At this time, I would ask if you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Numbers and chapter 16. And there we read the account of the rebellion of Korah, which, as you will remember, ends with Korah and all his followers being swallowed by the earth in divine judgment. The book of Numbers, chapter 16. This is the word of the Lord. Korah, the son of Ishar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites, Dathan and Abraam, sons of Eliab, and on the son of Pellet, became insolent. And they rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, You have gone too far. The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly? When Moses heard this, he fell face down. Then he said to Korah and all his followers, In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy. And he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses, he will cause to come near him. You, Korah, and all of your followers are to do this. Take censers, and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You, Levites, have gone too far. Thus ends the reading of God's Word. Now as we examine together the text, this text this evening, we may note that the people of Israel were redeemed from the slavery of Egypt with the great and mighty hand of God. Now, the Lord accomplished a miracle for them, this deliverance which they witnessed with their own eyes. Of course, the seas parting and the Israelites walking across on dry ground. And now at this present time, God was leading these former slaves through Moses and through the cloud and fire, the manifestation of His glory through the wilderness. And He was leading them through the wilderness to the promised land, that land that He had promised to their forefathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And as He was leading them through the wilderness, this was a land that they were to be given which was flowing with milk and honey. You see, they had a very bright future. And one would expect that this group of people would be among the most grateful and joyful people on earth. But of course, that is not the case, is it? But as we examine ourselves, as we look at the Christian church, we see that we have been redeemed from Egypt's slavery of sin. We have been redeemed through the exodus, which Jesus Christ accomplished at Jerusalem through His crucifixion and resurrection. We are currently being led through the wilderness of this present evil age by the Holy Spirit and the church to our new homes, to our promised land, the new heavens and the new earth. But yet, our obedience and our faith is similar to that of Israel's. You see, our track record does not fare much better. We exemplify the same sins, the same weaknesses, the same feeble faith. And it's very comparable with Israel's wilderness grumbling. And therefore, as we examine the rebellion of Korah together, we see that it is a powerful warning to us. It is a warning to us and it guards us against apostasy. and it spurs us on to renewed faith and repentance in Jesus Christ. And so this evening we will examine how Korah and his supporters exalted their own righteousness and refused the mediation of God's chosen one. And this is a lesson for us. We will see that the lesson for us this evening is the necessity of God's chosen mediator and the necessity of the means that God has appointed for us to approach Him. And we will do this this evening by examining the arguments, the method of reasoning that is brought forth against Moses by Korah and his followers. And then finally, we will also notice the answer that is given, which is embedded in this text and in this account. First of all, I would like to suggest to you that Korah and his followers exalted themselves above Moses because they were men of renown. Now, you will have noticed, reading the text with me this evening, that Korah was a Levite. And most of his followers, likewise, were Levites. This means that they were priests. This means that they were those who already shared a special status among the children of Israel. They had been set apart by God Himself to serve in the tabernacle before the Lord and to minister to and to serve the children of Israel. But it wasn't all Levites, was it? There is also these 250 men who are also mentioned who are not Levites. These men are elders. These are men who have been set apart. A more literal reading or rendering in the Hebrew was they are those who made a name for themselves. They had been lawfully elected from among Israel to be elders, to be members of the council. And doubtless they were elected because they had distinguished themselves for their leadership abilities and for their exceptional godliness, hopefully godliness and piety, their interest in true religion. And this is the background. So why would those who have some measure of authority and who have already been set apart from the sons of Israel want to then exalt themselves against Moses and Aaron? Of course, their reasoning was, they were wondering why they should be among the nameless in Israel. Why should they be those who would go down nameless in Israel's history among a list of elders, while all the time Moses and Aaron continually occupied center stage? No, you see, they were distinguished. They wanted to share the spotlight with