קֹרַח  
Korach / To Remove One’s Covering
Numbers 16:1-18:32
1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
Romans 13:1-7

     This is the Parshat about rebellion. The story of Korach and his ability to rise up and take men of renowned stature to rebel against Moshe and Aaron is familiar to all of us. But there are some questions: why did Korach rise up, and how was it possible for him to take, persuade, or seduce men of importance to join him in his uprising?   And why did God use the earth to swallow him up?  This is the only time in Scripture that God uses that type of punishment. 
     Numbers 16:1-3 ‘Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.’  Notice how Scripture tells us he took men, almost as if to steal. 
     Rebellion begins somewhere. It is born out of a motive for self and self-gratification: a hurt, an enabling attitude, but mostly jealousy. Jealousy was the beginning of the end for Cain, jealousy caused Miriam to be put out of the camp for seven days, the disciples argued among themselves because of jealousy, and jealousy was the demise of Korach. The spirit of jealousy began with HaSatan desiring to be like God and carries through to this day.  It is the self-portrait of our image that gives rise to jealousy. 
    Korach’s beginning complaint was much like that of Miriam’s. Numbers 16:3 ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?’ And Miriam’s, Numbers 12:2 ‘So they said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?’
     Everyone can speak and pray to God, that wasn’t necessarily the debate, but it was Moshe whom God appointed to lead, and he was and is the example, Numbers 12:3. 
   So what birthed Korach’s insatiable jealousy? He was a man of importance, a Levite and responsible for carrying the Mishkan's vessels through the desert, as we read in Numbers 4:1-3 and specifically Numbers 4:15.  The entire chapter four details who was to cover the vessels in blue cloth and who was responsible for carrying the vessels.  Even though it is clear that the Kohath family (Korach) would carry the vessels, it was Aaron and his sons who would prepare the vessels for travel, Numbers 4:4-6. 
    Numbers 4:15 and 4:17-20 shows us the authority of Aaron over the Kohathites, specifically the second half of Numbers 4:19, where the Kohathites were even told their task. ‘Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task.’ 
    If the family of Kohath even so much as saw the holy vessels, they would die – but Aaron, his sons and Moshe would not. Is that where the jealousy began?  If so, then why not just admit it? But, Numbers 16:2 states: Korach ‘rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.’
    This is the Parshat about rebellion. The story of Korach and his ability to rise up and take men of renowned stature to rebel against Moshe and Aaron is familiar to all of us. But there are some questions: why did Korach rise up, and how was it possible for him to take, persuade, or seduce men of importance to join him in his uprising?   And why did God use the earth to swallow him up?  This is the only time in Scripture that God uses that type of punishment. 
     Numbers 16:1-3 ‘Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.’  Notice how Scripture tells us he took men, almost as if to steal. 
     Rebellion begins somewhere. It is born out of a motive for self and self-gratification: a hurt, an enabling attitude, but mostly jealousy. Jealousy was the beginning of the end for Cain, jealousy caused Miriam to be put out of the camp for seven days, the disciples argued among themselves because of jealousy, and jealousy was the demise of Korach. The spirit of jealousy began with HaSatan desiring to be like God and carries through to this day.  It is the self-portrait of our image that gives rise to jealousy. 
    Korach’s beginning complaint was much like that of Miriam’s. Numbers 16:3 ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?’ And Miriam’s, Numbers 12:2 ‘So they said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?’
     Everyone can speak and pray to God, that wasn’t necessarily the debate, but it was Moshe whom God appointed to lead, and he was and is the example, Numbers 12:3. 
   So what birthed Korach’s insatiable jealousy? He was a man of importance, a Levite and responsible for carrying the Mishkan's vessels through the desert, as we read in Numbers 4:1-3 and specifically Numbers 4:15.  The entire chapter four details who was to cover the vessels in blue cloth and who was responsible for carrying the vessels.  Even though it is clear that the Kohath family (Korach) would carry the vessels, it was Aaron and his sons who would prepare the vessels for travel, Numbers 4:4-6. 
    Numbers 4:15 and 4:17-20 shows us the authority of Aaron over the Kohathites, specifically the second half of Numbers 4:19 where the Kohathites were even told their task. ‘Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint each of them to his service and his task.’ 
