In this message we come to another rebellion, the rebellion described in Numbers 16. This rebellion took place immediately after the insertion with the instructions and warnings in chapter fifteen.
The first rebellion was the murmuring of evil by those at the border of the camp. The second rebellion was the lusting of the mixed multitude. The third involved two elder relatives of Moses who were very close to him. Now, after the fourth rebellion, the rebellion of unbelief in spying out the land, some of the leading ones rebelled. This time the rebellion was on a much larger scale; it involved more than two hundred fifty people.
We first need to see who the rebels were.
Korah, a descendant of Levi, was of the same tribe as Moses and Aaron. He served God with them. Hence, he was not among those at the border nor among the mixed multitude. Rather, as a Levite, a serving one, even a leader among the Levites, he was in the center of the camp.
Dathan, Abiram, and On were descendants of Reuben (the firstborn of Jacob). They must have taken the lead among the sons of Israel according to their natural birth (16:1).
With Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, there were two hundred fifty leaders of the assembly. They had been chosen from the congregation and were well-known men (v. 2).
Numbers 16:1 and 2 indicate that the rebellious spirit was spreading unto a thorough saturation among the people. This rebellion was a great hardship to Moses and Aaron because it was against the center of the government.