Moses and Aaron. You see, they had distinguished themselves above their peers and they wanted their names to go down in history as well. And of course, as we know from this account, that they did. More than this, however, they desired the privileges of the priesthood on the basis of their reputation. Now, what is this? They were already Levites. Yes, they were, but they weren't descended from Aaron. So they didn't do the actual sacrificial work of the priesthood. You see, what they wanted was immediate access to God. You see, why should they be content to go to Moses and Aaron? You see, they and the rest of Israel experienced fellowship with God through the mediator. That is, through Moses and through the priesthood of Aaron. As they saw, it was Moses and Aaron who stood in between God and his people. It was Moses and Aaron, therefore, who were an impediment to true fellowship with God. You see, they wanted to have that intimate connection, that face-to-face relationship with God Almighty that Moses and Aaron had. And therefore, they rebelled. Likewise, people today yearn for the same thing. They also want immediate access to God. Now, many people today are great fans of Christianity. They think that the Christian religion is a great religion. But, of course, it's a great religion among many. Well, why? Well, because you don't just have to go to God through Jesus Christ, they say. Anything which is worthy of God must be in accordance with reason, with universal reason. And faith, they say, is that quality of religious feeling. And so you can go to God through faith. A faith which feels optimistic about the future. It's not necessarily a faith which goes through Jesus Christ. And so people view things like the church and preachers and sacraments and these sort of things with a degree of suspicion because it alienates others, you see. and they see these as sort of vestments of authoritarian religion and they wonder if this is really necessary for us to go to God. Children, people will tell you that it is good that you believe in Jesus Christ but there are many paths to God. You can go to God many ways. You can choose your own path to God and you can go to Him in your own way. Surveys show that about four out of five Americans believe that they have felt in a very intimate and close way the presence of God. That they have felt his presence near them. And 45% believe that this happens for them on a regular basis. And that is, of course, apart from preaching and sacraments and church and these sorts of things which God has instituted. But you see, if I may bring this a little more closely to the church. You see, many Christians believe that church attendance and sitting in the pews and listening to what some man is up behind a pulpit telling you what God's Word says, that this is inferior to private devotions and Bible study and contemplation. One survey shows that the majority of Americans who are unchurched are in fact Christians. that they actually believe the Easter message, that they pray and believe in Jesus, that they believe in death after life, according to George Barna, that there is not much that distinguishes those who attend church and those who do not, except for the fact that they do not attend church. Another poll, one man responds. He says, I can go on a 40-mile bike ride and get as much out of it as I can going from church. Nature to me is what God is all about. It's about renewal. And of course today, many people think that the church must change to fit this sort of model. Reverend Doug Maran says, in the third millennium, the church will be a place where we can go and have a religious experience without all the trappings of church. You see, this is a religious experience without mediation. Just going to God on your own is the essence of Korah's rebellion and the attitudes of many people today. You see, just as Korah believed that he should have access to God directly without mediation, so this desire to go to God apart from the church whatsoever and apart from sacraments and preaching and these sorts of things which God has given to us to strengthen our faith is actually a desire to go to God apart from Jesus Christ. You see, the ministers that God has given to us are under shepherds. They have authority from Jesus Christ. And the sacraments, as we learned this morning from Dr. Horton, are given to us as props for our faith so that we may be strengthened and nurtured in the promise of the Gospel and have it signed and sealed to us. You see, none of us can rely upon our own reputation, either in or without the church, or upon perhaps various ministries which we have spearheaded and think that this gives us direct access to God. You see, some people say that what we need is more Christianity and less churchianity, you know, setting the two at odds. And of course it is true at this point that we must avoid formalism, and of course there's nothing valuable in just going to church in itself, and of course this could be a pit and a trap as well. But you see, Jesus Christ is head of the church. And the church is the body of Christ. And so he doesn't see, Jesus Christ doesn't see these two things as necessarily opposed. Of course, Jesus Christ is our Moses. And so we as Christians should not spurn the