Jude verse 11 has been split up into three sections, each highlighting the individuals Jude cites as being like false teachers. Numbers 16 tells of the story where Korah raised up a group of supporters to come against Moses' leadership. This didn't go well for Korah and his followers who were swallowed up by the ground! Such was the Lord's disdain for this rebellion, even those who grumbled about the incident were threatened with plague and many died for just grumbling! Our God is a God of self control so why do we see this seemingly knee jerk reaction from the Lord? The answer lies in what was going on both at surface level, and if you will allow the pun... also beneath the surface.
Self appointed leadership
The telling phrase from Korah was that the leaders had 'gone too far' in supposedly raising themselves up among the people. Korah and company thought they could do a better job that Moses! One of the issues at hand is the heart of Korah and the other rebels. They completely miss the appointment of Moses by God and make leadership a matter of human ability, skill, ingenuity and genius. It was not known to Korah or most of the people that Moses had those ego issues laid to rest over 40 years of tending Jethro's flocks in Midian. God is white-hot jealous of the masterpiece Moses was after the process of deconstruction. Korah was truly rebelling because he was vying for leadership yet had not been in the fires of preparation for God's sending. As a Levite he was part of the core significance of the nation but it wasn't enough for Korah and the gang!
A picture of the faithless
When we apply Moses as a type of Christ (Col Ch 2 / Hebrews generally) we see a vital issue occurring in all this. Unbelievers are people who do not see the way God has initiated a rescue plan. They choose to ignore the Creator whilst engaging the Creation (Rom 1). Korah is a picture of someone who sees the God-orientated world then relies on self to negotiate it all. "Jesus wilfully stood in my place to pay the price for my own sin?" 'Korah' says he can do a better job of saving himself and rejects Jesus! The drama of the ground opening up and swallowing the rebels is the picture of the destiny of the unbeliever.
God acts on behalf of the sent ones
Does this passage apply to leaders today? Is everyone who questions church leadership a type of 'Korah?' What we have to do is be precise in what is and what isn't rebellion. If someone has the bible in one hand and a 'leader's' words and/or actions the other, the believer is being biblical in discerning what issues forth from the 'leader.' It is Jude, among others, that challenge us to contend for the faith and that places cross hairs on everyone walking as if they are a leader. If, like Korah, it is someone who has opposed a leader in order to usurp the position then that person or group must be challenged. But notice something about Moses. He immediately falls before the Lord and seeks His council. Moses didn't have a denominational fraternity to pat him on the back when the going gets tough. There were no titles or platforms to sustain a perception of 'special.' Missing were the purpose driven sermons delivered with the aim to find approval. All Moses had was God's accompaniment through a biblical sending which will have a component of authority. Seeing an opportunity, Korah trampled on holy things and stirred up the wrath of God.
The legacy of Korah...
Jude is likening false teachers who have crept in among believers as Cain / Balaam / Korah. In these last days this is seen everywhere in Christendom. In Jude's day there were two kinds of leader. One was God-appointed like Moses. The other was self appointed like Korah. We can tell who the 'Korah' leaders are by exploring Jude verse 12, the next writing of this series.
Gary Ward
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