Over the course of the past few weeks, at the writing of this article, the USA has been in great turmoil. What began as peaceful protests against one heinous act by police turned into an uprising across America, supposedly in the name of eradicating racial discrimination and establishing equal justice. Looting, robbery, stealing, and mass destruction to public and private property has swept across America. Those responsible for these acts are expressing anger and rage against the established order of police, government, and anyone who does not agree with their agenda. Is this uprising justified?

As a dual citizen, Israeli and American, it has been heart-wrenching to see the burning, looting, and destruction of the USA. Whatever one’s nationality may be, these types of uprisings in society are painful to watch and cause us to consider the source of what is really occurring.

Making Sense of it All

In one news interview that I watched over the past few weeks, a man whom I had never heard of before spoke truth into the current situation in the USA. This man’s name is Jack Brewer. He is an African American man who is a former professional US football player and a successful business man. Most importantly, as I later discovered, Jack is a strong believer in Yeshua as the Messiah.

During the news interview he was asked to comment on the uprisings which have occurred throughout the United States in the past few weeks. Jack answered by saying that the uprisings are a result of a godless society. He also said that those who are committing these atrocious acts have “no fear of God.” Jack went on to explain that society has taken God and the Bible out of the schools and out of everyday life and the result is chaos and destruction.

As I listened to the words of Jack Brewer a sense of peace came over me as I remembered that God still has His servants and prophets who are able to speak truth into the lies and deception around us. In every generation and in every society around the world there will always be those who rise up and challenge the established order. There are obviously times when certain oppressive regimes need to be challenged, however, those who rise up against authority need to consider that if their reasoning is not justified, they will be rising up against God Himself. We see an example of this in this week’s Torah Portion. In Israel, this week’s Torah Portion is Num. 19:1-22:1 (Chukat), however, in the rest of the world (outside of Israel) this week’s reading is Numbers 16:1-18:32 (Korach).

Korach – קורח (Korah)

The account of Korach and the uprising that he led is a powerful example of an illegitimate rebellion because Korach and his followers were not a poor and oppressed people being marginalized by society but rather a people of standing in the nation of Israel with God-ordained leadership. We first read of Korach and his mob of rebels at the beginning of Numbers chapter sixteen:

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 action, and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “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. 16:1-3

Korach and his 250 followers rose up against Moses and Aaron by challenging their authority and claiming equality for all.

The Lie of Communism

Korach’s message is a common theme for anarchists and rebels, which is based in the ideology of communism. According to this ideology, all of humanity is on the same level before God and man, eliminating rules and authority structures except the rules that they make. Although it is true that we are all equal before God, the underlining message of Korach and his uprising is that there is no need for established authority and that everyone is equally able to lead themselves. Moses responded to Korach’s uprising in the following manner:

When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself….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. 16:4-5. 11

Initially Moses responded by humbling himself and he then committed the matter to the LORD. Moses also reminded Korach and his band of rebels that they were not simply rising up against himself and Aaron but ultimately against the LORD.

On the following day the LORD crushed the rebellion of Korach and his followers through supernatural displays of judgment (Num. 16:31-35). For those who are interested in digging deeper into the account of Korach, I have written several articles in the past on these Scriptures: God’s Authority, Identifying Spiritual Leaders, & The Person Whom God Chooses. The main point that I want to focus on in this article is to emphasize the truth which Moses highlighted in the above verses: that any unjustified uprising against authority is really an uprising against the LORD.

Authority is Established by God

God has established authority in this world as a means of maintaining order and providing a civil framework to protect innocent life. Uprisings against God’s established authorities are uprisings against God Himself.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. – Rom. 13:1-2

There is a blessing in living in obedience to God’s established authority and there is certain condemnation for those who resist His established authority. This is a universal biblical principle.

Just as there are civil authorities which are established for our good, there are also spiritual authorities which God has established to keep us on the right path in order to properly follow after Him. Moses was both a civil and spiritual leader for the people of Israel. We read in the book of Proverbs regarding the value and importance of spiritual authority in life:

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. – Proverbs 29:18

This verse is a simple yet profound declaration of the importance of sound spiritual authority. Where there is spiritual authority which is obeyed there is happiness and without it there is an unrestrained people.

The Authority of God’s Word

Proverbs 29:18 begins with the phrase “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…” The Hebrew word for “vision” in this verse is חזון – Chazon and it generally refers to revelation from God. We see this word used throughout the Bible when the prophets received spiritual revelation from the LORD, for example in the book of Isaiah:

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. – Isaiah 1:1

God’s word is His revelation to us and God continually uses pastors, teachers, and spiritual leaders today to guide His people and keep us on the right spiritual path through His revealed word to us, the Bible. Without God’s revealed word, people are left to their own devices which generally leads to chaos.

Proverbs 29:18 ends with the phrase “But happy is he who keeps the law.” The word for “law” here is the Hebrew word תורה – Torah which is a general word for “teaching” but also a common word used to speak of the first five books of the Bible, which is the teaching of God. It is through the continual teaching and obedience to God’s word that we as human beings who are created in God’s image can live life to its fullest and experience true happiness.

Life Without God’s Word

Where there is no vision, no revelation, and no teaching of God’s word we read how “the people are unrestrained…” and in Hebrew this phrase is two words יפרע עם – Yiparah Am. The word עם – Am is the straightforward word for people. The word יפרע – Yiparah is the reflexive form of the Hebrew word פרע – Parah which means to let go, let loose, neglect, or avoid. Therefore, when we read in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…” we can understand it to mean “Without revelation of God’s word, the people become neglected and loosened to do whatever they want.”

A great example of the “unrestrained” nature of this Hebrew word פרע – Parah is found in the book of Exodus chapter thirty-two. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the very word of God for the nation of Israel, Aaron listened to the voice of the people and made a golden calf for them to worship. We then read the following dialogue between Moses and Aaron after Moses came down from the mountain:

Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies… – Ex. 32:21-25

We read the phrase “out of control” twice in the last sentence (Ex. 32:25) as recorded above and in both occurrences it is the translation of the Hebrew word פרע – Parah.

The idolatry and wild party that the people were engaged in as they worshiped the golden calf was a direct result of Aaron’s lack of spiritual leadership. The people rose up and demanded their own way forward in defiance of God’s holiness. Aaron followed the voice of the people instead of keeping to the way of the LORD. Moses, on the other hand, immediately destroyed the golden calf, put an end to their wild party, and executed judgment against the people (Ex. 32:26-29).

We Must Teach God’s Word

Jack Brewer wisely accessed the uprisings in the USA in the spring of 2020 as a direct result of a godless society. Humanity left on its own will always choose to go in a direction contrary to the Living God. God’s word must be continually taught and passed on to the next generation in order to maintain a stable and functioning society.

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. – Proverbs 29:18

We who believe in the living God and in Yeshua as the Messiah have an obligation to continually carry forward the vision of God through His revealed word.

The most effective way to bring down the uprising of the mob is to preemptively saturate our societies with God’s living word through effective and relevant teaching of the Bible. The teaching of God’s word was never meant to be contained in Sunday school classes or in the four walls of a church building but to be continually communicated wherever we find ourselves (2 Tim. 4:1-2). Every one of us has a part in communicating and obeying God’s word!

Shabbat Shalom!

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**The Hebrew name “Yeshua” is used in the biblical quotations in place of the English name “Jesus” to give emphasis to the meaning of this name, salvation. The word “Messiah” is also used in place of the word “Christ” to bring clarity to the office of Yeshua.

Torah Portion: Num. 16:1-18:32

Haftara: 1 Sam. 11:14-12:22

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When The Mob Rises Up – Korach – June 27