Lesson date: 09/06/5860AA

I know we have always heard about, read about and talked about the rebellion of Qorah but as I study it I have to be careful how I address it. The reason I say this is that the meaning of the name Qorah: H7141 – קרח – qôrach – BDB Definition: Korah = “bald”. It comes from H7139 – qarach – to make oneself bald. This is talking about unnatural baldness. See why I might be in trouble?

Lev 21:4 ‘A leader does not defile himself among his people, to profane himself;

Lev 21:5 they do not make any bald place on their heads, and they do not shave the corner of their beard, and they do not make a cutting in their flesh.

What is the big deal about being bald? Your hair is the symbol of your protection under the “covering” of YHVH. The cutting of hair had a great deal of symbolism in the Hebrew society as a whole. There are specific times that we are supposed to cut our hair:

(Inspection) Lev 13:33 then he shall shave himself, but the eruption he does not shave. And the priest shall shut up the one with the eruption another seven days.

(Cleansing) Lev 14:8 “And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his garments, and shall shave off all his hair and wash himself in water, and shall be clean. Then after that he comes into the camp, but shall stay outside his tent seven days.

Lev 14:9 “And on the seventh day it shall be that he shaves all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shaves off. And he shall wash his garments and wash his body in water, and shall be clean.

(Nazarite Vow) Num 6:6 All the days of his separation to יהוה he does not go near a dead body.

Num 6:7 He does not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to Elohim is on his head.

Num 6:9 And when anyone dies beside him in an instant, suddenly, and he has defiled the head of his separation, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing – on the seventh day he shaves it.

 

Num 6:18 And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Appointment, and shall take the hair from the head of his separation and shall put it on the fire which is under the slaughtering of the peace offerings.

 

(Commemorating the Dead) Deu 14:1 “You are the children of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead,

 

(To bring shame upon someone) 1Ch 19:4 So Ḥanun took Dawiḏ’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.

1Ch 19:5 And when some went and informed Dawiḏ about the men, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the sovereign said, “Remain at Yeriḥo until your beards have grown, then return.”

David knew that the men were carrying a message of kind words and thoughts from King David himself and in so doing his servants were humiliated in the land of Ammon and he told them to remain in Jericho until their beards grew back.

The verses that best explains the “covering” or covenant idea are here: Deu 21:10 “When you go out to fight against your enemies, and יהוה your Elohim shall give them into your hand, and you shall take them captive,

Deu 21:11 and shall see among the captives a woman fair of form, and shall delight in her and take her for your wife,

Deu 21:12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails,

Deu 21:13 and put aside the mantle of her captivity, and shall dwell in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a month of days. And after that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

The captive is to voluntarily cut her hair in order to to show that she is voluntarily leaving any old covenant that she was under. After 30 days of mourning she will be under the covering of her husband who is under the covering of the covenant of YHVH.

If we, as the Bride of YHVH, have been taken into captivity (redeemed) by Yeshu’a, have we “shaven” all the old signs of authority that were upon us, in us and about us of our “old” authority that we had before we were taken? Have we voluntarily surrendered ourselves to our “new” husband and His authority.

But what about those of us who are naturally bald? This was my dad’s favorite answer to that question:

2Ki 2:23 And he went up from there to Běyth Ěl. And as he was going up the way, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!”

2Ki 2:24 And he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the Name of יהוה. And two female bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two of the youths.

What just happened? Did the bears kill the youths because they called Elisha “baldhead”? No! Look what else they said, “Go up”. They disbelieved the account of Elijah being taken up in a chariot of fire and were calling Elisha a liar by calling him “baldhead”. In this case Elisha may not have been bald at all but, to show someone you disbelieved their story you called them “baldhead”. By disbelieving an elder and being disrespectful of an elder they were outside of the covenant of YHVH.

All this is well and good but why do you suppose that Qorah shaved his head? I have a theory: he disapproved of Mosheh’s leadership. In the military we would say he had been passed over for promotion.  Exo 6:18 And the sons of Qehath: Amram, and Yitshar, and Ḥeḇron, and Uzzi’ěl. And the years of the life of Qehath were one hundred and thirty-three.

Mosheh and Aharon were sons of Amram. Qorah was the eldest son of Yitshar. Yitshar is older than Hebron and Uzziel but look what happens: Exo 6:22 And the sons of Uzzi’ěl: Misha’ěl, and Eltsaphan, and Sithri.

 

Lev 10:4 And Mosheh called to Misha’ěl and to Eltsaphan, the sons of Uzzi’ěl the uncle of Aharon, and said to them, “Come near, take your brothers from before the set-apart place out of the camp.”

Mosheh calls Mishael and Eltsaphan to lead and bypasses Qorah, who was older. As a sign of disrespect for this decision he shaves his head in open rebellion to Mosheh: Mat 23:10 “Neither be called leaders, for One is your Leader, the Messiah.

Mat 23:11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

Mat 23:12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Qorah lets his pride get the best of him: Isa 65:2 “I have held out My hands all day long to a stubborn people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;

So, after the events of the last couple of chapters Qorah feels that the time is right for open rebellion against Mosheh and Aharon, finds like-minded “leaders” and springs his surprise.

Verse 2 – “and they rose up”.  Rose up comes from Qum – H6965 – קוּם – qûm – BDB Definition: – 1) to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up. For some reason I can picture Qorah standing up, locking his thumbs in his suspenders, strutting out front of the 70 elders and point accusingly at Mosheh and Aharon and beginning a tirade of insults in their direction. (Fanciful, I know.)

