More Lessons in Obedience from the Wilderness

Korach | קורח | "Korah"                                                  6.28.2025

Torah: Numbers 16:1 - 18:32

Prophets 1 Samuel 11:14 - 12:22

Brit Hadasha: Luke 18:35 - 19:28; Romans 13:1-7; 2 Timothy 2:8-21;

Jude 1:1-25

Shelach | שלח | "Send"

Torah: Numbers 13:1 - 15:41

Prophets: Joshua 2:1-24

Brit Hadasha: Mark 10:1-45; Hebrews 3:7-19

Today’s message is one that I have really struggled with.  I had all hopes and intentions of working on this message as early as Wednesday night.  But the enemy fought me tooth and nail, so I thought. Distraction, sickness, you name it.  Night after night, nothing… Even last night… still nothing… but… one verse.  God highlighted one verse.  

Then this morning at 5 am, He woke me up and said okay now.  So here we are…. It’s not exactly the message I would have chosen. But I’m counting on the Lord, that by the time we quit typing that this will fully make sense.

But this message is feeling more like shaking or stirring, maybe even a warning.  These stories we have read in these two portions are more than just historical stories. For us they should be mirrors. (James 1:22-25)  We should be looking for ourselves in these stories and learning from our forefathers’ mistakes.  Because… nothing is new under the sun.  And just like them, we stand at the edge of a Promised Land. The question is—will we enter in?

We’re picking up in Shelach and Korach—Numbers 12 through 18.  They are deeply connected. They reveal the heart condition that keeps people out of God’s promises. And I want to focus on those verses that God highlighted to me:

And the Father stopped me in Numbers 14, starting in verse 22, where God is speaking to Moses after the people refused to go into the land because of fear.  He says:

Numbers 14:22-23: "Because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers."

Ten tests. Ten rebellions. Ten heart checks.

And as a result, they will not enter the land.

🔟 What were the Ten Tests?

Deuteronomy 8:2: "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart."

These tests weren’t small slip-ups. These were deliberate acts of rebellion and distrust.

1. At the Red Sea – Fear and doubt (Ex. 14:11-12)

2. Bitter waters at Marah – Complaining (Ex. 15:24)

3. Manna & Quail – Grumbling & hoarding (Ex. 16:2-20)

4. Testing God at Massah – Demanding water (Ex. 17:1-7)

5. Golden Calf – Idolatry (Ex. 32)

6. Complaining about hardships (Num. 11:1)

7. Craving meat & rejecting manna (Num. 11:4-34)  Reprocessing

8. Miriam & Aaron’s rebellion – Jealousy of Moses (Num. 12)

9. The Spies – Fear, doubt, slander of the land (Num. 13–14)

10. Korah’s Rebellion – Rejecting God’s appointed leadership (Num. 16)

Each time, they were really saying: "God, You’re not enough. God, we don’t trust You. God, we don’t like what you have for us. God, we want to go back to Egypt.”

As a parent, I’m thinking what spoiled little brats.  But really, no wonder God is upset.  That’s a lot of hurt and pain God is dealing with from His people in just a couple of year’s time.   

That’s not just doubt. We’ll read that He says that’s despising God.  But let’s first read from Hebrews 3.

Hebrews 3:16-19: "For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?... So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief."

Unbelief = Rebellion.  Let’s not rush past this. Let’s sit with it. What are our situations revealing about us? What have our complaints revealed about our faith?

We need to really let that truth settle in: grumbling isn’t harmless. It’s not a personality quirk. It’s not venting. In the eyes of the Lord, it is rebellion. It is rooted in unbelief. And the cost of that rebellion wasn’t just a bad day in the desert—it was a forfeited promise. It was the loss of inheritance. The very people who saw the miracles, who walked through the sea on dry ground, who ate bread from heaven—they didn’t get to enter the Promised Land.

This should get our attention.

Why? Because they refused to trust Him. Because they despised Him. Because He was never enough for them.

We know that when they grumbled against Moses, it wasn’t really about Moses. When they challenged Aaron, it wasn’t just a personal feud with Aaron.  Korah didn’t like order—but what he really didn’t like was God’s authority.

Let’s read Numbers 16:1-3:

“Now Korah… took men and they rose up before Moses… and they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron and said unto them, ‘Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy.’”

If I had nickel for every time someone said to me, “Melissa, you do too much.”

Granted.. I am no Moses…no Aaron…. Please don’t even for a minute think I’m saying that.  But I am serving our King.  In any capacity I can, with all the energy I have. 

