Numbers 16:1 – Numbers 18:32

It has often been said that there are two kinds of people in this world, givers and takers.  Givers generally invest in the lives of others and leave the world a better place.  Takers are characterized by getting what they can from others for their own selfish ends and the world rejoices when they are gone.  Which one are you?  Are you a giver or are you a taker?

This week’s Torah Portion addresses this struggle between the givers and the takers.  In fact, in the Torah Portion for this week there is an excellent example of both a giver and a taker.  The first example is a taker.

The Taker

It doesn’t take long to identify the “taker” in this week’s Torah Portion.  The very first two words in Hebrew in this section of Scripture are “ויקח קרח” – “And Korah Took” (Num. 16:1).  What did Korah take?  Well, we don’t know exactly what Korah took because the Hebrew is very unclear as there is no object that receives the action.  We can only surmise what he took from the context of the story that unfolds.

The Story of Korah

Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On came before Moses with 250 leaders of the people, men with a name, and made the following accusation against Moses and Aaron: “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” (Num. 16:3)  Korah and his crew were questioning the authority of Moses and Aaron and, as we know from later in text, they were desiring the position of the priesthood (Num. 16:10), which was only given to Aaron and his descendants.

Moses immediately responded by falling on his face and then he said to Korah and his crew that they would find out the following day whom God has chosen, who is holy, and whom God would draw near to Himself.  Moses then instructed Korah and his men to take censers, put fire and incense in them, and come before the LORD on the next day and the LORD would show them who is holy (Num. 16:4-7).

Then Moses said “רב לכם בני לוי” – “rav lechem benei Levi,” meaning “you have gone too far you sons of Levi” (16:7).  Korah had claimed that Moses had gone too far (Num. 16:3) but now Moses was stating, “No, it isn’t me but rather you, you sons of Levi.”  Moses then explained what he meant by his statement in the following verses:

Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?” – Num. 16:8-11

Moses reminded Korah and his followers from the tribe of Levi that God had given them a special position in the service of the tabernacle.  Korah was a descendant of Kohath the son of Levi.  The Kohathites were given the responsibility of the most holy things of the tent of meeting (Num. 4:1-20).  Moses told them that they should have been content with their high calling in the service to the LORD.  Moses also declared that their rising up against himself and Aaron was really a rising up against the LORD.

Who Was Korah?

We already know that Korah was a Kohathite from the tribe of Levi but what else do we know about Korah?  In the book of Exodus there is a short family tree that shows an interesting connection between Korah and Moses:

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years…  The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath’s life was one hundred and thirty-three years… These are the families of the Levites according to their generations. Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. – Ex. 6:16, 18, 20-21

One does not need to be a family tree specialist to figure out the family relationship here.  Amram, the father of Moses, and Izhar, the father of Korach, were brothers and both sons of Kohath.  Moses and Izhar were first cousins.  It is possible and probable that this family relationship played a part in Korah’s staging this rebellion against his cousin Moses, the leader of the Israelites.

Korah’s End

Moses ordered Korah and his band of 250 to take their censers and put fire and incense in them and be ready to stand before the LORD.  Moses had Aaron do the same.  They all assembled before the LORD at the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD appeared (Num. 16:12-19).

God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the whole community of Israel so that He could consume them instantly.  Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and asked God to not destroy the whole congregation because of one man’s sin.  The LORD heard their plea and then told Moses and Aaron to speak to the congregation to get back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Moses then went with the elders of Israel following him and warned the people to depart from the tents of “these wicked men” and they did (Num. 16:20-27).

After the congregation separated themselves from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Moses predicted how these men would die to verify whom the LORD has appointed and whom He has not:

Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.” – Num. 16:28-30

And it happened just as Moses had said it would.  The earth opened up and swallowed the people alive and fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men with the censers.  Korah and his rebellion were destroyed.

So What Did Korah Take?

