Good morning and would you join
me in the book of Numbers chapter 26. Numbers chapter 26. Last Sunday I said that we would
only spend one Sunday on that chapter because there is so much
just repetition and we picked out a few things but there is
10 words that caught my eye particularly, you know, in religion, I never
told anybody where I was going to be when I was going to preach.
I can't tell you, it's a secret. Well, Nancy and I go over it
most of the time now, and she's the one that says, what about
that verse? And I say, oh, yes, I forgot about that. Well, it's
in Numbers chapter 26, and we're going to start reading. Verse 7. Our verse that we would
like to look at is verse 11, so I want to read that first.
Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not. Now that's an interesting verse
to find in a list of numbers. Let's back up here to verse 7,
These are the families of the Reubenites, and they that were
numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred
and thirty, and the sons of Eliab and the sons of Eliab,
Nehemiah and Dathan and Abram. And this is that Dathan and Abram
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 up 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 and then we
go on to the next son and that's the simeon Would you back up with me in
the book of Numbers to chapter 16 for two or three verses of
scripture as we kind of catch up on some of the history. We
went over it some time ago, but we'd like to look at it again.
And here are just a few verses out of this. It tells us in verse
one of the 16th chapter of the book of Numbers, now Korah, the
son of Issachar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, Now, he is a cousin of Moses.
And then we get into the Reubenites, and it says, And Dathan and Abram,
the son of Eliab, and An, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,
took men, and they rose up before Moses with certain children of
Israel, 250 princes of assembly, famous in the congregation. And
as we read through here, and as we read through here, Sundays
ago, we found out that there was a problem with these men,
and their heart was not right with God. Now, turn with me to
the book of Acts for just a moment. Acts chapter 8, if you would. Acts chapter 8. There's an incident
over here that shares those words which sum up the problem with
these people that we read about here in Numbers chapter 16, and
they're brought out in Numbers chapter 26. In the book of Acts
chapter 8, we read these words, verse 18. Now notice these words. thy heart is not right in the
sight of God." And then the Apostle Peter says, you know, I have
nothing to do about this, but I only call on you to repent,
therefore, of this wickedness. Now, as we go back to the book
of Numbers, we find that they also share with us that, as Stephen
brought out in his message to those Pharisees, ye stiff-necked
and uncircumcised in heart." We're speaking to a group of
people that are coming up against God. They don't call it that,
but they come up against God's servants, Moses and Aaron, and
say, we are just as good as you are to lead these people. Numbers
chapter 16 and verse three, would you notice this with me? Numbers
chapter 16 and verse three, as we find that the Lord shares
with us in this book of Numbers, that there is a place in every
heart of wickedness and contriteness against God, and it is only God
that can give us a new heart and change our attitude towards
God. Now, we may reel out towards
the preacher, and we may reel out towards the deacon, and we
may reel out against the Bible class teacher, but when we are
disagreeing with them over the gospel, we are in reality disagreeing
with Almighty God over it, and He's the one that we're really
angry with. And so when these people came
up against Moses and Aaron, they?re maybe angry with them, and they
want the part that they have, but they?re really challenging
God in what He has done and what He has said when He chose them
to be in the position that they?re in. In the book of Numbers 16,
verse 3, we read this, and it says, 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 is among them. Wherefore, when
ye lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. So
they're challenging Moses, and they're challenging Aaron, and
in reality, They are challenging Almighty God in what He has to
do. You know, they have a misunderstanding
about God to begin with, because their heart is not right with
God. And then in verse 27 of that same chapter, verse 27 of
the book of Numbers, we have this recorded, and it says, And
so they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dothan, and Abram,
and every side. And Dothan and Abram came out
and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their
sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall
know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works, for
I have not done them of my own mind. If these men die the common
death of all men, or if they be visited upon 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 appertaineth unto them, and they go down quick
into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked
the Lord. Now, if we back up, we do not
find that Korah's sons or children are mentioned in that verse.
It's only those that are of the tribe of Reuben that are mentioned
there. Now, I made the mistake when I originally went through
there that they too went down into the pit. But as we found
out in Numbers chapter 26 that the Lord did not do that. Well,
we know the results of that. The earth opens up, and the judgment
came, and the testimony of the Lord stood sure. And just as
we find there in the book of Lamentations, the mercy of the
Lord, that's the only thing that was different between those people
and the children of Korah, it is of the Lord's mercies that
we're not concerned, consumed. And so notwithstanding, the children
of Korah died not." Now, to me, that was a wonderful statement.
