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Foundations For Rebellion - Part 1

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• Numbers chapter 16. Numbers chapter 16, I'm going to read a few verses, not all of them, because I will be continuing this message next week, possibly even the week after. I don't know. I have not finished even next week's message yet, and so I'm not sure how far I'm going to get. But the title of the message is "Foundations for Rebellion." So look at it in Numbers chapter 16, beginning there with verse 1. "Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, 'You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?' And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face."

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• "And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, 'Even tomorrow the Lord will show who are His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto Him; even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come near unto Him. This do: take you censers, Korah and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. And it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy. You take too much upon you, you sons of Levi.'" Now, "Foundations for Rebellion." Rebellion is as old as humanity. Rebellion began, of course, with Adam and Eve and has continued down through history. Man, by nature, has a tendency to rebel because of total depravity. Sin was imputed to us because of our federal head and representative, Adam, who sinned against God. And when he sinned, we sinned. That is why the Bible in Romans 5 and verse 12 says this: "Wherefore, as by one man sin passed upon all men, and death by sin, for that all have sinned."

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• And when you get to that phrase, "for that all have sinned," the scenario is passive, which means it happened once and for all. It was over with. When in the world did everyone sin once and for all? And the answer is in Adam.

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• Now, while it is true that fallen man is rebellious, yet there is a modicum of truth in the consciousness of fallen man that he is answerable, accountable, and responsible to God. You'll find that in Romans chapter 2, verses 14 and 15, where that principle is established. Rebellion is primarily a sin and a crime against God. However, it is usually directed and manifested against man. It manifests itself against the authority that God has ordained. So a very easy and clear illustration is given to us in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 1 through 3, where God says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

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• "Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that your days may be long upon the earth." So it's obvious then that Ephesians 6, verses 1 through 3, is a quote from the fifth commandment, which was given to us in Exodus chapter 20 and also Deuteronomy chapter 5. So when you understand this, when children then disobey and dishonor their parents, in reality, they're dishonoring and disobeying the God who gave the command to honor and obey their parents. So parents, in this sense of the word, represent God in that He gave the parents the authority to rule and to raise those children in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord. So we can see this principle expanded just about anywhere and everywhere. The same principle, I think, is obvious when it comes to a lot of churches where the people rebel against the pastor. And when I say the pastor, let me expand—explain—because when he is dealing from the Word of God and teaching the Word of God, then obviously he has the authority of God behind him. And I've had—and I know—people who got really upset because some pastor was doing that which was really biblical, holy, and right.

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• In fact, I can think of one right now where there was a problem in the church and the pastor was trying to do what was right, and a woman stood up in church and said, "This is our church. We'll do as we please." So, this is exactly what I'm talking about.

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• Now, the principle is there when men fight against God, they manifest themselves by fighting against the pastor who has that authority. Likewise, when wives refuse to submit to their husbands, it's the same principle. They're in rebellion against God. I want you to hold Numbers chapter 16, but look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 3. Look, if you would please, at verse 16 and hold there in Genesis because we're going to be looking at another verse just momentarily. But look in Genesis chapter 3 and note, if you would please, what verse 16 says. God is speaking and He says unto the woman,

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• He said, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." So very clearly, part of God's judgment upon the woman in this instance was her desire was to her husband, and the husband was to rule over the wife. Now, feminism and individualism, where the wife actually seeks a separate life from her husband, is rebellion to God. And there's a vast difference between a woman being feminine and modern-day feminism, which hates patriarchy, submission, and the headship of their husbands. So let me just make this clear at the very beginning. I do not care what sphere or what area we're talking about when it comes to rebellion. All rebellion is primarily against God. Another point that I want to make is this.

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• Rebellion does not happen—this is submissive and obedient and wake up the next morning and say, "Well, I think I'll rebel and tear up everything and turn everything upside down and destroy everything that I can destroy." No, rebellion normally requires a way of thinking and an established attitude as well. So let me show you what I'm talking about. If you look in Genesis chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 4 and read through verse 6, I think you can see this very clearly in the life of Eve. In verse 4, "And the serpent said unto the woman, 'You shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day that you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'" Now watch carefully, verse 6. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat."

