26
Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4a
Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk
and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Wilt thou
put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.”
They accused Moses of being the cause of their not entering the
promised land. They said that God had not dealt with them thus. He
had not said that they should die in the wilderness. They would never
believe that he had thus said; but that it was Moses who had said this,
not the Lord; and that it was all arranged by Moses to never bring them
to the land of Canaan. They spoke of his leading them from a land that
flowed with milk and honey. They forgot in their blind rebellion their
sufferings in the land of Egypt, and the desolating plagues brought
upon that land. But they now accuse Moses of bringing them from a
good land, to kill them in the wilderness that he might be made rich
with their possessions. They inquired of Moses, in an insolent manner,
if he thought that none of all the host of Israel were wise enough to
understand his motives, and discover his imposture. Or if he thought
they would all submit to have him lead them about like blind men as
he pleased, sometimes toward Canaan, then back again toward the Red
Sea and Egypt. These words they spoke before the congregation, and
utterly refused to any longer acknowledge the authority of Moses and
Aaron.
Moses was greatly moved at these unjust accusations. He appealed
to God before the people whether he had ever acted arbitrarily, and
implored him to be his judge. The people in general were disaffected,
and influenced by the misrepresentation of Korah. “And Moses said
unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and
they, and Aaron, tomorrow. And take every man his censer, and put
incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer,
two hundred and fifty censers, thou also, and Aaron, each of you his
censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and
[31]
laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation with Moses and Aaron.”
Korah and his company who aspired to the priesthood in their
self-confidence, even took the censers and stood in the door of the
tabernacle with Moses. Korah had cherished his envy and rebellion
until he was self-deceived, and he really thought that the congregation
was a very righteous people, and that Moses was a tyrannical ruler,