Well, let's open our Bibles into Numbers chapter 16 today, Numbers chapter 16. And we're going to continue on the message on foundations for rebellion. And let's go ahead and read the first six or seven verses. Anyhow, Numbers chapter 16, verse one. Now Korah, the son of Ishar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan, Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, and sons of Reuben, took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore, then, lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. And he spake unto Korah, and to all of his company, saying, Even tomorrow the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him, even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do take you censures, Korah, and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them, before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy. You take too much upon you, you sons of Levi. Now, in these last two messages, I've dealt with the foundational pillars of rebellion. Rebellion may begin in a very small and insignificant way, and yet it may grow quickly into a gigantic quagmire of misery, death, and destruction. Now, we know that Korah was the instigator of this rebellion. Number one, because of Jude, verse 11, when the Bible not only talks about the era of Balaam, but also the gainsaying of Korah. Moreover, when you look at Numbers chapter 16, you will find Korah identified a number of times. For instance, verse 1, he's placed first, now Korah, the son of Ishar. If you would skip down to verse 5, and he's spoken to Korah, and unto His company." Then in verse 6, This do take you since there's Korah in all his company. Then look in verse eight, and Moses said unto Korah. And then if you will look in verse 16, again, the Bible says, and Moses said unto Korah, be thou in all thy company before the Lord. And then of course, in verse 19, and Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation." So, if you read the entire chapter, you will see that Korah is involved in every detail. So here is an amazing truth, I believe. It's evident that those who are the most rebellious And those who are the leaders in the rebellion are the ones who take the hardest step against God and against God's ordained ministers and His appointed ministers as well. Korah was behind every step of this rebellion. And so, all of the death, discord, and destruction has to be laid at the feet of Korah. Now, before we get into the message for today, I want to just Bring what I've told you previously to your mind so that you can try to put two and two together. Having given you the four foundational pillars of rebellion, the first one was this. The very first pillar is there is a disregard for family and for friends. You cannot have a rebellion without violating a relationship. It is just that simple. And remember, I told you that Korah and Moses and Aaron were cousins. They were first cousins because Ishar the father of Korah, and Amram, the father of Moses, and Aaron were brothers. And so, they were actually first cousins. And so, anytime you have a rebellion, you're going to have a disregard for family and friends. The second foundational pillar, was discontent with one's calling, one's vocation, one's station in life. So Korah and his company were not content then with being Levites or even serving God in some other capacity. The Reubenites, of course, had nothing to do with the tabernacle whatsoever. But if you look again in your number, in your Bibles, to Numbers 16, Look, if you would, beginning with verse 8, and let's read through verse 11, and you will see what I'm talking about. And Moses said unto Korah, Here I pray you, you sons of Levi, Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from 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 unto them. So he said, God has called you. You have a ministry. You may not appreciate it, but you have a ministry. And He hath brought the men to Him, and they have brought thee near to Him, and to all the brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee, and seek you the priesthood also. Now look at the next verse. For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord, And what is Aaron that you murmur against him?" Now, when he says, for which cause, both thou and all thy company are gathered together, he's talking about the cause that they wanted the priesthood. And the priesthood had been given to Aaron and to his sons. So clearly then, their discontent was the root cause of their rebellion. Again, I'll say it very plainly, all rebellion is against the Lord. Men may strike out at other men, but in reality it is indeed against the Lord. God is their real target. That is why he said in verse 9, Seemeth it but a small thing to you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel. In other words, you're just not satisfied with what God has called you to do. You're discontented we are stationed in life. The reason we are discontented with our vocation is because we do not discern the fact that we may serve God in any area to which He has called us. I don't care if you are a carpenter, an electrician, a plumber, a ditch digger, a housewife. The Bible says, Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all to the honor and the glory of God. But somehow, we tend to think that we're insignificant and what we do is insignificant. And if we could just have a higher office, or if we could just be better in some other way, then we could really worship God and we could really do more for Him, which is not true. What we must learn to do is do that which God has called us to do, and to do it for His honor and His glory. The third foundational pillar of rebellion was actual disobedience. Because when Moses had taken care of Korah, that is talking with him at least anyhow, he sent for Dathan and Abiram, and what was their answer? We will not come up. So they were actually disrespecting Moses. They were dishonoring him. They refused to recognize his authority. They refused to recognize him as God's appointed and ordained leader. And of course, the fourth foundational pillar of rebellion was a perversion of the truth and a malicious assassination of character. Now, I will point out again that those in rebellion cannot think clearly, logically, reasonably, or