Numbers 16

“Just as he (Moses) finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all of Korah’s people and their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them and they vanished from the assembly.” Numbers 16:31-33 (HCSB)

There is much said about God’s love. It is true that He IS love and that He sent Messiah Jesus so sinners might be saved. (John 3:16) But in no way does God’s LOVE negate the fact that God is also JUST. He will by no means clear the guilty. (Numbers 14:18, Exodus 34:7, Nahum 1:3)

Often, we can confuse God’s “love” with His “long-suffering.” That is, when God is slow to wrath, we tend to believe He either doesn’t see our sin, doesn’t care, is powerless to act, or that His LOVE for the sinner prohibits His chastisement/rebuke of their sin. He does care, and today’s chapter clearly shows the Lord’s judgment of sin.

Remember that TWO things confound a fool: how SLOW God is to arrive, and how QUICKLY He shows up!

In sharing the gospel of the Messiah with Jewish people, you may run into those who say they don’t believe in Satan or do not believe in a literal Hell, where God sends people who refuse to believe in Him. I suggest you share Numbers 16 with them.

Chapter 16 also gives us a very clear picture of Hell. Men went down into Sheol (the grave/abode of the dead) with all that belonged to them. And they say you can’t take it with you. Notice the Scripture reads that Korah’s family (and the families of his allies) went down ALIVE into Sheol. It wasn’t that they died and were committed to Sheol. They went down alive. Hopefully, this account lends urgency to your calling to share the gospel because we can plainly see that the Bible teaches there is a literal Hell, and people can and will go there.

We often think of those believers who will be alive at the time of Jesus’s return and how they will be “taken up in the twinkling of an eye.” But today, we get an often-neglected view of the non-believer who will be on the earth at the time of Jesus’ second coming and how they will be judged and descend (alive) as quickly as the living believers are taken up.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 (NKJV)