ordinances which Jesus has given to the church. And so let us not become puffed up with pride of our status within the church, but instead let us be content as sinners who go to God only through a crucified Savior. Secondly, I would like to direct your attention, or rather I suggest to you, that the second reason that Korah and his followers had was the holiness of the entire congregation. And for this reason, they believed that Moses and Aaron had exalted themselves above the rest of Israel. Notice they appeal not only to the holiness of the entire congregation, but they also appeal to the glory of God in their midst. Moses, how can you say we are not a holy people? Look, we are following that cloud of fire, which is the visible representation of God's presence with us. It is with us. We are a holy people, they argued. Now, where did Korah get such an idea? Where did he get such an idea that all of Israel was a holy nation? Well, it's very simple, isn't it? He got this idea from the very explicit words of God. It was God who said that Israel was a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Recorded for us by Moses in Exodus 19. God said, you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. In Deuteronomy 7. And furthermore, he charges them saying, you shall be holy even as I am holy. In Leviticus 11, you remember also how the Lord brought near the 70 elders of Israel. The 70 elders of Israel representing the entire congregation. And He brought them up on the mountain. And they ate a meal in the presence of God. They saw God and they were not consumed. You see an illustration of the holiness of the nation of Israel. You see, and of course, the glory of the Lord was in their midst as they followed it through the wilderness onto the promised land. Now, their holiness, they believed oddly enough, came from their own ability to keep the law. You will remember when God prescribed the law on the mountain that the people responded cheerfully. All that you have commanded, we will do. Yes, we are faithful. Give it to us, God. We are able for the task. But yet, of course, at this time, you think that Korah would have a more accurate estimation of the people, of their character, and of their willingness to keep the law that God prescribed for them. Remember, of course, already at the Red Sea, after God had given them escape, after God had plagued Egypt with all these plagues, with the ten plagues. And they doubted Him at the Red Sea. They thought that God did all this just so that they can either drown or be destroyed by the army. They disbelieved God's promise then. And so then God provides this awesome miracle, where they walk across the sea on dry ground. And then what happens? You would think that this people would have a faith unshakable. But yet when Moses was on the mountain for apparently no reason, they believe that he is dead because he's up there for a little over a month. And so they fall into idolatry and they worship the golden calf. But of course, God was still faithful yet and Moses was still alive. And so you think they would learn their lesson. But again, they begin to grumble and they test God because they have no food for them in the wilderness. They think that God did all this just so that they would starve. But then God provides bread from heaven. What a miracle! But yet again, they begin to complain about the kind of food. Oh, they miss all the flesh pots of Egypt, all the boiled meat. And then so what does God do? He sends them quail. So much quail, God says, you will have it coming out of your nostrils. But even then, they complain about the kind of food. And oh, they want all the onions and the garlic and all the good things of Egypt, you see. And then when they sent spies out to the promised land, what did they do? Did they come back and say, this is a very prosperous land that the Lord our God is giving us. He is surely good to give us this land. No, what did they say? They said, these people are huge. We're like grasshoppers in their sight. I know that God promised that we would possess this. I know that God has provided us miracle after miracle. But He can't be right. Even our God can't deliver us from these giants. You see, we are too small and insignificant. And the Lord's hand is not strong enough to save and to deliver us. from these people. You see, ten times, ten times before the Lord finally said to that present generation, you will not enter into the rest. You will not go into the promised land. Your children will, but you will die in the wilderness. Ten times they tested God. But yet, Korah here says, all the assembly are holy. You might very well wonder where he's been. for these last several years in the wilderness. But you see, so too, the Apostle Paul calls us Christians saints. Saints, holy ones. Peter calls the church a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession, quoting the words in the Old Testament that we already looked at. You see, don't think for a moment that it is your own performance or holiness that somehow endears you to God or somehow merits His favor. You see, so many people today think of Christianity in terms of their own performance or law-keeping. They are like Korah who boast of their own holiness when all the evidence in God's