biblically. Now, I mentioned Jude 11 earlier. where the Bible speaks about the gain saying of Korah. If you would take the time to look up the word gain saying, you would find it is the Greek word anti-logia or logia. Anti, of course, means against. Logia is where we get our English word logic from. It is also from the Greek word logos, which refers to the word. And it also refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the word antilogia, then, actually speaks of a contradiction. It speaks of a strife, an opposition, and rebellion. So, when we think about the word logia, which is from the word logos, you must remember that Jesus Christ is the living word. The Bible is the written word. So that's why the Bible says in John 1, in the beginning was the Word, Logos, and the Word, Logos, was with God. and the Word was God. So three times Jesus Christ is called the Logos. Then when you get to verse 14, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So here is what we talk about Gain saying. It is in reality a contradiction It's a contradiction of logic. It's a contradiction of reason. It's a contradiction of truth. All it is is strife and rebellion. Now, our Lord used a similar word in Mark chapter 9 and verse 39, because here was a man who was speaking in the name of Jesus Christ and doing miracles. And the disciples forbade him because he was not with them. And they told Jesus that they forbade this man from doing any miracles or speaking in his name. And our Lord said in Mark 9 in verse 39, forbid him not, for there is no man which can do a miracle in my name, which can lightly speak evil of me. Now, I want to call your attention to this little phrase, speaking evil. The word speak evil is from the Greek word kakolageo. Kakos is a word which means that which is evil. There's another word, paneros. But kakos means that which is evil and logos is the word. So our Lord says basically that speaking against Christ and speaking against the word of God is speaking evil. He said, no man who's following me and doing what I'm doing can lightly speak evil against me. So anyone who is not following Christ and not speaking what Christ is saying is indeed speaking evil. Now, let me show you something. When the Bible talks about the gainsaying of Korah, it basically means that Korah and his company were lying against God. They were lying against the truth. I hope you're going to see this as we look further. Numbers chapter 16. But I want you to turn in your Bibles, holding number 16, if you would, to the book of James, chapter three, Hebrews, James. And notice, if you would, James chapter three. And let's begin reading there with verse 13. I want you to look at it, because we're talking about being unreasonable, being illogical, being unbiblical in our thinking. He said in James 3 in verse 13, watch. Who is a wise man and a dude with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. Isn't this amazing? Look at the next verse. But if you have bitter envying, which they did, and strife in your heart, which they did, glory not, here it is, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom, that is that that lies against the truth, descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife are, notice, there is confusion and every evil work. So speaking against Christ, speaking against the word of God is lying against God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 30, Isaiah 30. And notice if you would please verse nine at what God says. Isaiah 30, verse 9, then we'll go to Isaiah 59. But look in Isaiah 30, in verse 9, God says concerning Israel that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord. So those who will not hear are lying against God. They're denying his authority. They are denying his sovereignty. And God says that they are liars. Then if you will look in Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 13, Isaiah 59 and verse 13, look at it. The Bible says, in transgressing and lying against the Lord and departing away from him, but parting away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. So he said in transgressing and lying against the Lord, When you lie against the Lord, number one, you depart away from our God. Number two, you speak oppression and revolt. Number three, you conceive and utter from the heart words of falsehood." So, notice if you would, here are people who are perverse. They're lying against God, they're lying against the truth, and they're assassinating the character of Moses. Now, today what I wish to do is to emphasize the consequences of rebellion and how it affects not only those who rebel, but others as well. So I will not finish this thought today. It'll take me until next week as well. But I want you to see that very first thing, rebellion always brings the judgment of God. Now, it seems as you read through the scripture, that Israel was nothing more than in constant rebellion against the Lord. If you read Deuteronomy 9, you will see that Moses delineates this rebellion constantly. But there are two verses that stand out in Deuteronomy, and I want you to see them. So if you will turn to Deuteronomy 9, and look if you would please at verse 7 to begin with. Deuteronomy 9 and verse 7. The Word of God says, remember and forget not how thou provokest the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt until you came into this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. Note, when they left Egypt, they began provoking the Lord. And Moses says, throughout the entire time in the wilderness, they have been rebellious. Then if you'll skip down to verse 24 of Deuteronomy chapter 9, Moses said, you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. From the very first day, he said, you have been rebellious. Now here's the interesting thing. As you read through the Old Testament, you're going to find that all of these provocations, all of these rebellions against the Lord always brought certain judgments. At one time, there was the plague. Another time, there were fiery serpents. Another time, there was a sword. I mean, they're just different judgments altogether. However, the judgment of God in Numbers chapter 16 was unique. It was unique not just in the fact that it was different, He was unique in the fact that nothing like this had ever happened before to Israel. This was a unique judgment. So if you look in Numbers chapter 16, and let's begin reading there with verse 23, watch it. Number 16 in verse 23, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins. So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of the tents, and their wives and their sons and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby you shall know the Lord that hath sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of mine own hand. