Rebellion

They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "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?" – Numbers 16v3

Rebellion. Later on in scripture it is described as ‘as the sin of witchcraft.’ There are several aspects to this story, but I thought is wise to pause for just a moment here at the very start to look at this sin of rebellion.

Korah and a small group of rebel leaders, along with another 250 men decided that they could lead the nation as well as Moses and Aaron could. ‘All of us are just as holy as you are Moses, why have you taken the role of our leader?’ In other words – ‘Who made you the boss?’

God is going to punish this rebellion quickly and severely. There can be no doubt how God feels about it. Jude will look back to Korah as part of the description of the sin of the false teachers.

Submission to authority is a major part of God’s expectation of His people, even into the New Testament. The church is instructed to submit to church leaders, to submit in the family, and to submit to governing authorities.

I read a lot today of Christians advocating or supporting some kind of rebellion against governing authorities. This concerns me. I never see God supporting any kind of rebellion in His word. Even in dealing with authorities God’s people show respect and honour the position of leadership. God’s people cannot always comply. Sometimes, we must obey God instead of man. But even then we see no Bible basis for an attempt to overthrow a leader.

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. God judges rebellion severely. We had better be very careful when we consider assuming the role of rebels.