Did not Korach, in the Book of Numbers, lead a rebellion in the desert against Moses, accusing him and his brother Ahron of building an oligarchy? Did he not point out that every Israelite was as holy as every other Israelite, and should have an “equal opportunity” to ascend to the priesthood? And did God not express his displeasure with Korach by opening up the earth, which swallowed him whole, along with two of his co-conspirators and all their wives?
It would seem that God and democracy were at serious odds, except that Korach’s complaint couldn't have really been with Moses and his brother. Korach was their first cousin, and he wasn’t stupid. He knew Moses well enough to know that he could never bring himself to speak untruths in God’s name. What's more, he must have been quite familiar with the Law that God gave Moses on Sinai, and knew that God clearly specified that Ahron and his sons were to be accorded the priestly caste.
Korach’s fight was with the Law.
People like Korach proclaim lofty ideals, all the while aspiring to expand their own power. They disdain the laws that govern civil society. They’re only interested in fomenting “regime change” to their advantage.
The Founding Fathers of America understood the Biblical lesson. They gave us a Constitution which, although man-made, was clearly fashioned after God’s Law. It wasn't filled with flowery theological musings or lofty proclamations of democracy. It was carefully crafted to ensure that no man—or group of men—would come to amass more power than the Constitution itself.
The Founding Fathers knew that it was one thing to wax poetic about democracy and quite another to live by it.
Korach’s sons came to see their father for who and what he was, and were spared his fate. They went on to become beloved among their Levite tribesmen, and accompanied the ritual Temple service with their beautiful music (it is said that echoes of their music can still be heard in Flamenco).
The prophet Samuel, a direct descendent of Korach, learned the family lesson well. Samuel is known for his struggles to ensure that when the Israelites clamored for a mortal king, the newly anointed one would clearly understand his obligation to live under the same Law as his subjects.
It follows then that subsequent Korachs to our own day are not necessarily descended from their infamous progenitor. They just seem to pop up in the gene pool from time to time. May God protect us all from them until they are swallowed up once more.
No comments:
Post a Comment