The Earth Swallows Korah

Illustration of The Earth Swallows Korah
Moses staked his calling on a test no one could rig - and the ground opened before he finished the sentence.

When Korah led two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation in rebellion against Moses and Aaron - 'ye take too much upon you... all the congregation are holy' - Moses proposed a test no man could rig: if these men died a common death, the LORD had not sent him, 'but if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up... then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.' As he finished speaking, the ground clave asunder under Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, their households, and their goods, and closed over them, while fire from the LORD consumed the two hundred and fifty offering incense. It is the Old Testament's definitive judgment on rebellion against God-given authority - yet in a striking mercy, the sons of Korah survived, and their descendants wrote eleven psalms, including 'As the hart panteth after the water brooks.'

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Details

Category
Judgment
Testament
Old Testament
Performed by
God

Key Chapters

Numbers 16 Korah's Rebellion 8 min read

Key Passages

The Earth Opens Her Mouth

Numbers 16:28-33

A28nd Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.

29 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. 30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. 31 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: 32 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. 33 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.

Explore Related

Characters

Moses Moses was a prophet chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt during the Exodus. Throughโ€ฆ Aaron Aaron, the brother of Moses, played a pivotal role in the Exodus narrative as Moses' spokesman beforeโ€ฆ Korah Korah, a Levite from the Kohathite clan, joined with Reubenites Dathan and Abiram plus 250 communityโ€ฆ

Themes

Justice The God of the Bible is passionately just - defending the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed whileโ€ฆ Fear of God The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is not terror but awe - the recognition that God isโ€ฆ Holiness Be holy, for I am holy. God repeated this command more than any other attribute. Holiness is not religiousโ€ฆ

Did You Know?

1

Korah's sons did not die in the judgment (Numbers 26:11) - their descendants wrote eleven psalms, including Psalms 42, 46, and 84, sung in the very sanctuary their ancestor tried to seize.

2

Moses explicitly asked God for a 'new thing' - the Hebrew suggests a fresh creation - making this the only miracle in Scripture requested as a novelty to settle a dispute.

3

The bronze censers of the rebels were hammered into plates to cover the altar - the instruments of rebellion permanently welded to the place of atonement as a warning.