We shall turn now in God's Word to Numbers 26, Numbers chapter 26. We're going to read a few verses from this chapter at the very beginning of the chapter, and then we shall turn secondly to 1 Chronicles chapter 6, beginning to read at verse 31. Numbers 26. I would like to read the first 11 verses, and verse 11 is our text for tonight in its context. Listen to the word of God. After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and Eliezer, son of Aaron the priest, take a census of the whole Israelite community by families, all those 20 years old or more, who are able to serve in the army of Israel. So on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, across from Jericho, Moses and Eliezer the priest spoke with them and said, Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses. These are the Israelites who came out of Egypt. The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were, through Hanuk, the Hanukite clan, through Palu, the Pulite clan, through Hezron, the Hezronite clan, through Carmi, the Carmite clan, these were the clans of Reuben. Those numbered were 43,730. The son of Palu was Eliab, and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Nathan, and Abiram. The same, Nathan and Abiram, were the community officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah's followers when they rebelled against the Lord. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign. The line of Korah, however, did not die out. Let's turn further in the Word of God to 1 Chronicles 6. 1 Chronicles 6. We're going to read just a few verses here, beginning to read at verse 31. 1 Chronicles 6, beginning to read at verse 31 through verse 38. These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them. These are the men who served together with their sons. From the Kohathites, Heman, the musician, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elal, the son of Toa, the son of Zuf, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amessiah, the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, The son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, the son of Tahath, the son of Asir, the son of Abiasaph, the son of Korah, the son of Itzhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. I'm going to stop here in the reading of God's word. What a strange passage this is. When you read chapters like this, with all of these names, you and I are tempted, particularly when we read them for family devotions, to simply skip right over all of these names. There are many names, of course, on the pages of Scripture, but we must remember, of course, that those names are recorded on the pages of Scripture for a reason. And tonight, we are going to look at this little paragraph here in Numbers 26. And we shall discover together the significance of this paragraph that contains a lot of names for a specific purpose. For we shall discover something of the grace and mercy of our God to the line of Korah, even in the midst of God's judgment upon them. And so tonight, I want for us to focus our attention upon two things, mercy for Korah's family, and secondly, service for Korah's family. The reason that these names are here listed in Numbers 26 is given already in verse 1. There is to be a census taken of the children of Israel. You and I realize that the people of Israel at this particular time are here just shy of the promised land. The people of Israel are going into Canaan. And as the people of Israel are to be entering into the land of milk and honey, a census is to be taken so that the land can be allotted to the various tribes and families and clans. And so, here, an account must be taken of the people of Israel for the purpose of dividing up that land. There is, however, something very special about this particular census. You see, an earlier census has been taken of the people of Israel, and that census is recorded in the first chapter of the book of Numbers. But between that first census and this particular census, many significant events have taken place. Between chapter 1 and chapter 26, a number of significant events have taken place where we see that the number of the people of Israel have greatly decreased. At least we would think so. And notice for a moment, right at the very beginning of this chapter, the words, after the plague. After the plague, God said to Moses, take a census. And of course, this plague refers back to chapter 25. There was a great plague in chapter 25 that came upon the people of Israel because of their sin. The people of Israel in chapter 25 are said to intermarry with the Moabite women. They are said to bow down to the idol gods of the Moabites. And as a result, we read in chapter 25 that God sent a plague and killed 24,000 of the people. And then if you go back to chapter 21, again you see that the people have sinned. This time, God sent venomous snakes. In chapter 21, verse 6, the Bible says that many of the people died. And if we go back one more step to chapter 16, we see the chapter in which the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram took place. And the Bible tells us there that not only these three men died because of their sin, But their followers, 250 of them, also died by way of a fire that God sent upon them. And the people began to complain as to God's justice upon these people. And then God had to send another plague. And the Bible tells us on that occasion that 14,700 of the Israelites died. And when you begin to add up all of these figures of people involved in sin and dying as a result of God's judgment, you begin to see that those people might populate a rather large