    If the family of Kohath even so much as saw the holy vessels they would die – but Aaron, his sons and Moshe would not. Is that where the jealousy began?  If so, then why not just admit it? But, Numbers 16:2 states: Korach ‘rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.’
     He came prepared with backup, ‘See? All these people agree with me!’ He spins it, as did Miriam – ‘We are all holy! No one should be the leader! We are all equal and all able to lead! We are all number 1!’
     This ideology gave muscle to his complaint among the followers as they swallowed the Kool-Aid.  Korach didn’t care about the others, just like Miriam didn’t care about the camp, as her murmuring made the camp immobile for seven days, revealing the true problem; herself.  Korach’s desire was to dismantle the leadership and loft his image to himself and others. 
    After the charge against Moshe, Korach, is given until the next day to ‘see who is holy’. Moshe plans through God to debunk the charges, Numbers 16:4-11. Eventually, Korach and his household are swallowed up by the earth, Numbers 16:31-33. The 250 men that rose up with Korach are consumed by fire, Numbers 16:35. But why swallow?
    Back to Numbers 4, when Aaron is told to cover the vessels, the Hebrew words are כְּסוּי֙   וְכִ֨סּוּ־בָ֔הּ   וְכִסּ֞וּ : to conceal, to cover. Until Numbers 4:20, the word is 
בַלַּ֥ע  b‘ l a which means to swallow. 
   The holy vessels are covered/swallowed. Korach’s claim was that he was holy/Kodesh, was he likening himself to the holy vessels and spinning the Word of God as he proclaimed in Numbers 16:3: “You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 
    Korach’s arrogance is apparent right up to the bitter end in Numbers 16:19 as he doesn’t take the time to gather away from the Mishkan, but rather right in front of it. ‘And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.’ 
 Even though in Numbers 16:8-11, Moshe rebukes Korach, telling him about the position God had gifted him with, he still sought to exalt himself. 
     Since Korach was replacing the Mishkan of God in the wilderness with himself as a holy place, God referred to him in that way before he was swallowed.  In Numbers 16:23-24, God tells the people to get away from the tent of Korach. But the Hebrew words are: Mishkan of Korach, לְמִשְׁכַּן־קֹ֖רַח    
     Korach wasn’t concerned with the masses, only with himself. It is taught that he ‘fell into the trap of his distorted self-perception’. He couldn’t see how important his role was. But others could, which is why it was so easy for him to round up, or as Scriptures state, ‘to take’ renowned men. He convinced men to follow him, for he used the deception of ‘we are all holy’. When in truth he was out for himself. 
    Korach was a spiritual narcissist, believing that his spiritual wisdom made him more special than others. We see this when someone approaches us with ‘God gave me a word for you.’ The person saying this just tried to elevate themselves above you by stating that they had received a word directly from God about you, yet you were not in the loop.
     Korach is the spirit of division and the spirit of strife. God is, of course, the spirit of peace. The Spirit of Strife and the Spirit of Peace are two definite spirits; however, Numbers 16:22 states that God is the creator of all, “Then they fell 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?” The Hebrew is אל אלהי הרוחת לכל בשר El Elohey haruchoth lechol basar.    Ha- The   Ruchot- Spirits   Lechol- of all    Basar-flesh/meat.  This same Hebrew sequence is repeated in Numbers 27:16. 
    The spirit of strife plays on discontentment.  People with a grudge are more intent on overthrowing the current leader than on any constructive plan or action of their own. “Hate defeats rationality,” the sages teach.  Injured pride, the feeling that honor should have gone to them, has led to destructive and self-destructive action for as long as humans have existed on earth.  We see a picture of this type of jealousy when Peninnah would provoke Hannah, when Saul was against David, when the brothers assaulted Joseph, and when the Sanhedrin came against Yeshua.
    Micah 2:1 ‘Woe to those who scheme iniquity, who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they do it, for it is in the power of their hands.’
    Isaiah 5:21 ‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!’
    God follows this spectacle of rebellion and death with confirmation of the leaders, Aaron and Moshe. Numbers 17:10-11 ‘And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” Thus did Moses; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.’
