An Uprising in the Camp
Part One
Praise 
!
All glory, credit, and exaltation be to the God of the universe,
, who without Him, there would be no life. We must forever thank our Father and Creator, , for keeping us safe; for if it had not been who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they [would have] quickly swallowed us up, when their wrath was kindled against us: for, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart (Psalm 124:2-3 and Psalm 11:2).
But know this, Israel, Upon the wicked shall our Father
, rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous [the] Lord, , loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright. And they that trust in the Lord, , shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. Do good, O Lord, , unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. Let the wicked fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against Thee. But let all those that put their trust in Thee [] rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee. Praise Praise (Psalm 11:6-7 Psalm 125:1,4 and Psalm 5:10-11).
And for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many), we must forever show forth our thanks and accolades to our Saviour,
, the only One in existence who has answered the most daring calling known to man, which was to leave His heavenly throne, come all the way down to a mentally dead backwards people and resurrect us, teach and reveal His Divine Ten Step Study Method, and proclaim the name of His Father, , throughout the earth. And He did this knowing that He would be betrayed and would have to sacrifice Himself just so that His children may live. Yet, He still accepted the charge and obeyed His Father, .
Oh, yes! I'm talking about the most handsome, merciful, divine, all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent Gift, the self-sacrificing Servant, and obedient Son of
, . Todah, , for your everlasting love, mercy, peace, grace, and truth. Give Him all the glory that He is due. Praise Praise !
Shalom and welcome to this, the Twenty-Eighth Annual Feast of Tabernacles 6011, in the luxurious Marriot Chateau Champlain Hotel, the only place where our Father,
, has chosen to place His most holy and divine name. Also, welcome to this seminar entitled, "An Uprising In the Camp," Part 1. Our foundation Scripture for studying about this uprising in the camp is written in Numbers, Chapter 16. However, today, we shall begin our study of these series of events with Verses 1 through 3. Let us turn to and read Numbers, Chapter 16, verses 1 through 3. Read:
Numbers 16:1 "Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:The characters here are Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On. These characters took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, to be exact. Now these men were not just common people, they were famous in the congregation and men of renown.
Numbers 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Numbers 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord,
This is the scenario that started an uprising in the camp (or congregation): The four characters all gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. And they complained that they (Moses and Aaron) took too much upon themselves. The implication of this complaint--voiced mainly by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On--was that Moses and Aaron had taken too many responsibilities upon themselves, and they (Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On) felt that the whole congregation should take part in. So they said to them (Moses and Aaron), essentially, you are not the only ones that are holy, all the congregation are holy, every one of us. And
is not only among you, but He is also among us too. Now to stir things up, they arrogantly said: For what reason then do you lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord, ?
Now let us get some background information on these four characters, which will shed light on this whole scenario. Korah was a Levite; and Dathan, Abiram, and On were sons of Reuben. According to the World's Bible Dictionary, Student Edition, Copyright 1990, on page 261 (under the word Levite) "the Levites were the servants in the Israelite religious system." In the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 2003, Computer Software, religious is characterized as "devoted to religious observances"; and system is defined as "an organized set of principles"; and principles are featured as "a comprehensive and fundamental law." Therefore, Korah, a Levite, was a servant of
who was devoted to observing the organized set of comprehensive and fundamental laws of the Israelites.
In the same source, on page 252 (under the name Korah) it states the following: "the other group was headed by two from the tribe of Reuben (Dathan and Abiram) who were envious of Moses' position as national leader." In the same aforementioned source, on page 371 (under the name Reuben), it verifies that "as the eldest of Jacob's twelve sons, Reuben had the right to the blessing of the firstborn. At times, he showed qualities of character and leadership but he lost the firstborn's rights because of his immorality with one of his father's concubines." What does the word firstborn mean? Firstborn, in the Webster's New World College Dictionary & Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998, Computer Edition, means, "born first in a family." Born is defined as, "brought into life by birth," according to the American Heritage Talking Dictionary, copyright 1997, Computer Software. Birth, in the Merriam Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 2003, Computer Software, means, "biological." The New Oxford American Dictionary, copyright 2001, defines the word biological as, "related by blood." Lastly, the word family, found in The New Webster Comprehensive Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, Copyright 1964-1967, on page 318 means, "those who descend from one common progenitor." Thus, the firstborn is one who descends from one common progenitor and is, therefore, related by blood.
