Korah and his friends, Dathan, Abiram, and On, argued that everyone was just as holy as anybody else, and that the Lord was present to everyone, and therefore that Moses and Aaron were arrogant and presumptious in making rules that said who could approach God (Numbers 16:1-3). This made Moses angry: he arranged for a test, and prayed earnestly that the Lord would pay no attention to the offering of Korah and the others (16:15).

It turns out that God was also angry, angry enough to wipe out the whole nation, telling Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment” (16:20-21). But Moses and Aaron disobeyed. They did not do as God said; instead, they stayed right where they were, and prayed, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one person sin and you become angry with the whole congregation?” (16:22).

We should note three things in this story; first, that Moses and Aaron did not get in trouble for this intercession, even though they had specifically not done what God had just told them to do. Second, we should note that when they insisted that it was not right to destroy the many for the sins of a few, their prayer was persuasive, and they succeeded in changing God’s mind. Instead of all the nation, it would be just the households of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram that would be destroyed (16:23-27).

And third, while the intercession of Moses and Aaron succeeded in preventing the loss of the nation, they did not save the families of these men. Their wives, their children, including “their little ones” (16:27), were all standing at the doors of their tents when the earth opened up and swallowed them all (16:31-32). How old might the youngest of these little ones have been? Youngsters of six or eight, or toddlers, or babes in arms? Even these little ones died, when the earth opened up and swallowed the tents of these families. Korah and his friends, “with all that belonged to them, went down alive into Sheol; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly” (16:33).

Moses had interceded for the nation, but in his anger he was not motivated to say anything on behalf of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Yet what if he had been willing to pray for their families? We can understand the desire to call on God to smite our enemies – and the Bible recognizes that desire (Psalm 59:12-13; 137:9). Yet could we learn from a passage like this to dare to think that our Lord could well respond to a plea to spare the nation – and perhaps to a plea to spare the children of the rebels, and maybe even to a plea to spare the rebels themselves, to lead them to repentance?

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We can see you declare your judgment on the wicked, O Lord, and yet you are so quick to spare them when someone intercedes for them. We are grateful: so much of the time we are the wicked for whom you have interceded. Grant, in turn, that we may have the courage to intercede for those who have sinned against us; just as your mercy was sufficient for us, help us believe it will be sufficient for them as well.

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