Numbers 16:1-2 Korah son of Izhar, from the Levite clan of Kohath, rebelled against the leadership of Moses. He was joined by three members of the tribe of Reuben—Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—and by 250 other Israelites, well-known leaders chosen by the community. 3 They assembled before Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! All the members of the community belong to the Lord, and the Lord is with all of us. Why, then, Moses, do you set yourself above the Lord’s community?”4 When Moses heard this, he threw himself on the ground and prayed. 5 Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him; he will let the one who belongs to him, that is, the one he has chosen, approach him at the altar. 6-7 Tomorrow morning you and your followers take fire pans, put live coals and incense on them, and take them to the altar. Then we will see which of us the Lord has chosen. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”8 Moses continued to speak to Korah. “Listen, you Levites! 9 Do you consider it a small matter that the God of Israel has set you apart from the rest of the community, so that you can approach him, perform your service in the Lord’s Tent, and minister to the community and serve them? 10 He has let you and all the other Levites have this honor—and now you are trying to get the priesthood too! 11 When you complain against Aaron, it is really against the Lord that you and your followers are rebelling.”12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, but they said, “We will not come! 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us out of the fertile land of Egypt to kill us here in the wilderness? Do you also have to lord it over us? 14 You certainly have not brought us into a fertile land or given us fields and vineyards as our possession, and now you are trying to deceive us. We will not come!”15 Moses became angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept any offerings these men bring. I have not wronged any of them; I have not even taken one of their donkeys.”16 Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow you and your 250 followers must come to the Tent of the Lord’s presence; Aaron will also be there. 17 Each of you will take his fire pan, put incense on it, and then present it at the altar.” 18 So they each took their fire pans, put live coals and incense on them, and stood at the entrance of the Tent with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah gathered the whole community, and they stood facing Moses and Aaron at the entrance of the Tent. Suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence appeared to the whole community, 20 and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Move back from these people, and I will destroy them immediately.”22 But Moses and Aaron bowed down with their faces to the ground and said, “O God, you are the source of all life. When one of us sins, do you become angry with the whole community?”23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”25 Then Moses, accompanied by the leaders of Israel, went to Dathan and Abiram. 26 He said to the people, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. Otherwise, you will be wiped out with them for 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 at the entrance of their tents, with their wives and children. 28 Moses said to the people, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it is not by my own choice that I have done them. 29 If these men die a natural death without some punishment from God, then the Lord did not send me. 30 But if the Lord does something unheard of, and the earth opens up and swallows them with all they own, so that they go down alive to the world of the dead, you will know that these men have rejected the Lord.”31 As soon as he had finished speaking, the ground under Dathan and Abiram split open 32 and swallowed them and their families, together with all of Korah’s followers and their possessions. 33 So they went down alive to the world of the dead, with their possessions. The earth closed over them, and they vanished. 34 All the people of Israel who were there fled when they heard their cry. They shouted, “Run! The earth might swallow us too!”35 Then the Lord sent a fire that blazed out and burned up the 250 men who had presented the incense.
I was thinking of what it will be like to get to Heaven or even when Jesus returns to Earth. We will meet those Men and Women of God. The thought of meeting an extremely holy person on Earth though might be a terrifying thought. This person is backed by the power of God, even though their features might be unremarkable. With our eyes, we cannot see the power of a single person’s spirit.
David defeated Goliath. Goliath was a nine foot tall battle hardened veteran at his prime. David was like a young teenager not fully grown. Goliath’s spirit was that of foul cursing, worldly. bragging, egotism, bullying and intimidation. David’s spirit was humble, out helping his family, watching sheep, however his spirit and faith in God was of an incredible stature.
I’m not sure how prophets work these days. I think God gives us clues to what will happen in the future sometimes through miracles, but all the major prophecies that matter are in the Bible is what I’m thinking. I do know prophets who prophecy for pay aren’t of God. I reason it would be on high alert to be around one like we get when a police car follows us. People have died disobeying prophets or had their family wrecked. Once a prophet asked a guy to strike him, and when he refused, he got killed. The prophets of the God of Israel are to be respected so much, that we don’t want to go against them.
Micah 3:11 The city’s rulers govern for bribes, the priests interpret the Law for pay, the prophets give their revelations for money—and they all claim that the Lord is with them. “No harm will come to us,” they say. “The Lord is with us.”
I wonder if you can imagine what I imagine. Imagine meeting one of the strong men and women of God and how much favor they have of God. It would be intimidating through their facial features and body might not betray the power they have in their spirit and the spirit that God sends to empower them.
People disobeyed Moses here claiming a common message,”What makes you the leader? What makes you so special? We’re people too. All people are the same. Why can’t I be a leader? Why can’t it just me and my friends that call the shots?” Then the LORD showed them how wrong they were. God chose Moses. So when they rejected Moses and Aaron, they rejected God.
In conclusion, it isn’t just those who have been called by God that have any favor. Anyone who asks Jesus for forgiveness and try to be good and loving can gain great swaths of favor from God. Try your best to be selfless and help everyone you can. Anything that comes your way is bonus. Make your life a living sacrifice for God. Jesus died for us, so let us live for him. If you’re all out for God, don’t be surprised if he’s even more all out for you. God doesn’t save his power just for his favored figures of the Bible, you can access it through Jesus and there is no other way. Jesus is LORD.