Those words found among all of that list. And I had to ask myself
the question, why did they not go along with their dad? What
prevented them? Now, some people would say, well,
they were just smarter. They could see a bad thing happening.
And some of them said, well, I haven't followed him all my
life. Why should I follow him now? And there were those of Korah's
household that the Lord was very gracious to. You know, when we
look at this, we find out that those boys, those girls, those
children of Korah that did not go down into the pit are the
subjects of the very mercy of Almighty God. He is the only
reason they would not choose the steps that their father had.
The only reason that I did not choose the steps that my father
had, and my mother had, and my grandparents had, and them before
them, and through the generations that I can find lots of religious
people, but nobody knew the first thing about the gospel. The only
difference is I wasn't smarter. I didn?t say, ?Well, I won?t
make that mistake.? It was the mercy of Almighty God. And let
us look at a few verses of Scripture that share with us this great
truth about why we may be believers and our brother or our sister
or our children may not be a believer. Korah was an unbeliever. He had
no interest in God. He was only positioning himself,
as we find over in the book of Jude, the gainsaying of Korah. I want to be equal with everybody
else. It s interesting that when he
gets to the very end and puts his foot in his mouth the greatest,
he thinks he s the holiest. I am I want to be just like you,
and I will take the position. How interesting that is, when
most people get the most desperate against God, and most shake their
fist the most against God, is when they think they are the
holiest. And then we find out that we
have no holiness of our own, we have no righteousness of our
own, and we are stupid and fools when we think we are. Well, turn
with me to the book of Romans. As Brother Mike went through
many verses of Scripture, I?d like to do the same this morning,
because the Bible is filled with passages of Scripture that share
with us the only reason that the children of Korah did not
go down into the pit was the mercy of God. His interest in
them before the foundation of the world. And we're going to
find out that there's 8 or 10 times in the Psalms that the
children of Korah are mentioned in a positive light, because
they were righteous before God. Romans chapter 9 and verse 16
shares so much about this. Romans chapter 9 and verse 16.
I'm taking a small trip. this Wednesday with a friend
of mine I've been visiting with for about three years. And these
are the verses I'm going to discuss with him in our car. It is of the Lord's mercy that
we're not consumed. In the book of Romans chapter
nine and verse 16, so then, when we think they were just smarter,
when we think they were just better, when we think that they
weren't as stupid as their dad, when we think all of these things
about why people, why the children of Korah did not go down into
the pit, why the Lord saved them, we must turn to the scriptures
and we find out, so then it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." This is
the reason that we read that children of Korah died not. This is the reason that God preserved
them. This is the reason they did not
get into the trap. It wasn't because a whole bunch
of people departed from their dad that they said, well, I think
we'll stand back out of this mess. We find that the children
of the Reubenites, they all went down into the pit. But these
children were spared by Almighty God. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but God showeth mercy. And if you'll
jump back with me to the Psalms, we find another verse of scripture
that shares so much about this. Why the children of Korah did
not die that day. Why they were not carried down
into the open earth. It says they went down into the
pit and then it closed again. Here in the book of the Psalms,
Psalm 110, the scriptures again. Old Testament, New Testament,
they all are equal when it comes to the subject of why people
are brought under the wings of Almighty God. In the book of
the Psalms, Psalm 110, and we read there in verse 3, Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. In the beauties of
holiness, from the womb of the morning, thou hast the due of
thy youth. Thy people shall be willing.