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• Now, the Bible says, "When the woman saw that the tree was good," the word "saw" is the Hebrew word ra'ah, and it literally means to perceive or to see in a different light, or to consider and to regard. In other words, when she saw the tree, now being seduced by the serpent, she is seeing the fruit and that tree in a totally different light. She changed her thinking, and she also changed her attitude concerning this fruit. Now notice, if you would, in verse 6, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes," the Hebrew word for "pleasant to the eyes" is the word avah, which means literally to desire and to lust after, to covet, to become greedy, to become covetous. In other words, prior to this, her thinking concerning God and His commandment was fine. But now she's been listening to the serpent. Her thinking has changed. Her attitude is now changing. And notice, if you would please, evidently she had not perceived the fruit in this way before.

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• So Eve then descended from a way of thinking of obedience to a change of attitude toward God and His Word. Her rebellion was furthered by desiring that which was forbidden. You must take note of this fact that when your thinking changes, your attitude changes, so also do your desires. So her thinking changed toward that fruit. Her attitude changed, and therefore her desires changed. This fact alone should explain how spouses who've been faithful to each other for years suddenly fall into grievous acts of infidelity and adultery. Why? Because when their thinking changes, their attitude changes, and when their thinking and attitude change, so do their desires. If you'll notice in verse 6 again, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise," the Hebrew word is chamad, and it literally means to delight greatly, to desire greatly, to take pleasure in, and to covet.

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• So now, think about this. Once her thinking changed, once her attitude changed, now her desires are different, and now she's thinking, "Wow, this is what I need. This is what I really, truly want." And the final step from her thinking, her attitude, her desiring—she took that action. She took the fruit and she ate, and she gave to her husband also. Now, when you think wickedly, when you desire wicked things, and when you desire and covet wickedness, your attitude changes, and the last step is always disobedience and rebellion toward God. You can notice this throughout the Bible. Now, let me hit you with another truth. Rebellion can be taught. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah chapter 28, because God revealed this in His Word when He was talking about Hananiah and Shemaiah. So in Jeremiah chapter 28, notice, if you would, verse 15. Jeremiah 28, verse 15: "Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, 'Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makest his people to trust in a lie.'"

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• "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will cast thee forth off the face of the earth. This year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord." So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. But note, if you would, the Bible says that he had taught rebellion against the Lord. Then if you look in Jeremiah 29 and verse 32, you'll see the same thing concerning Shemaiah. Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 32: "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed. He shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good thing that I will do for my people, saith the Lord, because he had taught rebellion against the Lord." Now, he taught rebellion against the Lord. You must see, ha, what I'm going to call the importance of homeschooling.

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• When you stop and think about governmental education, which is fairly well known as public education, which is not really public education. If you think it's really public, you try walking into one of those schools and just see how far you get and offer your suggestions and see how many are taken. But public schools today are a hotbed for communism and Marxism. These schools are training insurgents. They're training rebellious individuals. When you stop and think about Antifa, Black Lives Matter, when you think about the transgender movement, these people didn't just pop up overnight. It may seem like that, but the truth of the matter is they were taught this.

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• Their thinking changed, their attitude changed, their desires changed, and when the moment or the money was right, they took action. So the point I'm trying to make is oftentimes parents wonder what in the world happened to their loving and obedient children after they had sent those loving and obedient children to a government school or state college. And the children end up turning against their parents and turning against everything the parents believe and everything the parents taught them. And the answer is how it happened is very simple. They were taught rebellion.

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• So here's a principle that you and I need to learn. If biblical principles and biblical morality is not instilled in our youth, wickedness and rebellion will be. Neither life nor learning operate in a vacuum. Martin Luther, you know, began the Reformation in 1517. So Martin Luther in the 1500s made this statement. Listen carefully. He said, "I'm afraid that the schools will provide the very gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth." That was back in the 1500s.

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• To show you how Massachusetts has become a hotbed of liberalism and modernism today, yet in 1647, the state of Massachusetts passed what is known as the Old Deluder Satan Act and mandated that the Bible had to be taught in every home and in every area of education. Isn't that amazing? Horace Greeley, who was an ardent and radical abolitionist, and you would not think of something like this coming from such a man, but yet here's what he said: "It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom." So when you leave the law of God and His commandments, you enter into the realm of rebellion and enslavement. Your rebellion is primarily against God, although it's manifested against man, and the enslavement is indeed unto sin. It is only in Jesus Christ that we are free, for our Lord said in John 8 and verse 36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." So here's the question: How does rebellion begin?