city. So that in the midst of this death, in the midst of this judgment on the people of Israel, you and I might expect that the Israelites had decreased significantly. We might expect that the number of Israelites has gone way down between the first and the second census. Maybe the people of Israel began to think like that too. Maybe they began to think that God was beginning to forsake his people. Maybe they began to think that God was forsaking the great promise that God had made to Abraham, their forefather. Because, you know, you remember that God had said to them, said to Abraham, and of course the people that followed, I'm going to make your descendants so numerous, I'm going to bless you with so many descendants that they're going to be like the stars of the sky and as the sand on the seashore. And here all these people are dying. All of these people are dying because of the judgment of God upon their sin. God had promised that all of Abraham's descendants were going to take possession of the land of Canaan. God had promised even earlier than that, that out of their descendants would come the Messiah, the one who would ultimately crush the head of the serpent. But now, so many of these people are dying because of disobedience. Was God faithful to his promises? Is God going back on his word? Or is God going to prove to be faithful? And so, we have this second census. And when the second census is taken, lo and behold, God proves his faithfulness because there are almost as many people, even after all of that death in the Israelite community, there are almost as many people at the second census as there are at the first. And so already we begin to see something of the demonstration of God's mercy right in the midst of all of this judgment. But what I want to bring particularly to your attention this evening is that God's faithfulness in the midst of the judgment was particularly demonstrated to Korah and particularly now his family. Not to Korah, but his family that lived on. That's why the Bible contains this very pertinent and beautiful paragraph. Because, you see, this census is going on. Now, the count is going on. And the Bible begins to record about the family of Reuben. And in the midst of that recording about the family of Reuben, this incident of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram falling into the ground is reflected upon for a moment. You might remember that Korah was the leader of this rebellion. He was of the tribe of Levi. But Dathan and Abiram were of the tribe of Reuben. And so here you have this family tree listed here in Numbers 26. And so-and-so had such and such a son, and so-and-so, right down the line. And you come to Dathan and Abiram, period. You come to Dathan and Abiram, and that's the end of the family tree. There is no more. The Bible here in Numbers 26 records the lineage of Dathan and Abiram and suddenly it stops. The line doesn't go anymore and you boys and girls know why. There was this great rebellion. Korah, Dathan and Abiram and these 250 other prominent leaders who ultimately joined in. And you will remember the complaint that they had at that particular point. They said, everybody in the congregation is holy. And what they meant by that was this. We are all capable of doing what Aaron does in the tabernacle. The great big complaint was a complaint of jealousy. We are all holy in this congregation. And you know what Aaron and Moses have done. They've just appointed themselves to be these uppity-ups, you see. They have these offices, but we're all holy. So that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram really were rebelling against God's call in the lives of Aaron and his family who were to serve in the tabernacle. So that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were really going to take over these holy offices that were assigned particularly to Aaron and his family and therefore to trample unholy things. It reminds me today of living in our nation where you have many self-appointed ministers running around doing their own thing. It reminds me of office bearers, both men and women, who seem to want to serve, disregarding the commands of the Lord and what he requires of them. And congregation of the Lord Jesus, I'm also reminded of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who didn't even take upon himself his office by self-appointment. God appointed him to his office of being our high priest. Listen to Hebrews 5, verses 4 through 6. No one takes this honor upon himself. He must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, you are my son, today I have become your father. And he says in another place, you were a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. You see, Jesus Christ himself was appointed by God to fulfill that office. He didn't take upon himself that office just because he wanted to do that. And here too, in Numbers 26, these individuals had no right to enter into these offices to serve in this fashion because God did not appoint them. But Korodathan and Abiram said, we're going to do it anyway. We are in rebellion against because, you see, we're holy. We're just as holy as everybody else. And then, of course, you remember what happened. Boys and girls, there was a place there where the earth opened up and swallowed them alive. The text tells us that this was a warning sign. The Bible tells us that this is a red flag, if you will, never to trample on the holy things of God. Whenever you look at the family tree, God was saying, whenever you look at the family tree, remember, as someone said, these monuments of divine justice. Whenever you