These children, in their natural estate, would have been right
there with their dad, but when God rules and God comes and God
takes care of business, He moved in their heart and in their soul. He gave them a new heart. He
gave them mercy. He gave them Christ. He gave
them the new birth. They were able to understand
this is not where it is. Dad is making a terrible mistake. You know, as I was growing up
with my dad, I thought he was just fine. But once you're saved,
you find out, my goodness, how much an error he was. when he
would teach a Bible class. He had no interest in that Bible
class. I remember him waking up Sunday
morning and opening up the, they all got this literature, opening
up the teaching book and start underlining a few words, Sunday
morning. There was no interest in Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday
or Thursday or Friday or Saturday. It was Sunday morning because
he had a job to do. You know, God's people love the gospel
seven days a week. It is our food and our sustenance. Now, we may not be reading the
Bible, but the Lord gives us time to think about it. ruminate,
go over it. Oh, His mercies are new every
morning. The blessings of the gospel are
new to us all the time. And so we rejoice in that. My
people shall be willing. And then in Isaiah 65, Isaiah
65, we have these words as the prophet Isaiah was given the
truth of the gospel. In Isaiah 65, he shares here,
I was sought of them that ask not for me." In their original
state, Isaiah 65 and verse 1, it says, I am sought of them
that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. those boys and girls of this Korah by nature, they
didn't seek after God, by nature they were in the same boat he
was. Probably they had thought as he had thought. Can you imagine
around the dinner table months, years in advance after they're
out there in the wilderness that Korah said, You know, we deserve
the same right that that Moses has. He's my cousin, and he should
come to me and invite me to speak in his place sometime. He should
come over here. Well, Moses never did. Why? Because
God never called him. to come over here. He never said
a word to him about that. He just understood that God s
people, God will show mercy to them, and their hearts will be
right, and they will assemble themselves together in the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That s what the church there
at Jerusalem did when We read about it. So Isaiah 65 and verse
1, I sought of them that ask me not, I am found of them that
sought me not. I said, behold me, behold me unto a nation that
was not called by my name. You know what the Lord did with
the Gentiles? They are also mine. These are my people, and he gave
his life a ransom for them. I have spared out of my hands
all the day into a rebellious people which walketh in a way
that is not good after their own thoughts, a people that provoke
me to anger continually, to my face that sacrifices in gardens
and burneth incense upon the altar of the brick. That's what
Korah was doing. Maybe not physically, but Mentally
in his heart he was doing that very thing. Turn with me to the
book of Matthew chapter 11. Have you ever wondered why the
Lord always spoke in parables? His disciples asked that question.
Why do you always teach in parables? Matthew chapter 11. He gives
them an answer here. And you know, to the world, this
is not the answer they want to hear. Matthew 11, verse 25. The answer they want to hear
is, we want to hear about the sheep, and the fields, and the
growing of grain, and make nice pictures about it. And he said,
I'm speaking in parables for this. And at that time, Jesus
answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because Thou hast, oh no, not that H-I-D. Thou hast hid these things. from the wise and prudent, and
hath revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him. Why in the world did the high
priest have a problem with Jesus and didn't recognize him as the
Messiah? It was not given to him. He could look at the picture,
but he couldn't see the scene, and that's what happened. Korah
could look at the picture, but could not see the scene, and
apparently his children had been given mercy and grace, and they
could say, this is not going to turn out good. God gave them
mercy to step back from a bad situation. God caused them to
understand the Lord is not in this. Moses and Aaron are his
chosen spokesmen, and we are to follow them because God has
ordained them to this position, all right? In the book of John
chapter one, John 1, we find out more about why the children
of Korah did not die that day. In John 1, verse 12, the scriptures
share this, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
You know, I've had a young man bringing that verse of scripture
up a dozen times. And I said, read the next verse.
You gotta read the next verse. Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Where did their birth come from?
Their spiritual, well our physical birth comes from God too. But
our spiritual birth comes from Almighty God at His ordination. He has determined it. He has
prescribed it before the foundation of the world, and that's why
the children of Korah died not that day. He had given them a
different heart, a different spirit about the situation. They
were able to step back and say, God is in charge and He has ordained
two men, and we will not challenge them. All right, let's look again
in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2. The book of Ephesians, chapter
2. In the book of Ephesians, chapter
2, we have so many of our questions answered that we had in God's
salvation. What in the world has God done? How in the world has He done
this? What a mystery it is that we
cannot describe and we cannot dissect. We just find out God
had this to say about it. And we said, thank you, Lord.
It was hidden to me. until now, and now I can see
it. Where it says, But God, verse
4, Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4, But God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins. You know, the church is the only
group of people on the face of the earth that will ever admit
that they were dead in sins. that there was nothing alive
in them. There was nothing that they could
use of their own to cry unto God or call out to God or trust
God or believe God. It was so foreign. We found out
that that's an impossibility. Dead people can't cry out. Dead
people can't believe. Dead people can't repent. Dead
people can't come alive. It takes God. When even we were
dead in sins, sometime in the life of those children, God came
and moved upon them and caused them to see things that they
did not know spiritually and never touched their dad, never
touched their mama. And that so often happens where
there is someone that God has determined to save and the rest
are blinded. Now we can get angry about it
or we can just be thankful. hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Going
back to verse 5, it says, "...hath quickened us together with Christ.