Based on these facts, we can affirm that Korah, from the tribe of Levi, was a servant of
in the congregation of Israel, who was devoted to observing the organized set of comprehensive and fundamental laws of the Israelites. And Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben, their common progenitor and, therefore, related by blood. However, as the eldest of Jacob's twelve sons, Reuben had the right to the blessing of the firstborn, thus the position of leadership. But because of his immorality with one of his father's concubines, he lost that right. Let us turn to and read Genesis, Chapter 49, verses 3-4, for verification. Read:
Genesis 49:3 "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:With that said, we now know that Korah, a servant of
Genesis 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch."
, and Dathan, Abiram, and On--as descendants of Reuben, who lost their position of leadership due to their progenitor's immorality--were all envious of Moses' position, which they perceived to be national leader. Well, let us see how Moses' position is classified in the Bible. Let us turn to and read Daniel, Chapter 9, verse 11. Read:
". . . Moses the servant of God,With that said, we can firmly stand on the fact that
chose Moses (Psalm 106:23); therefore, Moses' position was classified as the "SERVANT" of and according to The Synonym Finder, by J.I. Rodale, copyright 1978, the word servant is synonymous to messenger.
Let us return to Numbers Chapter 16. Now in accordance with Verse 1 Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On took men. Let us consult the dictionary to validate exactly how they "took men." First the word took and then the word men.
According to the e-Sword, Computer Software, copyright 2004, the word, took (reference number 3947) is pronounced in Hebrew, law-kakh', and it means, "to bring." Some synonyms for the word bring are "shepherd, and institute," as found in The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, copyright 2000, Computer Software. To shepherd in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, Sixth Edition, copyright 2005, Computer Software, is to "tend and herd (sheep) as a shepherd." In the same source, tend means to "turn the mind to." Confirmed in Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software, the word herd means "to gather together as a group," and the word sheep is recognized as, "a person who is meek or submissive, etc."
From the word bring (deriving from took), we can confirm that because of "envy," these four characters gathered together a meek and submissive group, and turned their minds to something that caused them, as a group, to rise up before Moses, the messenger of
.
The word bring (from the word took) was also defined as to institute. Now the American Heritage Talking Dictionary, copyright 1997, Computer Software validates that the word institute means "to organize and set in operation; to establish a position; to initiate." In Shorter Oxford Dictionary, Sixth Edition, copyright 2005, Computer Software, the word position is defined as "a point of view; state of affairs." In Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus, copyright 1996, on page 1312, state of affairs (reference number 725.4) is the same as "the way things are; how it is." To initiate is to "instigate" (page 576); instigate (page 584) means to "egg on, beguile, stir up" (as referenced in The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale, copyright 1978).
Therefore, these facts further confirm from the word bring, which springs from the word took, that these four envious characters stirred up a meek and submissive group to rise up before Moses--the servant of
. They egged them on and even beguiled them into helping them to organize and set up an operation to establish their points of view about the way things were and how they were being done by Moses, the messenger of .
This brings us to the next word we will define in Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 1, which is men, which will clearly establish the group spoken of. Please take note that this verse is not just referring to men in general, so let us go to Webster's New World College Dictionary & Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998, Computer Edition, for clarity, and it defines men as "man." In the same source it states that a man is recognized as "men and women."
Wherefore, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On--who were envious of Moses, the servant of
--gathered together a group of meek and submissive men and women, and got them all stirred up so they could help them organize and set up an operation to establish their points of view about the way things were and how they felt things should have been done. Unrelentingly, they egged them on, and eventually, they did what is written in Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 2. So let us read what they did:
Numbers 16:2 "And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown":They rose up before Moses. To be more explicit, let us define the word rose. Rose is the "past tense of rise," according to The New Oxford American Dictionary, copyright 2001, Computer Edition. In the thesaurus of this same source, the word rise means to "riot; refuse to obey orders; or take up arms." While riot, in the Webster's New World College Dictionary & Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998, Computer Edition, is defined as to "take part in a disturbance of the peace"; order (in the same source), the singular of orders, is described as "observance of the law; directions and instructions."
These facts clearly show that Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On--along with the group of meek and submissive men and women--refused observance of the laws of
. And, as such, they would not follow the directions and instructions that came from Himself, through His messenger, Moses. Therefore, they took part in a disturbance of the peace, which ultimately developed into them taking up arms before Moses, the servant of .
To be more specific as to what actually took place, we are going to examine closely what take up arms really mean. In Webster's New World College Dictionary & Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998, Computer Edition, under the word arms it directs us to, "see fight." In the same source, the word fight is defined as, "to overcome; to contend with, as by legislation, etc." As recorded in The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, copyright 2000), the word overcome is cited as, "to overthrow." Overthrow means to, "depose." And the word depose means to, "remove from office suddenly and forcefully." And contend in the American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, copyright 2002, on page 309, is defined as, "to strive in controversy." And, the word as is defined as "in accordance with what" (according to Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 2003, Computer Software). Lastly, the word legislation is described as, "law" (as recorded in The New Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 2001).