As mentioned in the beginning of this study, we know that “Korah took” but we don’t know exactly what Korah took.  We know from this biblical account that Korah took 250 men to himself, they took censers and put fire and incense in them, and they took authority into their own hands.  We know these things occurred and this is one possibility of understanding the verb “took” in Numbers 16:1.

It is also possible to look at this verb “took” in a reflexive mode, “Korah took himself” or “Korah took to himself.”  This reflexive option with similar wording is also illustrated from a grammatical standpoint in Job 15:12, “Why does your heart take you away…?”

If this reflexive option is accurate than we would understand the context of “Korah took” in a selfish, rebellious manner as noted in one Jewish commentary: “The ‘taking of himself’ or ‘separation,’ could be physical, ‘moving to the side,’ or an inclination, ‘having a separate or conflicting or rebellious idea’” (Drazin, Israel. and Wagner, Stanley M. Onkelos on the Torah, Numbers, p. 147).  We know without a shadow of a doubt that Korah had a conflicting and rebellious attitude by his actions and words in this account.

Whatever Korah “took” the manner in which he did this action was rebellious and the result was death for himself, his family, and all who joined him.  Korah was a taker.  “Takers” think that they will achieve more by taking what they want, when they want it, and at any cost, however, they fail to remember that there is an eternal force in this world called God who sees everything and brings all men to account for their actions.

In the book of Proverbs we read the following verse: “He who separates himself seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom” (Prov. 18:1).  This verse sums up the life of a taker, someone who separates himself in a negative way and fights against all sound wisdom.

The Giver

According to the Bible, Moses was an extremely humble man, the humblest man of his day (Num. 12:3).  Beyond humility, Moses also proved himself to be a “giver.”  In Numbers chapter sixteen, throughout this whole ordeal with Korah and the children of Israel, Moses fell on his face before God three times (Num. 16:4, 22,45).  Two of the three times that Moses fell on his face, he petitioned God for the life of the Israelites.  On the third occasion when Moses fell on his face before God, the people had risen up against Moses and Aaron and were grumbling against them.  God showed up and was ready to instantly destroy the whole community but Moses sent Aaron with the censer, fire, and incense to make atonement for the people.

Moses risked his own life before God for the congregation of Israel again and again.  Moses petitioned God to not destroy the whole congregation twice in this chapter alone.  Moses knew what it meant to give of himself so others might have life.  Moses was giver!

Are you a Giver or are you a Taker?

Korah is mentioned only once in the New Testament and this reference is found in the book of Jude.  Jude is only one chapter long and consists of twenty-five verses.  The reason that Jude wrote this letter to the believers of his day is summed up in the first few verses:

I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. – Jude 1:3-4

Jude exhorted the believers to contend for the faith and beware of certain persons who had entered the congregation of believers but denied the truth and used it for their own ends.  Jude describes the “takers” well.

Jude develops his letter by giving several examples of ungodly men who were full of unbelief and “reject authority” (Jude 1:5-10).  Jude further explained the outcome of such people: “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude 1:11).  Cain, Balaam, and Korah are united by their rejection of authority and by their selfish acts which led to their destruction.

Jude continues in his letter to give various illustrations of men who act with such insolent pride and deceptive acts and he characterizes them in this manner: “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” (Jude 1:16)  If there was ever a picture of a “taker” I believe it is best summarized in this letter of Jude.  Takers are constantly looking to satisfy their own desires and seeking to gain an advantage for themselves at the cost of others.  Korah was a taker!

Moses left us a great example of what it means to be a giver.  On numerous occasions Moses gave of himself for the sake of the Israelites and on one occasion he even asked God to take him out of God’s book for the sake of pardoning the Israelites for their sin (Ex. 32:32).  Moses was willing to give up eternal life for others.  Moses was a giver!

Yeshua came to this earth and taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Yeshua also taught that the highest form of love is giving up one’s own life for others: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  We have the choice everyday to be a giver or a taker.

Be a Giver!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Num. 16:1 – Num. 18:32

Hafatara: 1 Samuel 11:14 – 1 Samuel 12:22

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