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that have pertained unto them, and they go down quick into the pit, then you shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods, they and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit. And the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were around about them fled at the cry of them, for they said, Lest the earth swell us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense." Now notice, if you would please, here is something that has happened that has never happened before. I want to read to you just a short paragraph written by Matthew Henry, and he gives a very interesting insight. I want you to listen carefully. He's commenting on verse 24 and verse 27. He says this, We have here the determining of the controversy with Dathan and Abiram, who rebelled against Moses, as in the next paragraph, the determining of the controversy with Korah and his company, who would be rivals with Aaron. It should seem that Dathan and Abiram... Now listen to this. It should seem that Dathan and Abiram had set up a spacious tabernacle in the midst of the tents of their families, where they kept court, met in council, and hung out their flag of defiance against Moses. It is here called the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. There, as in the place of rendezvous, Dathan and Abiram said when Korah and his friends went up to the tabernacle of the Lord, awaiting the issue of their trial, but here we are told how they had their business done before the trial was over. That's when they said, we will not come up. Then he said, for God will take what method he pleases in his judgments. Now, if you look back at verse 24, speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And then verse 27, So then they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Now, I want you to pause and think about this. If what Matthew Henry said is true, then these men set up a tabernacle in competition with and also contrary to the sovereign God of heaven and earth. In other words, they were going to set up their own worship. They were going to set up their own priesthood because they said all the congregation is holy and that Moses and Aaron just lifted themselves up above and beyond the congregation. And so now God is judging them specifically and in a very unique way. So, they were basically trying to do what King Jeroboam did later on. That is when he made the two golden calves, and said, These be thy calves, O Israel, who brought thee up, or these be thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And then he made feasts of his own making, and then he appointed men priests of the lowest of the orders. I mean, he appointed priests to whom every wished. In other words, he was making his own state religion. And basically, that is what these people were trying here in Numbers chapter 16 as well. Now, Moses then warned the people to flee from this tabernacle and away from the tents of these wicked men. Some did flee. I'm going to point out next week, although some fled, some did not flee far enough. But you know, one of the truths is that even Korah's sons forsook him and fled at the counsel of Moses. Now, the very fact that Moses said, if these men die a common death of all men, then God has not sent me. But he said, if a new thing happened, if the earth opens up and swallows them alive, and they go down quick into the pit, then you'll know that the Lord has sent me, and I have done everything at His command." So, when he said, if they die a common death, the common death would be dying of sickness, dying of the plague, dying by a sword, dying of old age. The very fact that God immediately did exactly what Moses suggested. Shows you that God is vindicating Moses and Aaron, but it also shows you what I'm going to call the extreme wickedness of these men, because Moses foretold before it happened what exactly was going to happen unto these men. Now, the earth opened up and swallowed these people alive. The 250 princes were consumed with fire. Moses spoke the Word, and God did the work. It's much like Elijah in 1 Kings, not yet, 2 Kings chapter 1 it is, when the king had sent messengers to Beelzebub, And Elijah said, you go back to the king and say, is it not because there's no God in Israel that you sin to the God of Beelzebub, which means the God of the filth or God of the flies? He said, go back and tell the king he's going to die. He's not going to come up off that bed. And of course, when the king found out it was Elijah, what did he do? He sent a captain with his 50 men to where Elijah was and The captain said, O thou man of God, the king has said, come down. Elijah said, if I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy 50, and it happened. The second captain and his 50 were sent, and he was a little more adamant. He said, O thou man of God, the king has said, come down quickly. Elijah said, if I'm a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy 50, and it did. And when he got to the third captain, the third captain came up and knelt and said, oh my Lord, have mercy upon us. Fire came from heaven and consumed the former captains with their fifties, but be thou merciful to us, you know? And God told Elijah, go with him, have no fear, it's taken care of. But Elijah called for it, God did the work. Moses called for this and God did the work. Now I want you to listen to what Adam Clark said, one short paragraph. He said, they and all that appertained to them, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all that appertained to their respective families, went down into the pit caused by the supernatural earthquake, while the fire from the Lord consumed the 250 men that bear the censers. Thus, there were two distinct punishments, the pit and the fire, for the two divisions of these rebels." I think it's interesting that there was the pit, and then there's the fire. So here's the question that I want to ask you. Why was this judgment so severe? Think about that. Why was this judgment... These people had provoked God 10 times, the Bible tells us, and yet God had never done this before. He judged them previously, but not like this. So why is this judgment so severe? Well, if you look in Numbers chapter 26, Numbers chapter 26, let's begin reading with verse seven, and we'll read down through verse 11. These are the families of the Reubenites. And they that were numbered of them were 40 and 3,730, and of the sons of Paul, Eliab, and the sons of Eliab, Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah when they strove against the Lord. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah. When that company died, what time the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a sign. Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not. So the children of Korah obeyed Moses, got away from their father. The Korahites were singers, they were Levites. You will find some of the Psalms dedicated to the sons of Korah. So his sons did not die with him, they left him. But if you will look in verse 10, the Bible says, when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when the company died, what time the fire devoured 250 men and they became a sign. And in other words, This judgment was a special judgment because it is a sign. Now, the Hebrew word for sign is the word nase, which properly signifies a sign, a flag, an enzyme, or a standard. In other words, it's something clear, plain, and obvious. You look right down I-75, you're going to find on one hand, a huge Confederate flag flying. On the other hand, you'll find a huge American flag flying. Well, that's a sign. I mean, you can see it very clearly. It's there. It's very prominent. That's exactly what this word means. It means that they are there And what happened to them is not only a sign, but it also is a monument, which I'll explain a little bit later, and a memorial to warn others not to sin this way against God, not to be rebellious. Now, you have to remember, as you go back, to Numbers chapter 16. These men had their censers and they had them full of incense and they were offering them to the Lord. And here's what God said in Numbers chapter 16, beginning there with verse 36. Watch it. Numbers 16 and verse 36. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder, for they are hallowed. Now look at verse 38. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar. For they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed, and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers wherewith they were burnt, and had offered, and they were made broad plates for covering of the altar. Now look, to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he be not as Korah and as his company as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses." Now, I want you to note, if you would, again, the word sign is used in verse 38. He says, The censers of these sinners against their own souls let them be made broad plates for a covering of the altar, for they offer them before the Lord. Therefore, they are hallowed, and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel." Now, the word sign here is the Hebrew word af, which refers to a sign, a token, a warning, a distinguishing mark, or a proof. So Eleazar then is to take these censures, beat them out, make broad plates out of them, and put them on the altar for everyone to see. The censures were evidently brass, that's what the brazen altar was, and so they covered that altar. Now, if you look in verse 40, He says, "...to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger which is not of the seed of Aaron come near to offer incense before the Lord." in order that he be not as Chlora and as his company, as the Lord said to him by the hand of Moses. So this word for memorial is the Hebrew word a zikron, which is used to be as a reminder, a remembrance, thus a memorial. That's what a memorial is. We have a memorial day. What does that mean? It means we're to call to mind all those who died fighting for freedom. You have a Confederate Memorial Day. You can have an American Revolution Memorial Day. There are all kinds of memorials, and everything that a memorial is designed to do is to bring back to mind that which happened. And so God says, this is exactly what I want this to be. I want it to be a sign. I want it to be something waving like a big flag that everybody will remember what happened here. I want these censors. I want them beaten into plates, put on the altar, and anybody who comes to offer, they'll see that plate and they will remember, you don't fight against God's orderly way. You don't elevate yourself if God has not called you. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles. Hold in number 16, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 106. Psalm 106. And let's begin reading there at verse 16. Psalm 106 and verse 16. Look at what the Bible says. They, and that would refer to Korah and his company, Dathan and Abiram and on, watch. They envied Moses also in the camp and Aaron the saint of the Lord. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram. And a fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked. Now, God reminds us over and over throughout the Bible about the rebellion of Korah and his company. So, let me begin by pointing out several truths, several applications, which you and I need to know and understand based upon what we've just covered. First of all, the judgment against Korah and his company was at the same time a vindication of Moses and Aaron. God did indeed call Moses, and God did indeed call Aaron. So, many people like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, do not hesitate to attack God's preachers. Now, let me point out the fact. Most professing Christians think absolutely nothing about attacking God's preachers. I know, I understand that there are preachers that have never been called by God. They're there just for the money. They're there just for the prestige. They're there just for the ease, whatever. For instance, I have a good friend. When he was young, he wanted to, he was thinking seriously about entering