In dealing with the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, Moses directs the people, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins" (Nu 16:26). Dathan and Abiram soon were to be put to death, and only those who chose to stand with them would die with them.
Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the ground (verse 32) along with fellow rebel leader Korah (Nu 26:10). But Korah's sons were spared (26:11).
Later, in the time of King David, descendants of Korah's sons composed a number of Psalms, including Psalm 84. There is a possible allusion to Numbers 16:26 in Psalm 84:10, which seems to highlight a lesson the family learned from Korah's rebellion:
"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
Korah desired the priesthood, and his selfish ambition cost him his life. Would that he have been content with the privileges he had been given as a Levite, as Moses had urged (Nu 16:8-11). The rebellion and its tragic outcome were recalled by his descendants, who recorded for us an important lesson from these events in Psalm 84:10. (HT: Doug Dudis)
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