What was the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram?
And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? (Numbers 16:3, KJV)
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He used Moses and set him as the leader and prophet to lead the people to the promised land. However, in the desert, three men with Korah, a Levite as their leader rose up against Moses and Aaron and said to him :
“ Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?”
They essentially told Moses we are all God’s people, and we are all holy, so you cannot make yourself a leader over us. They rejected the spiritual authority God had set over His people. This is a very subtle but dangerous spiritual mistake we must not get into. The earth opened up, swallowed Korah and his followers alive and then closed up. It was a grievous sin before God.
Do their words sound familiar? “We are all Christians”, “we all have the Spirit of God”, “God speaks to all of us”, etc. We are all children of God, but God Himself has set leaders as spiritual authority to guide His people. Rejecting that authority is rejecting God’s authority. In God’s House, we do not simply take up spiritual roles because we feel like doing so. Your pastor is not God’s pastor because he or she went to seminary and opened a Church. There are people who make themselves pastors but there are those God has called to be Pastors. There are some He has set as Apostles, prophets, etc. We are all filled with the Spirit but God has given specific responsibilities to each of us. It may not be the way our society works, and you may not even like the idea, but that is how God’s kingdom operates.
Do not fall into the rebellion of Korah. Be careful not to fight against God by rejecting the spiritual authority He has placed in your life, such as your local pastor.
MEDITATE
Do we have some believers today who might have given themselves spiritual titles that God did not give them?
APPLY THE WORD
In today’s Christian world, virtually anyone can pick up any spiritual title as he or she wishes. However, God is the One who chooses and ordains people into specific offices. Not every pastor, prophet, apostle, etc out has been ordained by God for the office they occupy. However, there are many that God Himself set in such offices over His Church. We are all Christians, but we dod not have the same job here. Be careful not to allow the mindset of Korah to infiltrate your mind. Do not step into what God has not called you to do. Do not reject spiritual authority because “God speaks to all of us” or “we are all filled with the Spirit.” Know what God has for you to stay in your calling while respecting what He has called another to do.
PRAY
Ask the Father to help you not to fall into the temptation of Korah, especially in these strange days we are living in.
Free Mini E-book: From Spiritual Dryness to Flourishing
