Numbers 16:3-5. And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
Too High of an Opinion
Korah and these other “men of renown” had too high of an opinion of themselves. They were the exact opposite of the man of God, who was humble and “fell upon his face” when confronted with Korah and his gathering rebellion. Korah had become blinded to his lack of true holiness and thought he was in the same category as Moses. The problem was that he was one of the group who just showed a serious lack of contentment with God’s provision of manna; and, instead, wanted a bunch of quail. He thought that he had it better back in Egypt. A few hot days in the desert had clouded his mind about what it was really like when he was lost in sin. He lost his understanding of true holiness due to his pride of being elevated in leadership.
Misperception of True Holiness
Just like Korah and his men of renown, the world has a misperception of their true holiness. The world’s view of holiness is that doing a few acts of goodness negates all of their wicked living. God does not weigh your good against your bad. Any bad negates the whole. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. Many Christians also act this way. They think they are doing great things for God by going to some liberal church that never preaches against sin. When that happens, there is no desire for holiness and change (i.e. repentance) and they go on living as wicked as ever. We need to have a Bible perception of our holiness. That only comes by reading it, understanding it, and applying it to our lives each and every day. Korah had no clue about that kind of holiness. He was all about looking good, so he could have stature and prestige in the sight of the Israelites.
A Right View of Holiness
God’s choice is always going to be holiness–as he showed in picking Moses. There is no way “every one of them” is going to be holy, in any given church or any given situation, as Korah was deceived into believing. When you don’t have a right view of your own holiness, you will not be able to recognize it in others. Ultimately, this false view of holiness that Korah developed, led to his death and 249 others he had convinced into going along with him. We need to make sure our holiness is based on what the Bible says it is. Otherwise, we will take the world’s view of holiness. Even the modern-day liberal in America thinks they are morally right in their justification of sin. No wonder that God’s people begin to think the same way. Let’s make sure we have a humble attitude like Moses and have a life that is wholly based upon the Bible.
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