And that highlight was a direct quote.  So the Lord had me stop and pause here……  my lesson her: do I listen to people?  Who just like Peter had 100% the best intentions when responding to Jeus about his coming death said:

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Matthew 16

But the Lord accounted it to Satan. 

I know my friends and family, and even y’all have said I do too much.  Just about weekly I get a message from someone telling me to stop.  To rest.  To take time off.  To slow down.  I do too much.  And I know it is because you love me and because you care.

But what should I do?  Listen to the Holy Spirit or my friends and family?  I think we all know the answer to that already. 

Let’s see what Moses did.  ⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Numbers 16:4 

My lesson from the Lord this week, isn’t a cozy, warm and fuzzy message either.  I think I may need bringing down a notch or two as well.  Just like wanting to prepare this week’s study early…. God had to show me who is in control.  It’s not me.  It’s not y’all.  It’s all about Him.  He is the one calling the shots.  No one should even see me.  I need to be face down seeking Him in full submission.

But there is also a lesson here still for all of us.  What did God say after the rebellion about Korah and his people?

Numbers 16:11: "It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together."

Grumbling against Moses and Aaron was really grumbling against God. Complaints are not just horizontal—they're vertical.

We need to be careful with our words. Every complaint we make about leadership, about timing, about provision—they may be directed at man, but God hears them as complaints against Him.

Let’s revisit Exodus 16:8:

"Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord."

Let’s be honest. Complaining is rebellion in disguise. It’s a quiet (or loud) way of saying: "God, I don’t like how You’re running things."

We saw it two weeks ago in the sons of Kohath—jealous of the duties given to others, perhaps thinking their burden was heavier or unfair. We saw it last week with the spies—God promised them the land, and they still chose fear. And now we see it again in Korah—rejecting God’s chosen leaders.

But what did God do this time?  He made a verdict. 

“None of these who have despised Me will see the land.” – Numbers 14:23

This wasn’t just failure. It was disqualification. God didn’t say they made mistakes—He said they despised Him.

Do you see the difference?

• They weren’t cut off because of weakness.

• They weren’t excluded because of brokenness.

• They were judged because of unbelief and pride.

They didn’t really want God’s presence—they wanted His provision. They didn’t want to submit to Him—they wanted Him to serve them.

And I know I may seem to be harping on this subject, but the theme is continuing for our readings.   I am convinced we are guilty of this today.  We treat the Lord like a genie in a bottle that we can just summon for our wishes, or like a fast food drive thru crew member.

And perhaps, we are stiff-necked hardheaded people. God knows He has had to tell us and teach us the same things over and over and over, before we are able to accept it into our hearts and minds. – It’s not about us!

Let’s stop here and ask: What is OUR Promised Land?

It’s not riches. It’s not ease. It’s not even health. It is nothing here in this world now.

It’s Him. The New Jerusalem. The Eternal Kingdom. Where we worship, obey, and submit to the King—forever. Not a retirement plan for the religious.

It’s where worship is constant. Obedience is complete. We are not in charge. The music isn’t for our taste. The glory is ALL His.

Do we truly understand this?  It’s not 24/7..It’s 24/infinity.

So let me be real: If we don’t want to be with Him now…If we can’t worship Him here…

If we can’t submit to Him now….If we won’t obey Him now…Why would we expect to be welcomed into an eternity that is ALL ABOUT HIM?

He’s not going to force you into a life of surrender and worship. God is a gentleman. If you’ve made it clear that you don’t want Him—He will honor that choice.

Heart Check: Do We Want Him, or Just What He Offers?

Let’s be honest:

• Do we complain more than we praise?

• Do we worship only when the song fits our taste or our mood?

• Do we give thanks for all the many blessings and provisions we have or are we selfishly asking for more or better?

After this rebellion, what does God do? He doesn’t just hand down judgment—He gives them reminders. Tangible symbols to tether their wandering hearts. Because even in His discipline, He is merciful.

In Shelach, after the rebellion of the spies, God reminds His people to keep the Sabbath and wear tassels.  Why?  Submission.  These are surprisingly two key areas where we can measure ourselves, and quite frankly, I believe God also measures, our level of submission. (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Here are those reminders in this portion:

• The penalty for breaking Sabbath – It’s serious. Numbers 15:32-36 – The man gathering sticks on the Sabbath is stoned.

