Chapter 31—The Great Rebellion
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and
so against the Lord. The Lord had placed special responsibilities upon
Moses and Aaron in selecting them for the priesthood and in conferring
upon them the dignity and authority of leading the congregation of
Israel. Moses was afflicted by the continual rebellion of the Hebrews.
As God’s appointed, visible leader, he had been connected with the
Israelites through seasons of peril, and had borne with their discontent,
their jealousies, and their murmurings, without retaliation and without
seeking to be released from his trying position.
When the Hebrews were brought into scenes of danger, or where
their appetite was restricted, instead of trusting in God, who had done
wondrous things for them, they murmured against Moses. The Son
of God, although invisible to the congregation, was the leader of the
Israelites. His presence went before them and conducted all their
travels, while Moses was their visible leader, receiving his directions
from the Angel, who was Christ.
Base Idolatry
In the absence of Moses the congregation demanded of Aaron to
make them gods to go before them and lead them back into Egypt.
This was an insult to their chief leader, the Son of the infinite God.
Only a few weeks before, they had stood trembling with awe and terror
before the mount, listening to the words of the Lord: “Thou shalt have
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no other gods before Me.” The glory which sanctified the mount when
the voice was heard which shook the mountain to its foundation, still
hovered over it in sight of the congregation; but the Hebrews turned
away their eyes and asked for other gods. Moses, their visible leader,
was in converse with God in the mount. They forgot the promise and
the warning of God: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep
thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
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