the ministry. He's a fine Christian man. He's a doctor today, but he asked his pastor, why did he become a preacher? And the pastor's response was, it's a good job. It's a good job. It's not a ministry. God didn't necessarily call me to this. It's just a good job. Yeah. And of course, if you enter this as a job, it can be a very easy job. Because most denominations already sent you printed sermons which they want you to read or which they want you to preach. You don't really have to do any work. You just have to be a sweet man who kind of visits everybody and is very likable. And that's it. And some men have entered this as what we would call a profession. I heard one preacher with my own ears. He had helped perform a marriage ceremony. And one lady was talking to him and telling him that he did a good job. And I heard his response. He said, of course I did. I am a professional. Really? The point I'm going to make is this. Just because there are some men who have never been called of God, and just because there are some men who never really study the Scripture and never expound the Scripture, never explain the Scripture, never apply the Scripture, does not mean that God does not have His own men who do exactly that. Now, let me quote just a couple of verses. In Psalm 17, verse 8, it said, Keep me as the apple of thine eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Of course, the apple of the eye is the pupil. It's the tenderest part of the body. I have been amazed at how my eye protects itself so many times. I've been in the woods walking and a limb coming. I guess my eye sees it somehow before I... I can even process it, and my head automatically turns. I'm just simply saying, you protect the pupil of your eye. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 2 and verse 8, for thus saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory hath he sent me into the nations, which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye. That's what the Bible says. Now, since we're in the book of Psalms, look at Psalm 105. Beginning there in verse 13 Look what the scripture says when they went from one nation to another For one kingdom to another people he suffered no man to do them wrong Now we're not just talking about everyone in general Yeah, he reproved Kings for their sake saying touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm Now it is fine to mock and ridicule the false prophets and the false gods all you want to, because they're nothing anyhow. I mean, Elijah did. He not only mocked Baal, he mocked the worshipers of Baal. He'd say, cry louder. He is a god, he could be asleep, could be in the bathroom, but cry louder. He was just mocking them. And certainly, a false prophet, a false preacher deserves no respect whatsoever. Read through the book of Isaiah, read through the book of Jeremiah, and you will find how God killed a lot of the false prophets because they themselves taught rebellion. We looked at that last week with Hananiah and Shemiah. God killed them because of that. Now, all I'm trying to say is this, mocking a false prophet or mocking a false God is one thing, but mocking the one true and the living God and those whom he has sent is quite another thing. So, let me show you. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I want you to see this, especially now in light of what is happening in Numbers chapter 16, because this is one reason why God gave such a unique judgment to this Korah and his company, because they were mocking the men that he ordained and the men that he sent. So, in 2 Corinthians 5, if you will begin reading with me with verse 18, look at it. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation. Now in the context, Paul is talking about himself and other preachers. Now look what he says, verse 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us, the preachers, the word of reconciliation. Then he says this, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. Now look at this, as though God did beseech you by us. Let me just stop right there. As though God did beseech you by us. Any man who will not hear a preacher of God, who is expounding and explaining and applying the word of God, will not hear God. That's what he said. Now, then we are ambassadors for God as though God did beseech you by us. I've had people say to me in times past, well, Brother Weaver, that's just got to be your opinion. I mean, if I heard God say it, I'd believe it. Let me tell you something. If it's in the scripture and if the scripture is being expounded and explained, God did say it. This is what he's talking about. Now, look at verse 20 again. He said, Now then, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled unto God. We pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled unto God. Now, the little word stead is the Greek word hupere. And it literally means in the place of. If I were to make this sentence and proclaim it, Christ died in our stead, how would you interpret that? Christ died in our place. That's what it means. We deserve to die. But He took our place. He died instead of us. He died in our stead. Now, look what He said. We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled unto God. Okay? Where is the Lord Jesus Christ today? He's seated at the right hand of God the Father. What has He done? According to Ephesians chapter 4, He gave some apostles and prophets and some evangelists and some pastor-teachers. That's exactly what He has done. Now, so the Scripture is telling us and teaching us that we are here in Christ's stead. We're here in His place. He is not here on earth. He's at the right hand of God the Father. We're here in His place. Now, let me show you how this word is used. I want you to turn over to the book of Philemon, right before the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, James, Philemon before Hebrews. And you know the story in the book of Philemon, at least I hope you do. In the book of Philemon, Philemon was a pastor. He had a slave by the name of Onesimus. And that's a story in itself. But Onesimus stole from Philemon and ran away to Rome. Just so happened the apostle Paul was in a dungeon in Rome and Onesimus somehow got arrested and got thrown in the same dungeon as the apostle Paul. And so while he was in that