Portion 38 of 54 · Numbers
קֹרַח
Korach
A rebellion led by a man with a very good argument, and the ground opens under it.
Start by reading it
Numbers 16:1–18:32
3 chapters. About 12 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: 1 Samuel 11:14–12:22
What happens
- 01
Korah and 250 leaders confront Moses: all the congregation are holy, why do you lift yourselves up?
- 02
Moses falls on his face, then proposes a test with censers.
- 03
The earth opens and swallows the leaders of the revolt.
- 04
The next day the people blame Moses for the deaths, and Aaron runs into the plague with incense to stop it.
The thing most people walk past
The argument was right and the movement was wrong
'All the congregation are holy' is a quotation of what God already said. The text does not answer the slogan; it questions what Korah wanted with it. A true sentence can still be a grab for position.
One verse to carry
And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Aaron runs toward the people who had just accused him. It is one of the great pictures of leadership in the Bible.
A question to sit with
How do you tell the difference between someone challenging a leader for the community's sake and for their own?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.