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Homiletics: Numbers 16-17


Contents (not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture):  Where?                                                                Who?

1
16:1-3
Korah (son of Izhar/Kohath/Levi) & Reubenites Dathan & Abiram (Eliab) & On (Peleth) became insolent, rose up vs. M w/250 Is men (leaders); they came to oppose M&A: you gone too far, community holy, why you set yourselves above?”
2
4-11
M heard, fell facedown, to Korah/followers: In morning L show you who belongs to Him/is holy, you & followers take censers, tomorrow put burning coals/incense in them before L; M to Korah: listen Levites isn’t enough God separated you from community brought you near to do work at taber & minister; he brought you near but you trying to get priesthood; against L you/followers banded together.
3
12-14
M summoned Dathan & Abiram, they said: we not come, isn’t enough you brought us out of land w/milk & honey to kill us in wilderness?  You haven’t brought us into land of milk & honey or given us fields/vineyards; you want treat men like slaves? We not come.
4
15-19
M angry, to L: don’t accept their offering, I not taken from them nor wronged them; Mto Korah: you & followers (&A) appear before L tomorrow; each man take censer, put burning coals/incense in (250 censers in all); ea took censer, put coals/incense in, stood w/M&A @ entrance ToM; when Korah gathered followers @ entrance, glory of L appeared.
5
20-26
LtoM&A: Separate from assy so I end them; M&A fell facedown/cried out: God who gives breath, will you be angry w/entire assy when only one man sins?  LtoM: say to assy, move away from Korah, Datham and Abiram; M got up, went to Dathan & Abiram, elders followed; he warned assy: move back from these wicked men, don’t touch anything belonging to them or you’ll be swept away.
6
27-33
They moved away, Dathan & Abiram came out, standing w/wives, children, little ones @ entrance of tents; M: this how you know L sent me & it not my idea – if men die natural death, L not sent me; but if L brings something new – earth opens/swallows them w/everything, you know these men treated L w/contempt; as he finished, ground split, earth swallowed them, households, possessions; they went alive into realm of dead.
7
34-40
At cries, Israelites fled: earth swallow us too; fire came from L, consumed 250 offering incense; LtoM: tell Eleazar son of A remove censers from charred remains, scatter coals some distance away for censers are holy; hammer censers into sheets to overlay altar for they were presented before L, become holy, let them be sign to Is; So Eleazar collected bronze censers & had them hammered out to overlay altar as L directed thru M; to remind Is no one except descendant of A burn incense before L or he become like Korah & followers.
8
41-50
Next day, comm. grumbled vs. M&A: you killed L’s ppl; when assy gathered & turned to ToM, suddenly cloud covered/glory appeared; M&A to front of ToM, LtoM: get away from assy so I end them, they fell facedown; MtoA: take censer, incense, burning coals, hurry, make atonemt; wrath has come from L, plague started; A did as M said, plague had started but A made atonemt; he stood betw living & dead & plague stopped; 14,700 ppl died from plague; A retd to M for plague stopped.
9
17:1-5
LtoM: speak to Is, get 12 staffs one from leader/each tribe, write name on staff; on Levi’s staff, write A’s name, place in ToM before ark; staff of man I choose will sprout & I rid myself of constant grumbling vs. you.
10
6-9
M spoke to Is, leaders gave staffs, M placed staffs before L; next day, M entered tent saw A’s staff sprouted, budded, blossomed, produced almonds; M brought staffs to Is, each leader took his staff.
11
10-13
LtoM: put A’s staff in front of ark, kept as sign to rebellious, this end grumbling so they not die; M did as L cmd; Is to M: we die!  We lost!  Anyone comes near taber die.  Are we all to die?

 

Divisions (run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture):

1
16:1-50
The Lord brings consequences for Korah’s uprising and the grumbling and rebellion of Israel.
Principle:
There are always consequences for grumbling and rebellion.
God’s people have no business grumbling or rebelling.
The Lord may choose to use dramatic and never-before-seen means of dealing with rebellion.
2
17:1-13
The Lord uses a budded staff to show Israel He has chosen Aaron in order to stop the grumbling.
Principle:
The Lord may choose to use gentler means to stop rebellion and grumbling.
It is the Lord’s desire that His people not grumble or rebel.

 

Subject Sentence (10-word sentence with proper structure):

The earth swallows the rebellious and God chooses Aaron’s staff.

 

Aim (Christian and Non-Christian):

TCMATK we must guard our hearts from attitudes of grumbling and rebellion by seeking and accepting God’s will through Bible study and prayer.

 

Application:

1
When have you observed an uprising against God’s chosen servants?  What was the outcome?
What does Scripture say about opposing God’s chosen people?
How do you deal with people who oppose your leadership?
How has the Lord shown you who belongs to Him?
How has the Lord shown others that you belong to Him?
What does it mean to you that God has set you apart and brought you near to minister?
Compare and contrast the rebels in Numbers 16 with Christians today regarding the priesthood.
What promises are you waiting for God to fulfill?  How does this affect your attitude about God and His servants?  In what way will you protect yourself from behaving badly is your wait continues?
How do you react when you are summoned by your leadership and confronted with wrongdoing?
How do you behave when you are the leader who has to confront the wrongdoing in another?  What might you do to prepare for such a confrontation?
What advice is found in Scripture for how to deal with others who make you angry?
When have you observed one man’s sin spreading throughout a group of people?  What were the consequences of this situation?
Describe a time when you have been warned by the Lord or a leader to distance yourself from a person or situation?
What new thing have you seen the Lord do recently?
When have you been called to engage in a service to the Lord that wasn’t particularly pleasant?  How did you react to the assignment?
What reminders do you keep that help you behave properly before the Lord?
How long does it usually take you to forget the last great thing the Lord has done and fall back into bad habits?
How might you protect yourself from forgetting the Lord’s greatness and avoid falling back into bad habits?
Describe how grumbling and rebellion today is like the plague in Numbers 16:41-50.  How might you stop the “plague” as Aaron did?
2
How do you respond when God makes it clear He has chosen someone other than you for a specific task?
In Numbers 17, how did the Lord say He would indicate who He had chosen to serve Him?
How did this differ from what the Lord actually did to show He’d chosen Aaron?  What do you think might be the purpose of the additional transformations of Aaron’s staff?
What sort of proof have you received from the Lord about whom He has chosen to serve Him?
If you weren’t the one chosen to serve, what remembrance do you keep so you don’t become bitter?
In what way have you reacted badly to not being chosen or witnessed someone else’s bad reaction?
How might you guard yourself from a bad reaction due to not being chosen?
What are the dangers of being chosen?  Not being chosen?

 

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