  • 32 While the people of Isra’el were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moshe, Aharon and the whole congregation. 34 They kept him in custody, because it had not yet been decided what to do to him. 35 Then Adonai said to Moshe, “This man must be put to death; the entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp.” 36 So the whole community brought him outside the camp and threw stones at him until he died, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

• The command to wear tassels – So you don’t forget. Numbers 15:37-41

  • 37 Adonai said to Moshe, 38 “Speak to the people of Isra’el, instructing them to make, through all their generations, tzitziyot on the corners of their garments, and to put with the tzitzit on each corner a blue thread. 39 It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of Adonai’s mitzvot and obey them, so that you won’t go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves; 40 but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God. 41 I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am Adonai your God.”

These are not just rituals. They are reminders. God knew their hearts wandered easily, so He gave them physical signs to tether them back.

We need to ask ourselves: Are we taking Sabbath seriously? Are we wearing tassels, or are we more worried about what people would think?  Are we being faithful to the command, or are we reprocessing to find a loop hole out?  Are we remembering His Word daily? Or have we gotten casual with what He calls holy?  We just studied two weeks ago about the cost of casualness with the Kohath’s (Korah’s family).  The cost of casualness is death.  And that theme continued this week.

Numbers 14:20-23: ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. ²¹ But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, ²² none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, ²³ shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.

Numbers 14:28-30:²⁸ Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. ²⁹ You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. ³⁰ You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

They forfeited the promise because they despised God.

Psalm 95:10-11: "Forty years I was grieved with that generation... to whom I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

The Lord directly ties this all together: Submission & Reverence vs Complaints & Unbelief

Rest, Shabbat, Promised Land vs Plague, Pestilence, Death

Obedience, Blessings vs Rebellion, Curses

We are getting close and closer to our own Deuteronomy 30 moment, so let’s read.

30  “When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which Adonai your God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you; 2 and you will return to Adonai your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being. 3 At that point, Adonai your God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai your God scattered you. 4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky, Adonai your God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you. 5 Adonai your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors. 6 Then Adonai your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live. 7 Adonai your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you; 8 but you will return and pay attention to what Adonai says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today. 9 Then Adonai your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for Adonai will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.

10 “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your God says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being.  11 For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach. 12 It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 13 Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very close to you — in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!

15 “Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil — 16 in that I am ordering you today to love Adonai your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; and Adonai your God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you are drawn away to prostrate yourselves before other gods and serve them; 18 I am announcing to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to enter and possess.

19 “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, 20 loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.”

It’s time for us to repent of our grumbling.

 To return to our first love. To reexamine whether we’re following for the fruit… or in fear of the giants.

And like we saw two weeks ago—obedience in the wilderness is what prepares us for the Promised Land. Remember our study on the sons of Kohath? They had the hardest task, yet the holiest calling. They carried what others were not even allowed to touch. They couldn’t use carts. They bore the weight on their shoulders. It wasn’t fair. But it was honor.

God chooses who carries what. And often the heaviest burdens are placed on the most trusted shoulders.

And what did we say Monday night? Focus on the fruit, not the giants.

The spies saw giants and cowered. David saw a giant and said:

1 Samuel 17:26: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

What we see will determine whether we stand or shrink back.  Are we going to look at the fruit of the situation or focus on the giants?

We want the inheritance, but not the instruction. We want the land, but not the labor. And God is showing us—again—that how we carry the burdens here prepares us for the glory over there.

Bringing it back to focus… Do we want Him, or just His gifts?

So let’s judge ourselves:

• Are we fully walking in obedience?

• Are we fully submitting joyfully to His ways?

• Or are you grumbling & complaining? Reprocessing to make more palatable or to suit to our own understanding?  Focusing on the giants or walking in unbelief?  Are we shrinking back?

I feel like God is calling us to a higher level.  He has faith in us that we can do better.  We can go deeper.  He is calling us closer to Him. How are we going to respond?

God isn’t looking for perfection. He’s looking for hearts that trust Him.

2 Chronicles 16:9: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."

If anything has convicted you today... if you’ve been testing God, doubting Him, or simply living lukewarm, let’s all fall on faces.

Don’t be like Korah. Don’t be like the ten spies. Don’t be like those whose bones were scattered in the desert.

Be like Caleb. Be like Joshua. Be like David.

Hebrews 4:11: "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."

So let’s take a moment to quiet our hearts. Let’s stop striving. Let’s stop making excuses. Let’s just... come. Come back to the One who never left. Back to the One who has always been faithful, even when we have not. Back to the One who said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Before we pray, ask yourself honestly: Do I truly want Him? Do I desire His presence more than comfort? More than approval? More than control?

Let’s not miss the Promised Land because we settled for Egypt. Let’s not resist the narrow path that leads to life. Let’s yield. Let’s return.

Let us pray.

James 1:22-25 Complete Jewish Bible

²² Don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it! ²³ For whoever hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴ who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But if a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does.