 says:” Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, or unto governors. So is the will of God:” God has appointed them to lead us.
We ALL have a place in ministry, we are all vessels of VALUE. Yet all vessels have a maker, and that maker is Our LORD and God. And he always chooses a certain vessel or vessels to lead the others; we must all come under that leadership, lift up that leadership, uphold those hands of leadership through support and prayer. Who knows, maybe Adonai will choose YOU as an appointed leader!
Shavua Tov (Have a good Week)
"Yo Moe, Just who do you think you are?"
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Communism- Socialism
- By CaDan
- American Politics
- 135 Replies
Older and fatter
. And with a better understanding of Marxism (which puts me at odds with about 95% of the American "Left").
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If universalism is true then why did God send His Son to die for our sins?
- By Hentenza
- Controversial Christian Theology
- 71 Replies
Why didn’t you quote my actual post? You are merely paraphrasing my post and adding commentary that I did not say. That is disingenuous.But you are since you believe that salvation is possible after death.
Reply: No. I don’t “build” my theology around any “one” thing. My hope in Christ concerning UR, is based on an abundance of Scripture stating this beautiful truth. Which in turn is affirmed in my spirit by His Spirit.
There is no contradiction.
Reply: Refusal to acknowledge contradiction does not make it go away.
You still have not even addressed the verse I posted.
Reply: I’m not ignorant. I know how to read. What I am not is a mind reader. So … what is your question concerning your quoted passage? I affirm death and hades are thrown in to the LOF, which is the second death. Do you or do you not have a question surrounding this passage? Sheeesh …
Ok. I thought it was self explanatory. Here it is.
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:14 NASB2020
Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. | New American Standard Bible - NASB (NASB2020) | Download The Bible App Now
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
bible.com
It is the second death.
One is regular death and the other is the second death for those not resurrected and those in hades which are the wicked and all in hades.
Reply: I’m sorry but you are not making any sense.
““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander by those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’”
Revelation 2:8-11 NASB2020
Revelation 2:8-11 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: T he first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander b | New American Standard Bible -
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: T he first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the slander b
bible.com
These are the believers that the devil will throw in prison for 10 days to be tested. If they overcome they will not be hurt. Nothing here about all.
Reply: You are simply all over the place my brother. Your house of cards is crumbling all around you. In a previous response of yours you asked “where does it say “hurt” instead of “killed.” Now you are quoting it?
Same thing. UR is not in scripture.
Reply: Ok.
You claim that most people will go into the LOF
Reply: No. Your theology places most people in eternal fire. Not mine … Are you confused about your position?
which is a fear monger it tactic delivered as an emotional fallacy to impart fear.
Reply: Again, I am merely reminding you of “your theological dilemma.” Like I said, live with it. It’s your reality.
However you have no way to quantify your statement.
Reply: Scratching head … which statement am I unable to quantify?
PS I’m going to leave you to it … I simply cannot follow your train of thought. I hope you find rest from your fear brother.
blessings
Last edited: Today at 5:49 PM
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.- Our Lord and Savior.
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