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• What are the powers of rebellion? What is the foundation of rebellion? How is it that someone seemingly with common sense and knowledge could become such a rebellious reprobate? Well, I want to try to answer that for you from the book of Numbers chapter 16, and I want you to look there with me. Let's begin at verse 1 because I'm going to give you the first foundational pillar of rebellion. Now listen carefully. The first foundational pillar of rebellion begins with a complete disregard for family and friends. I want you to think with me. This is important. The first foundational pillar of rebellion begins with a complete disregard for family and friends. Now, watch verse 1.

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• "Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben, took men." Now, note if you would, the Bible says, "Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi." Are you ready for a shocker? Here it is. Korah was a great-grandson of Levi.

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• And he was a cousin to Moses and Aaron. Amram was the father of Moses and Aaron, and Izhar was the father of Korah. And Amram and Izhar were brothers. Amram was the oldest and Izhar was the second oldest. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 6 and let's begin there with verse 18. Exodus chapter 6 and look in verse 18: "And the sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar"—that is, they were brothers—"and Hebron and Uzziel." They were brothers. "And the years of the life of Kohath were 133 years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations. And Amram took Jochebed, his father's sister, to wife, and she bare him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were 137 years. And the sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri." So Moses and Korah were cousins. Now I want to make a very important point that I want you to listen: family ceases to be important when one is in rebellion against the Lord. In this instance in Numbers 16, it was a cousin against

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• cousins. Undoubtedly these men had been raised together from their youth up, and undoubtedly, not only were they relatives, they were probably previous friends. But when rebelliousness and lawlessness grips the heart, neither family nor friendship matters. This point is easily seen in the betrayal of husbands and wives in regard to infidelity and adultery. Humanly speaking, there cannot be a closer bond than that of husband and wife, and yet many eagerly defy and defile that bond in their rebellion against God. And while their rebellion is against God, it is manifested toward their spouse. Now, I want you to think about this. Here's a principle to observe and keep in mind: when a family member cools in his or her relationship, there's something wrong. When husbands and wives cool in their relationship, defraud each other, ignore each other, and endeavor to become independent of each other, something is terribly wrong. The same is true in regard to friendship. It is the beginning stage of rebellion. When children begin to dishonor and disobey and disdain their parents, it's the beginning of rebellion.

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• It is foundational. Listen to this truth: it is impossible to rebel against one without disregarding a relationship. Anytime there's rebellion, there is a relationship that is discarded and dishonored. You cannot have rebellion without destroying family or friends. It's impossible. So the very first foundational pillar of rebellion is that it disregards and dishonors family and friends. Here's the second one. I'm going to show it to you from the Scripture. The second foundational pillar in rebellion is discontent with one's calling and station in life. Now if you look back at verse 1, "Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi." So Korah was a Levite, and Korah was the ringleader in this rebellion against God and against Moses

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• and Aaron. How do I know that? Well, because of Jude and verse 11. The Bible says, "Woe to them, for they've gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and perished in the gainsaying of Korah." So Korah is credited then as being the leader of this rebellion against God and against Moses and Aaron. So Korah was a Levite. He was already called to the service of the tabernacle. The Levites had been given to Moses and Aaron, and their ministry was about the tabernacle, taking care of everything in the tabernacle, as well as protecting Aaron and his sons, who were the priests. Now, evidently, Korah was not satisfied with being a Levite. He was not content with serving God in whatever capacity he'd been appointed. Evidently he wanted to be a priest. So if you'll look in Numbers chapter 16, beginning there with verse 8, look what Moses said to these Levites. "And Moses said unto Korah, 'Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi.'"

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• So there were more Levites than Korah, but he's the one that's been nailed down as the ringleader. "And Moses said unto Korah, 'Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And He hath brought thee near to Him, and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee, and seek ye the priesthood also?'"

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• Wow. Well, Korah was discontented. There was Aaron and his family. They were chosen by God to be priests. He was probably upset over that. But there was also something else that probably upset Korah. Another cousin had been chosen to be over all the Levites, not Korah. If you'll look back in your Bibles in Numbers chapter 3, Numbers chapter 3 and look, if you would please, at verse 30. Numbers 3 and verse 30: "And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel." So Elizaphan was chosen to be over the Levites. He was a son of Uzziel. So if you'll go back in your Bibles now to the book of Leviticus chapter 10 and look at verse 4.