Verses 5-11 – Moshe tells Qorah, Dathan and Abiram to get their fireholders, put fire in it and put incense in and meet him in the street at high noon, sorta. It will be 250 fireholders against 2. And, now, all of a sudden we see some backpeddling on the part of Dathan and Abiram but it is too late.

In verse 9 Mosheh ask Qorah, “Isn’t enough to be chosen to serve YHVH in His Dwelling Place?” He tried to get Qorah to see the honor that had already been bestowed upon him but he was not interested in serving he wanted to lead and now he was clearly the leader of the rebellion and he was not grumbling against Mosheh but YHVH Himself.

Clearly, Qorah is giving us a picture of something else: he wanted the priesthood and lead and he wanted his fleshly desires satisfied. Ring a bell?

Jas 4:1 Where do fightings and strivings come from among you? Do they not come from your pleasures that battle in your members?

Jas 4:2 You desire, and do not have. You murder, and are jealous, and are unable to obtain. You strive and fight, and you do not possess, because you do not ask.

Jas 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask evilly, in order to spend it on your pleasures.

Jas 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Elohim? Whoever therefore intends to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of Elohim.

Verses 12-14 – Mosheh clearly calls out Dathan and Abiram, tells them to grab their fireholders and fight like men. But this wasn’t the first time they had seen rebellion and knew they couldn’t win and yelled back “We ain’t coming out.” Bushwhackers. They’re brave from a distance. They had seen what had happened before when Mosheh had been challenged, even by his own brother and sister. It is one thing to challenge another person’s authority from a distance but it is quite another to look them in the eye with your fireholder in your hand.

Now, all they can do is twist the words of the events that transpired to fit their side of the story. The leave out their lack of faith, their rebellion, and their failure to follow the instructions(Torah) of Elohim and put all the blame on Mosheh: 2Pe 3:14 So then, beloved ones, looking forward to this, do your utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

2Pe 3:15 and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him,

2Pe 3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures.

Verses 16-19 – The duel is set; 250 against 2. But is it really? It is really 250 proud men who refuse to humble themselves to the leadership of YHVH, not Mosheh and Aharon.

Verses 20-27 – As with any good showdown when the villains are on one side of camp and the good Guy is on the other people in between starting moving away.

Verses 28-30 – Mosheh spells it out clearly for all to hear. They are not rebelling against him and Aharon they are rebelling against YHVH. Mosheh as a type and shadow of the Messiah shows us that we cannot rebel against Yeshu’a and still expect to see YHVH: Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.

Mat 7:22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’

Mat 7:23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!

It is not enough to invoke Yeshu’a’s’ name, we also have to do as He did and that is to be obedient to His Father’s Commands.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

 

Jer 51:6 Flee from the midst of Baḇel, and let each one save his life! Do not be cut off in her crookedness, for this is the time of the vengeance of יהוה, the recompense He is repaying her.

 

Isa 52:11 Turn aside! Turn aside! Come out from there, touch not the unclean. Come out of her midst, be clean, you who bear the vessels of יהוה.

 

Eze 2:3 And He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Yisra’ěl, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against Me. They and their fathers have transgressed against Me, until this day.

Verses 31-35 – All the followers of Qorah were swallowed up, except the 250 men with fireholders and they were engulfed in flames.

Verses 36-40 – This pretty much epitomizes what my dad used to tell me, “Son, even the worst of the bunch can serve as a good, bad example.” Mosheh instructs Elazar to gather up the 250 fireholders and make a covering for the Tent of Appointment out of them so that all the Children of Yisra’el can see and remember the rebels.

Verse 40-41 – What is the wisdom of a rebellious people who just witnessed a miracle? They are moaning and grumbling again: Psa 50:14 “Slaughter thanksgiving to Elohim, And pay your vows to the Most High.

Psa 50:15 “And call upon Me in the day of distress – Let Me rescue you, and you esteem Me.”

Psa 50:16 But to the wrong Elohim said, “What right have you to recite My laws, Or take My covenant in your mouth,

Psa 50:17 “While you hated instruction And cast My Words behind you?

Psa 50:18 “When you saw a thief, you were pleased with him, And you take part with adulterers.

Psa 50:19 “You let your mouth loose to evil, And your tongue frames deceit.

Psa 50:20 “You sit, speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son.

Psa 50:21 “You have done this, and I kept silent; You have thought that I was altogether like you – I rebuke you, and set it in order before your eyes.

Psa 50:22 “Understand this please, you who forget Eloah, Lest I tear you in pieces, With no one to deliver:

Psa 50:23 “Whoever slaughters praise esteems Me; And to him who prepares a way, I show the deliverance of Elohim.”

There was once a wise philosopher who, in a situation much like this one, uttered these famous words, “Stupid is as stupid does”. The Children of Yisra’el had just witnessed what happened to people who challenge YHVH’s chosen leader, why do they now expect a different outcome? I think it was Albert Einstein that once said, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity.”

Verses 42-43 – Once again a showdown, right in front of the Tent of Appointment.

Verses 44-45 – YHVH calls out to Mosheh and Aharon to come from out of the middle of the congregation because He is going to kill them and start over.

Verses 46-50 – Mosheh instructs Aharon to get his fireholder, place set-apart fire in it and then add incense and to run between those dying and those still alive to stop the plague. Aharon does so and the plagues is stopped. Because of Qorah’s rebellion another 14,700 people have died. Stop and think about how big an area it would take to hold 14,700 standing shoulder to shoulder, between 3 or 4 acres, and now consider the fact that Aharon is about 85 years old at this point in time. Does it not seem obvious that YHVH helped him accomplish this task to spare the lives of many? Is this not “grace”?

Ahavah vberakhot,