Chronological Bible Study – Mar. 02

What I Noticed Today (Numbers 16-17)

Numbers 16

Just a chapter ago God restated the laws for unintentional and intentional sin and even had the people sew tassels on their garments to remind themselves to follow God’s laws and remain holy.

As Numbers 16 opens, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron and brought 250 chiefs of the congregation with them.

• They claimed everyone in the assembly was holy.
• They accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves above the assembly.

In verses 4-40, the Lord passes judgment on those who rebelled against Moses and Aaron:

• Moses instructed Korah and his followers to appear the next morning before the Lord with firepans and incense.
• Then the Lord would choose who was to be set apart for leadership.
• The rebels were Levites, given the privilege of serving God at the Tabernacle, but they wanted more. They wanted to be priests as well.
• Moses sent for Abiram and Dathan, but they refused to come. They claimed Moses had taken them from the land of milk and honey (Egypt) to die in the wilderness.

• Moses was angry and asked the Lord not to accept their offering.
• He told Korah and his followers to appear the next day before the Lord, and the Lord would judge between them and Aaron.
• The next day Korah and his followers appeared before the Lord, and the Lord told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from them so He could destroy them all.
• Moses and Aaron fell face down interceding on behalf of the people.
• Moses warned the people to move away from Korah, Abiram, and Dathan.
• Moses said if these rebels were swallowed up by the earth along with all that belongs to them they will know that they had despised the Lord.
• The earth opened up and destroyed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their families.
• Fire came out from the Lord and consumed all 250 men who came out against Moses and Aaron.
• The Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to have Eleazar son of Aaron remove the firepans from the debris because they were holy. They were then to hammer the firepans into plating for the altar and present them to the Lord.

In verses 41-50, the next day the Israelite community came forward complaining to Moses and Aaron:

• You would think that would get everyone’s attention, but the very next day the congregation comes out grumbling against Moses and Aaron again.
• They complained that Moses had killed the Lord’s people the day before.

• The Lord was angry and wanted to destroy the people immediately.
• Moses again humbled himself and interceded with the Lord for the people. He told Aaron to hurry and make atonement for the people because of their sin against the Lord.
• But before Aaron could make atonement for the people God sent a plague that killed another 14,700 people who had come out against Moses and Aaron.
• As Aaron made atonement for the people the plague stopped and Aaron returned to the tabernacle.

Numbers 17

Aaron’s authority as high priest had been challenged in Numbers 16, so in Numbers 17 the Lord provides dramatic confirmation of His choice of Aaron as high priest.

In verses 1-9, the Lord spoke to Moses and instructed him to have one staff be brought from each of the tribes with their tribal name written on the staff. Aaron’s name was to be written on the staff from the tribe of Levi.

• Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tabernacle.
• From these, God will select who He wanted to minister to Him.
• The next day Aaron’s staff has not only budded out but produced ripe almonds. God has made it very clear who He has chosen!

In verses 10-13, the Lord instructed Moses to place Aaron’s staff back in front of the ark of testimony as a reminder that the Lord had chosen Aaron, and there were severe consequences for rebelling against God’s chosen.

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: Day 62 Numbers 18-20