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• Here's a very revealing statement. Leviticus 10 and look, if you would, at verse 4: "And Moses called Mishael and Elizaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, 'Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.'" So Uzziel is called the uncle. So that means Elizaphan was a cousin as well.

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• Now he's chosen over and above Korah to be the head of the Levites. So Korah is upset, obviously, because he was not chosen to be a priest and he was not chosen to be over the Levites. So I said, and I want you to listen carefully, that the second foundational pillar for rebellion is discontentment with your calling and your station in life. Now, let me make a statement. It is not a sin to desire to improve yourself or your position in your vocation. However, it is discontent and rebellion to desire something to which you have never been called, you've never been appointed, you've never been ordained by God. If you are a plumber, if you're an electrician, if you're a carpenter, you should desire to be the best plumber, the best electrician, and the best carpenter that you possibly could ever be for God's honor and God's glory.

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• There's nothing wrong with that. We have a brother in our church who's a retired OB-GYN. He was a doctor for, I don't know, probably what, 50 years? I don't know. And I gave the illustration this morning. I said, suppose there's a lady in our church that's pregnant and she comes to this assembly and she's having labor pains and she begins to have that child here in the church building. I said, here's my question to you, young lady. How'd you rather have me, your pastor, deliver that child, or a retired OB-GYN who's done it for 50 years? Obviously, I'm not going to intrude upon the calling and the vocation of an OB-GYN doctor. You see what I'm saying? I'm content with what I've got right now.

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• The point being is this: does anybody recognize the name Jethro Bodine? Jethro, you remember, was that big tall boy on the Beverly Hillbillies. I don't know if you remember that episode. It looked like he's about 20-some, but he graduated from the fourth grade. And Uncle Jed asked him what he wanted to do now. He said he's ready to be a brain surgeon. Well, come on, you know. I'm sorry. You know, I can borrow brains, but I can't borrow character, and I can't do anything other than what God has called me to do. I want you to see something. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Look at this and think about this in light of what I'm saying. 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 20. 1 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 20. Look what the Bible says: "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called." God calls us to different vocations. So let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Now watch this: "Art thou called being a servant?" or being a slave?

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• "Care not for it. But if thou mayest be made free, use it rather." In other words, if you can be made free, if you were a slave, fine. If it'll further God's honor and glory, have at it. But now watch verse 22. It explains it: "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant" or slave, "is the Lord's free man. Likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's slave. You are bought with a price; be not ye the slaves of men. Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God." Now I realize that some have been able to change vocations. Understand that. However, if God has not called you to change, if God has not opened the door

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• for you providentially, I would think very seriously about trying to change my vocation. All I'm trying to say is this: we have to learn to be content with the station to which God has called us, and we can serve Him where we are until He opens doors and lets us advance. It was J. Gresham Machen who was a wonderful, great Presbyterian pastor, teacher, professor, author. In fact, my first year of Greek was from a Greek text written by J. Gresham Machen. But I want you to listen to what J. Gresham Machen said. Listen carefully. He said, "For Christians to influence the world with the truth of God's Word requires the recovery of the great Reformation doctrine of vocation. Christians are called to God's service not only in church professions, but also in every secular calling."

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• "The task of restoring truth to the culture depends largely on our lay people." Now, Machen was repeating a truth that was enunciated by Martin Luther in the 1500s. And here's what Martin Luther said. Listen: "The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship." That's what Machen was saying. Machen was saying, wherever God has called you, that's where you should serve Him until He opens the door otherwise.

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• And I will point out, and I will say this again, in reality, there is no division between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, for 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31 says, "Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Now, I want you to go back to Numbers chapter 16 because I'm showing you—I'm showing you, hopefully, this second foundational principle of rebellion, and that is discontent with your station in life. Now I want you to watch this. We've looked at Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. But watch this: "And Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men."

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• Well, wait a minute. Why in the world were the Reubenites joined with the Levites? Reuben was never called to the service of the tabernacle, and they were never called to the priesthood. Why in the world were the Reubenites joined with the Levites and especially Korah? Well, let me tell you why. They fell to a twisted, perverted, unbiblical line of reasoning. I want you to look at it.

