Korah was a contemporary of Moses and he is well known for leading an opposition against Moses and Aaron (Jude 1:11). Moses was the one God chose to be his redeemer in Egypt and he became the leader of the Nation of Israel. His brother Aaron was chosen by the Lord to be priest. Other duties were assigned by the Lord to various tribes and even clans within the tribe of Levi. Korah was of the same tribe as Moses and Aaron, they were all Levites, but more than that they were all of the same family clan within the tribe of Levi. They were all Korathites (Korath was one of the three sons of Levi). The difference was that Moses was one individual who was chosen to lead. Aaron was one individual who was chosen to serve as priest. Only Aaron and Aaron’s descendants were allowed to serve as priests. So even though they had the same ancestry, Aaron and his descendants were to serve as priests, but Korah and the others, and their descendants, had to perform other chores and duties related to the general care, setup, breakdown and transportation of the tabernacle. The clan of Korathites had the responsibility to carry the most holy tabernacle furnishings on their shoulders. Other Levite family clans like the Gershonites and Merarites (descendants from the other two sons of Levi) were provided oxen and carts to transport their less holy furnishings. This was all prescribed by the Lord through Moses and none of it was up for debate.
The Israelites traveled together across the desert with each tribe following behind their banner. When stopping for periods of time, they set up the same way each time with three tribes on each one of the four sides of the tabernacle, and the Levites within the tabernacle court, as prescribed by the Lord. Somehow Korah, a Levite, got together with two Ruebenites named Dathan and Abiram. The Reubenites appeared to be unhappy with Moses while Korah seemed to covet the priesthood. But they found a common bond in their dislike of their present leadership and rallied together a group of 250 council members apparently from all the various tribes. Together they approached Moses and Aaron. Korah was the spokesperson who led their ill advised soft coup.
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! 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?”
When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses will cause to come near him. You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”
Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!”
Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.” So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”
Numbers 16:1-23
It is important to note that Korah is the leader and spokesperson for the group. When Dathan and Abiram were summoned to appear before Moses to be heard, they declined to even come and rather just voiced their complaints, probably via messenger, and disrespected Moses and the Lord by not even coming forward in person (Numbers 16:12-14). That disrespect appears to be the deciding factor in the fate of their descendants as we learn that they are totally wiped out whereas Korah alone is killed but his descendants live on (Numbers 26:10-11).
Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”
As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”
And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.
Numbers 16:25-40
That should have been a powerful enough demonstration of God’s will to settle the issue of leadership. But even though all the leaders of the coup were now dead, the next day the assembly gathered together and continued to challenge Moses, accusing him of killing the Lord’s people.
The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.
But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord said to Moses, “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”
So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.
The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.
The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.
The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?”
Numbers 16:41-17:13
The Israelites appeared to gain a new respect for treating God’s appointed leaders with a great deal of respect. We can guess that the next time Moses officially summoned a leader of a family clan, they responded promptly and professionally because they learned that when you reject a leader of the Lord, it is as severe as rejecting the Lord directly (Numbers 16:11). We must surmise that Korah’s sons took their chance to move away from their father before the ground opened up to swallow him on that fateful day (Numbers 16:26-27). We know from later revelation (Numbers 26:10-11) that they did not die in that disaster. The Prophet Samuel was a descendant of Korah (cf. 1 Chronicles 6:31–38 and 1 Samuel 1:1, 20). And during David’s reign, the sons of Korah served as gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 9:17-19) and became musicians leading worship in song (I Chronicles 6:31-33). Some became warriors who came to King David’s aid while in Ziklag (1 Chronicles 12:1, 6). So it is clear that God had righteousness planned for the sons of Korah even though Korah was an unrighteous rebel. That should give encouragement to many. They even went on to write twelve Psalms (42-49, 84-85, 87-88). The Sons of Korah also made mention of the earth giving way in this one, a song which should strengthen the faith of all God’s people!
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”The Lord Almighty is with us;
Psalm 46
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
For reference, I’ve included some detail on the various duties of the three clans of Levi:
The Levites filled the priestly roles in Israel and bore the responsibility of caring for the tabernacle. The Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites had specific roles within the Levite culture. The Kohathites, for example, had charge of caring for the objects associated with the sanctuary: “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things” (Numbers 4:4–14). The Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, and other holy items were the responsibility of the Kohathites (Numbers 10:21; 1 Chronicles 9:32). The Gershonites took care of the decorations in the sanctuary—curtains, ropes, and coverings (Numbers 4:24–26). The Merarites had the task of maintaining and carrying from place to place the pillars, bases, frames, pegs, and cords that created the structure of the tent of meeting. Since the Israelites were often on the move, the tent of meeting often had to be taken up and moved. Each clan had its responsibility to the sanctuary of God.
The sanctuary objects that the Kohathites transported were to be carried on their shoulders with poles made for that purpose (Numbers 7:9; cf. Exodus 25:26–28). The Gershonites and Merarites, however, were given ox carts to help with the transport of their items; the Gershonites received two carts and four oxen, and the Merarites received four carts and eight oxen (Numbers 7:6–8).
“Who were the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites?” GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/Kohathites-Gershonites-Merarites.html
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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