By grace ye are saved." No other reason. It's the mercy of God.
It's the grace of God that did all that work. Now, back to the
book of Matthew, chapter 13. This is the disciples asking
that question, why do you always teach in parables? Do you know
what? The gospel is a parable. It is truly a parable. It is
the parable of parables. It is so misunderstood from a
physical standpoint that it isn't even the same. It has been turned
over and over through the ages to come to things that was never
intended to be. The gospel can be given, quote
unquote, the gospel can be given by some water in your face. The
gospel can be given by dunking. The gospel can be given by taking
communion service. It has been so degraded. But the gospel is God's work
of grace. The good news about the Lord
Jesus Christ going to the cross and dying for a definite number
and a definite people, and they will have this revealed to them
in time. It's good news that God would
would choose a people out of all of the wretchedness of this
world. And here in the book of Matthew chapter 13 and verse
10, it says, And the disciples came and said unto him, Why are
ye preaching in such a strange language? Why don t you make it plainer?
Why don t you Why don't you? Well, he said he answered them
because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Now I can tell
you for sure there was a whole host of people that went down
into that pit that he said it was not given to them. We can
be real knowledgeable about that. Now I have no other knowledge
about that in all the peoples of the world. So, we, I, we,
treat everybody as if they're Jacobs, because we don't know. Now, God will shift them out,
but it is our responsibility to take the gospel to every creature.
That's our responsibility. And in various ways we do that.
Sometimes it's face to face. Sometimes it's on the telephone.
Sometimes it's by a letter. Sometimes it's by sermon audio.
Sometimes it's by Zoom. Sometimes it's other ways. But
that's our responsibility. But when it comes to the results
of that, our responsibility has ceased right here. And now it's
up to God. He's the only one that can raise
people from the spiritual dead. He's the only one that can give
a new heart. He's the only one that can make
a people that are willing to challenge Almighty God bend and
bow. Because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall
be given, and he that hath more abundance, but whosoever hath
not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore
speak I to them in parables, because they seen, see not. And hearing? They hear not, neither
do they understand. Now we can either get mad about
it or we can thank God about it. Philippians chapter 2. Why was it those children of
Korah backed away from the scene that day? Why was it that they
walked away? Why? I can hear them saying,
Dad, don't do it. Dad, don't do it. This is foolishness. You're challenging God. Oh, but
I want what they have. Well, here in the book of Philippians,
chapter 2 and verse 13, we find out what the Lord said about
this, what God has said about this, and this is what He said
about this. Philippians 2 and verse 13, For
it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. It is God that does that. Why
did those people back away and say, I m getting away from this? Why did they leave their own
dad to his own devices? Why did they come back and why
did the Bible tell us there in the book of Numbers chapter 26
and verse 11 the children of Korah died not when all the rest
of those folks did? Why? It is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. He's the
reason that they were caused to back away from it. In 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, you know what all of this
comes down to? That no man can glory in themselves,
but all that are ever saved will glory in the Lord. That no man
glories in themselves. In the book of 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 13, we read this, But we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. That's a kind word
that the Apostle Paul is writing to some saints at Thessalonica,
a group of people that are assembling for the preaching of the gospel,
for the deliverance of the saints, for the comfort of the people,
to gather together and share their issues that they're having,
pray for me about this, pray for me about my family, pray
for me. And here, and Paul writes to them, both you brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God has from the beginning, chosen you
to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. Whereunto he called you by her gospel to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Was it animal sacrifices
that moved in the hearts of those boys and girls of Korah? Of course
not. The blood of bulls and goats
did not take away sin. But we do find out that here
God had chosen them from the foundation of the world and sanctified
them, and the belief of the truth were unto He called you by our
gospel. The gospel was preached unto
them just as well as it has been unto us. It was preached unto
Abraham. It was preached unto Noah. It
was preached unto Abel. It was preached... You know what?
It was also preached unto Cain. And Cain went down to the pit.