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• You'll find it in verse 3. "And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them, 'You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Wherefore then lift up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?'" They said, "All of the congregation is holy. Why are you lifting up yourselves?" Let me tell you the error in this. They were assuming that just because everyone had the same standing before God, that they likewise also had the same positions before God. That is not true. You may have the same standing, but you do not have the same positions. For instance, take a husband and wife. Both the husband and wife have the same standing before the Lord. Both are sinners. Both may be redeemed. Both may be converted by the grace of God. And each one is equally a Christian, fully saved before God. Their standing is firm and final in Jesus Christ. But although they have the same standing, they do not have the same positions.

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• The husband has been constituted the head of the house, not the head of the church, but the head of the house. Jesus Christ is head of the church, but that's what he said in Ephesians chapter 5: "Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your husbands in everything, even as the church is in subjection to Christ." In other words, although husbands and wives have the same standing, they do not have the same position. It's the same truth with everyone else.

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• I mean, just because there's another brother that is a fine, godly, believing man, we may have the same standing, but I don't have the same position. He is a usher, and he does not have this same position that I do. So their error was saying that everybody's holy, and since everybody's holy, then we can do whatever we want to do. We can intrude into the priesthood. No, you cannot intrude into the priesthood.

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• So here's my question: How did the Reubenites get involved with the Levites? Well, if you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 2 and look, if you would please, at verse 10. Numbers 2 in verse 10: "Everybody camped around the tabernacle. The south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies, and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur." So the tribe of Reuben camped on the south side of the tabernacle. Now look at Numbers chapter 3 and verse 29. Numbers 3, verse 29: "The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward." Hmm. So the Reubenites and the Kohathites were side by side.

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• Now, Korah evidently was a great politician. He was a great orator. In fact, he was so great, if you look in verse 2, "And they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown." So Korah has gotten 250 princes. Wow. Now the word "famous" in the Hebrew refers to those who were called or chosen, so these men had been called or chosen to be leaders. And the word "renowned" means that they were men of reputation. They were men of fame. They were men of glory. In other words, these 250 men were important men. They had clout, so to speak. Now, let me tell you why I believe the Reubenites are joined with the Levites. Not only did they follow the twisted, perverted reasoning of Korah, but I believe there's another reason. What I'm about to tell you is my theory, my conjecture. I cannot prove the motive based upon what I'm going to tell you. I can prove what I'm going to tell you.

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• But I could not say with dogmatic certainty that this is the motivation of the Reubenites because the Scripture does not make it plain. Okay, so I'm going to tell you what my position is and you can think it through. And if it's logical, receive it. If it's not logical, explain your position to me and maybe correct mine. But here it is. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 29. Genesis 29, look, if you would please, in verse 32. Genesis 29, verse 32: Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob. Genesis 29, verse 32: "And Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, 'Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.'" Note: Reuben is the firstborn. Now look in Genesis 35 and verse 23. Genesis 35, look in verse 23, you'll see it spelled out: "And the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun."

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• So we know that Reuben was the firstborn child. Now, in the Hebrew society, the firstborn male received the birthright. Now the birthright included three things particularly. Number one, the firstborn male received a double portion of the inheritance. He received twice as much as any other child. But the reason he received twice as much is very simple. It was him, the oldest child, who's responsible to take care of his elderly parents when they could not take care of themselves. So that extra portion, it was actually for the provision for the parents for him to take care of them. So the eldest son got a double portion. Secondly, as the eldest son, when the father died, he became the patriarch of the family. He became the priest of the family, so to speak.

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• He would be the leading figure to lead the clan in worship and obedience to God. The third blessing of birthright was the lineage of the Messiah. The Messiah was to come through that birthright blessing. Now watch this. Although Reuben was the firstborn, although he was the eldest, he was passed over. Here is why. Look in Genesis 35 and verse 22. Genesis 35, verse 22: "And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in the land, that Reuben went up and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard it."

