Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Numbers
Book: Numbers
Chapter: 16
Overview:
The rebellion of
Korah,
Dathan, and
Abiram;
Korah contends for
the priesthood.
(1-11) Disobedience of
Dathan and
Abiram.
(12-15) The
Glory of the
Lord appears; The intercession of
Moses
and
Aaron.
(16-22) The
Earth swallows up
Dathan and
Abiram.
(23-34) The company of
Korah consumed.
(35-40) The people murmur;
A
Plague sent.
(41-50)
1-11 Pride and ambition occasion a great
Deal of mischief both
in churches and states. The rebels quarrel with the settlement
of the priesthood upon
Aaron and his family. Small reason they
had to boast of the people's purity, or of
God's favour, as the
people had been
So often and
So lately polluted with
Sin, and
were now under the marks of
God's displeasure. They unjustly
charge
Moses and
Aaron with taking honour to themselves; whereas
they were called of
God to it. See here, 1. What
Spirit
levellers are of; those who resist the powers
God has set over
them. 2. What usage even the best and most useful men may expect,
even from those to whom they have been serviceable.
Moses sought
instruction from
God. The
Heart of the
Wise studies to answer,
and asks counsel of
God.
Moses shows their privileges as
Levites, and convicts them of the
Sin of undervaluing these
privileges. It will help to keep us from envying those above us,
duly to consider how many there are below us.
12-15 Moses summoned
Dathan and
Abiram to bring their
complaints; but they would not obey. They bring very false
charges against
Moses. Those often fall under the heaviest
censures, who in
Truth deserve the highest praise.
Moses, though
the meekest
Man, yet, finding
God reproached in him, was very
wroth; he could not
Bear to see the people ruining themselves.
He appeals to
God as to his own integrity. He bade them appear
with
Aaron next morning, at the time of
Offering the morning
Incense.
Korah undertook thus to appear. Proud ambitious men,
while projecting their own advancement, often hurry
On their own
shameful fall.
16-22 The same
Glory of the
Lord that appeared to place
Aaron
in his office at first, Le 9:23, now appeared to confirm him
in it; and to confound those who set up against him. Nothing is
more terrible to those who are conscious of guilt, than the
appearance of the Divine
Glory. See how dangerous it is to have
Fellowship with sinners, and to partake with them. Though the
people had treacherously deserted them, yet
Moses and
Aaron
approved themselves
Faithful shepherds of
Israel. If others fail
in their duty to us, that does not take away the obligations we
are under to seek their welfare. Their
Prayer was a pleading
Prayer, and it proved a prevailing one.
23-34 The seventy elders of
Israel attend
Moses. It is our duty
to do what we can to countenance and support lawful authority
when it is opposed. And those who would not perish with sinners,
must come out from among them, and be separate. It was in answer
to the
Prayer of
Moses, that
God stirred up the hearts of the
Congregation to remove for their own safety.
Grace to separate
from evil-doers is one of the things that accompany
Salvation.
God, in
Justice, left the rebels to the obstinacy and hardness
of their own hearts.
Moses,
By Divine direction, when all
Israel
were waiting the event, declares that if the rebels die a common
Death, he will be content to be called and counted an imposter.
As soon as
Moses had spoken the
Word,
God caused the
Earth to
open and
Swallow them all up. The children perished with their
parents; in which, though we cannot tell how bad they might be
to deserve it, or how good
God might be otherwise to them; yet
of this we are sure, that Infinite
Justice did them
No wrong. It
was altogether miraculous.
God has, when he pleases, strange
punishments for the workers of iniquity. It was very
significant. Considering how the
Earth is still in like manner
loaded with the weight of
Man's sins, we have reason to wonder
that it does not now sink under its load. The ruin of others
should be our warning. Could we,
By Faith, hear the outcries of
those that are gone down to the bottomless
Pit, we should give
more diligence than we do to escape for our lives, lest we also
come into their condemnation.
35-40 A
Fire went out from the
Lord, and consumed the two
hundred and fifty men that offered
Incense, while
Aaron, who
stood with them, was preserved alive.
God is jealous of the
honour of his own institutions, and will not have them invaded.
The
Sacrifice of the wicked is an
Abomination to the
Lord. The
censers are devoted, and, as all devoted things, must be made
serviceable to the
Glory of
God. This covering of the
Altar
would remind the children of
Israel of this event, that others
might hear and fear, and do
No more presumptuously. They brought
Destruction On themselves both in body and soul. Thus all who
break the
Law and neglect the
Gospel choose and
Love Death.
41-50 The gaping
Earth was scarcely closed, before the same
sins are again committed, and all these warnings slighted. They
called the rebels the people of the
Lord; and find fault with
Divine
Justice. The obstinacy of
Israel notwithstanding the
terrors of
God's
Law, as given
On Mount Sinai, and the terrors
of his judgments, shows how necessary the
Grace of
God is to
change men's hearts and lives.
Love will do what fear cannot.
Moses and
Aaron interceded with
God for
Mercy, knowing how great
the provocation was.
Aaron went, and burned
Incense between the
living and the dead, not to purify the
Air, but to pacify an
offended
God. As one tender of the
Life of every Israelite,
Aaron made all possible speed. We must render good for evil.
Observe especially, that
Aaron was a
Type of
Christ. There is an
infection of
Sin in the world, which only the
Cross and
intercession of
Jesus Christ can stay and remove. He enters the
defiled and dying
Camp. He stands between the dead and the
living; between the eternal
Judge and the souls under
condemnation. We must have
Redemption through His
Blood, even
the remission of sins. We admire the ready devotion of
Aaron:
shall we not
Bless and praise the unspeakable
Grace and
Love
which filled the
Saviour's
Heart, when he placed himself in our
stead, and bought us with his
Life? Greatly indeed hath
God
commended his
Love towards us, in that while we were yet
sinners,
Christ died for us, Ro 5:8.