Word of Encouragement (10/25/2022)

This prayer was in response to the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. One day, they and 250 chiefs of the congregation (16:2) assembled against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD” (16:4).

Korah belonged to the Levite clan of Kohath. If you recall, Moses and Aaron also belonged to the Kohath clan as well (Ex. 6:18, 20). And the Kohathites were assigned “the holy things,” “all the furnishings of the sanctuary” (Num. 4:15): they were the ones, who carried the ark of the covenant, as well as the altars, the golden lampstand, the Table of Showbread, etc. As you can see, the Kohathites handled the most sacred and precious objects of the tabernacle.

Yet he was not content. He was not content because he was not at the top. Though he was a Levite and a Kohathite, he was not a priest; he was not the high priest. The priesthood belonged only to Aaron and his descendants. Korah had a huge problem with that arrangement despite his privileged position.

Discontentment is an insatiable monster, a bottomless pit. It cannot be content as long as there is something it does not have. A discontent person cannot be thankful even in his privileged position as long as there is someone higher or more successful than he. Discontentment ruins his soul, dries up his joy, and skews his perception. It may be sunny outside but his soul is overcast with bitterness. His heart is famished amid abundance. Why live in such misery? Because pride is at stake. Nothing matters more to a wounded ego than its pride.

Discontentment made Korah bitter. And his bitter spirit attracted other bitter spirits. Soon the number grew to over two hundred fifty—all of whom were in a position of leadership as chiefs of people, with privileged status. They formed a formidable alliance of discontentment and bitterness. They fed off one another’s bitterness. They echoed each other’s discontentment until it grew to a loud noise of protest that could not be repressed.

So, Moses suggested that they and Aaron offer their individual incense to the LORD and see whose incense the LORD accepted (16:5-7). So, when Moses summoned them, they refused to come (v. 12). This was when Moses offered the prayer we are considering. This is a negative prayer, asking God not to do something (“Do not respect their offering...”). But, just as a negative command, such as “You shall not murder,” implies positive actions (“to preserve our life, and the life of others,” WSC #68), this negative prayer also implies positive petitions (possibly, to uphold God’s glory by affirming Aaron, His appointed priest). In this prayer, as Matthew Henry points out, Moses seems to view Korah as acting in the same spirit as Cain (cf., Jude 1:11) and asks God not to have regard for Korah’s offering as He rejected Cain’s offering.

An inevitable part of praying for God’s kingdom is to pray for His enemies’ schemes and rebellion against God (and His people) to be frustrated. We need to be careful not to confuse this with our personal vendetta. In this gospel age, we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But even that includes praying for their evil ways to be curbed, doesn’t it?

There is much evil in the world. There are those who are actively promoting evil agendas. Many of them may not even know that they are actively opposing God and His ways and thereby promoting what is evil. Sadly, even the church is not immune from this. We must pray that God would frustrate their attempts and preserve the world and the church, not only for greater justice and peace in the world but also for the advancement of His kingdom. And we should not forget to pray for ourselves, too, that the spirit of discontentment does not gain a foothold in our hearts.

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