 

Korach / To Remove One’s Covering
Numbers 16:1-18:32
1 Samuel 11:14-12:22
Romans 13:1-7

      The sages teach that Korach and his malcontent followers had come under the spell of resentment and bitterness which grew and festered until rebellion reached a pitch. Korach, a Levite and cousin of Aaron was among those “overlooked” for the priesthood and who were simply assistants to the priests. Exodus 6:21 tells us that he was also a firstborn and when the Tabernacle sacrificial service was inaugurated Aaron’s sons replaced the firstborn Israelites in offering sacrifices.  Dathan, Abiram, and On were of the tribe of Reuben, the first-born child of Jacob. These men had their separate grudge, since Reuben had lost his birthright as the firstborn son to the sons of Joseph because of sin, 1 Chronicles 5:1. 
     This resentment led to bitterness, which then led to separation, uprising, false accusation, rebellion, then eventually judgment and death.  This is the way HaSatan operated in his rebellion against Elohim, Isaiah 14:12-23.
     Rebels, like Korach, separate themselves from fellowship, seek out other like-minded rebels, and then rise in defiance and accusation against.  They thrive on being against instead of finding a cause for. Their power is based on usurpation, human pride, degradation of others, and self-promotion. This can only happen as people forsake the assembling of themselves together, Hebrews 10:25.  
    Korach knew how to play the people because he understood three important tricks. He knew he had to be popular among the people and then play on their discontent, pretending to be on their side. Numbers 16:3 states: “You have gone too far!” he said to Moses and Aaron. “The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” 
     He also knew that he had to assemble the allies in his revolt. The malcontent groups that became gang-like had nothing in common except that they were tied together because they opposed the same leader. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Alone, they would turn on each other, but for that moment they thought there was strength in their opposition and hate.
    Thirdly, he knew the power of timing. He had to choose a vulnerable moment to attack leadership. According to Ramban, the Korach revolt took place immediately after the episode of the spies and the judgment from God that the people would not enter the land until the next generation. So long as the Israelites, whatever their complaints, felt that they were moving toward their destination, there was no realistic chance of getting the people to revolt. It was only when they felt hopeless, realizing that they would not live to cross the Jordan was rebellion possible. The people had nothing to lose. Instead of thinking and considering the camp as a whole “How can I help the next generation”, this gang was wrapped up in ‘self’ with the mindset of -what does it matter now- thus they were easily coerced.  
     But the revolt was bound to fail since their grievances were different, each concerned only with their self-preservation.  However, that has never stopped unholy alliances. People with a grudge are more intent on attacking and removing the current leader than on a constructive plan of their own. “Hate defeats rationality,” teach the Sages.  Pride and the feeling that honor or the taking of sides should have gone to oneself have led to destructive and self-destructive actions for as long as humans have existed on Earth.
      Korach and his followers defined themselves by what they were against, not what they were for.  This is the influence of self, the influence of ‘me, myself, and I’.  Murmuring, jealousy, anger, and pride. This gave more power to the destruction and deterioration of the children of Israel. Deterioration begins with a single thought, a moment when the heart turns to the: “I”.  Pride hardens the heart and the outcome is obvious. 
      Psalm 95:8-9 ‘Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.’
     Hebrews 3:7-9 ‘Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years.’
      Ephesians 4:18 ‘…being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart…
     Proverbs 28:14 ‘How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.’
     Jeremiah 17:10 ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’
     Proverbs 14:14 ‘The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.’ 
     Proverbs 3:5 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.’
     Psalm 119:11 ‘Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.’
     Ephesians Chapter 4 should be our guideline. 
     Language is also very significant, as in the opening verse that states: ‘He took…’  It is also significant in Numbers 16:2-3 where they rose against Moshe /vayaqumu/ which is combined with ‘against’ him / vayiqahalu/.  These two Hebrew words together imply that they were rising to establish their own kahal/congregation.
      The spirit of Korach is a stumbling block to those who are consumed with approval addiction, self-serving interest, and the spirit of pride. Rather than come humbly before God, they rally around the loudest.  A stumbling block is a circumstance that causes difficulty or hesitation. Synonyms are: obstacle, hurdle, barrier, hindrance. Stumbling block in Hebrew is the word: miḵšōl (מִכְשׁוֹל‎).
     Luke 17:1: ‘He said to His disciples, "It is impossible that no stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!”