eyes suggests the opposite. Christian, do you ever wonder if you have been good enough to tip the divine scales in your favor? Well, stop wondering because you haven't. Or perhaps, you know, that isn't your problem. Perhaps you rather think well of your own progress. You think highly of your own progress in the Christian life. You see, are you perhaps proud of the amount that you give to charity and to the Lord's work? Or perhaps the number of people that you have witnessed to or brought to the Christian faith? You see, do you perhaps feel warm and fuzzy when you think of your own faithfulness in private devotions and leading your family in devotions and prayer? Are you perhaps like that Pharisee who prayed saying, God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, like unjust swindlers and adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer over here. O Lord, I fast twice a week and I pay tithes of all that I get. But you see, when God evaluates our work, just like in this situation here, He notices what we have failed to do rather than what we have done faithfully. You see, just as a police officer doesn't go around giving rewards for obeying the speed limit, so we don't have any reward for obeying the law of God. This is what we owe God in the first place. And just as we cannot appeal to the 100 times that we have faithfully kept the speed limit to justify the one time breaking it and the one time we get a ticket for breaking the speed limit, So we can't do this with God when we sin. You see, he notices, God notices what we have failed to do. Now, it is very likely in the wilderness that there were great periods of obedience. You know, the Bible in other places sort of speaks of the wilderness wanderings in this way. Doubtless that there were many days on end when Israel did not grumble against the authority of Moses. when they willfully submitted to Aaron and to Moses, when they were content with the manna that they got from heaven, with God's provision, when they believed unwaveringly in the promise that they would receive the land and that God would provide for them. And it is undoubtedly these experiences or these moments that most impress themselves upon the mind of Korah and of his followers. But of course, this isn't what we see when we read the record, is it? No, all we see is grumbling and contention. Sin after sin after sin after sin. And so too, we learn from this that we must trust Christ alone for our salvation and not trust our own obedience in the least because even the best of our works is imperfect and tainted with sin. And as we learn from the Apostle Paul, Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But thirdly, this evening, I would like to suggest to you their mistake. Their mistake is that it is only through the mediator that they were reckoned as righteous. You see, it's true enough that the entire people were a holy nation, as we have already seen. Now, even if there were certain non-elect people like Korah and his followers in it. You see, this didn't challenge the status that Israel had as holy nation. They still had this status. And of course, the status of favored nation did not depend upon their works or upon their obedience, but upon God's grace and upon His promise. As it says in Deuteronomy 7, the Lord did not set His favor upon you because you were greater than any of the nations, for you were the least of all nations. And again, in Deuteronomy 9, know then that it is not because of your own righteousness that the Lord is bringing you into this land to possess it, for indeed you are a stubborn people. You see, when Israel failed to believe the promises of God, And finally, they just over and over exhibited their hardness of heart and their unbelief. The Lord had enough. He says, Moses, stand aside. I am going to eliminate these people. I will destroy them from the face of the earth. Get away and I will make you, Moses, into a nation greater and mightier than they. And I will make you the heir of all the promises which I swore to your forefathers. And what did Moses do? He said, no, Lord, certainly not. What will the nations say? How can this be? They will say the Lord just brought him out here so he can kill them in the wilderness. Or the Lord was not powerful enough to bring him into the land. You see, Moses stands in the gap over and over again until this litany becomes almost tedious. You see, Moses stands in the gap and he saves God's people. He takes the promises of God and he sets them before God as reasonings, as arguments on why God should spare the nation of Israel. Moses says to him, Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy lovingkindness, just as thou hast also forgiven this people from Egypt until the present. And to this reasoning, God responded to Moses, I have forgiven them according to your word. according to your word. And as for the pillar of cloud and fire that Korah and his followers boasted of being in their midst, the Lord said that He would indeed bring them into the promised land. But He would no longer go with them. He would no longer manifest His glory among them. He says, I will not go up in your midst because you are an obstinate people lest I destroy you on the way. But again, it is Moses who stands in the