Therefore, brethren, verse 15, stand fast and hold the traditions
which you have taught, whether by word or epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself,
the God, even our Father, which hath loved us and given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and
establish you in every good work. word and work. What a blessing
we have. That's why the children of Korah
died not that day. God was with them, overshadowed
them. Look with me in the book of Titus
chapter 3. In Titus chapter 3, we have these
wonderful words. We quote them so often, but just
to think about those children, young people, teenagers, adults,
whoever they were, what age they were, that God would intervene
in their lives and prevent them from going down to the pit. I
have found a ransom. I have found a ransom. Titus
chapter 3 and there in verse 3 the scriptures say this, Yes, for we ourselves also were
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts
and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating
one another. You know, the children of Korah could say, that was
me. Because everybody in the church says that was me. But
after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, by the washing of
regeneration. What is that? New birth. gave
us the new birth. And it wasn't our works that
got involved in attaining that. But according to His mercy, He
saved us. You know, it was a sad day for
those children to watch their dad and mother disappear from
in front of them. It's a sad day to bury your father
or your mother. It would be a sad day to have
that happen. But the only reason that it didn't
happen to them was the mercy of God. Not because they were
smarter. Not because they were more diligent.
Not because they read the scriptures daily. Not because they had been
at the sacrifices daily. Not because they had honored
and tithed and all that stuff. It was because of the mercy of
God. It wasn t the works of righteousness
which they had performed. Yes, they went away and no doubt
wept over the situation, but thanked God for deliverance and
for salvation that was given to them. James chapter 1, we
read this. I believe Brother Mike read this
this morning, but I want to read it again. Chapter 1 verse 18,
it tells us here of His, God s own will. Of his own will begat
he us. James chapter 1 verse 18. Of his own will begat he us. When it comes to children, we
know what begatting is. When it comes to spiritual birth,
this is what it means. Begatting, new birth. Of his
own will begat he us with the word of truth. You know, it wasn't
Korah's maligned words that brought conversion to the sons and daughters. It's the word of truth. It has
to be the word of truth. You just are not going to plant
candy corn and get a corn crop. And you're not going to plant
unworthy words about God and expect spiritual life. It takes the word of truth. that we should be the first fruits
of His creatures, or His creation. In the book of 1 Peter, turn
with me to the book of 1 Peter, next book in the Bible, 1 Peter
chapter 2, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 9, we read these words
about why the children of Korah did not go down to the pit. Many
others did. The Reubenite children did. Many
others failed. And here we read, but ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
peculiar people. That means for one's own possession. I used to hear a preacher say,
that's your oddballs. Well, we may be, but that's not
what that word means. It means for one's own possession
that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light, which in time
past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. What was
the difference? The mercy of God. The only mercy
of God. I will have mercy You know, that's
what the Lord told Moses. Remember that one? He said, show
me your glory. Lord, show me your glory. You
know, I just think about that. What an honor it was that Moses
even got to talk to Him like that. And then He says, show
me your glory. And you know what He said? I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. That's His glory. It's not a bright light. As we
read here, I'll have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. Romans
chapter 9. Turn there with me if you would.
Romans chapter 9, we read this. This is the glory of God. Romans chapter 9, verse 15. The
scriptures share this. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy. What a statement with regard.
Now, turn with me if you would to Psalm 42. Psalm 42. In Psalm
42, we have the sons of Korah mentioned. Psalm 42, verse one. There's quite a few times there
in the Old Testament that the sons of Korah, the children of
Korah are mentioned, and here's one of them. It says, to the
chief musician of Maskel, what does it say? For the sons of
Korah. And then you read, as the heart
panteth after the water bricks, so panteth my soul after thee,
O God. Have you ever rejoiced in that
passage of scripture? Isn't it wonderful to be the
children of Korah? To have mercy shown and rejoice
in the gospel found in the Psalms? Well, if you go to Psalm 44,
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, they all start the same way, for the sons
of Korah. And Psalm 84, 85, 87, and 88,
verse one, they all have the same thing. Amaskel, for the
sons of Korah. And then the words for the sons
of Korah, verse two, there in Psalm 42, my soul thirsteth for
God. You know, we look back there
and it says, they could have been thirsting for their dad
and met demise, but for the grace of God, when shall I come and
appear before God? My tears have been my meat day
and night while they continually saying to me, where's thy God?
What did he hear? What did they hear from their
dad? God's not fair. If he was fair, I would be treated
like Moses. You know what it means to be
treated fairly? Korah and that whole group got
treated fairly. Everybody else are treated by
grace. Those that go down into the pit,
those that are on the left-hand side get treated fairly. God
treats people fairly, he condemns them with an everlasting condemnation
because of sin. And the rest he treated unfairly
and let the whole host of their sin fall on his darling son. And then he could say, your transgressions
are forgiven. I shall promise to raise you
from the dirt. Therefore, notwithstanding the
children of Korah died not." Brother Mike.