Num 16:1-50
Hebrew paragraphs:
16:1-19 {s} Rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abirim, 250 leaders
16:20-22 {s} Intercession of Moses and Aaron
16:23-35 {s} Ground swallows the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
16:36-40 {p} Burned censors a covering for the incense altar as a warning
16:41-43 {s} Rebellion of all the congregation of Israel
16:44-50 {p} Aaron between the dead and the living with his censor; plague stopped
Scripture has set up a repeating pattern with Moses and the children of Israel since departing Egypt, which culminates in this chapter. Moses has consistently acted as the intercessor between God and man, foreshadowing Messiah Yeshua.
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Exo 20:18-19
“… Turn from Your great wrath …” Exo 32:11-14
“… Yet now, if You will forgive their sin …” Exo 32:30-32
“… If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up …” Exo 33:12-16
“… Pardon our iniquity and our sin …” Exo 34:8-9
… When Moses prayed to YHVH, the fire was quenched. Num 11:2
… Moses cried out to YHVH, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” Num 12:13
“… Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy …” Num 14:19
Then they fell [Moses and Aaron] on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?” Num 16:22
And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell [Moses and Aaron] on their faces. So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from YHVH. The plague has begun.” Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. Num 16:44-48
Moses seeks to atone for Israel’s sin before YHVH even as they are trying to replace him as leader over them; even as they are trying to stone him to death with stones! These details are repeated in the life of Yeshua as well, even as He is suffering on the cross:
Then Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. Luk 23:34
This self-sacrificial intercession to turn away the just wrath of God from the willful rebellion and sin of the people, is a prophetic picture of Messiah who is to come.
Num 17:1-18:32
17:1-9 {p} Aaron’s rod budded
17:10-11 {p} Aaron’s rod kept as a memorial before the ark of the covenant
17:12-13 {s} Children of Israel: Whoever comes near the tabernacle perishes
18:1-7 {p} Aaron and sons to attend to their priesthood
18:8-20 {s} Aaron and sons’ portions
18:21-24 {p} Levites portion: tithes
18:25-32 {p} Levites to give a tithe of the tithe to Aaron and sons
The chiastic structure formed by Korach has Aaron’s rod that budded as its central axis.
Aaron as high priest is another foreshadow of Messiah from Torah. The leaders and the congregation of Israel also rejected Messiah from mediating for them. But just as the dead stick of Aaron’s rod was placed in a box, and found to have new life when it was opened, bringing forth both flowers and ripe almonds, so the dead body of Messiah was placed in the tomb, and when it was opened, He was not there, but was found to have been raised with new life.
And YHVH said unto Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a sign against the rebels; and you shall surely put away their murmurings from Me, that they die not.” Num 17:10
By the sign of resurrection life, a sign of Messiah, YHVH will put away the complaints of the children of Israel.
As well, the strong theme of Num 17:12-18:7 resolves into the following chiastic structure.
Notice that God commands Aaron to attend to his priesthood, so that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. In chapter 16, wrath had just been poured out on the children of Israel. Korah and his followers were swallowed alive by the earth, and 250 leaders were consumed by fire from YHVH. Fourteen thousand people of the children of Israel had died of a plague from YHVH.
These are hard chapters. The generation of unbelievers is not going to inherit the promise, and the people who went to war anyway were defeated. The man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death with stones. That was not Israel’s idea or Moses’ idea, that was done at the direction of YHVH.
These events helped inspire Korah’s rebellion. The leaders thought Moses had missed God, because the judgments of wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and the death of the man who broke the Sabbath were hard. Then the death of the leaders inspired the rebellion of the whole congregation. The people thought Moses had missed God, because the judgments of the earth swallowing Korah and the burning of the 250 leaders were hard.
But the structure highlights that God does not want wrath to come upon the children of Israel. He doesn’t delight in plague or death or destruction.
“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord YHVH. “Therefore turn and live!” Eze 18:31-32
The institution of the tabernacle rites and the priesthood was to prevent the wrath of God for sin from coming on the children of Israel. And Yeshua is the High Priest of our confession, who took the wrath of God for sin upon Himself, that no more wrath may come upon the children of Israel, that is, all God’s children in Him.
NUMBERS 16:1-18:32 ANNUAL KORACH “KORAH” OUTLINE | NUMBERS in CHIASTIC STRUCTURE
FINDING MESSIAH in TORAH: A MESSIANIC DISCOVERY THROUGH the TORAH PORTIONS
THE LAW of LOVE: THE GOSPEL of GRACE REVEALED in the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD
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