gap. He says, Lord, if your glory go not with us, then do not bring us up from here. He is in effect saying, Lord, we would rather die out here in this wilderness without inheriting the promises than to go in this land and be without you. For what would separate us from all the other nations of the earth? What would be different from the Canaanites who currently live in this land if God is not with us? You see, the thing that makes this land the promised land is that God is there. Is that God promised to be there and God promised to be among them. Moses knew that the presence of God God is the substance of these promises. It is not just a piece of real estate. No, it is God which makes the promise worth having. And so again, God again says, fine, we'll do this. I'll remain in their midst, but only for your sake. You see, again and again, Moses intercedes and frees them from eternal destruction. And of course, we know that this is a picture and a type of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You see, He is the greater prophet that Moses only foreshadowed and pointed forward to. Likewise, it is true that God has chosen us and He has set us apart as holy. But we are only considered holy because it is Jesus Christ who again and again stands in the gap and intercedes for us. and presents the merits of his life and his blood, the satisfaction of his blood before the Father. And he says, Father, I have already provided satisfaction for them, and I have borne the wrath of God for their sins. Forgive them for my sake. You see, some people today preach and they teach that we are saved by a living and obedient faith, just as Jesus Christ exemplified a living and obedient faith while he was on earth. They say when Jesus walked on earth that he lived by grace through faith in his Father and that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness just as Abraham's was and just as your faith is reckoned as righteousness. In effect, they are teaching that Jesus is the first Christian. You see, but even though Jesus had faith in his Father, Jesus certainly didn't have saving faith. This is certainly not the case. Saving faith, that faith that Korah and his followers lacked, approaches God only through the mediator. But Jesus Christ didn't have a mediator, did he? No, he was the mediator. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man. He doesn't have any saving faith. His faith wasn't reckoned as righteousness. His righteousness is reckoned to Him as righteousness. And you see, those who trust their own obedient faith instead of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ in our place, you see, perpetuate the error of Korah and exalt their own supposed holiness apart from the Mediator who was given to us to set us completely free from all of our sins and misery. You see, it is only through the atonement and the continuing prayers and intercession of Jesus Christ that God considers us holy and that the Holy Spirit remains in our midst as a church and continues to lead us through the wilderness of this present evil age and on to our home of the new heavens and the new earth. And then God says to his son, I have indeed pardoned them according to your word. The irony is that Korah believed that Moses was keeping him from God. In reality, it was Moses who enabled God to come near to a sinner such as Korah. And so it is Jesus Christ who enables sinners such as us to have close fellowship with God. Now it is true that there is no ladder into heaven which we can climb to see the naked deity. There is, when we worship, you see, we do not almost hear the brush of angels' wings. We do not almost reach out to touch the hem of His garment. And there is no beatific vision that is offered for us Christians in this life. But you see, that is okay. Because we don't need to experience God as He is in His essence. No, because we are content to have God come to us in Jesus Christ. And we are content to go to God through a crucified Savior. But you see, in this way, God really does come close to us. Whereas if we experienced God's glory now, we would find only wrath and damnation. Instead of being welcomed into God's presence, we would be arrested for trespassing. You see, it is as the Apostle Paul tells us, the righteousness that is by faith says, do not say in your heart who will ascend into heaven, For that is to bring Christ down. Or who will descend into the deep, which is to bring Christ up from the dead. But what does it say? The word is near to you. It is in your mouth and it is in your heart. That is the word of faith that we are proclaiming. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us learn from Korah's demise and take this warning to heart. We cannot come to God apart from a mediator. Moses protected God's people from his wrath. And Jesus, whom Moses pointed to, enables us to come to God through him. You see, coming to God through Christ means that we come to Christ through the means that he has prescribed. Through the promise received by faith, given to us in preaching, in baptism. and in the Lord's Supper. And through these means that God has ordained, the word of life really is as near to us as the confession that is in our mouths and the faith that is in our hearts. May it be so. Amen.