Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram (v. 12a), but, speaking in a very eloquent manner, they answered that they would not come up (vv. 12b-14).
I do not like to talk about the rebellion of God's people, but the Bible gives us a long portion here in Numbers 16 to cover this matter. Ambition for position and power is always a problem to God's people. Ambition is a "gopher" that undermines God's plan and damages His people.
I admire Moses' boldness in confronting this problem. He was attacked to the uttermost. Those rebels not only attacked him, but they also rebelled against him as the authority arranged by God. It was difficult for him to say anything.
When I was with Watchman Nee on the mainland of China, I saw him attacked a number of times. He never did anything or said anything to vindicate himself, and he never complained against others. As he told me, because he was the target, it was difficult for him to say anything concerning himself without vindicating, and it was difficult to say anything about others without condemning. So the best way, he said, was not to say anything.
Even though Brother Nee was the one under attack, it was the church that was damaged, and it was God's plan that was hurt. Furthermore, many young ones, who did not have much discernment concerning these things, were damaged. On the other hand, the church received some positive help from all the turmoil.
The ambition for power and the struggle for power are in our blood. This ambition and struggle can be found not only among males but also among females. The rebellion of Miriam and Aaron against Moses proves this. I believe that this rebellion was instigated by Miriam. I have seen cases in which a sister instigated a rebellion from behind the scenes. She used a brother to carry out her intention. We all need to be careful to guard against the "gopher" of ambition within us.
The first generation of Christ's followers was troubled by the struggle for power. At a very crucial time, when the Lord Jesus was going to Jerusalem to be crucified, He told His followers what would happen to Him (Matt. 20:17-19). They heard Him, but they neither listened to what He said nor cared about it. While He was telling them about His death, they were struggling for power. The mother of James and John (Jesus' aunt) even brought her two sons to the Lord, begging Him to put one on His right and one on His left in the kingdom (Matt. 20:20-28). The other disciples were indignant toward these two brothers. This indicates that there was a power struggle among the disciples.
If you read through the Acts and the Epistles, you will see that this struggle for power was there from the beginning of the church life. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-4) were a couple who lied to God. Actually, their lying was a struggle for power. They wanted to be more important, to elevate themselves in the eyes of others. At the end of the Epistles, John mentioned one who was struggling for power, Diotrephes (3 John 9-11).