look at the family tree and you're reading along, you come to Dathan and Abiram, period. And remember not to be filled with pride and rebellion, But remember that we are all sinners before the face of God and we all deserve to have our names sponged from the record. So that our names do not stand in the family tree. But then we have to notice another interesting detail. Numbers chapter 16 records the destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And verse 27 in that chapter tells us that Dathan and Abiram had come out and they were standing with their wives, their children, and their little ones at the entrance of their tents. Did you catch that? Dathan and Abiram came out with their wives, their children, and their little ones and they stood in front of their tents in defiance of God. God said, get away from those people because I'm going to destroy them. But Dathan and Abiram and their wives and their children stood in front of the tents with their fathers. But it makes no mention of Korah's wife, Korah's children, or his little ones. Dathan and Abiram and their families along with Korah fell down into the ground. They were forever wiped off of the face of the earth. But what about Korah's children? What about them? Our text for tonight here in Numbers 26 says, The line of Korah, however, did not die out. Why not? Here he was. Leader of the rebellion. Korah, this man who wanted to take upon himself the holy office of God without warrant. Korah, the leader of the rebellion, but his family did not die. Why? There can be only one plausible answer. In his mercy, our God spared them. that is, the family of Korah, because they refused to join in with the sin of their father. Apparently, Dathan and Abiram's families were just as sinful as their father, so that they too shared in this rebellion, but not so with Korah's family. They kept themselves pure from this infection. They were not party to the sin of their father in his rebellion. They said to their father, apparently, no, we will not join in. Took a great deal of courage to say, no more. You may be our father, you may be my husband, but we are not going to join in the sin of this rebellion. That father was a very, very bad example, but his family refused to walk in his footsteps. They stood up against their father in terms of his sin against God. And as a result, God spared Korah's family. In his grace, they were not swallowed up. They lived. So that our text says tonight, the line of Korah, however, in contrast to the others, did not die out. Now that, of course, is demonstration of the mercy of God enough. But what we notice in the second place is that God used the family of Korah to be a mighty blessing in his kingdom. Someone has said that Korah's family became eminently serviceable to the church. So that the Lord not only spared Korah's family and multiplied them, they produced offspring. But what is so beautiful on the pages of Scripture is that they became important people in the service of God. You see, Korah wanted to usurp these positions and offices in the tabernacle, but he was killed. But Korah's family, on the other hand, was asked of King David to do a very important task in the service of God, and they served humbly in those tasks. In our reading of 1 Chronicles, we notice that King David put certain men in charge of the music in God's house. They became, as it were, temple musicians because they ministered, says the text, with music before the tabernacle. And then in verse 32, it adds something that's most profound. It says, they performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them. Not in rebellion, not in jealousy now, not grasping these offices. But they did so in accordance with the regulations laid down for them. They were obedient. These temple musicians that David called into service of the tabernacle. And now, congregation of Jesus catch this. Among those men who served, the children, the family of Korah is specifically mentioned. And even more profoundly, 12 of the Psalms in the Old Testament Psalter are credited to the sons of Korah. And that's why tonight, all of the songs that I have chosen for us to sing are the Psalms of Korah's family. For the Lord used these men to write down part of the inspired scripture. Twelve Psalms, Psalms 42 through 49, 84, 85, 87, and 88. Using people in this family, this great sinner, this leader of the rebellion. And God used his family members to write down part of the inspired scripture that you and I sing tonight. Doing great things for the master. And when you come to Psalm 84, that very familiar psalm, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. The Bible tells us that some of the family of Korah were gatekeepers in the temple. Gatekeepers rather than standing in the tents of the wicked. When you read these psalms, you can almost begin to sense the context out of which Korah's family was redeemed, was saved out of that wickedness. But is that not really now, tonight, people of God, the story of your life and mine? We are what we are by the grace of Jesus Christ alone. I want us all to be reminded tonight that every one of us is the result of a sinful father and mother and you and I are desperately in need of the grace of God. Only Jesus Christ is without sin because he was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus had no sin. But when you and I are redeemed by the grace of Christ, it is then and only then that you and I can be used in the service of our God. I think of Isaiah the great prophet in chapter 6. God gave to Isaiah a tremendous vision of the sovereign and the holy God of heaven and earth. And