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• Now the sons of Jacob were 12. So here he committed incest, in one sense of the word, with his father's concubine, who was his wife because some of the children came from Bilhah. Now if you would turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 49. Genesis 49 and look, if you would please, at what happens when Jacob, right before he dies, is blessing his sons. Here we go. Look in Genesis chapter 49 and he says this in verse 3: "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch." So he says he's unstable as water. So Reuben did not get any of these blessings. The double portion went to Joseph because, you remember, his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob said, "They're mine," and it was Ephraim and Manasseh that got the double portion in Canaan land. And then the line of the Messiah went to Judah, and the priesthood went to the Levites. Wow. So Reuben, although

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• he was the eldest and the firstborn, received none of his birthright blessings. I tend to think—and once again, I'm emphasizing that I'm thinking because I cannot show you from Scripture—that the Reubenites were willing and eager to join Korah in this rebellion because they saw this as a way to get some of the birthright blessings back. If they could intrude into the priesthood, they would at least have one of the three. Now I'm just simply pointing out the fact: when people are discontent with their station in life, when they're discontent with their vocation in life, there's always the element of a desiring to intrude into places that you should never intrude into. Now let me point something else out, because when I quoted Machen earlier, he talked about a secular society, and I realize as Christians we say again there's no division between the secular and the sacred for the child of God because everything is sacred. Understand that. But in our minds we tend to think anything that is not biblical in one sense of the word or anything that is outside of the framework of Christianity, we tend to think somehow that is secular in and of itself. But in reality, that's not true. Let me explain what I mean by

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• that. I mean that everything is religious. That does not mean that everything is the Christian religion, but everything is religious. Society cannot exist without religion. And so what you have outside of biblical Christianity is you have a religion of humanism. It is a perversion. It is a man-centered, God-denying, Christ-denying, Bible-denying religion. But it's still a religion. It's kind of like—I forget the atheist who it was, but he got so excited in his atheism, he said, "Thank God I don't believe in God."

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• Well, obviously. You know, I'm just simply pointing out it may be humanistic, it may be satanic, it may be demonic, but it's still religious. It's just not the Christian religion. When you stop and think about where we are today and when I get through showing you this from Numbers chapter 16, I think it's going to explain exactly where we are and why we are where we are. So let me remind you with just a couple of applications so far.

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• I'll take up on this next week, but first of all, rebellion is primarily against God. And okay, it is always manifested against man because fallen man cannot strike God. The only thing they can strike is His representative. So it's always against man. The second application of this: we have to learn to hold our family and our friends in high esteem and do not fail to follow the biblical admonitions, the biblical commands that God gives us. Because God does command the husbands. God does command the wives. God does command the children.

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• And whenever we begin to dishonor and disregard each other, then we are headed for trouble, that is for sure. The same is also true in relationship to friends. Most of us have a few lifelong friends. I had someone say something concerning me a while back that I really was impressed with, and he and I have been friends for years and years and years. But he said there are three men that I would entrust my life unto, and one of them is John Weaver. I can assure you that's a very humbling thought. But he's been a lifelong friend, and I believe that I could trust him with my life as well. But the Bible says in Proverbs 17 and verse 17, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Think about this: a friend loveth at all times. A friend's going to love you even when you're ugly. He'll love you even when you're wrong. He may correct you, he may rebuke you. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 27, verse 6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

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• So a friend will wound you when you need wounding. And this next one, I remember as a younger man endeavoring to obey this verse because after my father died, he had a number of friends that were still alive who died within several years after him. But in Proverbs 27, verse 10, the Bible said, "Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not." So when one of my father's friends had a need, I went to see him to take care of that need and to help him. "Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not." And then Proverbs 27, verse 17: "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." So we should be sharpening each other and not cutting down and criticizing each other. One other thing, and that is this: the truth concerning contentment in our station and calling in life is found in many passages. You remember that one in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 6 where he said, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." And then of course in Hebrews 13 and verse 5,

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• "Let your conversation be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'" So first of all, if we regard highly our family and our friends, and we make sure that relationship is secure, and we're content with God's calling and our station in life, and we're willing to honor Him and worship Him and serve Him in that station, we're not going to be candidates for rebellion. But these are just two of the foundational pillars, and there are going to be a whole lot more, and I think you will see where we are in our society and why we are where we are.

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• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to You this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, we do not wish to be rebellious. We don't wish to be disobedient. We wish to honor Thee and glorify Thee in the calling wherewith Thou hast called us. Help us, Lord, to be faithful to Thee, faithful to each other, to our family, to our friends. Lord, help us above all things to honor Thee, to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and to make good shoes. For Thou dost desire good craftsmanship in whatever we do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• You.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T20:23:04Z