korah's rebellion.
Numb. xvi. 38. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar; for they offered them before the Lord; therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
IT is painful, in perusing the history of the Israelites, to see how constantly they were murmuring and re- belling against God. Persons who are ignorant of
their own hearts are ready to conceive of them as more perverse and obstinate than the rest of man- kind : but they who know what human nature is, behold in their rebellions a true picture of mankind at large. In the chapter before us we have an exact representation of a popular tumult : we see the motives and principles by which factious demagogues are actuated, and the lamentable evils which they produce. The censers of which our text speaks were formed into plates for a covering of the altar, that they might be a sign to all future generations : and, though we have not now the altar before us, they are no less a sign to us, than they were to the Israelites of old.
Let us consider,
I. The history before us —
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, raised a rebellion against Moses and Aaron —
[Let us mark how they proceeded. They complained that Moses and Aaron had usurped an undue authority over them : and that Moses in particular had ensnared them, and brought them into the wilderness for that very purpose a. For the purpose of making an invidious comparison between their former situation in Egypt and their present state b, they repre- sented Egypt as " aland flowing with milk and honey." As to any personal interest, they disclaimed any regard to that ; and professed to be actuated by a generous concern for the public welfare0. In a word, they were true patriots: they were enemies to usurpation and tyranny, and friends to the liberties of the people. Liberty and equality was their motto d.
Such were their professions : and by these they imposed upon the people, and rendered them dissatisfied with the go- vernment both in church and state.
But what were their real principles ? They envied the power and dignity with which their governors were invested, and were ambitious to obtain a like pre-eminence for themselves. As for any desire to ameliorate the state of the people at large, they had it not : a patriotic concern for others was a mere pre- text, a popular cry raised for the purpose of gaining partisans. Korah was at the head of the Levites, and Dathan and Abiram were " men of renown among the princes of the congregation:" but they were not satisfied : they could endure no dignity su- perior to their own; and this was the true cause of all their
a ver. 13, 14. b ver. 13, 14. c ver. 3. d ver. 3.
162.1 korah's rebellion. 89
discontent and clamour e: and if by means of this insurrection they could have obtained the distinction which they aimed at, not a word more would have been uttered on the subject of national grievances ; nor would one hundredth part of the care have been taken to prevent them. It is impossible to read the history and not to see that this was the true state of the case. What an insight does this give us into that which is usually dignified with the name of patriotism ! If ever there was a mild and just governor, it was Moses. If ever there was a pious, affectionate, and diligent minister, it was Aaron. If ever there was a well-administered government both in church and state, it was at that time. If ever people had cause to be satisfied and happy, it was then. There was not a single ground of sorrow amongst all the people, except that which had arisen solely from their own perverseness, their detention in the wil- derness. Yet a few factious demagogues prevail to spread dissatisfaction through the whole camp : and their oppressed state of bondage in Egypt is declared to be preferable to the grievances which they then experienced.]