when Isaiah the prophet saw God in all of his beauty, in all of its holiness, he said, Whoa, it's me. I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. God touched his lips. God washed and cleansed his lips. And then and only then could Isaiah be used of God to bring the message to a sinful people. Is that not the way it is with you and me? God calls each and every one of you to obey him, to serve him, to love his kingdom, to give yourself in wholehearted service in his kingdom because you belong to Christ, the anointed one. He has anointed you to be holy prophets, priests and kings in his service. To be sure, there are many people, both men and women, who rush headlong to their destruction by disobeying the word of God and claiming offices to which God has not called them. Ultimately, the church that disobeys God will be destroyed. It cannot stand. It does not obey God. But when God's people obey Him, then God is going to use them and God is going to use their families for the service of God in a very powerful way. We read almost every Sunday in Exodus chapter 20, the second commandment, which of course specifically concerns itself with the proper worship of God. And I'm sure you've heard it many, many times where God says, I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. And then we come to Korah. And lo and behold, the pattern, the cycle is broken. Because his family refused to walk in the way of sin. God had pity on Korah's family. And then the text goes on to say, and we always rejoice in these words, God shows love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. What a glorious promise that is. Perhaps some of you here tonight come from families that did not love and serve God. Parents who didn't love and serve the Lord. It may be tonight that in your home, as you grew up, there was abuse, adultery, maybe drugs, alcohol, no fire for God, materialism, certainly no real passion for the kingdom of God. But tonight you are a believer. Why? tonight you are one of the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rhythm has been broken. The sinful pattern has been broken, that pattern of sin. Why? It's because of the grace of God to you. That pattern is broken by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It is broken in the power of Jesus Christ. Because you see, there is only one who stands singly out on the pages of all of human history, who was perfectly obedient, that is the Son of God. And you have life in Him. It is Christ who breaks that sinful pattern. And tonight he calls you to holiness. Tonight he calls you to follow in the footsteps of your heavenly Father. Tonight he calls you, really all of us, to live by faith, trusting in our God for righteousness. But I suspect tonight, my fellow believers, that most of you came from homes where you grew up, knowing that you could emulate your godly parents. And that is a great privilege. You must be very thankful for that. But there is also a danger in all of that because you and I can so easily take that for granted. And then you and I can also begin to take the credit for that. After all, you see, my children are believers. Isn't that not due to my faithfulness in prayer? Is that not due to my educating my children in the Christian school? Is that not due to my faithfulness and leading my family all the time and family devotions? All very good things. But you and I need to be reminded tonight that we do not enter into the kingdom in any other way than by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. So that whether you come from a home where you did not have godly parents Or you come from a home where you can truly emulate those parents. You must live the same way. Out of the grace and the mercy of Jesus Christ. God calls you to holiness. Boys and girls, young people. God calls you to faith and trust in Jesus Christ. There's nothing that we can do to earn his redemption, to earn his favor. It's not because of your upbringing that you're acceptable to God. It's only because of the mercy of your God. Remember that he shows his love to thousands of those who love me and who keep my commandments. congregation of the Lord Jesus these names may be insignificant at first reading but take a look and revel in the mercy and the grace of Christ Jesus even in the midst of judgment let's pray gracious and merciful heavenly father we delight tonight in the grace of jesus christ that we see demonstrated here on these pages particularly father we are grateful for the work that you did even in the midst of destruction and judgment upon sin the life of the family of cora It reminds us all that it is the work of Christ on our behalf and his work alone that avails for us. And we are glad, Heavenly Father, that once having been redeemed, you make use of poor sinners that we are in your service for the good and the glory of your name. As we leave this place and as we go out into the world, having been washed in the precious blood of Christ Jesus, help us to walk in humility, in faith and obedience as new creatures. Creatures that truly deserve the wrath and the destruction that you have in store for all those who refuse to bow before you. But creatures who've been made new in the blood and power of Jesus Christ for service. For doing the task to which you call us. And to do it in obedience to your word. Thank you for this reminder tonight. Thank you for feeding us from your word. Help us to truly glorify you in all things during this new week that you give us. Help us to trust you each day for all that we need to live out the life that we have in Christ. It's in his name we pray. Amen.