So, based on these facts, we can logically conclude that these four characters took part in a disturbance of the peace, which ultimately developed into them trying to remove Moses suddenly and forcefully from his position as a messenger of
, in accordance with what was stated in the law. What does the word law mean?
According to Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 2003, Computer Software, law is described as "the revelation of the will of God set forth in the Old Testament." We can conclude from these facts that these four characters, along with the meek and submissive men and women, tried to remove Moses suddenly and forcefully from his position as a messenger of
, in accordance with what they perceived to be the revelation of the will of God, , set forth in the Old Testament.
This is what we gathered from the word rose. Now let us examine what they did from the perspective of the phrase rise up, the present tense of rose up, since they--Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On--"rose up" before Moses. The phrase rise up is defined as a "revolt" (according to Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus, copyright 1996, on page 1250). Revolt means "insurrection" (as referenced in Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software). Insurrection is described as "organized opposition intended to overthrow authority" (as documented in the American Heritage Talking Dictionary, copyright 1997, Computer Software).
Thus, we can ascertain from this additional information that these four characters, along with the meek and submissive men and women, organized opposition against Moses intended to overthrow His authority as the servant of
, in accordance with their perception of the revelation of the will of God, , that is set forth in the Old Testament. And this takes us to the next word to be defined in our Scripture, which is before.
In The American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, copyright 2002, the word before, on page 127 is defined as, "in a position superior to." Superior in The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, copyright 2000, means, "snobby." Snob, the root of snobby, in the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, copyright 1999, Software Edition, is, "a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward those who hold other opinions." And a connoisseur in the Merriam Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 2003, Computer Software, is "one who understands the details or principles of an art and is competent to act as a critical judge."
In view of all of our research, we can determine that the envious ones--Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On along with the group of meek and submissive men and women--attempted to overthrow Moses from his position as the servant/messenger of
because they held the belief that they were experts in understanding the details and principles of the revelation of the will of God, , that He set forth in the Old Testament.
And because they were under the illusion that Moses was acting as a critical judge on his own, they were of the opinion that they too were competent to act in the same capacity as a speaker for
. Therefore, they were condescending toward Moses because they felt that he held other opinions in the revelation of the will of as set forth in the Old Testament. In other words, they held other opinions about the way things were and how they were being done by Moses.
Let us turn to and read Exodus, Chapter 7, verse 6 and learn whether their illusions were correct or not. Read:
Exodus 7:6 "And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord,Moses only did what
commanded him to do, which means that their opposition to Moses' opinion was not against Moses. So let us read Exodus, Chapter 16, verse 8 to establish who their opposition was really against, and it reads in part:
Exodus 16:8 And Moses said, "... for that the Lord,Because they were under this false illusion of Moses being a critical judge, they could not see that Moses was only the messenger of
, and that he was only doing what commanded him to do. Therefore, their opposition and murmurings were not against Moses but, rather, against Himself.
In addition, after Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On gathered together this group of meek and submissive men and women to help them in their attempt to overthrow Moses from his post as the chosen messenger of
who spake on behalf of , then let us continue with the next part of Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 2, which tells us that they came (let us read):
"... with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown":The key words in this Scripture that we are going to define are: with, certain, prince, assembly, famous, and renown. First, the word with.
The word with, in accordance with Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software, is characterized as "in support of." Our second word, certain (in the same source) also means "some, but not very much"; and much is defined as "many." The third word, prince is "a man regarded as outstanding in a particular group" (as stated in the Oxford American Dictionary, Copyright 2000, Computer Software). And in the same source, an assembly, our fourth word, is synonymous to "congregation." According to Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, copyright 1994, on page 490, the word famous, our fifth word, means the same as illustrious, which suggests "a reputation based on brilliance of achievement or splendidness of character." Our last and sixth word, renown is defined as "a state of being widely acclaimed and highly honored" (according to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, copyright 1989, on page 998).
Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On persuaded some, but not very many--two hundred and fifty to be exact--of the meek and submissive ones among the children of Israel to support them in their opposition against Moses intended to overthrow His authority as the chosen servant/messenger of
, because they held other opinions about the way things were and how they were being done. These were men and women who were widely acclaimed and highly honored among themselves in the congregation because of the brilliance of achievement they felt they had acquired among themselves in the revelation of the will of as set forth in the Old Testament. And, not only that, but they were also known for the splendidness of their character among each other.
