Swallowed Alive!

What an awful thing to reflect on! The Old Testament has two very different occasions where this happened. The one that immediately springs to mind is the incident where the prophet Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. However, the other incident is even more frightening.

In the book of Numbers the incident concerns three men. Numbers 16:1-3, "(1) Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; (2) and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. (3) They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord'?"

This is open rebellion against God and the people God has chosen to represent Him in the nation of Israel. It is the wayward hearts of men kicking against rule and authority. We see it every day in every nation around the world.

Romans 8:7 states, "Because the carnal [natural] mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Man in his natural state and condition is hostile towards God. His mind opposes God's will for his life. "I want to do things my way!" This is what we see with Korah, Dathan and Abiram; who in their rebellion also seek to lead the children of Israel astray.

When Moses heard Korah's words he fell on his face in shock at his brazenness. Moses then picked himself up and spoke to Korah.

Numbers 16: 6,7; 16-19

"(6) Do this; Take censers, Korah and all your company;

(7) put fire in them and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow, and it shall be that the man the Lord chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi."

"(16) And Moses said to Korah, 'Tomorrow, you and all your company be present before the Lord - you and they, as well as Aaron.

(17) Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.'

(18) So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

(19) And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation."

The scene is now set for a showdown. Who will the Lord vindicate? Moses was then told to separate the congregation from Korah, Dathan and Abiram.

Numbers 16:27-35

"(27) So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children.

(28) And Moses said: 'By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will.

(29) If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord did not send me.

(30) but if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit [Hell], then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.

(31) Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,

(32) and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.

(33) So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.

(34) Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, 'Lest the earth swallow us up also!'

(35) And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense."

What a terrible death! Rebellion against the true and living God has consequences!

Hebrews 10:30, 31 states, "(30) For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay', says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.' (31) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Matthew 10:28 states, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

A godless life, lived for self and pleasure, will result in a godless eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

Where do you stand in relation to your eternal destination? Is it hell or heaven?

Romans 10:9, 10 tells us, "(9) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

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