The insolent spirit of Korah exists in all of us. It is the natural tendency of man to be rebellious. Rebellion is simply disobeying God and we have been doing that since Adam and Eve in the Garden. The insolent spirit of rebellion will come at you with fine sounding arguments, mixing some truth in with some lies. It will seek 250 other people to prop up its failed arguments. Man will always support man. But no amount of agreement amongst others and the persuasiveness of their arguments will change the fact that it is still rebellion. The Lord would have the very earth swallow up Korah and the 250 followers were likewise destroyed by God. God then instructs Moses to gather a staff from each tribal leader and place them before Him in the Tent of Meeting. Whichever staff sprouts would be the one the Lord has chosen.
The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. The LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die." Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. Numbers 17: 8-11
We need the budded staff of Aaron in our own Ark as a reminder to the natural rebellious nature within us to trust in God only. That insolent spirit of Korah is still lurking and we need to be vigilant against it. There will be many well-crafted and fine sounding arguments that will present themselves to us and we need to look to the budded staff of Aaron in our Ark as our reminder that the rebellious do not prosper. It is also what can protect us against being led astray. Korah was trying to lead the people of Israel astray from the direction God was leading them. Likewise, there will be forces in this world and even claiming to be from within the realm of believers that will seek to lead you astray as well. From within our own camp!
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8
The budded staff of Aaron reminds us to say no to the fine-sounding philosophies of this world and keep our eyes focused on God; even when the insolent spirit of Korah might be rising up within us.
Lastly, we need to have the stone tablets of the covenant within our Ark. Some have confused the coming of Christ as an elimination of the law, but Jesus Himself clarified that:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5: 17-18
Jesus fulfilled the law. If anything, He raised the bar even higher. He demanded a code above and beyond the law. He demanded turning the other cheek, and loving your enemies. But these do not eliminate the law. They perfect it. As believers we still need to have the bar set at the level Jesus proclaimed it to be. We need to remember the law of God because it still serves as our guide in a world that will continually try and lead us off course.
The law is the Word of God and it is the measuring stick for anything we face in this life. It is meant to provide life into the dead situations we find ourselves in during our walk. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness each time He answered the devil with, "It is written..." That is how we need to respond today as well when the enemy comes in like a flood. For every lie the enemy whispers into your life there is a corresponding truth in the Word of God. We have a choice every day. We either believe the lies of the enemy or we believe what saith the Lord!
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 8-9
Has not the Lord commanded you? Be strong and courageous today beloved. Prosperity and success, as defined by God, await those who recognize these truths. We are the earthly sanctuary of the new covenant God lives within us now! We are the new Ark of that covenant! When we go out, we go out before the Lord. People should see His glory in us as go out. The seas should part before us as we carry the very presence of God with us. We just need to make sure that we carry with us the manna to remind us of His provision, the budded staff of Aaron to quell the spirit of rebellion within us, and the Word of God in our hearts to guide our way:
clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2Corinthians 3: 3 (NKJV)
We are to be that living epistle carrying the glorious presence of God into a fallen and dark world. What does your letter say to the world today?
Reverend Anthony Wade February 26, 2010