Now let us turn to and read, Verse 3 of Numbers, Chapter 16, which describes what they did next, and it reads:
"And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord,We see here that Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On--along with the two hundred and fifty widely known and highly acclaimed men and women in the congregation--gathered themselves together against both Moses and against Aaron.
The word gather (the present tense of gathered) in Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, copyright 1994, on page 558, means "to cause to come together in one place." In accordance with Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software, the word against means "in the face of."
This tells us exactly what they did next: this group came together in one place to voice "their" opinion in the face of Moses and Aaron. In other words, they got in Moses' and Aaron's face and told them what was on their minds or how they felt about the way things were and how they were being done.
And they said, Ye take too much upon you. What exactly were they implying? The word take, in the Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software, means "to assume as a responsibility, to occupy oneself in." The word much is defined as, "great deal" (as recorded in the American Heritage Talking Dictionary, copyright 1997, Computer Software). Lastly, in The Random House College Dictionary, Revised Edition, copyright 1988, on page 1466, the word upon means, "on one's person."
By virtue of these facts, we can state that this group came together in one place and got in Moses' and Aaron's faces and expressed that they occupied a great deal of responsibility for two people, especially, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them . . . . Can't you just feel the envy, anger, and arrogance? For a better understanding of what they were suggesting, let us deduce the statement, "... seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord,
, is among them: ...."
The word seeing, in the e-Sword, Computer Software, copyright 2004, reference number #3588, is spelled kiy (and pronounced kee), and it means "since." The word since is defined as "for the reason that" (as stated in the Webster's New World Dictionary & Thesaurus, copyright 1998, Computer Software). In the same source, the word congregation is described this way: "Bible as the whole body of Israelites." While the word holy in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, Sixth Edition, copyright 2005, Computer Software is referenced as "(of a person) specially belonging to God"; the word among means "in association with" (as taken from (Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, copyright 1999, Software Edition). And, lastly, association means the same as "communication" (as documented in The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, copyright 2000, Computer Software).
So we can conclude that Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On were saying, for the reason that the whole body of Israelites belong to
, and that the Lord, , communicate with them too, let us read the last part of Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 3, and read for yourself what they said to Moses and Aaron, starting with wherefore:
". . . wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord,We will now analyze and decode this bold and arrogant question made by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On to Moses and Aaron to find out what they were accusing them of doing. The word wherefore in the e-Sword, Computer Software, copyright 2004, (reference number 4100), is pronounced in Hebrew mad-doo'-ah, and it means "why." The word then, in the Webster's New World College Dictionary & Thesaurus, Fourth Edition, copyright 1998, Computer Edition, is defined as, "in that case." In the same source, the word lift is recorded as, "to raise in rank; bring to a higher level; elevate." Elevate in The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, copyright 2000, is recognized as, "raise to a more important or impressive level." A synonym for the word above in The Synonym Finder, by J.I. Rodale, copyright 1978, on page 6 is, "greater than."
Judging by the merits of these newly acquired facts, we can state that after Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On told Moses and Aaron to their faces that not only do you occupy a great deal of responsibility for two people, but we also feel that everyone in the congregation is brilliant in the law of
, everyone of us belong to , and communicates with us just like He communicates with you. Then they--along side the two hundred and fifty meek and submissive men and women--firmly stated with that being the case, why have you (Moses and Aaron) raised yourselves up in rank and brought yourselves to a higher or more important or impressive level of importance that is greater than the rest of us in the congregation of the Lord, ?
Now, put yourselves in Moses and Aaron's shoes. How do you think they felt when they were confronted with all of this? Especially since Moses, Aaron, and Korah were all from the same tribe of Levi or, better still, Levites. All of them were servants of
, however, chose Moses and Aaron to speak on His behalf. They only did what commanded them to do. Here is a whole group of people--being led by another Levite, and three Reubenites--who are all the children of Israel--attempting to depose Moses from the position that chose him to do.
Moses was quite overwhelmed by all of this, because the next verse in Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 4, tells us how Moses reacted. Let us read Numbers, Chapter 16, verse 4. Read:
"And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face":All of this overpowered Moses so much that it made him fall on his face. However, by him knowing that the Lord,
, is far from the wicked: but He [hears] the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29), he said what is stated in Numbers 16:5. Let us read that please:
Numbers 16:5 "And he [Moses] spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord,They were able to make Moses fall on his face, but he bounced right back and told them that
will show who are His, and who is holy. Nevertheless, this is where we will begin our discussion of Part 2 of, "An Uprising In the Camp."
I pray that the Lord,
, and watch between me and thee while we are absent one from another. May the grace of and be with us all. Shalom, Shalom, and Praise Praise