dungeon, God converted Onesimus. And so now the apostle Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon, who happens to be a friend of the apostle Paul. Now, look what he says. beginning with verse 12, talking about Onesimus, whom I have sinned again, that thou therefore receive him that is mine own bowels. In other words, this is my child now, I've birthed him in Christ, receiving is myself. But look what he said in verse 13. whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead, in thy huper, he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefits should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly." Paul said, I really wanted to keep Onesimus here, that he might minister to me in your stead. If you were here, I know that you would minister to me. and I'd really like to keep him in your stead, that is in your place, but I don't want it to be of necessity, so I'm sending him back. But Paul said, I'm willing to keep him in your stead. Do you realize our Lord made this same truth exceedingly clear in Matthew 10 in verse 40? Because when he sent out his disciples, he said this, He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. So, anyone who receives the Lord Jesus Christ, receives the Father who sent the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who receives the preaching and teaching of the people that our Lord sends, the men that He sends out to preach and teach, When they received that teaching, they received the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. So, that's what He's saying. So, here we have the importance of Moses and Aaron being vindicated because they were God's ordained and appointed ministers. And, of course, Korah and Dathan and Abiram and on were not. Now, here's the second thing. Listen carefully. Those who will not hear and will not heed and obey the Word of God, communicated by the men of God, in this instance Moses and Aaron, will suffer a devastating loss. I want you to go back to Numbers chapter 16. I want to show you a very heart-rending situation. And I hope next week it will be even more evident of the heart-rending that we must see. Wow. To show you how adamant in their rebellion these people were, look at verse 27. Numbers chapter 16, verse 27. So they got them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of the tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. They came out and stood in the door of their tents." In other words, they were defiant. They were determined. They were dedicated to what they thought up until the very last moments. They were in rebellion. They would not listen. They would not hear. And so they just come out and defiantly stand in the door of their tent and saying, we dare you. We dare you look in verse 34. In fact, let's begin reading verse 32. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up. And their houses and all the men that appertained to Korah and all their goods, they and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit. and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation. Here it is, and all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up." In other words, Dathan and Baramkor, all these people were crying, screaming as the earth opened and swallowed them and then closed upon them. They were literally buried alive. The point I'm trying to make is they cried, but their cry was too late. They realized they were doomed, but it was too late. Crying in destruction is too late. How heart-rending is this truth? Just stop and think about this. Yes, they got what they deserved. Yes, they wanted justice. God gave them justice. That is true. But notice if you would, they refused to listen, they refused to hear, they refused the counsel, they refused the advice, they refused everything. They were just so adamant that they were right. And they stood defiantly until God opened the earth. And they went screaming into the pit, being buried alive, as the earth closed upon them. They refused reproof, they refused instruction. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 and verse one, he that being often reproved and hardened his neck shall suddenly be destroyed in that without remedy. I can't help but think of the wives that are lost. The husbands that are lost. The children that are lost. And they are so adamant. They're so determined in their rebellion against God. They're so defiant. They will not bend. They will not bow. They will not submit. And yet, when they're swallowed up in judgment, they will also cry, but it'll be too late. Too late. Too late. It's like in the book of Jeremiah. The harvest is past, the summer's ended, and we're not saved. That's why the Word of God says, Behold, today is the day of salvation. God does not promise us another day or morrow or night. He doesn't promise another five minutes or two minutes. God only vindicates Moses and Aaron. He judges these people in such a unique way that they are to be a sign. They're to be a memorial to God's righteous judgment, that when we read of these, when we think of these, when we see this, we say, Lord, preserve us. Lord, protect us. We do not want to be like Korah and his company. You cannot rebel without facing the judgment of God. And in this instance, it was a unique judgment. Judgment is coming, according to Acts 17, verses 30 and 31. And we need to hear and we need to be ready. And the only way we can be ready is through the grace and mercy of God and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, we do ask you today to help us, to teach us. Lord, help us to see the heartache in one sense of the word yet, Lord, and the justice of God on the other hand, and the lives of these people. And Lord, you've given them as a warning, as a flashing light that we are not to rebel that we're not to grieve thee. And so I pray, Father, that you would open our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts, grant us understanding, grant us repentance, grant us faith. And Lord, we pray for our lost children, our lost husbands and wives, our lost friends and neighbors. We ask you, Lord, to deal in mercy because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that you draw thine elect into thyself, whomever they are, wherever they are, to save thy people. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.